Born Sinners, Reborn In Christ

"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, 
And in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom" (Psalm 51:5-6).

"Jesus answered and said to him, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God'" (John 3:3).

Many people try to excuse their particular type of sin by saying that they were born that way. It has even been claimed by some geneticists that a person can be born with a genetic propensity toward a particular kind of sinful behavior; such as domestic violence, adultery, promiscuity, or homosexuality. I don't know if that's true though. And I think some, including creation scientists dispute that claim.

But whether genetics has anything to do with it or not, the Scriptures do teach that we are all born sinners. But the psalmist, David did not use that as an excuse for his sin. He realized that God "desire[s] truth in the inward parts". And so, from a biblical standpoint, it is laughable for any person to try to excuse their sin by saying they were born that way. 

Our holy God, who is love, created us in His perfect image. But sin (disobedience toward God) has corrupted the image of God in us. We are all born with corrupted human nature; handed down to us from our first-parents, Adam and Eve. 

The Bible calls it the "old man", or "old nature", or "sinful nature". It is just a part of the brokenness that disobedience toward our heavenly Father has caused to the created order. This corrupt nature, by nature, alienates us from God; who created humanity in the image of His own Divine nature (Ecclesiastes 7:29).

But we are not without hope. As the Scripture says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Christian life is a continual process of surrendering to Christ to put away the old nature, and have the new nature brought to fruition in our inmost being (Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:8-10, 2 Peter 1:3-4). 

And all the while we have reason to be glad and rejoice. The more we put off the old nature, and put on the new nature; the more we grow to delight in the things in which God delights (Philippians 3:1, Philippians 4:4, Psalm 9:2, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 32:11, Psalm 118:24).

Because of the sacrifice of love that Jesus made for us on the cross, we are able to receive forgiveness of, and freedom from sin. All we have to do is trust Him.

If we do trust Him, we have this promise in the Scriptures:

"Beloved, now we are the children of God; and it has not yet been reveal what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him, purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:2-3).

Subjective/Objective Reality

[Note to reader: If you read this post, make sure you also read my later, August 2013 post titled Rethinking Reality; in which I consider a different view].

Reality is made of both objective and subjective truth. But there may be some confusion as to what the words "subjective" and "objective" mean. Subjectivity might be confused with relativity, and objectivity with absoluteness. But these are not the same things.

A thing that is objective belongs to the realm of material objects. It is a physical thing; whether it be a granite bolder at Devil's Den in Gettysburg, Pa, or a neuron inside one of your brain cells. 

A thing that is subjective belongs to the realm of the intangible. It has no physical substance, or material form. It can not be seen with the eye or touched with the hand. It can not be put under a microscope. A thing that is subjective has to do with thoughts and feelings. It has to do with the mind. And that includes the mind of God.

The laws of right and wrong belong to the subjective realm. You can not see a moral law with your eyes. Nor can you touch is with your hand. It is not a material object. It is not a physical thing. It is subjective. But it is real and absolute if it comes from the mind of God, who created all things. The love and righteousness of God are not less real because they are subjective.

C.S. Lewis knew the importance of subjectivity in evaluating reality. He found pure objectivity horrifying because it leaves out considerations of beauty and emotion. Objectively speaking "It is what it is". And if you leave subjective reasoning entirely out of the picture, you will find no reason why anything should or shouldn't be any different.

This is one of the main things that brought Lewis out of atheism, and eventually into Christ. As he pointed out in his book, Miracles, if all our thoughts were merely the product of random processes inside the physical brain, there would be no reason to believe that any of our thoughts could be valid observations. 

But then, as he continued, there would be no reason to suppose that our thoughts really were merely the product of random processes inside our physical brains. It would be "a proof that there are no such things as proofs - which is nonsense" (Chapter 3, paragraph 6). 

He came to realize that the mind is something more than the physical brain. It transcends the physical world, and thus provides a window into, or a connection to spiritual realities. By God's grace, it can even be the channel by which we learn of Him.

Do Christians Peddle Sin?

Sometimes Christians are accused of "peddling sin" because we believe that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). However, calling a thing what it is is not the same as making a thing what it is. Christians do not peddle sin. We do not make people into sinners. Sin is simply the reality of fallen human nature. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).

When Adam and Eve committed that first simple act of disobedience, it resulted in the corruption of human nature. Sin became the human condition. It is a regressive condition, and the cause of death - both spiritual and physical (Genesis 2:16-17, Romans 5:12). It may seem a small matter. Especially when one considers a relatively "good" person. But it is not a small matter. Our nature now tends toward disobedience against our Creator; crimes against Divinity. People often try to defend their particular sin by saying they where just born that way. What they do not realize is that we are all "born this way" (i.e. as sinners).

This is why humans deny their Creator. This is why even the best societies tend to regress and fall apart over time. This is why every attempt to forge a Utopian society fails, which is one thing about which Nathaniel Hawthorne and others of his philosophy were right. Spiritual and moral regression is in our nature. And a man is never more wicked than when he thinks he can be good without God. As long as humanity is not at peace with God, humanity is not at peace. Every individual is called by the gospel of Christ to be reconciled to God. Only when we turn to God and receive the forgiveness that He offers through Christ can we be saved. (Romans 7:13-25, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 John 1:9) "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:5).

So Christians actually do quite the opposite of peddling sin. We proclaim reconciliation with God. "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:20). This reconciliation, then, can only be accomplished by admitting that reconciliation is needed. As long as we deny that there is a problem, we remain in sin and are calling God a liar. (1 John 1:10). Through His Son Jesus, God is standing in the doorway of every human life saying "Let's talk about our relationship. If you are willing, I can make you clean so that I don't have to condemn you for your sin." (Isaiah 1:18 paraphrase).                                   

Human Free-Will

Whether or not one believes in God, the question of human free-will is difficult. 

Christians struggle to understand the relationship between human free-will and the sovereignty of God. Some theologians reject belief in one or the other. Some atheists believe that behavior is predetermined by a person's DNA and environment. 

The view can then be taken that the sovereignty of God is the very thing that makes human free-will possible. Without God we would be slaves to our genetic makeup and the events and experiences that happen to (influence) us. By the sovereign grace of God we are able to make a choice between good and evil; between Christ and Baal. In Christ is  spiritual life. In Baal is death (John 10:10). 

And God in His sovereignty and infinite wisdom, has arranged our times and places in life so as to create the circumstances under which each individual is most likely to seek and find Him (Acts 17:26-31). 

But those who do not consider it worth while to keep God in there thoughts, He lets them go as they wish - into the bondage of sin (Romans 1:28). 

Romans 1:28 brings to my mind the story of Moses and Pharaoh. In Exodus we read that God "hardened Pharaoh's heart". This seems to make the question of human free-will very difficult. 

I have found that certain algebraic concepts are helpful to my understanding of philosophical/theological questions like this one. In algebra we often add negatives and subtract positives, or add by subtracting a negative and so forth. 

It can be understood from the verse that God takes positive action against the one who does not remember Him, shackling them in bondage to sin; or it can be understood that He, as I word it above, lets them go as they wish.

So when the text says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, I see it not as an aggressive (positive) action on the part of God, but rather as a passive (negative) action whereby God does not forcibly soften Pharaoh's heart because Pharaoh does not love God or His people.