|
As
we begin this study that was originally published by Family
Radio concerning the nature of salvation, we must begin by
understanding who man is. We see that the Bible teaches that man was
created to worship and serve God, that men of their own volition have
rebelled against God and will never wish to come to Him. Therefore,
because it is God's desire to have a people for Himself, God sovereignly
chose the individuals whom He planned to save.
Going
back to the very beginning in Eden, we see that man was created in the
image of God. To be created in the image of God included the fact that he
loved righteousness and truth just like God. Moreover, Adam could choose
whether to obey God or not. He was free to obey God voluntarily because
this desire was inherent in him as part of the image of God. Thus he
stood before God as a responsible creature accountable for his actions.
Therefore, he was also warned that he must bear the consequences of
disobedience -- "...for in the day that thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17).
The
results of his disobedience are well known. Mankind was sentenced to
death, physical death as well as spiritual death, which meant eternal
separation from God in a place called Hell. There he would eternally
endure the wrath of God for his disobedience.
The
impact of that initial sin was so terrible that man's very nature was
corrupted and disobedience to God became normative for his life. Like an
adulterer senselessly and stupidly returns repeatedly to the harlot, so
man continues to disobey God. It was so far reaching that the whole human
race, which issued from Adam and of whom Adam was head, remains in this
awful corruption. Thus Romans 5:12 declares, "Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin: and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned..."
In
I John 3:8 we read, "He that committeth sin is of the devil."
In Colossians 1:13 God declares that when He saves us it is that "He
hath delivered us from the power of darkness."
In
the parable of the wheat and the tares Jesus informs us that "the
tares are the children of the wicked one." This enslavement
to sin is described by the language of Romans 6:16, where God warns, "Know
ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his
servants ye are to whom ye obey."
We
see therefore that man in his very nature continues in constant rebellion
against God. Because he lives in this enmity toward God, the awful curse
of God's wrath continues to rest on him. He became a slave of dominion of
sin and spiritual darkness that ruled over him by Satan, who vanquished
man in Eden.
Preface
T = Total
Depravity
U
= Unconditional Election
L =
Limited Atonement
I = Irresistible
Grace
P =
Perseverance of the Saints
Conclusion
Back to Table
of Contents
|
