BushwigBill said:
Hey!
I was thinking about this the other day, and realised I don't really understand the whole concept as well as I thought I did. As I understand it, Jesus was sinless, and it isn't really possible for a regular human being to go through life without sinning, because we inherited original sin from Adam (whatever literal or figurative form of Adam you believe in). The definition of sin seems to involve us exercising our free will to separate ourselves from God, but if it's not really possible not to sin, can we really be blamed for it? Do we have any choice but to be sinners?
Please can someone explain this to me? It has to make sense somehow.
DOCTRINE OF THE OLD SIN NATURE ......(Worth the read)
A. Definition.
1. Biblical documentation of the sin nature is found in Rom 5:12. “Therefore, just as through one man [Adam], sin [the sin nature] entered into the world, and [spiritual] death through [the] sin [nature], so [spiritual] death spread to the entire human race because all sinned [when Adam sinned].”
2. The characteristics of spiritual death include:
a. The status quo of dichotomy in the human race, having only a body and soul at birth, but no human spirit. Without a human spirit you can have no relationship with God, 1 Cor 2:13.
b. Total depravity can be moral or immoral degeneracy, depending upon one’s trend in his sin nature. If a believer’s fragmentation (becoming arrogant and staying that way) is perpetuated, the believer becomes morally or immorally degenerate.
c. Total separation from God.
d. Total helplessness to perform any work, sacrifice, or any change of life by which we can enter into a relationship with God. The only way we can enter into a relationship with God is to accept God’s work on our behalf; i.e., to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. The threefold essence of the old sin nature.
a. The area of weakness produces personal sins and eventuates in consequent evil in the form of moral or immoral degeneration, Heb 12:1.
b. The area of strength produces human good, resulting in moral degeneracy, Isa 64:6; Rom 8:8.
c. The lust pattern motivates sin and evil, lasciviousness and asceticism, moral and immoral degeneration, Rom 7:7; Eph 2:3.
4. The old sin nature is Adam’s trend after the Fall in action. Immediately after Adam sinned, two things occurred simultaneously.
a. He had a new trend historically.
b. He had spiritual death.
5. A trend occurred toward sin, producing personal sin in three categories: mental, verbal and overt.
6. A trend occurred toward good and evil, producing the Satanic policy for the pseudo-millennium. The trend toward good and evil also became a part of the function of Adam’s trend. The trend toward good and evil is still an issue. Because of the judicial imputation of all personal sins to Christ, sin is no longer an issue except in rebound. When Adam chose the tree, he chose Satan’s policy, immediately making Satan the ruler of the world. The Garden was not so much a coup d’etat as a surrender.
7. The Fall of man resulted in numerous changes from the Garden.
a. Satan became the ruler of this world.
b. The old sin nature became the ruler of man’s body.
c. Mankind became spiritually dead, and therefore under the condemnation of the justice of God, which became our new point of reference.
8. Adam took a perfect soul and, by his negative volition, he revolted against divine authority and created the old sin nature. Adam’s volition was a perfect instrument. But being free, he could reject divine authority.
9. We all have this original mold. While the soul is not occupied by the old sin nature, the soul becomes the battlefield which the old sin nature attacks and where it is often tactically successful.
10. The influence of the old sin nature on the soul is seen in mental attitude sins and motivations. The condition and status of the body often affect how you think. There is no question that the body effects the soul and the mentality, just as the soul effects the body (psychosomatics). This phenomenon of not only the immaterial influencing the material but also the material influencing the immaterial is noted in the “heart” passages of Jer 17:9; Mt 12:34-35; Mt 15:19; Mk 7:21-23.
B. Biblical Synonyms for the Old Sin Nature.
1. The singular of the Greek word HAMARTIA generally refers to the old sin nature, Rom 5:12, 7:14; 1 Cor 15:56; 1 Jn 1:8. The plural generally refers to personal sins.
a. Rom 5:12, “Therefore, just as through one man [Adam], sin [the sin nature] entered into the world, and [spiritual] death through sin [the sin nature], so [spiritual] death spread to the entire human race because all sinned [when Adam sinned].”
b. Rom 7:14, “Certainly, we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of [belonging to the realm of] the flesh [sin nature], sold in bondage to sin [sin nature].”
