Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to
Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of
the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth. God created man in His own image, in the image of God
He created him; male and female He created them.[1]
First, Christianity
teaches that man is created by God, in God’s image.
So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of
Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every
direction to guard the way to the tree of life.[2]
Second, Christianity
teaches that man is cursed by God because of his decision to rebel against God
and to violate the sacred command.
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil
thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, aenvy, slander, pride and foolishness. “All these evil things
proceed from within and defile the man.”[3]
Third, Christianity
teaches that men are wicked from the inside out. They do not learn how to be
evil, they are evil by nature.
“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the
world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were
evil.[4]
Fourth, men love evil
more than they love good.
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me
before it hated you.[5]
Fifth, Christianity
teaches that the world hates Jesus Christ and the Father who sent Him as well
as those who follow Him.
“There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and
bitterness”; “Their feet are swift
to shed blood, Destruction and
misery are in their paths, And the
path of peace they have not known.” “There
is no fear of God before their eyes.”[6]
Sixth,
Christianity teaches that all men everywhere are ignorant, that none of them
seek God, that they have universally turned away from the truth of God to
pursue their evil inclinations.
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on
the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile
toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not
even able to do so, and those who are
in the flesh cannot please God.[7]
Seventh,
Christianity teaches that the human mind is a natural enemy of God with no
desire or ability to seek God or to respond to Him positively.
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you
walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being
darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the
ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they,
having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the
practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.[8]
Eighth,
Christianity teaches that the world has a futile mindset, without true
understanding, excluded from the life of God and are blinded by their own
ignorance. They are given over to all sorts of sensuality.
In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of
the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory
of Christ, who is the image of God.[9]
Ninth, Christianity teaches that
the world has been blinded by Satan so that they might not see the truth of the
gospel. They are wholly blind to the truth of Jesus Christ and the Christian
message.
“But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and
murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their
part will be in the lake that burns
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”[10]
Finally, Christianity
teaches that end of the world, the rebellious men and women across the earth,
is certain judgment where they will be appointed their lot in eternal
damnation.
This is the Christian
understanding of the nature of man. We know that man is what he is because God
has revealed that knowledge to us in sacred Scripture. If you had a different understanding of man, rest assured, it is not in accord with the Christian view of man. Moreover, not only is it not justified biblically, it is certainly filled with unresolvable philosophical tensions that will make it untenable once those tensions are discovered. If you want to know anything about the nature of man, the information you seek is contained within the divine self-revelation of God known as the Bible.
[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ge 1:26–27.
[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ge 3:24.
[3] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Mk 7:21–23.
[4] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 3:19.
[5] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 15:18.
[6] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 3:10–18.
[7] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 8:6–8.
[8] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Eph 4:17–19.
[9] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 2 Co 4:4.
[10] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update
(LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Re 21:8.
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