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Will You Accept what the Bible teaches about Mankinds Nature?
Posted : 16 Apr, 2010 09:15 PM
The view one takes concerning Salvation will be determined, to a
large extent, by the view one takes concerning sin and its effects on
human nature. When Calvinists speak of man as being totally depraved,
they mean that man's nature is corrupt, perverse, and sinful
throughout. It does not mean that man is as totally wicked as he can
be. "total" is used to indicate that the WHOLE of man's being has
been affected by sin.
A. As a result of Adams transgression, men are born in sin and by
nature are spiritually dead: therefore, if they are to become God's
children and enter His kingdom, they must be born anew of the Spirit.
1. When Adam was placed in the garden of Eden, he was warned not to
eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil on the threat
of immediate SPIRITUAL death.
Genesis 2:16,17: and the Lord commanded the man, saying, "You may
freely eat of every tree on the garden; but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat
of it you shall die."
2. Adam disobeyed and ate of the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:1-7);
consequently, he brought spiritual death upon himself and upon the
whole human race.
Romans 5:12; Therefore as sin came into the world through one man
[Adam, see vs. 14] and DEATH through sin, and so death spread to all
men because all men sinned.
EPHESIANS 2:1-3 and you he MADE ALIVE, when you were DEAD through
trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of
this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Among these we all
once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of
body and mind, and so we were BY NATURE children of wrath, like the
rest of mankind.
Colossians 2:13; And you who were DEAD in trespasses and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, GOD MADE ALIVE together with him,
having forgiven us all our trespasses.
3. David confessed that he, as well as all other men, was born in
sin.
Psalm 51:5; Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did
my mother conceive me.
Psalm 58:3; The wicked go astray from the womb, the err from their
birth, speaking lies.
4. Because men are born in sin and are by nature spiritually dead,
Jesus taught that men must be born anew if they are to enter God's
kingdom.
John 3:5-7; Jesus answered, "Truly, Truly, I say unto you, unless
one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot ENTER the kingdom of
God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is
born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you,
'YOU MUST BE BORN ANEW'" compare John 1:12,13
B. As a result of the fall, men are blind and deaf to spiritual truth.
Their minds are darkened by sin; their hearts are corrupt and evil.
Gen. 6:5; The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and that EVERY IMAGINATION OF THE THOUGHTS OF HIS HEART WAS
ONLY EVIL CONTINUALLY.
Gen. 8:21...The imagination of man's heart is EVIL from his youth..
Ecclesiastes 9:3...The HEARTS of men are FULL OF EVIL, and madness is
in their hearts while they live...
Jeremiah 17:9; The HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, and
DESPERATELY CORRUPT; who can understand it?
Mark 7:21-23; "For from within, OUT OF THE HEART OF MAN, come evil
thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness,
deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these
evil things come from within, and they defile a man."
John 3:19; And this is the judgment, that the light has come into
the world, and MEN LOVED DARKNESS, rather than light because their
deeds were evil.
Romans 8:7,8; For the MIND that is set on the flesh is hostile to
God; IT does not submit to God's law, indeed it CANNOT; and those who
are in the flesh CANNOT PLEASE GOD.
1 Corinthians 2:14: The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts
of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and, HE IS NOT ABLE
TO UNDERSTAND THEM because they are spiritually discerned.
Ephesians 4:17-19: Now this I affirm and testify in the Lord, that
you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their
minds; they are DARKENED IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING, alienated from the
life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, DUE TO THEIR
HARDNESS OF HEART; they have become callous and have given themselves
up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness.
Ephesians 5:8 For once you were DARKNESS, but now you are light in the
Lord...
Titus 1:15: To the pure all things are pure, but to the corrupt and
unbelieving nothing is pure; THEIR VERY MINDS AND CONSCIENCES ARE
CORRUPTED.
C. Before sinners are born into God's kingdom through the
regenerating power of the Spirit, they are children of the Devil and
under his control; they are slaves to sin.
John 8:44 You are of YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, and YOUR WILL is to do
your father's desires.
