Anthropology and Hamartiology
The Doctrine of Man and Sin
by William Dicks
All Scripture quotations, except those noted otherwise are from the New American Standard Bible copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
4. The Fall:
Distorting God’s image
5. Aspects of our
likeness to God
6. God “created them male and female”
7.1 What does the Bible teach?
7.1.2 Soul and spirit
are used interchangeably
7.1.3 What
about the “trichotomist” verses?
[26] Then God said, Let Us make man
in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the
sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. [27] God created man in
His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created
them. [28] God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply,
and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over
the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth. [29]
Then God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on
the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it
shall be food for you; [30] and to every beast of the earth and to every bird
of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have
given every green plant for food; and it was so. [31] God saw all that He had
made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was
morning, the sixth day. (Gen 1:26-31)
Why was man created? This is one of the great theological questions, and people have battled with this question for thousands of years. Those who believe in evolution can never answer this question. However, since we believe that God created us, we can be sure there was a reason for our creation.
Man seems so insignificant in the midst of God’s creation. We already know that God certainly did not need us. In the study of Theology Proper we have learnt that God is totally independent, and therefore did not have to create us out of any need of His own. However, Scripture states that God created us for His glory.
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. (Is 43:7 NIV)
When we realise that God wants us to do everything to His glory, whether
we eat or drink (1 Cor 10:31); no matter what we do, then we realise the
importance of our lives. We can conclude that since God did not need to create
us we have no importance at all. However, since we were created to glorify God,
we are important to God Himself. Our purpose on earth therefore is to glorify
God. If that is our purpose on earth, should we then not live our lives
consciously in order to glorify God?
Yet, even though we are to glorify God, which to some must seem a dreary
existence, the Bible tells us to delight ourselves in Him. Jesus came that we
should have life abundantly (Jn 10:10).
You make known to me the path of
life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures
forevermore. (Ps 16:11 ESV)
To David it was a joy to be in God’s presence. It was in God that he
found pleasure. It is in God that we will behold true beauty (Ps 27:4).
Scripture is full of people finding joy and fulfilment in the Lord (Ps
73:25-26; 84:1-2, 10).
A Christian’s attitude in life itself and its lessons should be one of
rejoicing (Phil 4:4; 1 Th 5:16-18; Js 1:2; 1 Pet 1:6, 8).
[1]
THEREFORE, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom also we have obtained our introduction by
faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of
God. [3] And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that
tribulation brings about perseverance; [4] and perseverance, proven character;
and proven character, hope; [5] and hope does not disappoint, because the love
of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was
given to us. (Rom 5:1-5)
When we glorify God and rejoice in Him, the Lord
also rejoices over us (Is 62:5; Zeph 3:17-18).
Would it be wrong for God to seek to be glorified?
If we think in terms of ourselves we can conclude that it would be wrong. Yet,
who is greater than our God? Who is higher in the heavens than our God? None!
Only One deserves the glory. Our God! He deserves all the glory. What happens
when His creatures try to rob God of His glory?
[21] On the
appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a
public address to the people. [22] They shouted, "This is the voice of a
god, not of a man." [23] Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to
God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
(Ac 12:21-23 NIV)
We can never add to His glory. Herod died because
he accepted glory that did not belong to him.
But when God
takes glory to himself, from whom is he robbing glory? Is there anyone who
deserves glory more than he does? Certainly not! He is the Creator, he made all
things, and he deserves all glory. He
is worthy of receiving glory. Man may not seek glory for himself, but
in thus case what is wrong for man is right for God, because he is the Creator.
It is right, not wrong, that he be
glorified—in fact, if he did not receive glory from all creatures in the
universe, that would be horribly wrong! [1]
It is totally fitting for the twenty four elders
to give glory to God.
"You are
worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created
all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." (Rev
4:11 NIV)
Only one creature, man, was made “in
the image of God.” The plan for God was to make a creature similar to Himself.
