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Originally posted by Marchello
Page 2:(2)Fatima asked:"What do u mean by human born a sinner?..."
***In the Book of Genesis we are told the following: "And God said, Let US make man in OUR IMAGE, after OUR likeness:..And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, IT WAS VERY GOOD. And the evening and the morning were the SIXTH DAY" [Genesis 1:26, 31]. So then...when God created man He created man PERFECT [i.e., indicating that man was created in a NATURAL and MORAL likeness to God]. When God created man...we are told, "And the LORD God formed man of the DUST of the GROUND, and BREATHED into his nostrils the BREATH of LIIFE; and man became a LIVING SOUL (i.e., a living person)" [Genesis 2:7].
God then "...planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed" [Genesis 2:8]. In this garden, Adam could "eat anything for it was pleasant to the sight and good for food...the Tree of Life also was in the middle of the garden...and so was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" [Genesis 2:9]. God told Adam that he eat freely of any tree "But of the tree of the knowledge of GOOD and EVIL, thou shalt NOT EAT OF IT: for IN THE DAY that thou EATEST thereof THOU SHALT SURELY DIE' [Genesis 2:17].
"Now the SERPENT was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the LORD God had made...and he [Satan] said to the woman [Eve], 'Can it REALLY be said that God has said, you shall not eat from EVERY tree of the garden?'" [Genesis 3:1]. By saying this...Satan put DOUBT in mother Eve's mind. What Satan did was to SUBTLY imply that the LORD God DIDN'T REALLY MEAN what He said...that it was really o.k. to eat of thr Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because they "...WOULD NOT SURELY DIE" [Genesis 3:4]...and "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as GODS, knowing GOOD and EVIL" [Genesis 3:5]. ..SATAN LIED TO EVE..."and when the woman [Eve]
saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be DESIRED to make one WISE, she took of the fruit thereof, and did EAT, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he [Adam] did EAT" [Genesis 3:6]...and they SINNED & FELL [i.e.,they LOST their MORAL LIKENESS, which was their SINLESSNESS...but the NATURAL likeness of intellect, emotions, and WILL they still retained (Genesis 9:6;James 3:9)]...in a word---they became SINNERS by their DISOBEDIENCE and DIED SPIRITUALLY IMMEDIATELY [Genesis 2:17]...and ULTIMATELY they would die PHYSICALLY and return to the DUST from whence they came [Genesis 3:19;Romans 6:23].Too, the LORD God had to EXPEL them from the Garden for "...the LORD God said, 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and LIVE FOR EVER'" [Genesis 3:22].
I went through this whole litany to explain WHY we are BORN SINNERS...we are born SINNERS because our parents were born sinners before us...and it goes all the way back to our Grand-parents Adam & Eve...who passed their FALLEN NATURE down to us. We SIN because it is NATURAL for us to SIN...it is our NATURE.
King David sums this truth up and said the following: "Behold, I was SHAPEN in INIQUITY, and IN SIN did my mother CONCEIVE me" [Psalm 51:5].
(Continued)
Finally, dear Fatima, I will answer your last question.an hope that you fully understand what I have written because I do not want to leave anything unclear to you.
(3)Fatima asked: "If god will forgive all sins then why put rules to follow like not to steal or kill...do u think that will encourage people to live freely and break these rules because that they Guarantee going to heaven..."
***"A Rabbi who was a Pharisee came to talk to Jesus one night and his name was Nicodemus and he told Jesus, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God because no man can do these miracles that you do; except that God is with him" [John 3:1-2].. Jesus' response was immediate and to the point..."Jesus answered him, 'I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is BORN AGAIN [anew, a SECOND TIME from above), he cannot ever see (know or experience) the Kingdom of God'. Nicodemus said to Him [Jesus], 'How can a man be born a SECOND TIME when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb again and be born?'" [John 3:3-4]. "Jesus answered...that which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of Spirit is spirit" [John 3:6]. What Jesus was telling Nicodemus was that there are two distinct realms: one is of FALLEN MAN (the FLESH) and the other is of God (the SPIRIT)...a FALLEN person CANNOT regenerate himself...he needs DIVINE INTERVENTION. Only God's HOLY SPIRIT can REGENERATE a HUMAN spirit...they must be born from ABOVE [John 3:6-7].
You see, Fatima, what Nicodemus could not understand was that we are "born sinners" [Psalm 51:5] because we are of the SAME NATURE as our parents and our grand-parents [Adam and Eve]...who fell in the Garden and became SINNERS through their disobedience before God. We broke our FELLOWSHIP and UNION with God by our SIN and we DIED a SPIRITUAL DEATH [as I explained in post #2]. We must be born "a second time" to be restored to our ORIGINAL STATE before God. God provided the PROVISION to RECONCILE us BACK TO HIM when He sent His SON Jesus Christ to us. Jesus is the GIFT of God [Ephesians 2:8-9]...this GIFT is simply to be RECEIVED, NOT EARNED [John 1:12-13]. A person is SAVED [i.e., Born Again] by BELIEVING in the FINISHED work of Jesus on the cross for the PENALTY of our sins. When we believe this we are transformed into "NEW CREATURES" in Christ Jesus:"Therefore if any man be IN Christ, he is a NEW CREATURE: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become NEW" [2 Corinthians 5:17]...the grace of God not only justifies but also makes "a new creature" which results in a CHANGED style of life.
Therefore a TRUE 'born again" Christian can now follow "those rules"...not because they are GUARANTEED going to heaven...but because we are no longer in bondage to sin [for Jesus Christ freed us from this bondage by His DEATH and RESURRECTION from the DEAD]...and we NOW have "His Nature" [2 Corinthians 5:17]...and NOT Satan's.
Thank you for your post, Fatima...and may God keep you well till we talk again.
Marchello