Doomed By Sinful Nature: Part 2

A flippant youth asked a preacher, “You say that unsaved people carry a weight of sin. I feel nothing. How heavy is sin? Is it ten pounds? Eighty pounds?” The preacher replied by asking the youth, “If you laid a four-hundred-pound weight on a corpse, would it feel the load?” The youth replied, “It would feel nothing, because it is dead.” The preacher concluded, “That spirit, too, is indeed dead which feels no load of sin or is indifferent to its burden and flippant about its presence.” The youth was silenced!

Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc., 1996), 1284.

Review:

I. Dead Nature

we looked at the nature of humanity that was born in sin because of our first parents Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God. This lead all of earth and its inhabitants to face the corruption of sin.

For the human, made in the image of God, we looked at how the human now corrupted with the sin of their parents means a separation from God described as death. Both physical and spiritual death come being possessing an inherited spiritual nature.

I look at my sweet children and get chills at how they inherited regretful traits in me. In my imperfections as a person, they inherited those traits as well. But my inherited traits were observable in me and that is how they learned them.

We did not learn sin from Adam, it was born in us and it lead to a complete corruption whereby we are born in opposition to God.

Sinful nature (enemies of God) Romans 5:10

spiritually dead heart(displeasing to God)- Romans 1:3

spiritually dead fruit- (opposed to God) Eph 2:15-16

II. Dead Fruit

A. The fruit of a spiritual deadness leads to following the values of wordly systems that oppose God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NASB95

31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

The systems of this world do not value God as Creator and Lord and therefore every action taken across the globe, without the intent of magifying the name of God is doing that which is opposed to him, even when those systems seem good from a moral or ethical human perspective.

Now we will look again at a few more components of our lives before Christ and out production of dead, rebellious fruit.

B. The fruit of spiritual deadness is a result of being enslaved by the ruler of this world

Ephesians 2:2 NASB95

2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

before Christ, would you have agreed with the statement… I am a follower of Satan?

We must see the clause “in which to walked” to describe the former way of life as an unbeliever. Just as stated before, as an unbeliever, we “walked ….according to the prince of the power of the air.” The meaning of this phrase is simply Satan, the devil. The translation “prince” comes from the GK AR-CHON. It means someone of highest rank or seniority. It is often used in military language to denote highest ranking officer. Jesus used this term for Satan as well in John 12:31 when he said

John 12:31 NASB95

31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

Paul is speaking the same truth, that Satan is the ruler or prince of this world. The truth being portrayed is that has a dominion on this earth.

Temporary rule and a limited dominion

As we read this phrase, we need to avoid the concept of dualism. Cosmic dualism is the idea of an equal battle of good vs evil with God and his followers against Satan and his followers. This idea played out fully incorrectly portrays and equality of power between the two opposing forces.

Satan is not in equal in power to God, but instead submits to the Lord. He is seen in Job 1 having to request permission to tempt Job which God allows to prove Job’s faith in God.

We also know that Satan and his followers are destined to the wrath of God. Satan is given temporary and limited dominion of the earth but only for a time. That realm which Satan operates is described in this passages as “the air” which has more grounded evidence in Jewish thought. Most commentators conclude that air is simply the unseen realm where Satan and demons are active outside of human sight.

Extra-biblical Jewish historians like Philo mention this as follows,

The Works of Philo On the Giants

And when the angels of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful, they took unto themselves wives of all of them whom they chose.”2 Those beings, whom other philosophers call demons, Moses usually calls angels; and they are souls hovering in the air

Commentator Clint Arnold makes a clear connection that…

Ephesians Explanation of the Text

Air is a particularly apt metaphor for the realm of spirits because they are invisible. In fact, the very word “spirit” (πνεῦμα) could also be used for “wind.”

As we acknowledge the realm which Satan operates, he must also acknowledge that he is ruling in and over those who are not submitted to Christ. Again, we have to avoid the notion of a neutrality with God before we come to Christ. We instead are enemies of God because we are enslaved to sin and that bondage is under the leadership and influence of Satan.

Paul recognized this in his own life before Christ. As he shared his salvation testimony to King Agrippa in Acts 26 and in doing so gave more words of the Lord Jesus that were spoken to him. he states

Acts 26:15–18 NASB95

15 “And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

Notice that Paul states…”turning from darkness to light” and “from the dominion of Satan to God.” Thus Satan is our ruler before we trust in Christ because our sinful nature and our life of sin flows in the same direction as his purposes and goals of the world, albeit a temporary goal.

Jesus told the religious leaders in John 8:44

John 8:44 NASB95

44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Paul also states that former walk of life before Christ is seen currently in the lives of the “sons of disobedience.” This phrase is referencing all unbelievers who reject the gospel. They are sons because their paternity is rooted in Satan and they as sons live to be disobedient, vile and unrighteous. The “spirit” at work in them is the enslaved mind to sin that is corrupted by the influence of Satan. This does not mean all unbelievers are possessed by Satan. His influence instructs their inward thinking and actions toward unrighteous goals of the evil one.

Continually tempted

Now we acknowledge the truth that Christ sets us free from our bondage. The chains of sin and death are broken and as Paul states that we are “rescued from the domain of darkness” Col 1:16 and delivered to the kingdom of His Son.” Jesus defeated the domain of Satan and although he is still active for now, his power is limited against the church. This is why Jesus says “the gates of hell cannot prevail against it Mt 16:18 because nothing that Satan attempts can thwart the overall success of Christ’s church. It will prevail and overcome Him by the power of Christ.

