‘A common answer of man when faced with sin has been – “Yes, we all sin-nobody is perfect-we’re only human!” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Only by comparing ourselves with the perfect example of TRUE humanity – the Lord Jesus – can we see just how un-natural sin is. When God became man, He took on Himself a perfectly human body. Jesus was not God disguised as man, but God who BECAME man. Although He was conceived supernaturally, He was born of a perfectly normal human girl (Luke 1:31). He grew, learned, was hungry and thirsty (Luke 2:52; 2:40; Matthew 4:2; Luke 4:2). His body was as human as any man who ever walked the earth; it was in NO way more special than any other human body (Hebrews 10:5; John 2:21; Luke 24:3,23; 1John 4:3). He ate, drank, felt weary and rested (Mark 2:16), and declared His body to be flesh and bones (John 20:20,27). He had a soul as human as any other man’s soul (Isiah 53:11,12; Psalm 16:10; John 12:27; Acts 2:27; Matthew 26:38). John, Peter, Paul, and Isaiah all called Him a man (John 1:30; Acts 2:22; 1Timothy 2:5; Isaiah 53:3) and He called Himself a man (John 8:40). His favorite name for Himself when He walked this earth was – “The Son of man” used seventy-one (71) times in Scripture.
Christ was, of course, always God. He knew that He had come from the Father, and after His earthly mission He would go back to the Father. His essential relationship with the Spirit and the Father was never removed. But while He walked this planet, to show us that it WAS possible to resist temptation and to defeat the Devil with only the power of the Holy Spirit, the guidance of His Father, and the Word of God, the Lord Jesus used NONE of His Godhead powers. To be “fully tempted in ALL points as we are” and yet be “without sin” the Lord Jesus had to become fully human. To make Him more than this during His brief stay on Earth is to MISS completely the whole purpose of His life; not only to offer His body as a perfect substitute for our sin, but to show us the way a child of God was to live in this world! (Hebrews 2:14,15; 5:5-9). He laid aside His rights and powers as God to tread this world; (Philippians 2:5-8; Luke 2:52; Hebrews 5:7-9) although, His essential nature as God remained unchanged. Understand – the Lord Jesus had NOTHING available to Him on Earth that ANY child of God does not have available; His Father even arranged for Him to have some disadvantages! (Luke 2:7; John 1:46; 8:41). The Lord Jesus was our pattern of TRUE human nature, yet He was “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15); and He “did no sin” (1Peter 2:22). GOD made human nature; God did NOT make sin!
Sin is NEVER natural. It is horribly UN-natural. Sin is NEVER “human.” It is horribly IN-human. Sin creates remorse, guilt and shame; every time a man feels these three witnesses in his soul, they tell him sin is NOT natural. Even the simple lie-detector can tell us this. The whole body reacts adversely when a man sins. Sin is in fact, a kind of insanity (Ecclesiastes 9:3).’
Source Winkie Pratney, Youth Aflame, p 77-78 (1983)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Mike Wambolt wrote on the nature of man:
‘Satan has successfully has people believing that sin is natural and not sinning is unnatural, this is the false doctrine of “Man Born With a Sinful nature” People have been so confused, they can’t tell the difference between the Biological laws of man from the Spiritual laws of man, all sin is against the Spiritual laws of man & God. According to the Greek language man’s nature (Physis) means, A mode of thinking, feeling, acting which by long practicing habits has become man’s nature, the original Greek language say nothing about man being born with a biological sinful nature anywhere in scriptures. 1 John 3:6-7, makes this point clear, those who practices (habitual habits) righteousness is righteous and those who practice (habitual habits) sin is of the devil. Eph 2:1-3. If you translate these scriptures in contexts as they were written, you will see that man’s nature in influence by the world and habits of choice. And you were dead in your trespasses and sin in which you formerly walked according to the course of the world (influence by the world), according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is working in the sons of the disobedient, Among them we too all formerly lived by the lusts of the mind (habitual lusting of the mind) and were by nature (physis) children of wrath, even as the rest. Nothing here about biological force of sinfulness , but, it plainly shows we choose to be lustful by our minds (our habitual thinking) 2 Peter chapter one, explain we can be partakers of His divine nature, by escaping the corruption that is in the world. (verse 4). We can be pure holy, undefiled, sanctified by the cleansing power of the word of God. Jesus said, I sanctify them with truth, and upon our obedience we can be partakers of His divine nature. 1 PETER 1:16. For it is written, “You Shall Be Holy, For I am Holy”. God didn’t heal our biological fleshly body to conform to holiness. but, He did Spiritual healed our way of thinking to become holy like Him, by using the enlightenment of His word.’
Source: Mike Wambolt (reply to a facebook post)
Jesse Morrell wrote:
‘Most preachers will tell you that sin is “natural” and you cannot help it. I tell you the exact opposite. Sin is very much unnatural and very much avoidable.
First, the Bible says that God never allows temptation to exceed your ability so that you are able to bear it and there is a way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13).
Second, God did not design or intent mankind for the commission of sin (Gen. 6:5-6) so nothing could be more unnatural than for us to engage in it.
Consider the sin of ABORTION. What an unnatural horrific sin it is! Is it not natural for a mother to love and cherish her child? When I am in public with my children, women especially always compliment me for having wonderful beautiful children. There is something in the nature of a woman to have affection for babies. But the Bible says that in the last days, people will be “without NATURAL affection” (2 Tim. 3:3) The word used in the Greek New Testament is “ἄστοργος” and it means to be without natural affection for your own children or “inhuman.” How horribly unnatural it is for a mother to murder her own child! How twisted! How perverted! How inhuman it is!
And so it is that sin is very much unnatural! It is inhuman! And it is absolutely avoidable. (…)’
Source: Jesse Morrell, “Sin is Unnatural and Avoidable” (biblicaltruthresources)
Read also “God’s Lordship and Man’s Free Will” on the first verse and its meaning.
Please read also “Augustinian Original Sin Attacked” on why Original Sin is not a good excuse for sinning.
Please read also “Sinful Nature” on why a Sinful Nature is not a good excuse for sinning.
Please read also “In The Likeness of Sinful Flesh” on why “being in the flesh” is not a good excuse for sinning.
Read also “Why All Human Beings Sin“.
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