Subject: Can I help you? |
Bible Note: The Law of Moses was created to identify sin, and as a guide that we should not sin. Are you implying that God created the Law and then gave man no capacity to understand or keep it, even though he promises that if we keep it we will live? Free will is evident throughout the bible, and was the defining factor in Adam's sin. God told Adam to not eat the fruit. Adam chose to disobey (albeit after temptation). When it comes to sin, freewill DOES play the most important role. We are given the capacity to discern evil (the Law, the Spirit), as well as the capacity to master sin by mastering our flesh by walking after the spirit. We see the same thing evidenced again when Cain killed Abel. God came to Cain when he was angry at his brother and told him sin was crouching at his door. At that time, Cain could most certainly have chosen a righteous path (like Abel, or Abraham), but instead, he chose to murder his brother. I have read the scriptures you present, and each identifies well man's persistance in sin, and his sinful nature. However, for brevities sake, let us consider just one of them, representative of the rest, here Ephesians 2:3, "Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest." Paul also tells us in Romans 7:7, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Again, lust is identified with sin, and lust is temptation. A child cannot be tempted with what he does not comprehend. I hear and understand and agree with man's sinful nature, even that he is created with a sinful nature, and this is the corruption that is inherrent to the flesh. However, this still does not quantify as "sin," which is a falling short of the mark. Again, Christ gives us the example of small children, proclaiming that we must become as they are. How can Christ attribute them so if they have fallen short of the mark? Also, when I say "Grace was not yet with us," I refer to the fact that the old covenant had not yet passed away, and that God's Law was not yet written on our hearts, and that Christ had not yet perished for our sins, and thus there was as yet no propitiation and as such no salvation by Grace through faith. Christ still made the correct choices regarding sin, despite his walk in the corrupt flesh of man. Again, I wish to point out that I advocate "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," and I advocate Christ as Lord, as the Lamb of God and propitiation for our sins, but I do not advocate the birth of children with "sin." It is most definately safe to say that we are all born in a body of flesh desiring for sin, but it is innapropriate to attribute "sin" where there is none. This is wholly incorrect. Sin is the result of choice. we do not sin "accidentaly," else the words of God would be of none effect in 1 Corinthians 10:13 "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." Now, I have made a number of posts regarding this subject, and I have backed my argument with scripture. While many have shown me definitive scripture attesting to mans sinful nature, noone has shown me any scripture proffessing God created man not only of a corruptable body, but WITH sin. I have indicated many scriptures that indicate this is not true. Again, I most certainly accept man's sinful nature, but I can find no scripture that states unequivocaly that the particular sin of Adam, or anyone else for that matter, rests on all our shoulders; I have, however, shown scripture that states we must answer for none but our own sin. |