Doctrine of Sin

8. Is man a product of age-long evolution or a direct creation by God?

• We are a product of the very handiwork of God who created us male and female in His image (Genesis 1:27, Matthew 19:4). God created Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life, forming a living being (Genesis 2:7). While we have the ability to adapt to our environments, as God designed, we are not the product of chance or age-long evolution as hypothesized by Darwin.

9. In God's sight, how sinful is man?

• We are sinners and deserve to be separated from God forever in the “lake of fire,” experiencing forever the “second death” (Revelation 20:14-15). Romans 3:10-18 makes it pretty clear, “as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one. Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving, The poison of asps is under their lips; Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; Their feet are swift to shed blood, Destruction and misery are in their paths, And the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." But it really took just one sin to disqualify us from a right relationship with God as God’s standard is perfection (James 3:2). As James said in James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” God hates sin, but loves the sinner as evidenced in the sacrifice of His perfect Son, Jesus, as the only means for our salvation (Romans 5:8).

10. State the differences between imputed sin, inherent sin, and personal sin.

• Imputed sin is sin that was credited to our account through the rebellion of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam represented mankind, and through his sin we all stand guilty before God (Romans 5:12). Inherent sin is the natural bent all people have to do wrong. The Bible refers to it as our “flesh” or “sin which dwells in me” or the “old self” (Galatians 5:17, Romans 7:17,20, Romans 6:6). Personal sins are the sins we commit by choice. We can sin by commission (doing something we are not supposed to do) or by omission (not doing something we are supposed to do). By birth (imputed), by nature (inherent), and by choice (personal) we are sinners.

11. What efforts can a lost person exert to satisfy or please God?

• Man alone cannot exert action or in anyway satisfy or please God because God is already satisfied. God is satisfied in the propitiatory sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ as the payment for the sin of all humanity for all time (1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 2:2). Utilizing the power of the Holy Spirit, regenerated believers can live in righteousness (Romans 8:10-11).

12. Is everyone born with a sinful nature? Explain.

• All people (other than Jesus) have a “sinful nature” which is that natural bent to do wrong. As stated above this is our inherent sin, our flesh which is contrary to the character and holiness of God. We naturally in our flesh desire to rebel against God’s standards and commands. For example, you do not have to teach a child to do wrong, because it comes naturally. We are to raise our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).

13. Describe the sin nature and its position in the life of the believer.

• The “sin nature” or the natural bent to do wrong will remain with the believer until death or rapture. While positionally in Christ, the believer has his flesh crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6), in the Christian experience, the flesh and Spirit are in constant battle (Galatians 5:16-17). As a believer, we have power to say no to sin and not indulge the desires of our flesh. An unbeliever does not have this power, but only to sin and indulge the flesh (Ephesians 2:1-3). As believers, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can say “no” to sin and “yes” to righteousness (Romans 6:12-13). We will not be lifted from this battle until we are fully glorified with a new physical body that is incapable of sin (1 Corinthians 15:35-58, 2 Corinthians 5:1-5).

14. Who and what is the devil?

• The devil is the fallen angel Lucifer, who was created as the chief archangel of God charged with guarding the throne of God (Isaiah 14:12-17, Ezekiel 28, Matthew 4:1-11). He rebelled wanting to be like god. The devil is also referred in the Scriptures as Satan, the prince of the power of the air, an angel of light, a roaring lion, a serpent (Job 2:1-7, Ephesians 2:2, 2 Corinthians 11:14, 1 Peter 5:8, Genesis 3:1-5). The devil is against God in every way, is a liar who brings confusion and discouragement to believers and is at work to prevent as many people as possible from believing in Jesus Christ as Savior. He is tricky and crafty and uses the world system to appeal to our flesh (Ephesians 2:1-3).