Monday, July 20, 2020
714 - Human Nature, Part 3
Spirituality Column #714
July 21, 2020
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
Human Nature, Part 3
By Bob Walters
“There is none righteous; no, not one.” – Romans 3:10
We may not always want to admit to and describe specifics,
but few among us would plead we belong in heaven because we’ve never sinned.
Sin, I think we all realize, is how we roll; human beings, I
mean. There is nothing else so sure in
all human nature as our fallenness in sin, and nothing else so uplifting as
knowing – with equal surety – that our sins, general and specific, are covered
over and forgiven by the grace of Jesus on the cross. That was the Big Lift;
the Good News.
Sin is this “bad thing” of course, but our ability,
humility, and willingness to understand it is probably the healthiest overview
we can have of our own and all human existence.
Let’s talk just briefly today about whether sin is our “true nature.” Next week we will move on to what, exactly,
sin is, and how to live a joyous and God-honoring life in spite of it all.
The initial “very good” news of our being is in Genesis
1:27-31. Humans – man and woman – were created in God’s own image; bequeathed
nearly everything on earth God had made, and declared by God to be “very good”
in verse 31.
Hey! Encouraging
start. Doesn’t sound like we came out of
the gate as sinners. Genesis 2 goes on
to describe, again, how God created everything and then gave names to Adam and
then Eve. I always love to point out
that Genesis 1 and 2, and Revelation 21 and 22 – the first two and last two
chapters of the Bible – are the parts of the Bible where Satan is not around.
And Satan - thanks a lot - triggers our sin problem.
Genesis 3 is where Adam, Eve, and the whole of ensuing humanity
fall into sin. How? By Satan’s temptation and by Eve’s and then
Adam’s desire to take possession of the one thing God said was not theirs – the
knowledge of Good and Evil. That’s a
little vague of course – we see it in “an apple” – but we must underscore and understand
that God built into humanity the freedom to choose between right and wrong. Another way to say it is we are created with the
freedom to choose between honoring and loving God and others, or pridefully,
fearfully honoring only ourselves.
Why a choice? Because
only in our freedom to choose can we properly, honestly, faithfully choose to love
God and others. Choice you see is
critical because God’s love can’t be coerced and as we know, God is love. Not until the sacrifice of Jesus does
humanity regain its true freedom from sin and ability to know God’s love.
But, back to the original thought about human nature. Are we humans – you, me, us – naturally “very
good” (Genesis 1:31) or are there “none righteous” (Romans
3:10)? The short answer, I am convinced,
is “Yes.” In His love, God created us
with freedom to find His glory. Then in
His mercy God gave us Jesus to prove His truth and salve our sins, fears, and
crazy choices our fallenness is perpetually prone to evince.
Accepting sin and our “fallen nature” as facts of life gives
us a faithful place to start, and knowing Jesus Christ gives us a trusted place
to go. More next week.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com)
wonders how you (yes, you) “spend” your knowledge of sin, which he’ll discuss
in this series’ next and final installment.
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