Where We Expose Faulty Teaching to Gain Godly Wisdom in This Modern World
Each month, we prayerfully dig into God's Word to discern truth from almost truth and help you learn how to defend your faith in a world where false teaching is enticing more and more people to turn from wisdom and righteous living.
Jeremiah 14:14, ESV
And the LORD said to me: "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds."
Are We Really Inherently Sinful?
Yes. True.
No doubt—this is a hard truth. Despite false teaching that's out there to the contrary, there is biblical evidence for the Christian doctrine that says we are all born into the world with sinful natures, and it all started with the rebellion of Adam and Eve. Essentially, when they ate the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the world broke and separation between humanity and God was the result. Despite this, there is good news. Let's unpack it all with God's Word.
Psalm 51:5 (in various translations)
"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (NIV).
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (ESV).
"Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me" (NET).
"For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me" (NLT).
What Is Original Sin?
Original sin is the biblical doctrine that says our sinful tendencies, selfish desires, and rebellious temperaments are present at birth and originated with "the fall" in the Garden of Eden. Job 5:7 (ESV) says, "but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward." Because of this, yes, original sin is something inherent to all of us. Each of us struggles with a morally compromised character. It's part of our human nature (Ephesians 2:3, Colossians 3:5). This doesn't mean we are born as sinners. It means as soon as we're given the opportunity, we will all sin.
What Is Sin?
Let's back up a moment. What is sin?
In the Bible, the word sin, whether it occurs in the Hebrew or the Greek, means "to miss the mark." The Old Testament uses six different Hebrew nouns and three verbs to describe sin. The nouns are most often translated as wickedness, evil, offense, iniquity, guilt, and transgression. The verbs most often translate to mean "to stray," "to revolt (or rebel)," and "to err."
We all harbor sinful tendencies, whether we're conscious of them or not. Even whether we want to engage with them or not. Not all sin is overt action, like murder or blasphemy. Some of it stays hidden in our hearts and influences us discreetly.
Romans 3:23, NIV.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
When once asked, "What is the definition of sin?" Billy Graham gave the following answer: "A sin is any thought or action that falls short of God’s will. God is perfect, and anything we do that falls short of His perfection is sin." It's true: once we harbor ungodly thoughts for more than a few moments, we have sinned, even if we have not yet acted on them. It's why Apostle Paul wrote Galatians 5. I encourage you to read it in its entirety. It's also why we have the directive to take our thoughts captive in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
Some specific examples of sinful desires, pulled from Scripture, include anger, impatience, spiritual apathy, critical judgment, gossip, self-pity, arrogance, complaining, disobeying parents, ungratefulness, envy, slander, tolerance of other sin, and unforgiveness. There are dozens more I could list.
This short clip of one of Pastor John Piper's sermons is powerful! It encapsulates so much and makes it clear to any Christian, or anyone else for that matter, that we will sin as soon as we have our first independent thought, take our first independent action, or speak our first independent words.
The Effects of Sin
There is a truth about sin that we don’t often want to admit: it is destructive. It affects families, relationships, careers, ministries, and our health. Without intervention, it dominates our lives on earth. If we engage with sin or actively sin for long enough, it will destroy nearly everything that matters to us here and in eternity. Before we surrendered to Christ and received the indwelling Holy Spirit, whether or not we realized it, we were controlled by sin.
One of the most common mistakes about sin is that we convince ourselves we are fine on our own. First John 1:8 says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
Even after becoming a Christian, we wage an internal war with our natural tendencies. The difference lies in our awareness, and hopefully, a newfound disdain for sin. If in Christ, because of the conviction of the Holy Spirit, sin will repulse us. As Galatians 5:17 says, "For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do."
Most of all, sin separates us from God. This is why sin is so dangerous. It leads us to a harrowing, eternal existence, one without love. This is the most important outcome of unforgiven sin.
