Why is humanity so messed up?

Why is humanity so messed up?

The occasion of the first sin

The serpent tempted Adam by sowing in his mind seeds of distrust and unbelief.

But Satan tempted Eve first because: she wouldn't feel as responsible, she received the command indirectly, and would prove the most effective agent in reaching the heart of Adam.

Sin has an absolute character

The Bible allows for no moral neutrality.

It urges the wicked to turn to righteousness and speaks of the righteous falling into evil.

He who does not love God from the heart is characterized as evil.

Sin includes guilt and pollution

The nature of the first sin.

We are guilty and receive punishment: Matt. 6:12, Rom. 3:19, 5, 18, Eph. 2:3

Sin pollutes and corrupts our nature. Job 14:4, Jer. 17:9, Matt. 7:15-20, Rom. 8:5-8, Eph. 4:17-19

The first sin was man's eating the

fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil

It was not clear whether man's future would be good or evil.

It wasn't clear whether man would

let God determine what was good and

evil or whether man would take this

task to himself to determine.

The mind, will, and emotions were

used and marred.

Sin is not merely wrong in relation to our fellow man. Sin is disobedience or lack of conformity with the law of God in any way.

Rom. 1:32, 2:12-14,

4:15, 5:13, Jas. 2:9,

1 John 3:4

Sin is not outward acts only

Sin is related to God and His will

Sin is a specific kind of evil

Sin is not merely outward acts but a sinful condition of the heart expressed in sinful habits.

Scripture teaches that thoughts, intentions, and emotions are sin too.

Matt. 5:22, 28, Rom. 7:7, Gal. 5:17, 24

People would usually rather talk about "evil"

than speak of it as sin.

Sickness is an evil but it is not a sin.

People generally think of evil almost as a disease whereas sin has the specific connotation of individual responsibility.

Sin brings us under a

"sentence of condemnation."

Sin has its seat in the heart

Proverbs 4:23 Jer. 17:9, Matt. 15:19-20, Luke 6:45 and Hebrews 3:12 say that everything you do flows from the heart.

The heart is the core of the person, our intellect, emotions, will, and body are all affected by sin.

So what?

He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

Jer. 17:8-10

Don't trust your heart, emotions, logic, or urges.

Trust the Lord's wisdom, word, and provision.

The results of the first sin

Three views of Sin

Mankind lost his original righteousness. He became depraved in every part of his being. He became ashamed, accused by his conscience, and afraid of God. He was driven from paradise and barred from

tree of life.

Gen. 3:19, Rom. 5:12, Rom. 6:23

We are born brutes.

Some think we are born morally neutral.

They think that Adam and every one of his descendants is born in a state of moral neutrality, bent neither to good or evil. Rather each person is able to freely choose good or ill. This idea does not believe in original sin, or a sin nature but rather that we sin when we make choices to do evil from our conscience which is capable on its own to freely choose between good and evil.

Do you agree?

This is the Pelagian view.

Ever since the fall, humanity has had a sin nature that predisposes him to evil and opposition to God and His holy law. We no longer have an original righteousness and innocence which Adam had. Our sin nature is not sin itself but produces sinful acts in us.

Do you agree?

This is the Catholic view.

Some people think that we arose from the animals and our s0-called evil desires are really just base instincts left over from our ancestors more animalistic days. As man grows in morality, his conscience condemns these impulses and desires. Therefore sin is when we give in to our sensual desires that go against our conscience.

Do you agree?

This is the naturalistic view.

We are born

neutral.

We are born

opposed to God.