CoC’s often accuse Christians of making God the author of sin, all because they don’t adhere to the CoC’s damnable heresy of open theism. Such accusations fail to acknowledge that the human capacity to fall into sin was due to our creaturely changeability, which is why the human race fell (in solidarity with Adam our representative) from original uprightness.
“God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions” (Eccl. 7:29).
Although we were made in the image of God, we are still created beings. In other words, we are not God, for God will not make another God (Isa. 43:10). Since only God is unchangeable, it just goes to reason that we are changeable because we are not God. Only God is un-changeable, NOT the finite creatures that He has made (Mal. 3:16, Jas. 1:17).
So when God made man, He made him changeable, because mankind cannot be God, which explains our capacity to sin. Therefore, God is not the direct and efficient cause of sin, man’s creature fallibility is, which is why man is still held accountable by God.
The only way we can ever be completely unchangeable is in a glorified state, with Jesus. Will Christians be “robots” in heaven just because they will no longer have the “freewill” to sin? Absolutely NOT. So how ridiculous is it for anyone to compare TRUE freedom in Christ as being something that is “robotic?”
“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (Jn. 8:36).
Adam’s “freewill” actually meant changeability, which was NOT really something to boast about!! For it meant that he had a creaturely capacity to fall into sin. And Adam did fall from his original uprightness, because of his creaturely “freewill.” God has clearly shown the whole world that creaturely “freewill” to choose evil is NOT a good thing!!
Yet many today want to boast about freewill. When in reality, it is so very futile to emphasize what is so changeable. Our only hope is in those things that cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:26-28), those things that pertain to the unchangeableness of God, Who is free from the creaturely cycle of changeability.
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17).
God cannot sin, which is one reason why He’s the only One Who has an absolute free will. Because God is completely free from sin. So, unless one wants to claim sinless perfection this side of heaven, one cannot consistently claim to have an absolute freewill.
And if one wants to be audacious enough to even wish that they were the potter instead of clay in God’s hands (the very attitude Apostle Paul rebuked in Rom. 9:20), then they need to come to terms with the fact that God is God and they are NOT.
Is God obligated to form other God’s just like Himself? Absolutely not! Such an arrogant and blasphemous thought should be banned from our minds.
But “many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2 Pet. 2:2).
So, we must ask CoC’s: “If you don’t like God’s ways and the fact that He has made us changeable and capable of falling from original God-given uprightness, then what would you prefer? Would you prefer to have never been created at all? What choice do you really have?”
We must also ask: “Do you not believe in God’s foreknowledge?”
Because even the staunchest Arminian will usually have to admit God’s Omniscience, or else be revealed as a complete atheist. God’s foreknowledge is infallible. And since He knows all things infallibly, that means He knew the eternal destiny of every single person before He ever even created them. And yet, He created them anyway!!
So we must ask: “Are you going to say God is “unfair” for creating you? Would you have rather not been created at all? Was God “unfair” for violating your ‘freewill’ to be, or not to be, created?”
Creation itself indicates a predetermination on God’s part. And since we had no freewill say in our own creation, then there is absolutely no foundation for building any other absolute freewill act upon. Unless one wanted to build upon sand!
We all have to face God one way or another. And it has to be on HIS TERMS, not our own terms, and not the sinking-sacramental-sand of the CoC’s “new terms” of salvation that leads to eternal damnation for those who whole-heartedly adhere to them.
But, even when faced with their own dilemmas, some may still mockingly ask things like: “What evil is God restraining if God decrees everything that shall come to pass? His own evil that He decreed?”
Answer: God decreed the ends AS WELL as the means, by which He accomplishes His purposes, which INCLUDES the creaturely will of man. His decree establishes secondary causes.
“The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil” (Prov. 16:4).
Or do Arminians think that they are wise enough to decree their own destiny, when they can’t even decree the bounds of the ocean?
“Fear ye not Me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at My presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it” (Jer. 5:22)?
Can anyone honestly claim to have an autonomous, boundless freewill outside of the control of God?” If so, then according to Scripture their mouths must be stopped by the invincible force of truth (Titus 1:11). For if they are not even able to answer the rebuke of weak vessels of clay, like myself, then how will they EVER be able to answer to God on judgment day for all of their hard speeches against Him?