Ephesians 2:1,2; And you he made alive, when you were dead through
the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the
course of this world, FOLLOWING THE PRINCE OF THE POWER OF THE AIR,
the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
2 Timothy 2:25,26; God may perhaps grant that they will repent and
come to know the truth, and they may escape from THE SNARE OF THE
DEVIL, after being CAPTURED BY HIM TO DO HIS WILL.
1 John 3:10; By this it may be seen who are the children of God,
and who are the CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL: whoever does not do right is
not of God, nor he who does not love his brother.
1John 5:19; We know that we are of God, and the whole world is IN
THE POWER OF THE EVIL ONE.
John 8:34; Jesus answered them, "Truly , Truly, I say to you,
every one who commits sin is a SLAVE TO SIN".
Romans 6:20; When you were SLAVES OF SIN, you were free in regard to
righteousness.
Titus 3:3; For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led
astray, SLAVES to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in
malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another.
D. The reign of sin is universal; all men are under it's power;
consequently, none is righteous---not even one!
2 Chronicles 6:36; ....for there is NO MAN who does not sin...
Job 15:14-16; What is a man, that he can be clean? Or he that is
born of a woman, that he can be righteous? Behold, God puts no trust
in his holy ones, and the heavens are not clean in his sight; how
much less one who is abominable and corrupt, A MAN WHO DRINKS
INIQUITY LIKE WATER!
PSALM 130:3; If Thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord,
WHO COULD STAND?
Psalm 143:2; Enter not into judgment with thy servant; for
NO MAN LIVING is righteous before Thee.
Proverbs 20:9; Who can say, "I have made my heart clean; I am pure
from my sin?"
Ecclesiastes 7:20: Surely there is NOT A RIGHTEOUS MAN ON EARTH
who does good and never sins.
Ecclesiastes 7:29; Behold, this alone I found, that God made man
upright, but they have sought out many devices.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every
one to his own way...
Isaiah 64:6; We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our
righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a
leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Romans 3:9-12; What then? are we Jews any better off? No, not at
all; for I have already charged that ALL MEN, both Jews and Greeks,
ARE UNDER THE POWER OF SIN, as it is written; "NONE is righteous, no,
not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned
aside, together they have gone wrong; NO ONE DOES GOOD,NOT EVEN ONE."
James 3:2,8; For we all make many mistakes, and if any one makes no
mistakes in what he says he is a perfect man, able to bridle the
whole body also...but no human being can tame the tongue--
a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
I John 1:8,10; If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and
the truth is not in us..If we say we have not sinned, we make him a
liar, and his word is not in us.
E. Men left in their dead state are unable of themselves to repent,
to believe the gospel, or to come to Christ. They have no power
within themselves to change their natures or to prepare themselves for
salvation.
JOB 14:4; Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
There is not one.
Jeremiah 13:23; Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his
spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.
Matthew 7:16-18 YOU will know them by their fruits. Are grapes
gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree
bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree
cannot bear evil fruit, NOR CAN A BAD TREE BEAR GOOD FRUIT.
Matthew 12:33 "Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or
make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its
fruit."
John 6:44; NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS the Father who sent me
DRAWS HIM; and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:56; And he said, "This is why I told you that NO ONE CAN COME
TO ME UNLESS IT IS GRANTED HIM BY THE FATHER."
Romans 11:35,36; "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be
repaid?" For from him and through him and to him ARE ALL THINGS.
to him be glory forever. AMEN.
1 Corinthians 2:14; The UNSPIRITUAL MAN does not receive the gifts
of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and HE IS NOT ABLE
TO UNDERSTAND THEM because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 4:7; For who sees anything different in you? What
have you that you did not receive? If then you received it,
WHY DO YOU BOAST AS IF IT WERE NOT A GIFT?
2 Corinthians 3:5; Not that we are SUFFICIENT OF OURSELVES to claim
anything as coming from us; our sufficiency is FROM GOD.
From these Scriptures we see that we are unable of ourselves to do
anything toward gaining salvation. We must rely totally on God's
mercy and love.
Sincerely,
James
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