The Nature of Man

Why do so many preachers and Bible teachers get it wrong when it comes to discussing the nature of man? What kind of nature does a man (or a woman) have? The answer is quite simple: a human nature. What else would you expect? Listen to enough contemporary preachers and teachers and you will soon hear that we do not have a human nature but we have a “sin nature.” In fact, one does not have to go far to see that. A blog I recently read entitled "The True Nature of Man." says: “First, I want to suggest that man, all of us are born in sin. That is with a sin nature... .”

Man does not have a sin nature, he has a human nature. Since Adam's lapse from grace our human nature has been corrupted, but it is still a human nature.

Why am I so particular about this? The answer is quite simple: if we had a sin nature than we would not be responsible for our sin. Dogs, which have a canine nature, sniff each other because that is what they do by nature. Humans that engage in such behavior are considered crazy. Birds fly by nature, cows moo by nature, kangaroos hop by nature. Sinning, however, is contrary to our nature. We were not made to sin and we shall be held accountable for our sin.

When God made Adam and Eve he created them in his own image. That is our nature. Before Adam bit into that forbidden fruit he knew no sin but was capable of it. Once having eaten, his human nature was taken captive by sin. In his post-Fall condition he could do nothing but sin. He did not lose his human nature, but sin entered in and has held him and us captive ever since. Our release from that bondage is only effected by the new birth in Jesus Christ.

I could spend a lot of time and space on this subject. I only want to provoke you into reconsidering the popular theology of a sin nature to see that it is an unscriptural and unbiblical term. There are two basic reasons for challenging the "sin nature" teaching:

• It puts the saving work of Christ Jesus in question. If man has a sin nature, what kind of nature then did Jesus Christ have? Is he not fully man?

• The Scriptures do not teach that man has a sin nature. You will find some translations (the New International Version, for instance) using the expression “sinful nature,” but that is an adjective modifying a noun. Our natures are sinful and that is a problem. That is the problem the new birth fixes. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:” (Romans 8:3).

The problem of sin in its theoretical sense has plagued and divided man for ages. How do we explain sin in its operations? What makes us sin? Why do we sin? All these are questions that have answers but that does not mean the answers are easy to ascertain. Unfortunately, in the desire to be as simple as possible, erroneous explanations like having a sin nature have been taught as truth. The end result of such thinking manifests itself in the Alcoholics Anonymous statement that “I admit I am an alcoholic and am powerless to help myself,” a statement that is repeated as a mantra long after a person has dried out. If one is an alcoholic either by virtue of supposed disease or nature, than one has a good excuse for drinking. If an alcoholic is powerless to help himself, why then is he held accountable for being an alcoholic? This thinking can fit any sinful behavior.

The Christian has a renewed nature, as it says in Colossians 3:10: “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” When we sin, as we all-too-often do, we do not sin by nature. There is not one reason or excuse a Christian can give for sinning. So, if we do not sin by nature, why then do we sin? That may be the subject of another blog but a concise answer is given by St. James in his epistle: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).

This may seem to be an inconsequential matter to you, but error can never be inconsequential. In this case, a proper understanding of why we sin and sin's relationship to our nature, has a great deal to do with our ability to live victorious Christian lives.