“If thou canst answer me, set thy words in order before me, stand up. Behold, I am according to thy wish in God’s stead: I also am formed out of the clay. Behold, my terror shall not make thee afraid, neither shall my hand be heavy upon thee” (Job 33:5-7).
It’s a Christian’s duty to warn people of God’s judgment:
“Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” (Jude vv. 14-15).
No wonder we keep running into CoC’s that believe Jesus had the capacity to sin when He was incarnate; leading many to believe that Jesus was born just as we are. This is how the CoC induces people to conclude that we must not be born into sin either. That way it can convince people that they can be justified through something as simple as water baptism, rather than solely by the precious blood and perfect righteousness of Christ.
The CoC teaches a baptismal regeneration formula for salvation. But ironically, its doctrines imply that one doesn’t really even need to be regenerated after all. For it denies the biblical doctrine of original sin. Therefore, the CoC attempts to soothe people’s conscience by fooling them into feeling justified through their performances.
By doing so, the CoC undermines the incredible worth of the Savior, for it denies the only way to be justified before God, which is by His grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Instead, the CoC presents a short-circuited way of salvation that downplays just how Holy God really is, and how fallen mankind is from His glory.
Such dangerous teachings reveal a very sinister scheme to destroy eternal souls. Or, in the least, they reveal a severe lack of knowledge concerning God’s Holy nature.
God CANNOT sin…“Far be it from God, that He should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that He should commit iniquity” (e.g. Job 34:10). It’s also impossible for Him to lie (Heb. 6:18).
Ignorance of the Scriptures reveals why so many in the CoC think that Jesus was born with the same so-called “neutral” nature as us…. with the ability to sin. For the CoC makes the incorruptible God of the Bible out to be like corruptible man (Rom. 1:23), which is blasphemous idolatry. No wonder the CoC seduces people into idolizing the baptistry as their only hope of heaven.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was NOT born with a capacity to sin, because Adams sin was not imputed to Him. “He is “the Holy One of God” (Mk. 1:24). “In Him is no sin” (1 Jn. 3:5). He was born of a virgin, by the supernatural power of God. So, He never inherited a sin nature (Lk. 1:35). Being fully man AND fully God, He had NO inclination toward sin whatsoever.
Jesus declared: “The prince of this world cometh, and hath NOTHING in Me” (Jn. 14:30, emphasis mine).
But we ARE born guilty of Adam’s sin, not just our own sinning, which is why we have unholy inclinations, even from birth. CoC’s need to realize that all things are possible with God, as long as they don’t contradict His character or nature. For He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim. 2:13).
They also need to acknowledge that God’s justice is not only descriptive of His works, but also of His very Being and character (See: Gen. 18:25; Deut. 32:4; Psa. 89:14; Zeph. 3:5; Rom. 3:26; 9:14; 1 Jn. 1:9). Because these points confirm the fact that the doctrine of original sin reveals the only way that a sinner can be justified before a holy God. By God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ ALONE.
Jesus had to completely satisfy the justice and righteousness of God in order to save sinners. This could only be done by substitution…the righteous for the unrighteous (Rom. 3:24-26). This Substitute had to be the perfect sinless, eternal Son of God. It could have never been accomplished by an animal or an angel. Because Jesus, the eternal Son of God, had to take upon Himself our human nature (Heb. 2:14-17).
No sinner, not even a “potential” sinner (as the CoC suggests) could have EVER atoned for other sinners (Psa. 49:7-8). Only the Perfect Savior could be the High Priest of the New Covenant. For He alone is “holy, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens” (Heb. 7:26).
“He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
Sin encompasses all that falls short of the glory of God, and…
“all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). “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” (Rom. 5:12).
So, we must ask the CoC:
Was sin imputed to Adam or not? Do CoC’s believe Adam was guilty of sin in God’s eyes? If so, then upon what basis can they continue to deny that there was a rule of righteousness that was broken even before the written law came about (Rom. 5:13)?