The Constant Tension
Authentic Christians still struggle with our sinful natures because we're still drawn by the short-term gains. In Romans 7, Paul clearly communicates the constant tension between our internal desires of the flesh and our new purpose of glorifying God in everything we do. Paul says the difference of the Holy Spirit within does not put the warfare behind us.
"For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
"So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin" (Romans 7:14–25, ESV, emphasis mine).
The words, “So then” in Romans 7:25 explain that our victory in Christ does not make the struggle disappear or the war over; it makes it real. It makes Jesus necessary.
What Can We Do?
Galatians 5:16–17, NIV (emphasis mine).
"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want."
What does "walk by the Spirit" mean? The expression is a metaphor Paul uses to describe how believers are called to live. The Holy Spirit gave us new life (John 3:6; 6:63), and we must surrender to the Spirit's sovereign control and influence over our lives. The Spirit of God must be stronger than the spirit of the flesh. In other words, the Holy Spirit should direct all of our thoughts, actions, and decisions (Romans 12:1–2). We must become less (John 3:30) and die to our sins (Romans 4:25). We must be born again.
The Significance of Being "Born Again"
"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" (John 3:3, NASB1995). The term, “born again” was introduced in the story of Nicodemus and explained as being born (i.e., made a new creation) into new spiritual life, as a child of God. Born again in Christ, we are given the opportunity to be restored to our true, uncorrupted human nature, the way God intended before the fall of mankind, to live the life we were originally created to live.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV).
It's a heart change. A true transformation from the inside out. This is what being an authentic Christian is all about. If we're remain self-centered, intent on sinning, and try to make God's Word fit our lifestyles and desires rather than be changed by God's Word, we have not been born again.
What causes all of our troubles in the world—lying and cheating and hate and prejudice and social inequality and war? Jesus said, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man'"(Matthew 15:18). (Graham)
Our sinful nature encourages us to think and do whatever we want, whatever benefits us and our lives. As professing Christians, we must resist the residue of our inherent sin and become more Christlike. This means detesting our sinful motivations, calling on God to renew us each day, and understanding the battle for our souls will continue as long as we're here on earth. We can prevail . . . in Christ alone.
Deo Gloria,
Next Month: Is Hell Really Real?
Guidelines
As you read, learn, and possibly comment on posts, there are a few guidelines I ask you to follow. First, we are all loved by God. We must receive that love and pour it back out for others. So all comments, whether in agreement or disagreement, must be respectful. This blog will neither be for calling out false teachers by name nor to allow for ongoing debate (at least on this platform). Instead, I seek to inform readers by pointing them to biblical truth while encouraging them to think critically. Most of all, I hope readers open God's Word, perhaps more than they do now. I will use the Bible as the foundation for any statement or claim I make. However, I am open to correction and alternative thoughts and conclusions if based on a biblical worldview. There are essentials and nonessentials in the Christian faith. My goal is to stick like glue with the essentials, but there are so many non-essentials that lead to what's critical. So I ask everyone to be respectful in their responses. We're all learning. Thank you.
Legal Stuff
COPYRIGHT (c) 2024, Cortney Donelson. If you'd like to share or quote any of this content, please credit Cortney Donelson | "True or False?" Blog | vocem LLC and the post title and date.
Not a legal requirement, but I want to give a shout-out to a co-laborer (co-struggler?) in the battle to point people to the Bible and away from false teaching: Matt Dawson, lead pastor at Journey Church in Huntersville, NC. He has been kind enough to spar ideas, check my biblical accuracy, and review my conclusions.
Billy Graham, "How to Be Born Again." Billy Graham Evangelical Association, Sept. 20, 2010, https://billygraham.org/story/how-to-be-born-again/.
Scriptures marked ESV are taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV): Scriptures taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION ® Copyright© 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.
Scriptures marked NLT are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (NLT): Scriptures taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION, Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scriptures marked NIV are taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV): Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™. Used by permission of Zondervan.
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