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(Rom. 7: 15). He concluded that sin
dwelt within his very being.
There is a part ofman's nature that
is sinful, evil. Sooner orlater this evil
asserts itself. In the final analysis, "all
have sinned and fall short ofthe glory
ofGod" (Rom. 3:23).
Every day of our lives, knowingly
or unknowingly, we are Iocked in a
struggle against evil. Each day
presents us with temptations, moral
dilemmas, and challenges.
But this does not mean that man
is essentially evil. This does not
mean that man is intrinsically evil
or predominantly evil. Think about
this: Do we do evil most of the
time? Are the majority of our acts
evil? Or do many, if not most, of us
commit evil acts only occasionally?
The best way to understand this
matter of "human nature" is to go
back to the beginning. We are told
in Genesis l :27: "God created man
in his own image, in the image of
God he created him; male and fe–
mate he created them."
That's the first and most basic
point of understanding: Man is cre–
ated in the image of God. When
God surveyed the physical creation,
including the man and woman, He
observed that " it was
very good"
(Gen. 1:3 1). Man, created in God's
image, is "very good"! He is
not
intrinsically evil. He is essentially a
good creation.
Man was created with vast poten–
tia!, both for this life and for the life
to come. The Creator built into man
talents, skills, brain power, tactile
dexterity and other qualities that
place man on a unique plane far
above that ofthe animal kingdom.
Man is
not
an animal! Man is a
reflection ofGod.
Granted, man sinried. According
to the Genesis record, Adam and
Eve yielded to the temptings of the
serpent in the Garden of Eden. The
apostle Paul, commenting on this,
wrote: "Therefore ... sin carne into
the world through one man and
death through sin, and ... death
spread to all men
because a/l men
sinned ...
"(Rom.
5:
12).
The Capaclty for Choice
God did not create man sinful. Sin
carne into the human world when
28
Adam sinned by listening to the ser–
pent. But Adam wa s not in–
trinsically evil. He was created
morally neutral. He had neither
sinned nor done good. He had done
nothing. But he was not a "bad"
creation or an inferior product. As a
created entity he was "very good."
But he had the capacity for evil.
And he had equal capacity for
good. The deck was not stacked
against man from the beginning.
He was created with freedom of
choice!
Man has always had a choice.
God had told the Israelites in the
days of Moses: "See, l have set be–
fore you this day life and good,
death and evil. lf you obey.... But
if your heart turns away .. . " (Deut.
30: 15-17). They had an equal choice
between obeying or turning away
from God and missing the mark of
His standard of behavior.
When man chooses to sin (liter–
ally, "miss the mark"), it is because
he has the free capacity to make
such a negative choice. How could
God hold us accountable for evil if
we had no choice but to perform it
because of the way He made us? But
He did not make us automatons.
Man is a creature with the capacity
for choice.
But, man is accountable to God
for his choices. If man sins he is said
to be "condemned." If man avoids
sin he is said to be "righteous."
Since all have sinned at sorne point
or another, all are guilty- all ini–
tially exist in a state of moral con–
demnation.
Man ls Justlfled
by
God
However, the man who is forgiven
of sin is said to be "justified"- that
is, he is considered
as
righteous be–
fore God. Once forgiven , man again
becomes righteous. But no man can
become rigbteous on the basis of his
own works or merit. Such righteous–
ness has to be imparted from God
as a gift; it is the "righteousness of
God" given to man-not our own
intrinsic righteousness, or "works of
righteousness," that saves us from
condemnation. (For more on this vi–
tal point, write for our free reprint
titled "No!-You Can't Earn Your
Salvation." Also the booklet
What
Will You Be Doing in the Next
Lije?)
Christians, who are forgiven and
justified by faith in the sacrifice of
Christ, do not exist in a chronic state
of guilt. Paul made that very clear in
Romans 8:
l.
He wrote: "There is
therefore now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus.''
How abundantly clear! Christians
stand justified before God. Their
guilt for moral failure has been re–
moved as an act of God's merey.
They do not have to bear the bur–
den of chronic, gnawing guilt! They
have been freed from the penalty of
sin that once hung over their heads
like a sword ofDamocles.
Does this mean that Christians
never again sin? Not at all. Chris–
tians do sin! That's what Paul was
saying about himself in the passage
quoted earlier (Rom. 7: 15). Pau1
sinned-even as an apostle of God.
But he was not condemned. He did
not 1ive in a perpetua! state of guilt.
He was delivered from that by Jesus
Christ (Rom. 7:24-25).
The apostle Paul did not adopt a
"whipped dog" posture about him–
self, even though he admitted to sin.
He did not feel he needed to grove1
in humíliation before man and God.
Rather, he had adopted a spiritually
mature attitude toward his own hu–
manity. He had found the solution
to his own sinfulness- or rather, it
had found him.
There is no denying our moral
guilt before God. Every human
being who has ever lived (except
Jesus Christ) has been guilty of sin.
But, by the same token, everyone
has been "guilty" of doing
good!
Our deeds have not been exclu–
sively evil, have they? Have we
not all done good from time to
time as well? Of course we
have.
That is why Paul could also say,
"When Gentiles who have not the
law
do by nature
what the law re–
quires, they are a law to them–
selves ... "(Rom. 2: 14).
That's a very important point! It
is possible to do "by nature" right
things as much as it is possible to
yield to the negative side of our na–
ture and do wrong things! But it is
for the wrong things we have all
The
PLAIN TRUTH October-November 1978