God gave Adam a rule of righteousness (a law) to be obeyed, and Adam transgressed that law. Or else he would have never been guilty of sin, “for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 Jn. 3:4). Scripture interprets Scripture.
This coincides perfectly with what Paul made so clear when he stated: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Rom. 5:13).
The very fact that Adam’s sin guilt was imputed to him by God (in other word’s he was guilty of sin in God’s eyes), proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that there was still a rule of righteousness to be obeyed. Even before God’s written standard of righteousness was ever brought about. And the written law brought about an even deeper conviction of how bad sin is. It also brought about a deeper understanding of the incredible worth of the Savior (Rom. 3:20).
Now that we’ve established the foundation for original sin, it should be much easier now to see through the CoC’s cultic deceptions. The very fact that Adam’s sin WAS imputed to him BEFORE there was a written law, irrefutably disproves the CoC’s theory of sin not being imputed to Adam’s posterity.
If God had not appointed Adam to be the representative head of all mankind, and if God had not decreed the Fall (where Adam’s sin was imputed to all of his posterity), then there would’ve been absolutely no need for the last Adam’s legal representation of all who are in Him (1 Cor. 15:22).
If there was no inherent sin, then there would’ve been absolutely no need for Jesus’ substitutionary atonement on behalf of all whom He represented. There would’ve been no need for the imputation of their sins to Jesus and the imputation of His righteousness to them.
The CoC is conspicuously silent concerning the absolute necessity of this double imputation. Because the biblical doctrine of original sin completely destroys its sacramental system of salvation-by-man’s-appropriation.
At this point, CoC captives will often have a rebellious emotional reaction about how they think babies and the mentally handicapped, etc., are exempt from sin guilt. But sin cannot be reduced to mere personal behaviors, age, genetic defects, environmental factors, etc. Because sin is a spiritual condition that one is born into (Rom. 3:9–12). It is a fallen state that is far worse than anyone could ever even imagine.
Jesus highly emphasized this point, for He warned more about Hell than He ever spoke of Heaven. Because, without the existence of Hell, we’d never know how bad sin is. It’s an eternal offense against the eternal God, with eternal consequences that are so far-reaching that the whole human race was plunged into spiritual darkness because of it.
Without the existence of Hell, how would we ever know how holy God is? How else would we know how much He hates sin? How would we know what He loves without knowing what He hates? How else would we know how just He is against evil?
Hell, the wicked and even the cross all reveal the glory of God’s holy wrath and justice. But they all also exist to reveal the incredible worth of the Savior!
All humans are born into sin. And, as a result, human’s sin. Whether it’s intentional or not. It’s not something we have to learn to do. It comes naturally. Humans sin because they are sinners, by nature. That’s what original sin is all about.
Yet, CoC’s are spiritually abusing little children by deceiving them into thinking they don’t need a Savior! For they are basically teaching them that they can get to heaven based upon their own innocence, until they reach an “age of accountability.”
CoC’s are downplaying the necessity of the Savior for ALL people, regardless of their age. Jesus came to save sinners. If children are not considered sinners, at least by imputation, then that would mean they are disqualified from heaven! No one can enter heaven apart from Jesus’ blood atonement for sin guilt!!
Despite the CoC’s dishonesty, it is completely foreign to Scripture to believe that mental or physical impairments are a free ticket to heaven. Even the Gadarene demoniac had to be delivered from sin, and its effects, by Jesus! It is completely heretical for CoC’s to teach that someone can get to heaven based upon their mental status, their own innocence or their age. Scripture is clear… our age is nothing before Him (Ps. 39:5). He is “no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34, Rom. 2:11, Matt. 22:16).
Besides, it is complete folly to assume that humans maintain their earthly developmental stage in eternity. Yet, CoC’s still try to accuse Christians who defend the biblical doctrine of original sin of assigning “babies to hell.”
So, lastly, upon what basis can CoC’s conclude that we are made in the image of God if they continue to deny humanity’s solidarity with Adam in his fall? They cannot have their cake and eat it too. They cannot affirm humanity’s solidarity with Adam in his creation and then deny it in his fall. To deny the one is to deny the other.
Copyright ©2024 by Lee Anne Ferguson.
Christ Rescued Me! 