FELLOWSHIP IN CHRIST

ORIGINAL SIN? “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:...”   Romans 5: 12 As we look again at the subject of sin and its consequence, it takes no time to realise that we have opened up another “can of worms”. How amazing, that those who struggle with so many doctrines of the Christian faith seem to hone in those doctrines which carry the burden of “not being in the Bible”, or so it is claimed! Original sin , according to most Christian theological doctrine, is humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways: ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency in all men and women, with a tendency toward sin, yet without collective guilt. It is also sometimes referred to as man’s “sin nature”, something so drastic as to indicate man’s total depravity, or automatic guilt, in which all humans stand condemned through th

Vol.   24    #4    No 255     February 2012 AD      THE CHURCH IN A CHANGING SOCIETY “I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil (one). They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.”   John 17: 14-17. The Church, and by that I mean us - the people of God, have struggled with this scripture for centuries.   It has proved to be a word from Christ Himself that has either condemned us for our lack of obedience, or caused hurtful separation from society’s inhabitants and turned some of us into virtual hermits. Of course the truth is, Christ never set out to cause either condemnation or separation with this teaching - man has successfully accomplished that for himself! However, Jesus most certainly did point out that there was a c