Rom 3:10As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Eccl 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.
Harmartiology is the study of sin; it’s origin, nature, extent, and consequences. There is a shortage of this teaching even among grace circles.
This doctrine came under major scrutiny, in this country, in the early 1900’s due in large part to the churches caving into the teachings of Sigmund Freud which says that man is basically good and just needs to release his inner wants and needs.
Freud said – “I started my professional activity as a neurologist trying to bring relief to my neurotic patients” His patients were “neurotic” because of suppressed SIN. Freud succeeded in eliminating the “shame” associated with sin.
Freudism gave rise to the I’m OK, your OK society in which we live today.
Freudism gave rise to the acceptance of blame shifting to avoid personal responsibility.
Freudism gave rise to the basic goodness of man contrary to the Word of God.
Freudism gave rise to situation ethics which is – A system of ethics that evaluates acts in light of their situational context rather than by the application of moral absolutes. Which means if you can get away with it DO IT – Forgetting that the Bible says:
Num 32:23 … be sure your sin will find you out.
The Bible is not a popular book because it is negative towards sin and positive towards God. The Bible is negative towards the sinner and his efforts, while it is positive towards God, his power, his justice, his judgment, his mercy and his son.
Harmartiology is the study of sin; it’s origin, nature, extent, and consequences
Sin
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
What Constitutes Sin?
Sin is anything that is contrary to the law or will of God.
For example:
If you lie, you have sinned. Why? Because God has said not to lie (Ex. 20:16).
If you do what God has forbidden, then you have sinned.
In addition, if you do not do what God has commanded, you sin (James 4:17).
Prov 21:4 An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.
Prov 24:9 The thought of foolishness is sin:
Rom 14:23… whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
1 John 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin
Origin of Sin
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Some Observations:
It must be kept in mind that Adam and Eve were free moral agents.
That while they were sinless beings, it was yet possible for them to sin, just as it was possible for them not to sin.
The sin of our first parents was purely volitional; it was an act of their own determination. Their sin was, like all other sin, a voluntary act of the will.
It came from an outside source, that is to say, it was instigated from without. There was no sin in the nature of the first human pair. Consequently there must have been an ungodly principle already in the world. Probably the fall of Satan and the evil angels had taken place already.
The essence of the first sin lay in the denial of the divine will; an elevation of the will of man over the will of God. It was a deliberate transgressing of a divinely marked boundary; an overstepping of the divine limits.
In its last analysis, the first sin was what each and every sin committed since has been, a positive disbelief in the word of the living God. A belief of Satan rather than a belief in God.
It is helpful to note that the same lines of temptation that were presented to our first parents, were presented to Christ in the wilderness (Mat 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. 11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.) and to men ever since then (1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.)
The Nature Of Sin
The essential characteristics of sin is: Rejection of Righteousness leading to bondage, blindness and separation from God. The entire being of man, mentally, morally, spiritually and physically is affected by sin. It is the nature of sin to be religious and the religion of the sinner replaces God and his word with a different value system built on the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
The understanding is darkened – Eph 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 1 Cor 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The heart is wicked – Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
The mind & conscience is defiled – Gen 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Titus 1:15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
The flesh & spirit are defiled – 2 Cor 7:5 For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. – 2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Christ condemned sin in the flesh – Rom 8:3 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:
The Extent Of Sin
All Lost People Are (present tense) children of the devil
Acts 13:10 And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Rom 3:23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
The consequences of sin
Job 20:4 Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, 5 That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?
Job 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? 8 Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them. 10 Their bull gendereth, and faileth not; their cow calveth, and casteth not her calf. 11 They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance. 12 They take the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the organ. 13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. 14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
Ezek 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
2 Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
The Heathen In Africa
This idea that there is or has been a group of “good hearted” lost people that died without hearing the gospel is a bunch of liberal bunk. There never has been, “as it is written”, anyone who was out there looking for God – Read Romans Chapter 1!
Let’s forget the heathen in Africa( a racial slur! ) for a moment. How about the heathen at Wal-Mart, Eckerd’s and K-Mart? What about those heathen? What makes them any different than the heathen any where else. “Rom 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”There is no difference.
The integrity of God is called into question when we do not acknowledge his rightness and justice to condemn the wicked.
Deu 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Job 8:3 Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
Psa 99:1 The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved. 2 The LORD is great in Zion; and he is high above all the people. 3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy.
Rom 3:1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
Rom 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Rom 3:5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) 6 God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
When we attempt to circumvent the justice of God by making unbelievers and sinners the victim we defile and change the glory of God – see Romans 1!! . There is but one way to be saved in this age and that is by the hearing of the gospel of the grace of God.
What God has obligated himself to do is summed up in two points
Calvary & Agency
God has all that he is going to do to save mankind. He has established the finished cross work of the Lord Jesus Christ in his death, burial and resurrection.
If there is a failure to get the message out the failure is to be laid at feet of the agency through which God is working in this dispensation which is the church the body of Christ!
If there is a failure of one person who “truly” wants to hear the gospel NOT being able to hear that gospel then the failure is to be laid at the feet of the agency through which God is working which is the church the body of Christ!
Conclusion
The doctrine of Harmartiology is very clear. The heathen, in any country, are not seeking after God. The Ninevites were not seeking after God. God was seeking after them through his agency which at that time was Israel. You were not seeking after God. Some local church reached you through it’s ministry.
If you are saved God has made you a part of what he is doing today. He is not willing that any should perish – the church, by and large does not care. The church today is failing just as Jonah failed.
Why not be a part of what God is doing today and be actively seeking the lost.