Are Men Born Sinners? - Library of Theology

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excuse for maintaining the doctrine of original sin. This kind of logic is absurd. For, according to the doctrine of original sin, children are guilty and under the wrath of God from birth, without any probation. It is hard to understand how the advocates of original sin can swallow whole the injustice of being born in a state of guilt and condemnation, and yet quibble over the supposed injustice of becoming accountable at a tender age. This amounts to swallowing a camel and straining at a gnat. With God, there can be no such thing as a "tender age" in the sense of an unjust age at which children become responsible. God alone knows and is the judge of when a child reaches the "age of accountability." He alone knows the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. And, knowing that God is just, we know that God will not work unrighteousness in this respect. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Gen. 18:25. Those who make this objection seem to feel that God cannot be trusted with what is unknown to us. But he can be trusted. God is just in all his judgments. The accountability or non-accountability of every child is perfectly known to God. He "searches the reins and hearts" of all men. He discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart." He will bring to light the "hidden things of darkness" and judge the "secrets of men" in truth and righteousness. The advocates of original sin need not fear that God will unjustly make children accountable at too early an age. He can be trusted to judge righteously with the hidden things of the heart. Truth, justice, and equity are the foundations of his throne. I Cor. 4:5, Rev. 2:23, Heb. 4:12-13, Eccl. 12:14, ROM 2:15-16. Return to the Index Appendix C The Rational Moral Nature of Man That man is responsible and accountable for his deeds is so obvious that to try to prove it would be something like a teacher of first graders trying to prove to them that the sun exists. The class might well interrupt: "But teacher, we know that the sun exists. See, there it is in the sky." When God gave the law on Mount Sinai, he did not try to prove first to his people that they were responsible and accountable moral agents. They already knew this because of the testimony of their rational nature. They were as conscious of their responsibility and accountability as they were that the sun existed. The law of God was already written in their hearts before God gave them the law written upon tables of stone. They already knew right from wrong before God said, "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not." They already had a conscience and knew themselves to be accountable for their deeds before God warned them of judgment for disobedience. They did not need proof of their
accountability, for this they had by the constant testimony of their rational moral nature. No one needs the Bible in order to know right from wrong. Murder, adultery, lying, and stealing are not wrong just because the Bible says they are wrong. They are wrong by nature. They are wrong because they violate the demands of the rational moral nature with which God created us. The law that God has given us is not arbitrary or imposed; it is declaratory. God has declared to us the same law that is revealed in our nature, the same law that is written in our hearts, a law that harmonizes with our nature, necessities, and relations as moral beings. Had God given us a law that contradicted our nature--had he commanded us to be selfish, to work evil to our neighbor, to lie, steal, and hate our fellow man--we would all know by the testimony of our rational, moral nature that such a law was wrong and unjust. It is only because the law of God does agree with the law written in our hearts that we can and do judge it to be a just and righteous law. This agreement between the rational moral nature of man and the teachings of the Bible gives compelling testimony to the truth of the Bible. Men do not need to have proved to them that the Bible is divinely inspired anymore than they need someone to prove that the sun exists. Their own moral nature is in such agreement with the holy teachings of the Bible, that it is a battle for wicked men to resist and smother the convictions they have when they hear the preaching of God's Word. Return to the Index Appendix D The Bible and Man's Rational Moral Nature If the Bible taught things which were out of harmony with man's rational moral nature and if the Bible taught things which the constitution of our nature as created by God forced us to reject as false, unjust, or impossible, we would have irresistible convictions that it was not the Word of God, and it would be impossible for us to rationally believe it. It is because the Bible is in harmony with man's rational moral nature and his knowledge of truth and reality that men have compelling convictions that it is the Word of God. It is so in harmony with the revelation and convictions given to us by our nature, it describes us so faithfully--our moral relations, our lost condition, and our necessity as lost sinners-that we have compelling evidence that it is not a man-made book, but is divinely inspired. Christians are not gullible because they believe the Bible. They are reasonable and rational. They are living in accordance with the testimony of their rational moral nature, which affirms that the Bible is in harmony with truth, justice, and reality, and is therefore from God, just as it says it is.
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Are Men Born Sinners? The Myth of O
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Appendix A: The Nature and Attribut
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and that he has been created with a
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are born: "The wicked are estranged
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We are the offspring of God. Acts 1
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Biblical proof-texts. It is these p
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not a substance. It has absolutely
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flesh and of the mind." And then, s
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Rom. 5:12-19 does not in any way te
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This is the incredible dogma that i
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And, If in Adam human nature as a w
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e disciplined and purified. He taug
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Even the most cultured Fathers from
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They being the root of all mankind,
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2. It means that, since we are the
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possible to make mankind miserable
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10. The fact that men will deny the
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think of the multitudes upon multit
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Part Two: Answering the Christian's
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men are tempted through the desires
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doctrine that Christians were now d
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Christ, he points out that Levi had
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Why? doth not the son bear the iniq
Page 47 and 48: Those who heartily believe in the d
Page 49 and 50: forth good fruit; but a corrupt tre
Page 51 and 52: appealing to the false logic that "
Page 53 and 54: commanded the sun and not the earth
Page 55 and 56: Second, the doctrine of original si
Page 57 and 58: Part Three: Implications of a False
Page 59 and 60: 5. It is a stumbling-block to the u
Page 61 and 62: The Bible says that God will "judge
Page 63 and 64: heathen philosophy, and was foisted
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Page 67 and 68: In 426 or 427, it was reported to A
Page 69 and 70: But again, the doctrine of inabilit
Page 71 and 72: The doctrine of a natural inability
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Page 75 and 76: art Four: Insurmountable Problems o
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Page 79 and 80: Who will have all men to be saved,
Page 81 and 82: John wrote his epistles, condemning
Page 83 and 84: No man is able...by any grace recei
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Page 87 and 88: Return to the Index Chapter 12: God
Page 89 and 90: Is God telling lies when he makes t
Page 91 and 92: 6. See further commentary on Romans
Page 93 and 94: Finney, Charles G., Lectures on Sys
Page 95 and 96: Appendix A The Nature and Attribute
Page 97: until they have a knowledge of good
Page 101 and 102: Matt. 13:38-39; John 3:8; Rev. 12:9
Page 103 and 104: summing up of all he had said befor
Page 105 and 106: "The righteousness of the law" is "
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Page 115 and 116: manifestly angry; but I do not reco
Page 117 and 118: Excerpts from Charles G. Finney's L
Page 119 and 120: where only the potency comes into a
Page 121 and 122: striking and melancholy evidences o
Page 123 and 124: this was through a degradation of t
Page 125 and 126: 12-21. This passage has been usuall
Page 127: 8. Moses Stuart, Commentary on Roma
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