21 - Man's Sinfulness, Part 1

Creation of Man and the Purpose of Human Life

Welcome to the Striving for Eternity Academy. This is a ministry of striving for eternity. This is where we provide some classes For you to get some training on things. Well, really all things related to Christianity.

I will be your instructor today. My name is Andrew Rappaport. We are in a school of world religions so we're gonna have several different classes within this school. This particular class that we are dealing with is an Introduction to the major Western religions.

This lesson is really in part two where we're going to be dealing with The nature of sin the nature of sin man his creation his sinfulness. Now in part two. We're really trying to answer. Okay, we looked in part one at several different religions six of the major Western religions.

We looked at six different doctrines that they had and looking at those. We explained how they all what they all believe from within their structure. Now we're going through what the Bible says and kind of saying this is what the Bible says now.

Comparing it to each of those in general those six religions and seeing where it is that they agree disagree with what scripture actually says. We're kind of answering now the the we answered originally what they believe now.

We're saying basically, what does the Bible teach? If you have a syllabus you could now be a good time to get it out. You can get a syllabus at the website at store dot striving for eternity org or just Striving fraternity org and go to the store.

Syllabuses are $25 each that helps us pay for these classes so that you can get them at. Well, if you're watching it for free, then you're getting it for free, right? But grab a syllabus the advantage of the syllabus is really so you have things not only can you take your own notes in it?

You'll get the fill in the blanks. You have the notes that I'm going to teach from you also have a handy reference. Now most of the first class that we looked at is based off of my book. What do they believe?

That's something else you can pick up while you're at the website striving for eternity. What do they believe is a systematic theology of the major Western religions. Now let's get into this lesson. This lesson is going to be one where we're going to deal with first the Creation of man and that's gonna be the first thing.

I would like us to address is how was man creating? I'm not speaking of Adam and Eve what we will get into some of that but we get into more of how we were created and What implications that has and how that relates to some of the other religions that we saw then we're gonna look at man's sinfulness.

What does it mean when we say he's got a sin nature? So let's begin with the creation of man. We see that the Bible teaches that man was directly and immediately created by God on the sixth day of creation.

With an appearance of age in God's image and likeness now. That's packed. We want to break it down. We're not gonna have time to break it fully. But the fact that we're saying that God was created directly and immediately by God means that there was no evolutionary Process that's not what the Bible would teach.

It doesn't allow room for for evolution that it was on the sixth day of creation and That Adam and Eve were created With some appearance of age. They weren't created as infants. Needing to rely on their parents because they didn't have any they were created Fully grown.

This is when I was a child. There was always the thing of the the chicken and egg what came first the chicken or the egg. That's a problem for evolution, isn't it? Right? I mean, that's a evolutionary dilemma.

Which came first the chicken or the egg because you had to have the egg to produce the chicken. But you need the chicken to produce the egg and evolutionarily. That's a problem. That's not a problem for Christianity because we know God created the chicken.

God created male and female with the appearance of age, even though they were One day old they look like they were maybe 14 15 20 don't know so now the other thing about that early creation is that man was created free of Sin and with a rational nature of intelligence volition that means will Self-determination and a moral responsibility to God.

Let's look at some verses there. Let's look at Genesis 2 7. Well, we actually we have a couple of verses on that. And so if we look here we see then the Lord formed the man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and The man became a living creature.

That's Genesis 2 7 and you see this is showing that man was created directly from God. It is a direct and immediate thing it was immediate meaning that it didn't happen over time. James 3 9 says this.

With it we bless our Lord. This is speaking in tongue with it. We bless our Lord and Father and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God now we don't have time to go into all of Genesis chapter 2, but we're made in the image of God.

We're gonna get into what that means in just a moment. So hold on because you may have those questions. But what we see there is that we are made in the image of God in his likeness in some way. We're gonna get into the question of our men.

Do men become angels? Those are things that we're gonna discuss in just a little bit and These are sort of things that come up when we talk about the creation of man and and the constitution of man but life of all men begins at Conception and that's your blank there conception.