The Hebrew word tselem meaning,
“image” (ml,x,),
and the Hebrew word demut meaning,
“likeness” (tWmDÒ),
both refer to something that is not
identical, yet similar to that which it represents. The word tselem is used in other passages as a
similarity and representative, i.e. of statues
in the “likenesses of your tumors and likenesses of your mice” (1 Sam
6:5, 11), of paintings of “men portrayed on the wall, images of the Chaldeans
portrayed with vermilion” (Ex 23:14), of idols when the people went to the
house of Baal and tore down “his altars and his images” (2 Ki 11:18). The word demut as a similarity more than a
representative is used elsewhere, i.e. king Ahaz sent the “pattern of the altar
and its model” to the priest (2 Ki 16:10), of “figures like oxen [which] were
under” the bronze altar (2 Chr 4:3), of an idol as “a graven image for
yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female (Dt 4:16).
Many have tried to specify the specific
characteristics of man that are in the image
of God. Theologians have come up with lists of what it means to be in the image and likeness of God, such as man’s intellectual abilities, his ability
to make moral decisions, man’s original moral purity, etc.
However, the words at hand had specific meanings
to the original readers, and it simply meant that man was like God and would represent
God. So, Gen 1:26 could say something like Grudem suggests, “Let Us make man to
be like us and to represent us.” Trying to make a list of
the characteristics of man which are like God would in any event be too
restrictive.
4. The Fall: Distorting God’s image
Is man still in God’s image after the fall? Can we still think of man as like God after Adam’s sin?
Even after the fall of man, God still put a high premium on human life, and still specified man as created in His image.
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. (Gen 9:6 ESV)
Surely there is still enough of God’s image in man that God would regard the murder of another person as an attack on that part of His creation that most resembles Him! This notion is upheld in the New Testament.
With the
tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been
made in God's likeness. (Js 3:9 NIV)
Since the fall of man, that image and likeness of God
in man has been distorted.
Behold, I
have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many
devices. (Eccl 7:29)
When God created man, God saw that as very good (Gen 1:31). In order to know
what the true nature of man should be like, we only need to look at Jesus as a
man on earth. He portrayed the nature of man in the image of God accurately.
5. Aspects of our likeness to God
We, as God’s rational creatures, are held morally accountable before God for our actions, and we also have an inner sense of what is right and wrong. Our likeness to God is emulated in behaviour that is holy and righteous when we act according to God’s moral standards.
Apart from creatures with physical aspects to our nature, we also have spirits that are immaterial. This gives us the capacity that provides the means by which we can relate to God as persons. As a result of our spiritual natures we have immortality. Just because our bodies will one day cease to exist, we will continue to live forever.
As human beings we also have the capacity to reason and think logically and as a result also to learn. We have the ability to use abstract language that sets us apart from the rest of God’s creation. We also have an awareness of the distant future, which no animal can have. As human beings we are also creative in art, music, literature and even in scientific expertise.
6.
God “created them
male and female”
God did not create us to be isolated persons with no contact or interpersonal relationships.
For this
reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife;
and they shall become one flesh. (Gen 2:24)
Apart from the physical unity between husband and wife, there is also a spiritual and emotional unity of fathomless dimensions. When a man and woman get married they are joined together by God (Mt 19:6).
Naturally, today there are many people who claim that men and women are equal. Sure, this is true, but most of these people who give this kind of knee jerk reaction to what the Bible teaches on the subject totally misunderstand the Biblical teaching.
The Bible teaches us that men and women have been created equal in their personhood and importance. When God made man in His image,
in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Gen 1:27; see also Gen 5:1-2)
They are made equally in God’s image. Men and women then are equally important and equally valuable to God. Paul shows clearly that men and women are equal.
[11] However,
in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of
woman. [12] For as the woman originates from the man, so also the man has his
birth through the woman; and all things originate from God. (1 Cor 11:11-12
NIV)
The Bible never speaks of any kind of second class
Christian among God’s people.
In the Trinity each Person has equal importance. However, each One has a different role. Look at salvation: the Father did not die for our sins, nor did the Holy Spirit, but the Son. The Father sent the Son into the world to die. He did not send the Holy Spirit for that purpose. The Spirit came to empower the church on Pentecost, not the Father or the Son.
In the reflection of the character of God in humans, we can expect to have the same importance among each other, but differences in roles. These differences are noted even in the most basic of differences; that of sexuality among male and female.
