Subject: God is not the author of evil. |
Bible Note: Parable, Liberty means "The state of a free person; exemption from subjection to the will of another" (Websters) The point I have been laboring to make is simply this: Fallen man is at liberty to to choose either good or evil. But our choices are governed by our desires and the desires of the unregeneret heart are wicked ones. It is not because God forces or coerces man to sin that man is a sinner, but that man is a sinner by virtue of his own fallen nature. He has liberty to choose good or evil, yet his own heart makes it impossible for him to choose spiritual good. This is not Augustine, Calvin, Beza or Boyd ...it is Bible. Gen 2:17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die." Gen 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Jer 17:9 "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? John 8:34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 4 Rom 6:6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; As long as one believes that fallen man has even a spark of spiritual life inside his heart, that one will not appreciate fully the grace od God in salvation. John |