The Doctrine of Salvation
How
"Righteousness by Faith"
Really Works
"Righteousness by Faith"
Really Works
Review A:
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
Babies are beautiful. Isn't that what every proud parent thinks looking at such a tiny bit of humanity sleeping peacefully? The very picture of innocence. There is probably no other time in life when a human being is more free of any taint of evil.
But wait. There are those who look at that same baby and see something quite different. Instead of sweet innocence, they see a baby born with a nature and inheritance so corrupt that the baby is lost and condemned as it draws its first breath; a little package of life tainted with the sin of Adam and Eve, even though that "original sin" was thousands of years in the past.
What does the Bible teach? Are babies born innocent or guilty? And what does this mean for adults, whether they are Christians or not? Do they live constantly in a state of sin, needing constant forgiveness for the constant sin of a corrupt nature? Could we have misunderstood such a basic question as What is sin? To be more precise, What is the nature of that sin for which we are condemned and lost for eternity?
Let's look at some easy-to-understand Bible texts. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). Now does a baby know the difference between right and wrong? And is it possible that we might not always know the right thing to do or say, and unwittingly do or say the wrong thing? In both cases — for the baby and for the adult — sin is not involved. A mistake, yes, but sin and guilt, no.
Perhaps Jesus can help us understand. Speaking to the Pharisees one day, "Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (John 9:41). Jesus was telling them that sin is not counted as guilt when there is no opportunity to know what is right. The Pharisees were certainly born with the same fallen natures with which we are born, but this did not automatically make them sinners.
On another occasion Jesus said, "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father" (John 15:24). It was when the light — Jesus — came to them, and they chose to reject that light that they were counted guilty of sin. (See John 3:19)
So, is the Bible telling us that condemnation and guilt are not our birthright and that we do not automatically live in a state of sin because of Adam's "original sin"? Is the Bible telling us that to become guilty of sin we must know what is true and right, and deliberately choose to reject the truth and do what God has forbidden? Then perhaps that baby is innocent after all and doesn't need to be baptized immediately to wash away its presumed inherited guilt from Adam and Eve. Although we have a fallen nature, we do not live in a constant state of sin.
This means that sin and guilt come into existence for us only when we have "light." When we know what God wants us to do, and refuse to do it (James 4:17), we become sinners, in need of forgiveness and cleansing. Sin is not the accident of being born in a sinful world with a fallen nature because of Adam's sin. Rather, sin is the choice we make when we know the difference between right and wrong, and we say, "I want to do it my way, because I don't like God's way."
On one occasion Jesus and His disciples found a man who had been blind from birth. The disciples had a question for Jesus about how we become sinners. "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents" (John 9:2-3). The disciples assumed that his blindness proved that he was a sinner, and they were confused about how that sin could have been transmitted to him since he was born that way. Jesus' response shows us that blindness, as a result of sin, is not a punishment for the guilt of sin.
This means that we must make a distinction between the results of sin and the guilt of (punishment for) sin.
When Adam sinned, the entire world began an unbroken pattern of pain, suffering, deterioration and death. Plants, animals, and human beings all suffer the tragic results of the curse of sin. We are born in a sinful world, to sin-affected parents, with a nature inclined to sin. But there is no indication in Scripture that we are lost, condemned, or guilty for any of these results of Adam's sin. The sin for which we give up eternal life is choosing to disobey when we know what God's will is.
A clear example of this principle is found in the Old Testament. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son" (Ezekiel 18:20). The point is simple. We are each responsible for our own sins — our own bad choices.
If a life of sin is inevitable — because of inheriting a weak, fallen, human nature — then I am not responsible for it; it is someone else's fault and problem. However, if sin is my own choice, then I alone am responsible, and I must deal with it directly, rather than blaming someone else.
Sin and guilt originate only within the higher faculties of the mind responsible for choosing good or evil. The whole person suffers the effects of natural law as part of the earth's cycle of sin. But God does not hold us responsible for inheriting defective equipment. Sin is about deliberately breaking God's law. (See 1 John 3:4) Sin, at its root, is self-love. It is putting self above God.
All aspects of God's method of saving sinners are affected by what we believe sin and guilt to be.
If sin is the nature we inherit and will keep until Jesus comes, then:
1. Jesus could not be born with our nature,
2. The focus of the gospel must be constant forgiveness for constant sin, and
3. We will never be free from sin until Jesus comes.
But if sin is our own choice, then:
1. Jesus could inherit our nature,
2. The gospel is both forgiveness and transforming power, and
3. We can live the obedient life that Jesus lived.
But wait. There are those who look at that same baby and see something quite different. Instead of sweet innocence, they see a baby born with a nature and inheritance so corrupt that the baby is lost and condemned as it draws its first breath; a little package of life tainted with the sin of Adam and Eve, even though that "original sin" was thousands of years in the past.