Paul shows such a difference in authority:
But I want
you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head
of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. (1 Cor 11:3)
Even though man and woman are equal in importance,
value and basic nature, they have differences in role, such as man being given
that of the head.
Many have said that such differences in roles were
non-existent before the fall, and as such should not be necessary after being
saved, having been restored in Christ to the pre-fall state.
To the woman
he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain
you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he
will rule over you." (Gen 3:16 NIV)
Is Gen 3:16 an indication of what we became due to
the fall? The Bible, however, does not concur on this point. It does show a
difference instituted by God. What are the points we can look at for
differences before the fall?
·
Adam
was created before Eve. Creating Adam some time before
Eve suggests that God had a leadership role in mind for Adam. The Old Testament
pattern has always been that the first-born in any family has leadership in the
family for that generation. We do have a backup from the New Testament in Paul:
For Adam was
formed first, then Eve; (1 Tim. 2:13 ESV)
Paul uses
this for his argument for restricting some distinct governing and teaching
roles in the church to men.
·
Eve
was created a helpmeet for Adam.
God made Eve for Adam, not Adam for man (Gen 2:18).
·
Eve
was named by Adam. In the Old Testament the right to name someone
implied authority over that person. In such a way we see Adam naming the animals
(Gen 2:19-20). In such a way Adam then named Eve as woman (Gen 2:23). A Hebrew name designated the characteristics or
function of someone, and so Adam was specifying the characteristics or
functions of the animals. This he also did with Eve.
·
God
named the human race as man, not woman (Gen 5:2).
God named the human race with a term that specifically referred to Adam, which
term was also used to make a distinction from woman.
·
After
the fall, God spoke to Adam first. God spoke to Adam before
Eve was created and now after the fall God first spoke to Adam. This, in spite
the fact that Eve first sinned. God saw Adam as the leader in the family and
held him accountable for what happened. God spoke to Adam before He spoke to
Eve saying that “he will rule over you.”
·
Adam
represents the human race. The fact that Eve sinned first
did not deter God to hold the human race accountable because of Adam’s sin. We
are told in the New Testament that we all die in Adam (1 Cor 15:22; 49f; Rom
5:15, 12-21).
·
The
curse after the fall brought distortion, not new roles.
When God punished Adam and Eve He did not introduce new roles, but simply
distorted the old roles they already had. From now on, the work of Adam will
bring seat and hard work, and Eve will deliver children with pain. It is at
this point that God told Eve “Your desire
will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” On the word desire from the Hebrew teshuqah (hq;WvT])
See Susan. T.
Foh, “What is the Woman’s Desire?” in WTJ,
vol. 37 (1975), pp. 376-83. Foh notes that this same Hebrew word occurs in a
closely parallel statement just a few verses later, when God says to Cain, “Sin
is crouching at the door, and its desire
is for you, but you must master it” (Gen. 4:7). The parallelism in the Hebrew
text between the verses is quite remarkable: six words (counting conjunctions
and prepositions) are exactly the same, and in the same order. Another four
nouns and pronouns are in the same position and have the same function in the
sentence, but they differ only because the parties involved are different. But
in that sentence the “desire” that sin has for Cain is surely a desire to overcome or conquer him, as is
evident from the image of an animal “crouching” at the door waiting for him.
Thus, Susan
Foh has competently argued that the Hebrew word teshuqah mean “desire to conquer,” indicating a wrongful desire by
Eve to assume authority over her husband. This introduced conflict into their
relationship and a desire by Eve to
rebel against Adam’s authority just like he rebelled against the authority of
God.
When God said
that Adam would rule over Eve He used
the word mashal (lV'm;). This word
is usually used of monarchial governments, not in a general way in families. It
does not imply any participatory government but is dictatorial and absolute.
This also introduced conflict in this relationship.
·
The
New Testament affirms the created order. With the
distortion of roles at the fall of man, we can expect an undoing of these
distortions with Christ. We can expect the New Testament pattern to be that of
the creation order: men not to rule their wives harshly, and wives not to rebel
against their husbands’ authority.