Now, let me let me specify this. Because because actually a friend of mine Mentioned that life doesn't begin at conception. He said life continues. But the spirit begins at conception. This isn't where we do get into something.

It's not in your notes, but there's a two different views of what happens. Really? The question is when does a person that immaterial part of a person when does that begin? How does that begin? This is something the Bible does not speak to the Bible does not explain the creation of the soul.

But what we have is really we have two different views. We have a view that says that God creates out of nothing a new spirit for a person at Conception and he interjects that spirit into them at conception now with that one.

Some would argue that maybe it's not a conception. But at birth now that argument people make does allow for abortion by the way. Because then they're not really a human until they have that human aspect that immaterial part of them.

And so some would argue that then it's okay. It depends when that is given some actually say after eight days after birth. And so some try to argue that's why the Jewish people do the circumcision eight days after.

Why the Catholics will baptize a day the idea some have is to try to argue that that's eight days after. There's really nothing in Scripture that says either way. I actually hold to what's called a traditionary view which is the idea that God created Adam and Eve with all the makeup for life.

So that at conception life continues. It doesn't actually begin but that spirit that immaterial part of us is part of the Week of the creation or a part of the the procreate Conception process shall we say so in some way and I can't I don't understand it.

But that it would be that when man and women Produce a child that that child at conception would have a spirit and that's part of the makeup. The only reason I hold to that is because I think when it says God rested from his work His his creation out of nothing he's finished with that and I would say that then he's not creating spirits out of nothing.

So he must have it within the makeup of man and woman to that. That's part of the process. I Don't know. I'm not gonna really get too hung up on it. But The point that's of interest there is that the create we talk about life life continues.

Man and women a male and female is our living beings that produce another living being so the life just continues at conception, but really what we're talking about is this is where they become a a Human they have an immature part of them at conception reason.

It's important to understand conception is this is when we would say we speak Scientifically right of life life begins at conception. It becomes another Being it has separate DNA. You have a baby conceived in the womb that mother has with grown within it something that has a completely separate DNA.

It's a completely separate person. Okay, and but the importance of this of pointing it at conception is not so much the abortion issue. That's an ethical issue. That is an outworking of it but really it's the point that the spirit of man does not exist prior to conception and That is either of the two views that I mentioned would hold to that so that the importance there as you see in Judaism in Mormonism you had this idea that there was God created all the spirits at one time and puts them into bodies.

And we wouldn't hold to that. Okay, we don't see that in Scripture. Now. One of the things is man is distinct from animals. I know those evolutionists. They keep telling people that they're nothing but animals and then they can't figure out why people act like Animals you've been convincing them.

They're nothing more than an animal. But men are you know, human beings are distinct from animals. Men were made in the likeness of God and animals were not. Men have attributes that animals do not have such as a God consciousness.

Animals don't create a religion. Animals don't Know about God. They don't have a consciousness of God like we do. Man doesn't create God to fill some God's Sized, you know vacuum in their heart as some argue everywhere you go in the world every tribe Culture will have a view of God.

Why. Because we have a consciousness of him that makes us distinct from animals. If evolution was true We wouldn't be making gods to worship to replace the true God that we know exists. Okay, we have a self-consciousness.

We are aware of ourselves. We we set up things like 401ks so we could take care of ourselves. We we set up health care systems so we could take care of us. We're aware of our own consciousness. Where animals work off of instincts?

We have a world consciousness. We have we know where we fit within the world and a relation there. That's why we would hold signs that say save the whales. You've never seen a whale holding a save the human sign, right?

We need saving. Why because they don't have a consciousness of where they fit within the world. We do. We can make moral decisions. We can we have a will now making moral decisions is Something. That we have to realize that some will arguable animals can do that we have vampire bats.

Vampire bats, for example, or You have the Emperor Penguins. There's a thing of community and if they don't share within the community. They're pushed out of the community. They'll say that's a moral system.

