SINFUL NATURE 2: AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. What is the ‘Sinful Nature’?
a) Why do we sin? What is it that oftentimes urges us to do what we know is wrong? Did humanity inherit a ‘sinful nature’ when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden? Did God curse humankind by giving them a tendency to sin; a tendency that has been the cause of hurt and heartache for untold multitudes to this day?
2. An Alternative View of the ‘Sinful Nature’
a) Consider this biblical alternative to the ‘sinful nature inherited from Adam’ concept. What happened during the Fall was a ‘subtraction’ of God’s holiness, not the ‘addition’ of something that urges us to sin. When the first humans sinned against God, they broke the intimate bond they had enjoyed with Him up until that time. They became separated from Him in a way that all humans, outside of faith in Jesus Christ, have endured since.
b) Then Adam and Eve sinned, they lost the close personal relationship with God that they had known since their creation. They were also banished from the paradise God had created and given them (Genesis 3:23-24). This is certainly a loss, rather than something added to their lives.
c) What prevented Adam and Eve from sinning was their close connection with God, and His Holy Spirit, which gave them the ability to resist temptation. Until they sinned, Adam and Eve were connected to God in a way that gave them the ability to resist the urge to sin, as long as they chose to resist. Sin was obviously possible before the fall; because Adam and Eve were tempted before the Fall and their giving in to sin was what defines the Fall. Therefore, this ‘sinful nature’ is not required for a person to be able to sin.
d) Even the physical death that came with the Fall was something taken away from Adam and Eve, not something added to them. God did not cause Adam and Eve to begin to die physical when they sinned; rather, He removed what was keeping them alive. It is clear that, had Adam and Eve not sinned, they could have lived forever (Genesis 3:22).
The End ...
1. What is the ‘Sinful Nature’? a) Why do we sin? What is it that oftentimes urges us to do what we know is wrong? Did humanity inherit a ‘sinful nature’ when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden? Did God curse humankind by giving them a tendency to sin; a tendency that has been the cause of hurt and heartache for untold multitudes to this day?
2. An Alternative View of the ‘Sinful Nature’
a) Consider this biblical alternative to the ‘sinful nature inherited from Adam’ concept. What happened during the Fall was a ‘subtraction’ of God’s holiness, not the ‘addition’ of something that urges us to sin. When the first humans sinned against God, they broke the intimate bond they had enjoyed with Him up until that time. They became separated from Him in a way that all humans, outside of faith in Jesus Christ, have endured since.
b) Then Adam and Eve sinned, they lost the close personal relationship with God that they had known since their creation. They were also banished from the paradise God had created and given them (Genesis 3:23-24). This is certainly a loss, rather than something added to their lives.
c) What prevented Adam and Eve from sinning was their close connection with God, and His Holy Spirit, which gave them the ability to resist temptation. Until they sinned, Adam and Eve were connected to God in a way that gave them the ability to resist the urge to sin, as long as they chose to resist. Sin was obviously possible before the fall; because Adam and Eve were tempted before the Fall and their giving in to sin was what defines the Fall. Therefore, this ‘sinful nature’ is not required for a person to be able to sin.
d) Even the physical death that came with the Fall was something taken away from Adam and Eve, not something added to them. God did not cause Adam and Eve to begin to die physical when they sinned; rather, He removed what was keeping them alive. It is clear that, had Adam and Eve not sinned, they could have lived forever (Genesis 3:22).
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