[18] Wives,
be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. [19] Husbands, love
your wives and do not be embittered against them. (Col 3:18-19; see also Eph
5:22-23; Tit 2:5; 1 Pet 3:1-7)
If this
pattern were indeed incorrect for wives to submit to their husbands, Paul and
Peter would not have commanded this order to be maintained.
Some people believe that man consists of two part: body and soul (dichotomy). There are those who add a third part: spirit (trichotomy). Which is the correct view?
The trichotomist view has been the popular view in Evangelical teaching. This view teaches that the soul includes man’s emotions, will and intellect. The argument is that man’s spirit is a higher faculty in man, which comes alive when a person becomes a Christian (Rom 8:10), which would then most directly worship God and pray to Him.
The dichotomists, on the other hand, believe that spirit is not a separate part of man, but an interchangeable term for soul.
7.1 What does the Bible teach?
Besides wondering whether Scripture views soul and spirit as distinct parts of man, we need to understand that the Biblical emphasis is on the unity of man, not his separate parts (Gen 2:7). Adam is seen as a living being. Even our salvation is seen by Scripture as that of the whole man: inner and outer man.
The Biblical representation of the nature of man is dichotomic. Even though Scripture sees man as a dichotomy, it never sees man as dualistic. When man acts, Scripture sees the whole of man acting, not just the soul or the body. It is not simply the soul that sins, but man. It is not the body that dies, but man. It is the whole of man that is saved, not just the soul.
Let’s have a look at what the Hebrew and Greek lexicons can provide us. The Hebrew lexicographical meanings are from The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts, 1979:
SOUL (nephesh - vp,n<)
soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, passion
1) that which breathes, the breathing substance or being, soul, the inner being of man
2) living being
3) a living being whose life resides in the blood
4) the man himself, self, person
5) seat of the appetites
6) seat of emotions and passions
SPIRIT (ruach - j'Wr)
breath, wind, spirit
1) breath
2) wind
3) spirit, as that which breathes quickly in animation or agitation
3a) spirit, animation, vivacity, vigour
3b) courage
3c) temper, anger
3d) impatience or patience
3e) spirit, disposition, as troubled, bitter, or discontented
3f) various kinds of disposition, unaccountable or uncontrollable impulse
4) spirit of the living, breathing being, in men and animals
5) spirit as seat of emotion
5a) desire
5b) sorrow, trouble
6) seat or organ of mental acts
7) rarely of the will
8) as seat of moral character
Both soul and spirit point to that which breathes and also to that which is the seat of emotions and passions.
The Greek lexicographical meanings are from A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, Second Edition, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1979:
SOUL (psuche - yuch)
soul, life
1) of life on earth in its external, physical aspects
1a) breath of life, life-principle, soul
1b) earthly life itself
1c) soul (as seat and center of the inner life of man in its varied aspects)
1d) seat of emotions and feelings
1e) soul (as seat and center of life that transcends the earthly)
2) by metonymy that which possesses life or a soul, a living creature, person
SPIRIT (pneuma - pneuma)
1) blowing, breathing
1a) wind
1b) breathing out of air, blowing, breath
2) breath, life-spirit, soul, that which gives life to the body
3) spirit as part of human personality
3a) used together with flesh denotes immaterial part
3b) as source and seat of insight, feeling and will, the representative part of the inner life of man
3c) spiritual state, state of mind, disposition
4) a spirit as an independent being
4a) God Himself
4b) good, or at least not expressly evil spirits or spirit beings
4c) evil spirits
5) the spirit as that which differentiates God from everything that is not God
5a) the Spirit of God
5b) the Spirit of Christ
5c) Holy Spirit
So, soul and spirit both point to the life-principle, or breath of life and also the seat and center of feeling and the inner life of man. Both point to the seat and center of life that transcends the earthly. Both point to the spiritual side of man.
7.1.2 Soul and spirit are used interchangeably
The words for soul (Hebrew – nephesh - vp,n<; Greek – psuche - yuch) and spirit (Hebrew – ruach - j'Wr; Greek – pneuma - pneuma) are used interchangeably in the Scriptures. Both terms denote the higher or spiritual element in man.
