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FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF #7: THE NATURE OF MAN
by Pastor Mike Fortune
June 21, 2014
1. Sinful (Genesis 3:21; Romans 5:12,18-19)
2. Saved (Hebrews 10:14; Ezekiel 18:20; Quotes; Ezekiel 33:8-9; Ezekiel 33:7; Jonah 3:1-3)
3. Sanctified (Hebrews 10:10; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1:8-9; 1:30-31)
Genesis 3:21
21 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.
Romans 5:12,18-19
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 18 Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
Hebrews 10:14
14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
Ezekiel 18:20
20 The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent's sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child's sins.
Obadiah 1:16 (KJV)
16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
Ellen White
As the little infants come forth immortal from their dusty beds, they immediately wing their way to their mother's arms. They meet again nevermore to part. But many of the little ones have no mother there. We listen in vain for the rapturous song of triumph from the mother. The angels receive the motherless infants and conduct them to the tree of life." - 2 Selected Messages p. 260
Neal Punt
Evangelicals are reluctant to say all who die in infancy will be saved...but if only those who, in addition to their inherited sin, willfully, persistently, and finally defy God's will as it was made known to them are lost—then we know that God's mercy and grace are operative in every infant who dies. - Election and the Universal Offer of the Gospel p. 27
Punt's Fave Universal Offer Texts (18 of 70)
John 1:9 "The true light gives light to every man"
John 1:29 "The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world"
John 3:17 "The Son was sent to save the world"
John 12:32 "Jesus will draw all men to himself"
John 12:47 "Jesus came to save the world"
Romans 3:23-24 "All are justified freely by grace"
Romans 5:18b "One act of righteousness brings life for all men"
Romans 11:32 "God has bound all men so that he may have mercy on all of them"
1 Corinthians 15:22 "All will be made alive"
2 Corinthians 5:14 "One died for all and therefore all died"
2 Corinthians 5:19 "God does not count men's sins against them"
Philippians 2:10-11 "Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"
Colossians 1:20 "Through is son, God has reconciled all things to himself"
1 Timothy 2:6 "Christ Jesus gave himself as a ransom for all men"
1 Timothy 4:10 "God is the Savior of all men"
Titus 2:11 "God's grace has appeared for the salvation of all men"
Hebrews 2:9 "Jesus tasted death for everyone"
1 John 2:2 "Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the whole world"
Morris Vendon
For a long time the evangelical world has held on to this old approach—that everyone is born lost in this world until they choose to be saved. That was based upon Augustinian theology and the idea of original sin. Along came an author by the name of Neal Punt not too long ago, who took the exact opposite view. He said that everyone in this world is born saved until they choose to be lost. So we are born sinners, but we are not held accountable until we understand truth. And at that point, we decide whether or not we're going to be lost. - Why Didn't They Tell Me? pp. 20-21
Ellen White
The Spirit of God is freely bestowed to enable every man to lay hold upon the means of salvation. Thus Christ, 'the true light,' 'lighteth every man that cometh into the world.' John 1:9. Men fail of salvation only through their own willful refusal of the gift of life. - The Great Controversy p. 262
Vendon's Fave Sinful But Not Responsible Texts
John 9:41 "If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty," Jesus replied. "But you remain guilty because you claim you can see."
John 15:22 "They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin."
Romans 2:14 "Even Gentiles, who do not have God's written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it."
James 4:17 "Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."
Other Christian fans of "Born saved sinners until choose to be lost"
F.F. Bruce
Lewis Smedes
Edward William Fudge
Henry Stob
Lester DeKoster
Robert J. Wieland
David N. Ashton
Steve Parker
Mike Fortune
You too?
Ellen White
Those whom Christ commends in the judgement may have known little of theology, but they have cherished His principles...Among the heathen are those who worship God ignorantly, those to whom the light is never brought by human instrumentality, yet they will not perish. Though ignorant of the written law of God, they have heard His voice speaking to them in nature, and have done the things that the law required. Their works are evidence that the Holy Spirit has touched their hearts, and they are recognized as children of God. - The Desire of Ages, p.638
Ezekiel 33:8-9
8 If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 9 But if you warn them to repent and they don't repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.
Ezekiel 33:7
7 "Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me.
Jonah 3:1-3
1 Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: 2 "Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you." 3 This time Jonah obeyed the LORD's command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all.
Hebrews 10:10
10 For God's will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
1 Corinthians 1:2
2 I am writing to God's church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.
Ellen White Got This One Partially Wrong
Sanctification is not the work of a moment, but of a lifetime. - Manuscript Releases Volume 5 p. 255
1 Corinthians 1:8-9
8 He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 9 God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, "If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD."