Secular humanism has no way of explaining both the greatness and tragedy of human existence. However, the biblical history of Creation and the Fall provides the basis for affirming the dignity and depravity of man. , as glorious traitors.
Glorious in every way
- God created us for his glory.
- We exist for him.
- Not him for us.
- And yet.
- Unlike all the rest of the creation.
- We were created in the image of God to have a special relationship with him.
- Naturally endowed with intelligence.
- Justice.
- And perfect holiness.
- In his own image.
- Having God’s law written in his [our] heart and the power to fulfill it?(Westminster Confession of Faith.
- Chapter IV.
- Article 2).
- According to the scriptures.
- Human beings are not semi-divine or demonic.
- But creatures that have received true dignity.
- Like the viceroys of God.
Both Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, but God made Adam the federal leader of the human race. Would Adam gratefully recognize his dependence on God and his creation?Or would he seek to usurp the throne of God, determining to himself what he would believe and how would he live?
Consider the high vision of human nature reflected in westminster’s Confession of Faith quote before the Confession of Faith. We were created with the power to fulfill God’s law, “but with the possibility of transgressing it,” the Confession adds, “being left to the freedom of his In addition to this scripture in their hearts, they were given the precept not to eat from the tree of science of good and evil; As long as they obeyed this precept, were they happy in their fellowship with God and had dominion over the creatures?
Adam and Eve were not neutral. They were oriented toward God’s will and his righteous law. In addition to this freedom of choice, Adam and Eve benefited from a natural knowledge of God. By nature, they loved God with all their heart, soul, strength, and understanding. God didn’t love him. Create man with a flaw or weakness. The glory of God is reflected throughout the person: the body and its passions, as well as the soul and the intellect.
Fallen anyway
In Romans 1, Paul argues that “is the wrath of God from heaven revealed against all iniquity and perversion of men who hold that the truth is unjust? (v. 18). You cannot separate reason from ethics. Since the Fall, we have twisted, twisted, and repressed the truth that comes to us through general revelation and special revelation. Disbelief is not the result of a lack of evidence. So, does everyone know about the existence of God and his invisible attributes through his works in creation? Are these men, therefore, unforgivable? (vv. 19-20). Is it not that God does not reveal himself, but that men have not glorified him as God or thanked him? (v. 21). To be grateful is to acknowledge addiction, but that is precisely what our fallen hearts do not want to do. We don’t want to reflect the glory of God. We want to have the glory that only comes from God. We do not want to be an image, but the original. We repress the truth so that we can be our own creators and teachers, as Paul indicates in his description of the path traveled by humanity to deny responsibility before God (vv. 22-32).
Total depravity does not mean that we are as bad as we could be. After all, even Gentiles sometimes follow the dictates of their conscience (Romans 2: 14-16). Rather, it means that just as the image of God surrounds our entire being, so does slavery to sin. All aspects of our human nature were affected by the Fall. We cannot reason, want or act in such a way that we get out of our moral slavery (3. 9-20). But at least our will is free, right? Pablo responds: “there is no justice, not even one”. What about our minds? No. Paulo writes: “There is no one who understands. ” Our hearts? Paul adds: “Is there no one who seeks God? (Romans 3: 10-11). Although we know enough about nature to condemn ourselves, we can only be saved by the special revelation that God gives us in the gospel (3: 21-31). The story of the Creation and the Fall presents a basic apologetics to explain both the dignity and depravity of man, and thus we will know why everyone needs Christ, who is the true image of God. (2 Corinthians 4. 4; Colossians 1. 15).
This article is part of the January 2016 edition of Tabletalk magazine.
Translation: Joel Pedro Cavani Review: Yago Martins © 2016 Faithful Ministério All rights reserved. Website: MinistryFiel. com. br. Original: The dignity and depravity of man.
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