Those who had died and left their bodies are called souls (Rev 6:9; 20:4), not spirits as would be expected in the trichotomist view. One would also, under that view, expect to be told to love the Lord with our spirits, being that part of man that is “intimately” involved and connected with God. Yet, we are told to love the Lord with our souls (Mk 12:30). What is anchored to the Lord? Is it our souls or our spirits? We are told in Hebrews 6:18-19 that our souls are anchored to the Lord.
We find Hebrew parallelism in the New Testament as it is used in the Old Testament. The concept of Hebrew parallelism, is a poetic device in which the same idea is repeated by using different words that are synonymous.
[46] And Mary
said: My soul exalts the Lord, [47] And my spirit has rejoiced in God my
Savior. (Lk 1:46-47).
Therefore I
will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will
complain in the bitterness of my soul. (Job 7:11)
This poetic device is used throughout the
Scriptures and is very common (Job 12:10; Is 26:9).
The Scriptures sometimes contrasts the body and the soul (Mt 6:25; 10:28) and sometimes the body and the spirit (1
Cor 5:3, 5; Eccl 12:7). In death, the soul
is sometimes spoken of as given up (Gen 35:18; 1 Ki 17:21; Ac 15:26), and at
other times the spirit is spoken of
as given up (Ps 31:5; Lk 23:46; Ac 7:59). Furthermore, both soul and spirit are used to indicate the immaterial element of the dead (Heb
12:23; Rev 20:4).
When he
opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been
slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. (Rev
6:9 NIV)
through whom
also he went and preached to the spirits in prison (1 Pet 3:19 NIV)
Jesus speaks of His troubled soul (Jn 12:27) and of His troubled spirit (Jn 13:21).
Another example of the interchangeability of soul and spirit in man can be found
in the account of Hannah’s great sorrow in 1 Sam 1.
She, greatly
distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. (1 Sam 1:10)
The NIV here translates “greatly distressed” as
“bitterness of soul,” as does the KJV. Five verses later, after Eli the priest
accused her of being drunk (the reason for her emotional condition according to
Eli), she responds to Eli to explain the reason for her weeping.
But Hannah
replied, No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither
wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD. (1 Sam
1:15)
See how the passage now changes soul to spirit? In verse 10 she is in “bitterness of soul,” but now it
shows her as “oppressed in spirit.”
In Scripture, the soul is seen as departing at death (Gen 35:18; Lk 12:20) or the spirit is seen as departing at death (Ps
31:5; Lk 23:46; Eccl 12:7); man is either body
and soul (Mt 10:28) or body and
spirit (1 Cor 5:5; Js 2:26); the soul
(1 Pet 1:22; Rev 18:14) can sin or the spirit
(2 Cor 7:1, 34; Ps 78:8) can sin. In essence, Scripture shows us that all that
we can say of the soul can also be
said of the spirit.
7.1.3 What about the
“trichotomist” verses?
The two verses most commonly used as “proof” texts for the trichotomist view are 1 Thes 5:23 and Heb 4:12.
Now may the
God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and
body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. (1 Thes 5:23)
Does this verse teach a trichotomist view of man?
Does Moses teach a trichotomist view of man in Dt 6:5?
And you shall
love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your might (MKJV)
Do you notice that the trichotomy proposed by
Moses is different than that of 1 Thes 5:23? It seems that he teaches a
three-part man of heart, soul and might (strength). Paul does not mention heart
and strength. Should we then conclude from this that man is a five part
(pentachotomy) being?
Paul’s intention was not to split man into three
parts any more than Jesus intended to split man into four parts.
He answered:
"`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, `Love your neighbor as
yourself.' " (Lk 10:27 NIV)
When Jesus repeats this saying later in Mt 22:37,
He says it a little differently. Note that the word “strength” is dropped then.
However, the same account of Mt 22:37 is also in Mk 12:30, this time with
“strength” present. The conclusion is that Jesus did not mean to split man into
four parts, but He is using a style that would have made His hearers understand
that He is talking of the complete human being. Man’s love of God should be
complete. We can ask the same questions about many other passages of Scripture.
And like unto
him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart,
and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of
Moses; neither after him arose there any
like him. (2 Ki 23:25 King James Version)
Is this passage now also teaching some type of
trichotomy by itself?
