We stand for universal depravity.
"All men are created equal," we are told in the Declaration of Independence. Christians agree. All men [and women] are also born bent toward sin.
This is sometimes referred to as the doctrine of Original Sin. We are all equally human, no matter what the circumstances of our conception were. We are all equally sinful, equally dominated by sin, no matter what our age, race, or social status. We stand before one another as equally deserving of human dignity from conception to the grave. We stand before God equally deserving of Divine wrath, no matter how pure of a life we have tried to live.
One word we often use for sin is "trespass". A trespass is when you cross a boundary that is off limits to you. When we trespass against God we cross the line between good and evil. The thing is, we are all conceived and born on the wrong side of the line. We are trespassers from our first moment in our mother's womb.
As surely as God has knit us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13), so sin has surly corrupted that good creation.
There is certainly an exception to this rule. One who does not have a natural conception would be free from Original Sin. Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, was not born a trespasser. He was conceived and born on the right side of the boundary between good and evil. He practiced good His entire life. He died the perfect death, submitting in all things to the will of His Father.
And His perfect goodness is layered upon us in Baptism, where we are clothed with the robe of His righteousness (Galatians 3:27).
Conceived on the wrong side of the tracks, that is what we are. We have no hope of finding a way on our own. Jesus Christ was conceived and born for us, suffered an died for us.
[Tomorrow: We Stand for Solus Christus.]
This is sometimes referred to as the doctrine of Original Sin. We are all equally human, no matter what the circumstances of our conception were. We are all equally sinful, equally dominated by sin, no matter what our age, race, or social status. We stand before one another as equally deserving of human dignity from conception to the grave. We stand before God equally deserving of Divine wrath, no matter how pure of a life we have tried to live.
One word we often use for sin is "trespass". A trespass is when you cross a boundary that is off limits to you. When we trespass against God we cross the line between good and evil. The thing is, we are all conceived and born on the wrong side of the line. We are trespassers from our first moment in our mother's womb.
As surely as God has knit us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13), so sin has surly corrupted that good creation.
There is certainly an exception to this rule. One who does not have a natural conception would be free from Original Sin. Jesus Christ, conceived by the Holy Spirit, was not born a trespasser. He was conceived and born on the right side of the boundary between good and evil. He practiced good His entire life. He died the perfect death, submitting in all things to the will of His Father.
And His perfect goodness is layered upon us in Baptism, where we are clothed with the robe of His righteousness (Galatians 3:27).
Conceived on the wrong side of the tracks, that is what we are. We have no hope of finding a way on our own. Jesus Christ was conceived and born for us, suffered an died for us.
[Tomorrow: We Stand for Solus Christus.]
Comments
Post a Comment