The Doctrine of Human Beings

Scripture: Genesis 1.27; Romans 5.12-14; Matthew 5.38-48


“It all stems from your childhood..” My wife, and psychologists who are paid for their observations, are often heard to say that or imply that. And I think there is a good bit of truth to that as well. I think that some of the bad things we do, that we are most ashamed of, and that mark us and our character are things that happen before adulthood, things that may not seem world-shaking now, but back then, boy, they did!

I’ve told the story before about how I lost a bet on the playground and “had” to go play a prank in the neighbor’s garage. I was caught “red-handed” as they say, and I had to apologize to the family and make amends. Now, I used to tell that story at summer camp about every year to elementary and then junior high campers. It got to the point where my staff used to joke about it, “here comes the Pool Story.” It became a cliché, a cute little story, but see, when it happened, it wasn’t cute. It initiated waves of guilt in me and real soul-searching, as well as some major-league rationalizing and self-pity. It is one of my earlier memories of when I realized that I was a sinner, that I was very capable of knowing what is right and then doing otherwise.

Another story that I have, that I don’t recall ever telling, happened years later when I was a freshman in college. My whole dorm practically was freshman guys – that should tell you that with time on our hands, we would do completely pointless, stupid, and destructive things. Like one day a couple guys two rooms over from ours decided to remove some of the ceiling tile in their room and climb up into the rafters. After doing that they realized they could drop down into any room on our wing of the dorm they wanted. So as I sat there in my room studying, (at least that’s how I remember it), a couple of those guys came down through my ceiling into my room. We were all very excited about this development. We thought of other ways that this discovery could be applied to everyone’s benefit. For example, one guy suggested we could carry large wooden planks and then sheets of plywood up there and create another living space, you know for study and such. Then another guy suggested we could probably get a keg up there, you know for study. The possibilities were endless.

One afternoon when the dorm was pretty quiet and most everybody was in class, I was alone in my room and I got the idea that I could go over to the room of the guys who had first dropped in on me. They weren’t there and I knew that they had this cool stereo and I wanted to dub some tapes of theirs. So that’s what I did. I went into their room without their permission and knowledge and used their stuff. I later told one of my roommates I did this, who told those guys, who weren’t happy about me going into their empty room. I rationalized it by saying they had done it first. But again, I felt sneaky, I felt weasly, I felt wrong. At the time I was a leader in our campus Christian fellowship; I taught Bible Study. I didn’t party like those guys did. But I also knew I had no moral authority over them. I wasn’t any better than they were. I just shoulda known better.

To be Human is to be a curious mixture of good and evil. Why is this so? According to Genesis 1.27 we were created by a good God in God’s image. Among the creation, we humans reflect most clearly the image of the invisible God. God invested a lot in Adam and Eve. And Genesis also tells the story of their Fall into sin and separation from God. That Original Sin “infected” the nature of the whole human race.

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned. . .for many have died through the one man’s trespass. . .” Romans 5.12,15

“Sin lurks deep in the hearts of the wicked, forever urging them on to evil deeds.” Psalm36.1

“Oh this propensity to evil, how did it creep in to cover the earth with treachery?” Eccles.37.3

Just how evil human nature is and how much remains of that original Imago Dei is open to speculation. And that has been the discussion of theologians for ages, from Augustine and Pelagius to Calvin and Wesley to the present day. Calvinists say we are “totally depraved” that there remains very little left of the image of God in us, and that we are not capable of freely choosing good, that God’s help is needed even for this choice. The Wesleyan-Arminian tradition says that humanity is fallen but we retain still a freedom to choose good or evil.

The whole of Christian doctrine and tradition agree on this matter, however, humanity is fallen and “can’t get up” of its own volition. Events of the past two thousand years would seem to back that opinion.

In Zen Buddhism “man enters the water and causes no ripples.” In the biblical view he causes ripples that never end. Man leaves behind both good and bad marks in history, but he is not a zero. He remains infinitely precious in God’s sight despite his folly and perversity.

What is also clear is that no amount of commands, rules, or guidelines will guide humanity back on course. I came across an interview with author Kurt Vonnegut on television the other day. Vonnegut, a self-described agnostic and humanist, wondered why there is a big push to have the Ten Commandments displayed in public places, but no one is talking about the Sermon on the Mount. No one wants to see or hear Jesus say, “Blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” Vonnegut makes a good point. I think no one wants to hear those words because, much more than the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes show us how far wrong we’ve all gone. They show us how messed up our lives and our world is. Do not kill. Do not steal. Do not commit adultery - We agree to these rules. We still break them, mind you, but we can still agree they are good to have around. But Jesus seems to suggest something much more radical is needed.

“You’ve heard that it was said, ‘an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. You’ve heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you. . .You must be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Perfect? How can I be perfect when I can’t even be good?

One evening an old Cherokee chief told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

The other wolf is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked, “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee chief simply replied, “The one you feed.”

We all want to be good. We want to do right. But that other wolf is ravenous and constantly grumbling and growling to be fed. Who will deliver us from this battle? How can we ever win?

Outside help is needed. And that is the subject of next week’s message – the Doctrine of Salvation.