Results 1 - 2 of 2
|
|
|||||
Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | inherit the sin of Adam | Ps 51:5 | DocTrinsograce | 156218 | ||
Dear Humbled, Thank you for the question. I haven't been doing a very good job of communicating lately, but I'll do my best to explain. Forgive any grammatical or spelling errors -- I'm trying to check repeatedly, now -- almost afraid to post these days! :-) Exegesis is the careful and systematic study of Scripture with the intention of uncovering the original intended meaning. We all know that God didn't give us the Word in outline form or as an enumerated list of things to believe. Instead, God chose to speak His eternal truths in specific circumstances and events within human history. Note that I mentioned human history and eternal truths. We mustn't make the error of thinking exclusively in either term. The key to our understanding is to determine what a passage meant to the people to whom it was written. Only then are we able to discern the eternal truths. (The final step, of course, is to apply those truths to our own lives. In the current discussion we are talking about doctrine, so I'll not mention application.) Ezekiel was a prophet during the Babylonian captivity of the Jews. God used Ezekiel as His mouthpiece to the Jews. Each utterance, therefore, is God speaking to His people regarding a particular set of circumstances at that moment in time. The Jews knew that the captivity was an act of God (1 Chronicles 5:26). They were saying all kinds of things about what had occurred. (Remember how Americans reacted to 9-11?) In Ezekiel 18 God is addressing a specific "proverb" that the Jews repeatedly used with one another. Verse 2 says, "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge'?" (NKJV) The Jews' derogatory statements had been repeated so often that they it had become a common expression. They took no personal responsibility for the judgment of God. Instead, they accused God of being unjust for punishing them for the breaking of covenant by their fathers. Now, with the proper context, read through to verse 20. God is speaking very specifically to the fact that the Jews in captivity must assume personal responsibility for their behavior before the face of God for their own deeds. (Verses 21 through 32 are speaking of repentance.) The focus is on deeds and who owns the consequences of those deeds. In other words, the Jews cannot look for salvation in the righteous deeds of their parents, nor can they expect condemnation for the evil deeds. The doctrinal truth we may properly derive from this passage are that individuals are responsible for their own actions before the face of God. This verse is often used to assert the doctrine of the "age of accountability." However, nothing in this chapter speaks to the root cause of sin (the human heart), or what the old theologians called "corruption." We cannot, from this passage, state anything about original sin. Nor does anything in this passage contradict the other Scriptures that do speak of original sin (e.g., Rom 5:12-19; 1 Cor 15:21-22, 45, 49; Psalms 51:5; Job 14:4; Eph 2:3; Heb 2:14, 15; 1 Thes 1:10). I think what gets us into trouble here is that we think sin is sin. Wayne Grudem, in his Systematic Theology, defines sin as "any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature." Ezekiel 18, like much of the rest of the Old Testament, zeros in on acts. Christ revealed that it was more than just acts, but also attitude (cf Matthew 5) and nature (cf Matthew 15). Paul, more than any other, discussed original sin. In Him, Doc |
||||||
2 | inherit the sin of Adam | Ps 51:5 | humbledbyhisgrace | 156221 | ||
Thanks Doc! I just saw your post. I've got to run but I'll come back and read it latter. And you don't have to worry about your English with me. I'm from Alabama and people say we talk funny. I don't get it??? Sounds okay to me. :) Not to mention if it wasn't for MS Word and the spell check feature you would probably never understand anything I write. Thanks angain for the reply! God Bless!!! |
||||||