Shepherds College: Session 13

Session Twelve: Sin, Original Sin, and total depravity 1 Introduction • A working definition: “Sin is any evil action or evil motive that is in opposition to God. Simply stated, sin is failure to let God be God and placing something or someone in God’s rightful place of supremacy.” Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology., 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1998), 579.The challenge of the Study • A Biblical Definition: 1 John 3:4 (ESV) 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 2 Introduction: Five points Total Depravity Unconditional Election Limited Atonement Irresistible Grace Human Free Will Conditional Election Universal Atonement Resistible Grace Fall from Grace Perseverance of the Saints 3 Original sin 4 Original sin “Scripture does not tell us that we are sinners because we sin; rather, it affirms that we sin because we are sinners.” R. C. Sproul, Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2014), 108. 5 Moral inability Adam and Eve had the ability to sin and the ability not to sin. They lost the ability not to sin, and so all their descendants are unable not to sin. It is impossible for humans not to sin. 6 The Extent of Sin • Psalm 51:5 • Titus 1:15 • Jeremiah 17:9 • Romans 3:10-19 • 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 • Ephesians 2:3 • Romans 6:20 • Romans 8:7 • Colossians 1:21 • Matthew 5:19 • James 1:14-15 • Isaiah 64:6 7 God’s Standard Mark 10:18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Romans 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; John 6:65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. John 3:3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Romans 3:10–12 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 8 God’s Standard Luke 10:27 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 9 Theories of Orignial Sin Theories of Original Sin • Pelagianism • Arminianism • Calvinism 10 The Transmission of Sin 11 The Transmission of Sin Romans 5:12-18 First Adam to the Second Adam Federalism 12 John Donne (1572-1631) Adam sinned and I suffer, I forfeited before I had any possession or could claim any interest. I had a punishment before I had a being, And God was displeased with me before I was I. I was built up scarce fifty years ago in my mother’s womb and I was cast down almost 6,000 years ago in Adam’s loins I was born in the last age of the world, and died in the first How and How justly do we cry out against a man who has sold a town or sold an army, and Adam sold the world. Brian Borgman and Jason Ching, “Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof,” in A New Exposition of the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689, ed. Rob Ventura (Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2022), 130. 13 Terms for sin Terms Emphasizing the Character of the Sin • Missing the Mark • Irreligion • Transgression • Iniquity or Lack of Integrity E. Rebellion F. Treachery G. Perversion H. Abomination 14 The Denial of Sin • In Evolution • In philosophy • In psychology • In public policy 15 The cure for sin • The nature of sin and the nature of man will determine this answer. • Christian view: divine aid is essential. 16 Terms for sin • Terms Emphasizing Causes of Sin • Ignorance • Error • Inattention 17 Terms for sin Terms Emphasizing Results of Sin • Agitation or Restlessness • Evil or Badness • Guilt • Trouble 18 Terms for sin The Essential Nature of Sin • Sensuality • Selfishness • Displacement of God 19 The Source of sin • Not caused by God (James 1:13) • The desire to enjoy things (1 John 2:16) • The desire to obtain • The desire to achieve • Temptation (Satan in Genesis 3:4-5; the flesh in Romans 7:18; Galatians 5:16-24) 20 The results of Sin • Results Affecting the Relationship with God • Divine Disfavor • Guilt • Punishment • Death • Physical Death • Spiritual Death • Eternal Death 21 The results of Sin II.Effects on the Sinner • Enslavement • Flight from Reality • Denial of Sin • Self-Deceit E.Insensitivity F.Self-Centeredness G.Restlessness 22 The results of Sin III.Effects on the Relationship to Other Humans • Competition • Inability to Empathize • Rejection of Authority • Inability to Love 23 The Magnitude of Sin • The Extent of Sin • The Old Testament Teaching • The New Testament Teaching • The Intensiveness of Sin • The Old Testament Teaching • The New Testament Teaching III.Theories of Original Sin • Pelagianism • Arminianism • Calvinism IV.Original Sin: A Biblical and Contemporary Model 24 The social dimension of sin • The Difficulty of Recognizing Social Sin • The Biblical Teaching • The World • The Powers • Corporate Personality III.Strategies for Overcoming Social Sin • Regeneration • Reform • Revolution 25