I had received a long comment on my post A SPIRIT DRIVEN MAN. The comment contained some thoughts and raised some questions that I felt it was my responsibility to answer. Though some were not specifically stated as questions, I perceived that they needed to be addressed in that manner. Questions of fairness seemed to stand out. They could be restated this way:
Is our fallen condition (our “sin nature”) a punishment for Adam’s sin? Is it fair? Is there a possibility that without our sin nature we could actually be sin free?
The answer to the first question is clearly ‘No.” Our sin nature is not a punishment for Adam’s sin but a consequence. When Adam and Eve sinned the whole human race sinned.
As far as any questions of fairness, I believe they are off limits. God is not answerable to our concepts of what is and what is not fair. God is just in all His doings, even when we can’t make sense out of them. If that sounds like a copout, I suppose it is.
I felt I wasted way too much time on attempting to answer the third. I tried to imagine what a world would be like in which each of us was born without sin and had the opportunity, as Adam, to decide. I failed. I couldn’t really do that.
“What if?” questions have always seemed to me to be dead ends. Matters are the way they are. If we recognize that God is wise, just, loving and completely in control, we have to admit that God is doing what He feels is best and that He has made the correct choices. If we speculate on what God “could have” done, it seems a short step to talking about what He should have done. I don’t want to go there.
Though there are many of His actions that are not explainable, there are many that are, by study of the Scriptures. I believe we should continue to seek understanding, but we should be satisfied when and where He chooses to be silent.
So, though I may not be comfortable with God’s actions, I’ll accept them and seek greater understanding and leave it at that.
My teaching stops where my ignorance begins.
2 comments:
A thought:
What's the difference between a sin and a transgression? Was the fall due to sin or a transgression?
By the way, I personally believe that all children ARE born innocent.
I've loved reading your posts. Keep it up.
Sin is a broader term than transgression. All transgressions are sins, but not all sins are transgresssions. A transgression or trespass is a violation of a specific law or command, while a sin is, literally a "missing the mark." Paul refers to Adam's act as both a transgression and a sin in Romans 5:12-21.
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