Some will try to argue. That's their justice system. You don't see them setting up a justice system like we have. And and that's more of an instinct based thing. You don't see them discussing what those rules should be and whether they should do that.

Man has some of the attributes that animals have and that's one of them. But when man has them the man's attributes in these areas are far superior such as intellect emotion. Communication. Can birds communicate?

Yes. Do they have a grammar? No, that's the difference. We have languages. We have a grammar. Animals can communicate with one another with single word type sentences. All right. So man was created to have dominion over the animals of the earth.

Okay, we see that in Genesis 1 26 to 28. Then God said let us make man in our image. So there you see the created in the image of God after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the Sea over the birds of the heavens over the livestock.

Over the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image in the image of God. He created him male and female. He created them and God blessed them and said to them be fruitful multiply and fill the earth and Subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air.

Over the birds of the heavens and over the living things that move on the earth. So you see when we say that we're made in the likeness of God we have Attributes of personality and you want to look into more detail in that go to our class on systematic theology.

The intro class for that the very first book we talked about the attributes of God and we looked at the attributes of divinity. Those attributes are only true of God attributes of personality those that are true of all people.

Angels are people we are people. God is a peep is a person well three persons technically. So what you have there is The idea that we have we're made in his image in that we have personality. We have an intellect.

We have an ability to reason we have a God consciousness things that animals don't have in that which we do have. Some can be shared with animals and also have some level of intellect, but we're superior because we're made in God's image.

Okay, that's what it means to be made in the image of God that we share some attributes. That God has given us now men are Distinct from angels. That's your blank. They're distinct. So we see that we're distinct from animals.

We're not evolution that doesn't work. We're distinct. We're also distinct from angels in that. They are a race. There are race. Or we are a race I should say. In the sense that that we're not we're at separate race from angels, okay.

So men are distinct from angels in that they are a race and angels are not this means that men cannot become angels and Angels cannot become men. Why does that become important? Well first? Yeah, I know it kind of wipes out many of the the genre of TV's shows that would you know?

Where someone dies and becomes an angel that's not true. But it also means that when Jehovah Witnesses argue that Michael the angel became a man Jesus. That wouldn't be true. There are two separate distinct groups or races.

Men are distinct. Both from angels and from God and will be for all of eternity. Let's take a look at some passages. Let's look at do we I'm just trying to look for a good passage. We want to look at let's look at.

Do we have the first Corinthians 1 6, I don't know if I gave that one. No, okay. So we have we could look up first Corinthians. First Corinthians 6 3 is what I meant to say. Do we have that one? No, okay.

No, we're not the first Corinthians 6. All right. Hebrews 1 14 Hebrews 2 6 to 8 and Hebrews 12 22 to 24 those are all passages that you could look up to see some of this where you see this distinction between angels and men.

But men are similar to angels in that we have personality. But we're limited more so in power and ability you see this in Hebrews 2 where where we have that one. Okay, so let's put that one up. Oh we do have no that does have the first Corinthians 6 there we go see.

Oh, it's just mislabeled. Okay. I labeled it as Hebrews 2. Okay. It says here first Corinthians 6 3. Do you not know that we are to judge the angels how much more than matters pertain to life? Now the reason this is important Is because if we are going to be judging angels, we cannot become angels.

Okay, the idea there is that we're gonna judge the angels because we're separate from them. Hebrews 2 6 to 8 says. It has been testified Somewhere what is man that you are mindful of him or the son of man that you care for him?

You made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor putting everything in subjection under his feet now in putting everything in subjection. To him he left nothing outside his control at the present.

We do not yet see everything in subjection to him. So what you have there is the fact that you see that the angels are. We're under angels right now. They're they're more powerful in us, even though there will be a time We will judge them so you've seen that there's that distinction.

God's intention in the creation of man was that man should glorify God. Enjoy God's fellowship live his life in the will of God and By this accomplish God's purpose for man in the world we see this in Isaiah 43 verse 7 says everyone who is called by my name whom I created for my glory for whom I'm Formed and made so God made all of us.

