Love the Truth

FOUNDATIONS of the FAITH

Man

In the beginning God created man in His own image and therefore perfect. Gen 1:26-31; Gen 2:7

He had great intelligence and understanding together with many powers and abilities which we today do not have.

He lived in fellowship and harmony with God, and that was the purpose for which he was created God gave him a specific commandment together with the solemn warning that the consequences of breaking it would be death. Gen 2:16,17

God also created the woman to be a companion for Adam. Gen 2:18-25

Adam and Eve were without sin. They did not have any inner tendency to sin nor any of the limitations and biases of the sinful human nature. Their wills were therefore perfectly free.

Satan tempted Eve with the prospect of getting wisdom and becoming like God. He accused God of false motives and giving a false warning. Gen 3:1-6

Both Adam and Eve succumbed to this temptation and disobeyed God. (James 1:15). They died spiritually in the very day in which they ate of the forbidden fruit. Gen 2:17 Physical death followed at a much later stage. Gen 5:5

God is in no sense the author of sin, since both Adam and Eve chose to sin of their own free wills. Their willful sin involved distrust in the goodness of God and defiance of God Himself. Adam stood as the representative of the human race and through his sin, all his descendants were made sinners, Rom 5:12-19 Psalm 51:5

Thus sin came into the world, and sin brought both spiritual and physical death. All mankind come into the world without spiritual life and subject to eventual physical death. Rom 5:12.

All members of the human race have a sinful nature and all have become sinners by practice Rom 3:9-18 Sin is also an evil principle within. Rom 7:8-11,23 Rom 6:12-16 Matt 15:19

In considering this subject it is essential to take into account the difference between God’s point of view and our human point of view.

From our human point of view we see a wide range of morality from the very best and highly moral to the very worst of mankind. No one is as bad as possible and no one is as good as we should be.

From God’s point of view however righteousness in the very best of people does not measure up to His perfect standard, and is therefore unacceptable to Him. James 2:10 Rom 3:23

The Bible gives us God's view of fallen human nature, which is frequently described as "flesh" or "the sinful nature" (NIV). When we look carefully at what the Bible says about it we find a very dark and dismal picture of sinfulness, perversity, inability, spiritual blindness and deadness.

We don't like looking at it, but it is only by doing so that we will appreciate the greatness of God's power and the work of the Holy Spirit in delivering us from such depths.