Sin Is Not Natural
SIN IS NOT NATURAL! - 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).
By Winkie Pratney, "Youth Aflame" p 77-78, 1983
SIN IS NOT NATURAL! - 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).
By Winkie Pratney, "Youth Aflame" p 77-78, 1983