Things I've Learned from My Three Year Old (1)
Psalm 51:5 "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." This verse teaches us that we are all born with a sinful nature. But why do so many assume that because we are born with a sinful nature we MUST sin?? The carnal nature we are born with assures we have a propensity to sin but it does not teach the necessity of sin. If we must sin and have no free will in the matter, how are we responsible? How can we be accountable for something we cannot control? Would a just and loving God send us to an eternal punishment over something we have no control of?My son, Kameron, is only 3 years old. He is living proof that we are born with a rebellious nature, a propensity to sin. When he disobeys, when he is defiant, when he insists on doing what he wants instead of what his father wants a call for discipline is in order. I would never correct him or send him to "time out" were he incapable of determining right from wrong. He doesn't deserve discipline if he is not responsible for his choices. This is why we have a different standard of discipline for those who are mentally or emotionally challenged or for those who are adolescent.Norman Geisler says "Sin in general is inevitable but each sin in particular is avoidable--by the grace of God." If sin were unavoidable and we had no free will to choose between sinning and not sinning, how could a just God punish us for something we can not be held accountable for. Our sinful nature makes sin inevitable but God's gift of free will makes sins avoidable by the grace and power of God. (1 Corinthians 10:13) "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
Psalm 51:5 "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." This verse teaches us that we are all born with a sinful nature. But why do so many assume that because we are born with a sinful nature we MUST sin?? The carnal nature we are born with assures we have a propensity to sin but it does not teach the necessity of sin. If we must sin and have no free will in the matter, how are we responsible? How can we be accountable for something we cannot control? Would a just and loving God send us to an eternal punishment over something we have no control of?My son, Kameron, is only 3 years old. He is living proof that we are born with a rebellious nature, a propensity to sin. When he disobeys, when he is defiant, when he insists on doing what he wants instead of what his father wants a call for discipline is in order. I would never correct him or send him to "time out" were he incapable of determining right from wrong. He doesn't deserve discipline if he is not responsible for his choices. This is why we have a different standard of discipline for those who are mentally or emotionally challenged or for those who are adolescent.Norman Geisler says "Sin in general is inevitable but each sin in particular is avoidable--by the grace of God." If sin were unavoidable and we had no free will to choose between sinning and not sinning, how could a just God punish us for something we can not be held accountable for. Our sinful nature makes sin inevitable but God's gift of free will makes sins avoidable by the grace and power of God. (1 Corinthians 10:13) "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
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