03/21/23 ERRORS IN THE HISTORY OF DOCTRINE

03/21/23 ERRORS IN THE HISTORY OF DOCTRINE

Without going into detail, let me mention a couple of areas of confusion in Doctrinal History.

The fact that Adam brought sin into the world and into the human family is clear. The impact on the human race is also obvious. God had created Adam with a Human Nature (body or human "other awareness" [seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling], soul or human "self awareness" [reason, desire, emotion, conscience and will] and spirit or human "God awareness"), which was without sin. 

Adam's sin corrupted the Human Nature and introduced a natural tendency (propensity, inclination, "bent" to sin). Scripture says that we are "shaped in iniquity and conceived in sin."

This does not mean that the children of a husband and wife are illegitimate, but rather that the nature of the child is corrupted by inherited sin nature. In the Bible this sin nature is called, "The Old Man," "The Carnal Mind," "Double Mindedness," "The Flesh," "The Evil Heart of Unbelief," "The Root of Bitterness."

Augustinian, Reformed and Calvinistic doctrine teaches that Adam's personal sin separated all children descended from Adam and they are born corrupted, dead and guilty of sin. This is due to the influence of Augustine from the 400s.
It is true that we are all conceived with a sinful (corrupted) nature, but we are not dead to God.

The Bible teaches that we are dead because of our sins and trespasses. We are not guilty or dead until we sin against God. We have sin nature as pre-born, new born children but we do not have personal guilt. Neither are we conceived or born inherently unable to respond to God.

In fact, the Atonement of Christ covers the pre-born and the new born, as well as the infant, (very young children). This is why the pre-born, the new born and very young children have both tenderness openness to God and naturally show good qualities as well as carnal qualities. They have a fallen human nature and a sinful Adamic nature, but they are also recipients of God's grace afforded by the Atonement.

This little document does not go into the specifics, but I simply mention these things to state my own beliefs.

I believe that all of Adam's children have a tainted, corrupted human nature, but they also have the God given ability to sense God and to make free will choices, because of God's grace.

I do not believe that children are guilty for the sins of Adam.

I do not believe that pre-born and new born or infant children have committed sins, deliberate, willful disobedience to the known law of God.

I believe that the pre-born, the new born and the infant child needs the covering of Christ's atonement for their inherited corruption, and God has provided that for every child, which is why the Bible clearly says that God is the Savior of all men.

I believe that all children who live to the point of accountability will commit sin and therefore will need to believe, repent, confess and follow Jesus in a life of faith, which is why the Bible also says it is not the will of God that any should perish, but come to repentance.

Don't be caught up in the errors of Augustinian (Reformed and Calvinistic) doctrines. Don't get caught up in sinning religion that denies the plan of God, the will of God, the power of God, the salvation of God to provide salvation for all people and to save His people (those who turn to Him in faith) from the penalty, the power and the pollution of sin.

Some folks suggest that the age of twelve is the age of accountability. Of course, this is just human speculation, though I am sure some folks believe they have Divine evidence for such a belief. Since there is no Divinely revealed "age of accountability," I chose to use the phrase, "point of accountability." "Age" seems to imply a definite time in life, applicable to everyone, which is not stated in the Bible, but I replace the idea of a definite age with the indefinite idea that we all come to a point, some unspecified point in our lives that we become responsible before God. Even then, we can't say when that is for anyone, but it must be at some point or time. God, in His wisdom and His mercy holds us all responsible at that time.

Then there are people who are never going to be accountable, for various reasons. God is just and He is merciful. Christ covers those who do not have a point (time) of accountability, He also provides reconciliation for those who willfully sin, if they trust in Christ's atonement.