What then about Heb 4:12?
For the word
of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates
even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and
attitudes of the heart. (Heb 4:12 NIV)
Many contend that this passage must prove the existence of a separation between spirit and soul and therefore they are not synonymous.
However, the word used here in Hebrews for dividing (merizw - merizw), is never used in the New Testament for the division of two different things, but rather the division of the same thing, or the different aspects of the same thing (see Heb 2:4; Lk 11:17-18; 12:13; Mt 27:25; Jn 19:24; Rom 12:3; 1 Cor 1:13). This word can also be seen as synonymous with diamerizw (diamerizw), as can be seen in the parallel passages in Mk 3:24-25 (merizw) and Lk 11:17-18 (diamerizw).
The point, therefore, of Heb 4:12, is not that God separates two distinct entities – soul and spirit – but that the Word “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” This verse stresses the power of God’s Word to enter the deepest parts of a person’s being. If a division was intended, we would have expected the author to use “bone and marrow” and not “joints and marrow.”
J. Barton Payne, in his The Theology of the Older Testament, Zondervan, Thirteenth Printing, 1980, p225, gives a slightly different explanation with similar results.
afar, dust
+ = basar, flesh
n’shama, breath + = nefesh, “soul,” self
ruah, spirit
In essence this is saying dust + breath = flesh and flesh + spirit = soul. The point of the Biblical stance concerning the composition of man is that man is one, and God deals with man as such. God does not deal with man on one level and not on another.
We can see this indivisible union in man by looking at the effects the one has on the other. When the soul leaves the body, the body ceases to live. Certain states of the body produce corresponding states in the mind, and vice versa. The mind sees, hears, feels, but only through the appropriate organs of the body. A healthy condition in the body is necessary for a healthy state of mind. Certain diseases or conditions of the one can cause derangement in operations in another. Emotions can also cause the body to react. Shame causes us to blush. Joy causes the heart to beat faster. A blow on the head renders the mind into another state. A brain disease may cause erratic action in the mind such as insanity. See Gen 45:27; Lev 5:15; Num 11:6; 21:5; Josh 5:1; Jud 15:19; 16:16; 1 Sam 1:10, 15; 30:12; 1 Ki 21:5; Job 30:15-17; Prov 18:14.
Sin is the failure to adhere to the moral law of God in act, attitude or nature.
We cannot blame God for sin, since it is ourselves who sin. God is perfect and cannot sin.
His work is
perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without
injustice, Righteous and upright is He. (Dt 32:4)
James puts it this way:
[13] When
tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be
tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; [14] but each one is tempted when,
by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. (Js 1:13-14 NIV)
The existence of sin, to a large extent, is still
a mystery to us. All we know is that it does exist. How did sin come into
existence? What was its origin? How could a good God allow sin to originate in
His creation? If God did not stop its “birth,” was He unable to? Apart from the
fact that God cannot be blamed for sin, nor can He ever sin,
we must guard
against an opposite error: it would be wrong for us to say there is an existing
evil power in the universe similar to or equal to God himself in power. To say
this would be to affirm what is called an ultimate “dualism” in the universe,
the existence of two equally ultimate powers, one good and the other evil. [2]
The fact is that sin did not surprise God! Sin did
not defy or conquer His omnipotence in His creation. The truth is that God
works all
things after the counsel of His will. (Eph 1:11)
This God who
does
according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth;
And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?” (Dan
4:35)
did ordain that
sin would come into the world, even though he does not delight in it and even
though he ordained that it would come about through the voluntary choices of
moral creatures.
Before Adam and Eve sinned, sin was present among
the angels with the fall of Satan and his demons.