Therefore, while Christians are no longer in bondage, we can still be tempted by Satan and must be alert. Peter states that he is our adversary and he “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour.” He wants to destroy marriages, destroy church ministries and he will tempt believers into sin with any means that he has available to him. Therefore the church must be on alert and as Paul will state in Eph 6 fight the battle of faith with the power God gives us.

Let’s look at …

C. The fruit of spiritual deadness is enjoying the fulfillment of worldly lusts

Ephesians 2:3 NASB95

3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Paul gives the third influence here related to dead fruit of the unbeliever. This is simply the natural manifestation of our corrupted nature. In a grotesque symphony of evil, the worldly values of self-glorification and idolatry and the influence of Satan himself are hitched to our own corrupted lusts and desires. Simply put, before Christ, an unbeliever loves and finds satisfaction in their sins. They love sin because it feeds their inward desire to “be like God is” as our first parents so desired.

Therefore “lust of the flesh” is the main idea to consider in our lives before Christ. Lust comes from the word EPITHUMEIA and it is most often used in a spiritual negative and immoral sense.

Matthew 5:28 NASB95

28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

EPITHUEMIA is then the craving and passion for that which satisfies the physical nature of a person. It is that sin in Mark 4:19 which Jesus describes in the parable of the sower. The seed that fell among the thorns and was choked out, faced the lure and temptation of the lusts of the flesh so that the allure for those things were greater than following Christ.

This is where the heart of a man must be born again by Christ because the heart of the unregenerate man loves himself more than God. He cares for himself more and thus seeks to nurture and care for himself above all else. Like a fat and helpless child who constantly craves more and more attention, sustenance and pleasure, the self is the subject of our flesh.

Romans 1:18-25 is a treatise on the fulfillment of the flesh’ where the unbeliever falls deeper and deeper into sin as they reject God and satisfy their earthly cravings. God gives them over to that lust so that what starts as a small snowball rolling down the proverbial hill, eventually destroys itself and everything in its path as it picks up speed and size.

Looking at that passage briefly, we can see that lusts leads to

dishonoring God and His truth becoming fools (v 21-22)

worshipping things of earth instead of heaven (25)

disregarding creation and God’s design by doing that which was unnatural to fulfill lusts of the flesh (26-27)

having a darkened mind that led not only unrighteous practice of unrighteous community around such evil. (28-32)

Paul also includes the “mind” as corrupted by sin in our flesh. That corruption is not just outward action but inward thinking as continually evil. The thoughts of the unbeliever is a host of dishonoring and selfish garbage that does not seek to please God. The mind of the unbeliever is guided by the urges of the body. If the stomach says it enjoys food continually, it bypasses wise thinking of health and the lust is fulfilled by excessive and unhealthy eating.

But the Spirit of God activates the mind so that the heart and mind guide the body at salvation. The body is denied its urges when a person comes to faith in Christ and instead of unrestrained gratification, there is self-control and discipline.

Galatians 5:16–17 NASB95

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.

The Spirit of God, given to believers at their salvation in Christ is the only source of overcoming the temptations of our former lives. Paul is giving the remedy…”walk by the Spirit.” This is what Paul says in a different way in Romans 13:14

Romans 13:14 NASB95

14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

This acknowledges that the flesh still tempts the believer in Christ to sin but it no longer has a power over him and her. By the power of the Spirit, you can overcome the lust and desires of the flesh.

Kids, you know the jealsouy that you feel for your brothers or sisters. You feel at times they are loved more than you or get what they want and you dont. That is the cravings of your flesh to want people to serve and worship you.

But when you put your trust in Jesus, your jealousy and evny can transform into serving your siblings and wanting to please them over yourself. This is what power of the Holy Spirit has over us when we are born again in Jesus Christ.

D. The fruit of spiritual deadness is facing the consequences of the wrath of God against sin.

“by nature children of wrath”

The final fruit to be considered in these verses is the idea of the consequences of this way of living and by way of our nature as a whole before Christ. Paul seems to go back to the nature aspect as he conlcudes his thoughts. The wording here “children of wrath by nature” indicates that the wrath of God is upon all sinners for that which they inherited from their parents. The key to this idea is the term “children.” Connected to the phrase “by nature” the writer is simply connecting the destination of all those born under Adam. They are doomed to destruction for their sin. That destruction is not annihilation but eternal punishment.

Why? because they are rebelled against a holy and just God and justice must be met with swift punishment. The wrath of God will be meted against sinners. There is no denying such a truth for God’s cannot offend his own holiness by just letting sin slide.

When you get pulled over for some traffic violation, you desperately plead with the officer to ignore the law and give you a warning. In some cases, they do even though there has been a violation. They are given authority to choose where to enact justice or overlook an offense with a warning.

God does not overlook offenses because it goes against his divine justice and holiness. He must punish sin.

Exodus 34:6–7 NASB95

6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”

This verse truly points forward to Jesus Christ, because only in Jesus does grace and mercy overflow on sinners through his pardoning death and yet the guilty are not going unpunished for their violations against God are being paid for in the death of Christ on the cross.

Romans 6:23 NASB95

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We can rephrase this to say,

“For the wages of sin is wrath but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord who bore the wrath for us.”`