What does the Bible teach? Are babies born innocent or guilty? And what does this mean for adults, whether they are Christians or not? Do they live constantly in a state of sin, needing constant forgiveness for the constant sin of a corrupt nature? Could we have misunderstood such a basic question as What is sin? To be more precise, What is the nature of that sin for which we are condemned and lost for eternity?
Let's look at some easy-to-understand Bible texts. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17). Now does a baby know the difference between right and wrong? And is it possible that we might not always know the right thing to do or say, and unwittingly do or say the wrong thing? In both cases — for the baby and for the adult — sin is not involved. A mistake, yes, but sin and guilt, no.
Perhaps Jesus can help us understand. Speaking to the Pharisees one day, "Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (John 9:41). Jesus was telling them that sin is not counted as guilt when there is no opportunity to know what is right. The Pharisees were certainly born with the same fallen natures with which we are born, but this did not automatically make them sinners.
On another occasion Jesus said, "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now they have both seen and hated both Me and My Father" (John 15:24). It was when the light — Jesus — came to them, and they chose to reject that light that they were counted guilty of sin. (See John 3:19)
So, is the Bible telling us that condemnation and guilt are not our birthright and that we do not automatically live in a state of sin because of Adam's "original sin"? Is the Bible telling us that to become guilty of sin we must know what is true and right, and deliberately choose to reject the truth and do what God has forbidden? Then perhaps that baby is innocent after all and doesn't need to be baptized immediately to wash away its presumed inherited guilt from Adam and Eve. Although we have a fallen nature, we do not live in a constant state of sin.
This means that sin and guilt come into existence for us only when we have "light." When we know what God wants us to do, and refuse to do it (James 4:17), we become sinners, in need of forgiveness and cleansing. Sin is not the accident of being born in a sinful world with a fallen nature because of Adam's sin. Rather, sin is the choice we make when we know the difference between right and wrong, and we say, "I want to do it my way, because I don't like God's way."
On one occasion Jesus and His disciples found a man who had been blind from birth. The disciples had a question for Jesus about how we become sinners. "Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents" (John 9:2-3). The disciples assumed that his blindness proved that he was a sinner, and they were confused about how that sin could have been transmitted to him since he was born that way. Jesus' response shows us that blindness, as a result of sin, is not a punishment for the guilt of sin.
This means that we must make a distinction between the results of sin and the guilt of (punishment for) sin.
When Adam sinned, the entire world began an unbroken pattern of pain, suffering, deterioration and death. Plants, animals, and human beings all suffer the tragic results of the curse of sin. We are born in a sinful world, to sin-affected parents, with a nature inclined to sin. But there is no indication in Scripture that we are lost, condemned, or guilty for any of these results of Adam's sin. The sin for which we give up eternal life is choosing to disobey when we know what God's will is.
A clear example of this principle is found in the Old Testament. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son" (Ezekiel 18:20). The point is simple. We are each responsible for our own sins — our own bad choices.
If a life of sin is inevitable — because of inheriting a weak, fallen, human nature — then I am not responsible for it; it is someone else's fault and problem. However, if sin is my own choice, then I alone am responsible, and I must deal with it directly, rather than blaming someone else.
Sin and guilt originate only within the higher faculties of the mind responsible for choosing good or evil. The whole person suffers the effects of natural law as part of the earth's cycle of sin. But God does not hold us responsible for inheriting defective equipment. Sin is about deliberately breaking God's law. (See 1 John 3:4) Sin, at its root, is self-love. It is putting self above God.
All aspects of God's method of saving sinners are affected by what we believe sin and guilt to be.
If sin is the nature we inherit and will keep until Jesus comes, then:
1. Jesus could not be born with our nature,
2. The focus of the gospel must be constant forgiveness for constant sin, and
3. We will never be free from sin until Jesus comes.
But if sin is our own choice, then:
1. Jesus could inherit our nature,
2. The gospel is both forgiveness and transforming power, and
3. We can live the obedient life that Jesus lived.
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
CONCLUSION:
Sin – every sin, every time – is an informed choice to rebel against our heavenly Father
by disobeying the commandments of God and rejecting the saving grace of His Son.
Sin – every sin, every time – is an informed choice to rebel against our heavenly Father
by disobeying the commandments of God and rejecting the saving grace of His Son.