We can look around the world as it is today, with particular attention to the body of Christ. Why do we find repeated exhortations to put off the old self, to present ourselves as living sacrifices to God, to be done with such things as anger, envy, bitterness, sexual immorality, and greed? Why are virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, grace, honesty, self-control, and forgiveness presented as if they were topics unfamiliar to the early church? The New Testament epistles carry forth the same sad message of anger, deceit, lust, adultery, greed, pride, competition, and a critical spirit. Why do so many events in the gospels find Jesus confronting prideful, selfish attitudes and behaviors? Why was the majority of the religious establishment determined to destroy Jesus? 6? Why were a flood and an ark needed? What was the Tower of Babel all about? Whence arose the lies of Abram, the deceit of Jacob, the treacherous behavior of Joseph’s brothers, the grumbling rebellion of Israel in the wilderness, the embrace of pagan cultures and gods in the Land, the “dumpster fire” of the book of Judges (an appropriate label courtesy of Pastor Chris Stukenberg), the litany of corrupt kings, priests, and leaders, the prophets’ warnings, the idolatry and apostasy leading to the Assyrian invasion and the Babylonian captivity? And those are just some of the highlights of the ongoing drama. How did human affairs reach the point of God’s condemnation in Gen. The accounts of the Old Testament display humanity’s unchecked ability to demand life on its own terms, in disregard or defiance of God and His revealed truth, together with a stubborn refusal to learn from experience that God is in control. Consider that the entire content of scripture from Genesis 4 through Revelation deals with this theme: man’s captivity by sin, overlaid with God’s plan of redemption.
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