Colossians 1 16 says for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth. Visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created Through him and for him.

So everything that's created. We God created everything for his glory. Revelation 4 11 says worthy are you O Lord and God to receive glory and honor and power for you? Created all things and by your will they exist and were created.

Notice. Everything that was created was created to give God glory. That's the purpose of man. The purpose of man is not to glorify himself, but to glorify God now. We see here so far in the creation of man that we are created.

Initially directly and immediately by God we through procreation. We are we continue that life. We are formed at conception that's when we become a person we're distinct from animals we're distinct from angels.

We're created for the purpose of giving God glory. Now the other question that sometimes comes in is are we all God's children? God does not call every human being a child of God. All people are not God's children.

That's your blank. They're not we're not God's children. The children of God are only those who put faith in Jesus Christ. Can I support that because I know you look at Mormonism and they will teach that everyone is a child of God.

Joe witnesses will sometimes speak this way, but John 1 12 to 13 says but to. But to all who receive him receive Christ who believe in his name. He gave them the right to be called the child of God who were born not of blood nor the will of flesh.

Nor the will of man but of God so not everyone has the right to be called the child of God. The only people that have a right to be called the child of God are those that receive Christ. You see that now, let's take a look at Romans 9 7 and 8.

That says and Not all of the children of Abraham. Not all our children of Abraham because they will have were his offspring. But through Isaac shall your offspring be named. This means that it is not.

This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God but the children of the promise are counted as Offspring now, so this says that when we say someone's a child of God It doesn't mean that they're made in the image of God.

It means that they are adopted into his family that they have been accepted by God into his family as his child. It is not a thing that all humans are children of God and therefore made in his image. Where does this?

Well, you're gonna see this have major implications when you look at some of the New Age Notions more that the Hinduism and Buddhism why because they're gonna say we're all part of God. We're all God's children that God kind of there's a there's part of God in all of us.

And yet what we end up seeing is that that's not the case. What we end up seeing is that only those who put their faith in? Christ have the right to be called a child of God. Not everyone that was born of Abraham seed was God's children.

In other words, not all the Jewish people were God's children, but those who received. Those who believed on God who were adopted into his family. They had that right? Okay, so as we look at the creation of man again, let's reiterate.

We see that man was created initially directly and immediately from God. With the appearance of age on day six of creation. We see that man was created separate and distinct from the animals that though we may have some similar Attributes as animals we have them in a superior way, but we also have attributes that animals do not have.

This is what makes evolution impossible because we have an immaterial part of us that animals do not and that is what gives us an ability to reason to know truth knowledge have a moral morality to have a system of justice to Be able to apply the laws of logic all these things are things that men or persons people can do.

Animals cannot so we're separate and distinct from the animals. But we're also separate and distinct from angels even though angels have personality they have attributes of personality like intellect.

Okay, like a will they have that and you can look in our systematic theology classes on the lessons We did on angels and we get into more detail on that. But in there what you end up seeing is that though we have some similar personality Attributes we're separate and distinct we we as men or women will never become angels.

Angels will never become men. All right, there's two separate races. So what we see is that we have God we have angels we have humans and we have the animals and then we have plants. That's basically what we what we see plants are not considered life, by the way.

In the in the Bible, it's not the life is considered having breath. Okay, so that's that's how the Bible would define it. All right, so let's take a look next at that's that's the creation of man. Now let's get into the more difficult issue and the issue many have real problems with and want to fight against.

The Sin Nature, Imputed Sin, and Total Depravity

Okay, this is a difficult doctrine for many. Okay. I'm just I'm saying this up front because I want people to see this. Okay is the issue of the sin nature the sin nature. Okay, and when we look at the sin nature, all right.

Let's be aware that this is a difficult doctrine for people to accept the problem with this doctrine. Is that people don't want to believe it they don't they're really because they don't want to believe it applies to them.

People want to believe that they're born spiritually and morally good. That's your blank there. They want to believe they're born spiritually and morally good or even neutral it at worst. In other words not good or evil, but they can choose.

Most people want to think they're born good that we talk about children being innocent. We're gonna get to that whether that's actually true is part of their condition. It is the desire to Disbelieve in a sin nature that makes Christianity so difficult for many to accept.

This is the reason why you see that all the false religions and the cults believe in that works are necessary. In some form for salvation and that people if they're going to be able to do good works to earn a right state with God.

They have to be born good or at best or at worst neutral. They they can't be born sinful because they're born sinful. They can't do good works to earn it and that's what people want. People want to depend on their own good works.

That's why I say there's only two religions in the world. You look at all those religions we looked at and you will see every one of them except Christianity teaches that man can get right With God or go to heaven based on works in one form another even if you have Roman Catholicism says faith plus works.

There's still an element of works in there. If you if you're gonna look at you know, Mormonism. They're gonna say, you know, you you know God did what he did, you know, and you go to heaven after all you could do.

After you do your good works every one of them have an aspect in Judaism. It's doing doing the law doing Torah in Islam. You you you don't really know if you're gonna be in a right standing with God. But your works are gonna determine it.

God's gonna have mercy based on your work. Well, that's not really mercy. Then that's you earning it, right if it's based on your work, then you earn it. And salvation is something we can't earn. We're gonna get to that in the next next lesson, but This is really important to lay that foundation though.

Because if you understand this then the lesson on salvation makes perfect sense, and that's what makes it clear. This issue is so hard for people to accept because they want to trust in their own goodness.

Because they want to compare themselves to someone that's worse than them and therefore they're really good. Then the sin nature is a reality that sin has been imputed. That's your blank there imputed.

Directly from Adam to every individual since Adam except for Jesus since he was without a human father. We're gonna get into this in more detail, especially next class, but let's look at Romans chapter 5.

This is a key passage here Romans 5 12 to 19 and this is key because this gets into the detail of this idea of imputation that the Imputation of the sin nature means that each person possesses a sin a sinful nature.

That was passed on from Adam to each generation. So and by this nature is what why we say all men are guilty, but let's look at what it says in Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5 and It says in 5 12 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 for sin indeed was in the in the world before the law was given but Sin is not counted.

Where there is no law yet death reigned from Adam to Moses even over those who whose? Sinning was not like the transgression of Adam who was a type of the one who had come. But the free gift is not like the trespass for many died.

Through the one man's trespass much more has have the grace of God and the free gift by free gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded for many and. The free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin for the judgment.

Flowing follow for the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following the trespass brought justification for if Because of one man's trespasses death reigned through that one man.

Much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ, therefore as one trespass led to condemnation for all men. So one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

So as by the one man's disobedience the many Were made sinners so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Okay, so what you see in that passage is you see there that the By the knit by nature all men have a guilt that came because of our federal headship with Adam.

And that's something you have to understand federal headship is this idea that because of what Adam did he was our federal head? He he affected all of the his offspring. Okay, I think of a federal headship.

I usually liken it to a kingdom with a king or in our case a president. Makes decisions our president. Congress can make decisions like and make an act of war. We are would be at war even though we didn't vote for it.

We didn't choose for it, but those that are our federal heads chose for us and that's the idea here. Okay, so you have to understand some some things about federal headship. Adam was our federal head.

So what he chose to do affected all of us because of what he did sin entered into the the world. And all of creation was actually affected by this sin. The sin nature is inherited and each person is guilty of it to point at the point of conception now.

This is passed on from father to child. And the reason that becomes important is that's why Christ did not have a sin nature. He had no earthly father to pass the sin nature on to him. Okay, each person has a sin nature and is totally depraved.

Don't freak out at that word for some of you who are totally against Calvinism. Let's give us time next class. We're gonna define what we mean by that and it's it's not the way some try to argue it. Okay, but for right now until next class it Just understand that we are totally depraved and what I mean by that just not again to talk into The detail yet, but it means that they are they lack the proper affection and love Towards God and they do evil.

Okay, so it just means that that we're conceived with a lack of proper affection for God. Okay? We'll get into that more detail next class. Total depravity. More importantly though refers to the fact that man's man as a whole was corrupted corrupted by sin.

Including man's will that's your blank there including man's will in other words when when Adam and Eve fell Their will their choice was affected by sin so that they make evil choices. They make sinful choices and this is the an area of contention.

Because people say well and this is really when we talk about total depravity what we're talking about. Was man's volition his decision-making was it affected by? Sin, if it was then man cannot choose God completely on their own.

And this is the argument some make is that man can choose God. Well, if man can choose God the man can do things like and this is why we said in every one of those world religions. We looked at all of them don't believe in a sin nature and all of them believe that man can Have by his own will make choices that are honoring to God and merit salvation merit a right standing with God.

Okay, it with total depravity does not mean it does not mean that man will be as sinful as possible. Clearly there are some people that are that act more sinfully than others. There's some people that totally try to deny that God exists and they are morally compared to other people.

Morally pretty good. Okay, so let's not think that just because someone is Not believing in God that they're gonna be as sinful as possible. And let's not think that someone that believes in God is automatically gonna be an angel.

They're not either. Okay. It it doesn't mean they're gonna be as sinful as they could be. I mean even Hitler could have been worse. But the you know for the for the majority of unsaved people you see they have some restraint on their sinfulness.

But that's usually pieced in selfishness, right? I mean the reason why people restrain themselves is because they don't want to suffer the consequence. Okay, they know we have this justice system that animals don't have right they don't want to suffer the consequence so for out of a selfish Reason they're not going to do certain things because they want something else in life or they don't want to suffer consequences.

Okay so This inherited sin addresses the nature of man where imputed sin addresses the reality of the nature. Okay of each person from Adam, so we we are in here we inherit sin from our fathers. So guess what when guys when you're married you have kids they misbehave and your wife blames you.

She's right. It's your fault that they're little sinners. You gave it to them. They inherited their sin nature from you, but it was imputed through the federal headship of Adam. Okay, so Adam and Eve became sinners.

Because they sinned where every person afterwards sins because they possess a sin nature. Do you understand that so after the fall Adam and Eve? Committed they committed sin and now they have a sin nature now all of us have a sin nature because of that act.

So when they sinned they did an act of sin that brought about a sin nature. We have that sin nature because we're inherited we inherited from our father and Because of that we do acts of sin. Can we be sinlessly perfect?

No, not this side of heaven. Because we are human we still have this actor. We still have this sin within us the sin nature is it's dead. Okay, and yet we still give ourselves over to at a time so the reality is is that the difference of imputed sin and Inherited sin is that imputed means that we have this sin nature.

It's part of our it's part of our Constitution now. Okay, and we inherit it through our our father. All right, so in Adam's sin in that passage. We looked at in Romans 5 in Adam's sin of disobedience.

All right his sin of disobedience. Brought sin into the world so man is on a lost state. They lost that state that Adam had of innocence and they're now incurring. We are incurring the penalty of spiritual and physical death because We became subject to the wrath of God.

And We became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing that which is acceptable to God apart from God's divine grace. You can look at Genesis 2 16 listen, we won't put these up yet. We'll put these up at all actually so we can get through lesson Genesis 2 16 and 17 Genesis 3 1 chapter verse 1 to 19 John 3 36 Romans 3 23 Romans 6 23 1st Corinthians 2 14 Ephesians 2 1 through 3 1st Timothy 2 13 of 14 1st John 1 8 all of those talk about this.

Okay, the the fact is is that With the wheat do we choose God. We're gonna get into this do we choose God. God choose us. We're gonna get into that in the next lesson probably two weeks from now three weeks from now.

But the point there being is that we have no Powers within ourselves that enable us to recover ourselves. From our state we are hopelessly lost because of this sin nature man salvation thereby is holy by God's grace.