[12] How you
have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast
down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! [13] You said in your
heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of
God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of
the sacred mountain. [14] I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will
make myself like the Most High." [15] But you are brought down to the
grave, to the depths of the pit. (Is 14:12-15 NIV)
The first sin committed by Adam and Eve occurred
in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1-19). Grudem gives four reasons for Adam and
Eve’s sin. First, it answered the question What
is true? God said one thing and they wanted to see if the opposite opinion
of Satan was true (Gen 3:4). Second, it answers the question What is right? God told them that it
would be right not to eat from the tree, but they wanted to see if the serpent
was right in that they would become like
God (Gen 3:5). Third, their sin answered the question Who am I? They were dependent on God and existed because of Him,
but they had to see if they would become like God (Gen 3:5). Fourth, all sin is
ultimately fallacious. Did it really make sense for Satan to rebel in the hope
of usurping God’s place, or did it really make sense for Adam and Eve to
disobey God in the hope that they could gain anything at all by doing so? (See
Ps 14:1; Prov 10:23; 12:15; 14:7, 16; 15:5; 18:2)
The phrase “original sin” does not refer to Adam’s first sin. Traditionally it has meant the sin that is ours as a result of Adam’s fall. This doctrine would be better understood as “inherited sin.” The reason why “inherited sin” may be misunderstood is that we do not inherit our sin from our parents. Our sin is inherited or imputed from the original sin of Adam’s fall. The guilt belongs to us because it belonged to our first father, Adam.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— (Rom 5:12 ESV)
The effects of Adam sin are of such a nature that God thought of all of us as having sinned when Adam sinned (Rom 5:12-21). It is futile for us to claim that it is unfair, when we deal with an omniscient and all-powerful God. We cannot even begin to claim to know better than God.
[20] The
thing molded will not say to the molder, Why did you make me like this, will
it? [21] Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the
same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? (Rom
9:20-21)
If it were unfair for God to count Adam’s sin to
our account, then it was also unfair of God to count the righteousness of Jesus
to our account. Yet, this is exactly how God gets it right in His almighty
justice to get us away from having to keep the law don to the final iota for
our salvation. If it were not for this system
of God of one for all, we would have
had to keep the whole of the law for our salvation. The result would have been
that no one would ever be saved. Therefore, if we are so happy to accept the
work of one man on the cross to buy our salvation, then we should not be
hesitant to accept the sin of one man to our account! Apart from the fact that
Adam’s guilt was imputed to us, it also
remains a fact that each one of us have committed many actual sins, and we will
be judged for those (Rom 2:6; Col 3:25), because we are guilty. Adam is our
representative in our sin, in the same way as Christ is our representative in
salvation.
We have not just inherited the guilt of Adams’s sin, but we have also inherited the corruption of that sin.
Behold, I was
brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. (Ps 51:5)
David is very conscious of his sin in the whole
passage, especially from verse 1 to 4. David shows here how our nature has a
disposition to sin.
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.
(Eph 2:3)
Naturally, the tendency of humans to sin does not
mean that human beings are all as bad as they could be. God has put many
constraints in this world to prevent us from being as bad as we could be: civil
law, family and societal expectations, and human conscience (Rom 2:14-15)
We totally lack any spiritual good before God. It
is not just some parts that are sinful, rather every part of our beings has
been affected by sin, intellect, emotions, desires, etc.
For I know
that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is
present in me, but the doing of the good is not. (Rom 7:18)
To the pure,
all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is
pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. (Tit 1:15)
The heart is
more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
(Jer 17:9)
We are totally unable in our actions to please
God. We do not have the ability to come to God in our own strength.
Those
controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Rom 8:8 NIV)
For all of us
have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a
filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the
wind, take us away. (Is 64:6; cf Rom 3:9-20)
But a natural
man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.
(1 Cor 2:14)
Apart from having the guilt and sinful corruption imputed to us, we are also sinful before God in practice. There is a universal sinfulness in mankind.
They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. (Ps 14:3 ESV)
The fact is that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23; cf Rom 1:18-3:20).
The final result of sin is God’s wrath against the sinner.
[30]
Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men
that all people everywhere should repent, [31] because He has fixed a day in
which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has
appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. (Ac
17:30-31)
The day will come when judgement will come upon sinners, those who have not believed in Jesus (Mt 10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:36; 25:31-46; 1 Cor 4:5; Heb 6:2; 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6)
[5] But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. [6] He will render to each one according to his works: [7] to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; (Rom 2:5-7 ESV)
Man was created in God’s image, but because of the sinful fall of man, he has become unable to please God or to come to God in his own strength. Man has become totally unable to approach God, and is therefore doomed to endure God’s wrath unless…. unless he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation!