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NASB | Genesis 1:27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 1:27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. [Col 3:9, 10; James 3:8, 9] |
Subject: Is It Human to Sin? |
Bible Note: Jeff, Haven't you heard, in passing, whether by a preacher or someone else something to the effect that we are only human and, therefore, can be expected to sin? I agree, such a statement does minimize and excuse sin. But why? Is it your position that Christians do not sin all the time, everyday? Is it your position that our created humanity has no bearing on our sinfulness? I ask questions with a view to discussion on certain points that I find interesting and wish to know if there are others with similar views. My intention is not to "stir the pot" or "an effort to foster divisiveness, ill-will, dissension or other disruptions" but to "sharpen iron with iron," primarily to either sharpen or change those views that I hold. Also, I may be misunderstanding another's views and discussions help to clarify understanding. I will admit, it seems to me that my views are not held by the majority. If the pot swirls, at it has for some, it is not - as far as I can see - my doing; it may be that some need to learn how to neither judge the questioner without warrant or feel threatened when certain questions are asked. As far as question I asked is concerned, it seems, one reason why I think we are behaving less than human - not as a human - when we sin is because God did not create mankind with the intention of their sinning against him; he made them without a sin nature although with a free will that makes the committal of sin possible. As such, as I see it, man does not sin because he is "human" but because he has "inherited" what is outside his nature as created, that is (what others call), a "sin nature". What got me thinking this way was my reading of Packer's (in 1973) quoting Baxter with reference to sin, writes that sin "does not make you more of a man, but less so; it brutalises you and tears you to pieces...We are only living truly human lives just as far as we are labouring to keep God's commandments; no further" (Knowing God, p.103). |