Nature and Will
Ever since the first humans, Adam and Eve, committed the sin in the Garden of Eden, mankind is by nature fallen. Every human being born from Cain to the present day is born into this sinful condition. King David confesses this in perhaps his most famous psalm, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me (Ps. 51:5).
This is an extremely unpopular teaching of the Christian faith because it credits our human nature with absolutely nothing in the sight of God. Many even from different Christian traditions believe that human beings are born basically good or at worst morally neutral, able to choose between good or evil when they mature. This is not what the Scriptures teach. God warned Adam and Eve that sin brings with it the curse of death (Gen. 2:17). The fact that infants, even infants in the womb, can die proves that by nature we are all corrupted with the stain of sin.
[Read more…]