(1) Of course the law is spiritual, for it came from God. It is God’s establishment mandate for the entire human race.
(2) “Flesh” (SARXZ) is another word for the old sin nature.
(3) We are sold into bondage at birth, when the imputation of Adam’s original sin to the old sin nature occurs.
c. Actually, HAMARTIA in the singular can refer to:
(1) Adam’s original sin.
(2) Old sin nature, usually found with the generic use of the definite article.
(3) Principle of personal sin.
2. The Greek word SARXZ means “flesh,” and it emphasizes the location of the old sin nature in the cell structure of the body. Because the sin nature is related to the biological life, it is called the flesh.
a. Gal 5:16, “But I say, walk by means of the Spirit and you will not execute the lusts of the flesh.”
b. Eph 2:3 mentions the lust of the flesh; 1 Jn 2:16; Rom 6:6, 7:14.
3. “The old man” (PALAIOS ANTHROPOS) emphasizes the origin of the old sin nature: Adam’s original sin perpetuated through the twenty-three male chromosomes which fertilize the female ovum in copulation.
a. Eph 4:22, “With reference to your former lifestyle [self- fragmentation through post-salvation sinning], you yourselves lay aside [through rebound] the old man [sin nature], you who are becoming degenerate on the basis of the lusts of deceit.”
b. The sin nature is classified as the old man because it originated in the Garden of Eden; it’s older than anything else, Col 3:9.
c. “You who are becoming degenerate” refers to being corrupted in polarized fragmentation from the trends of the sin nature.
d. The “lusts of deceit” include power lust, money lust, approbation lust, sexual lust, chemical lust, and emotional lust (fear, worry, anger).
4. “Carnal” (SARKINOS) means “fleshly,” “of the flesh,” or “belonging to the flesh.” This refers to the believer under the control of his old sin nature and therefore out of fellowship with God through personal sin and resultant cosmic involvement.
a. Rom 7:14, “Certainly, we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of [belonging to the realm of] the flesh [sin nature], sold in bondage to sin [sin nature].” (See point 4 for Rom 7:14-25.)
b. 1 Cor 3:1-3, “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual persons [believers in divine dynasphere], but as to belonging to the sin nature [carnal believers controlled by the sin nature], as to babes in Christ [childish believers]. I gave you milk, and not solid food [advanced doctrine], for you were not able to receive it; in fact, you are not yet able. For you are still belonging to the sin nature. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not belonging to the sin nature, and keep walking in conformity with men?”
(1) The Corinthians believers were still not able to learn advanced doctrine because they were under the control of the old sin nature, which limits what you can learn.
(2) The fact that they are still carnal means they don’t use rebound to recover fellowship.
(3) Note what Paul mentions as an example of carnality. He mentions one of the mental attitude sins of arrogance: jealousy.
(4) The Corinthian believers are therefore “of the sin nature", i.e., carnal, and walking as unbelievers.
5. “Our body of sin” in Rom 6:6 emphasizes the old sin nature’s headquarters where it resides in the cell structure of the body. Its genetic home is in the cell chromosomes.
6. “Corruptible man” refers to the sin nature in Rom 1:23. Corruptions means the old sin nature and the result of the old sin nature. Man is corrupted physically, spiritually, and therefore morally.
7. “Corruptible seed” in 1 Pet 1:23 refers to the transmission of the old sin nature. 8. There are passages which describe sin, good or evil as coming from the “heart.” The heart, or right lobe of the soul, has nothing to do with the old sin nature. But the old sin nature always gets to the soul of man by attacking the heart. This is the old sin nature influencing thought so that sin, good and evil are motivated in the thinking, being programmed in the brain. Jer 17:9; Mt 12:34-35, 15:19; Mk 7:21-23.
C. Further Biblical Documentation of the Old Sin Nature.
1. There are three references to the old sin nature in Rom 6:6. “Knowing this, that our old man [old sin nature] was crucified with Him [retroactive positional truth], that our body of sin [old sin nature] might be rendered powerless, in order that we should no longer be slaves to sin [old sin nature].” The implication of this verse is that we are in slavery to the old sin nature apart from retroactive positional truth.
(cont)