Chapter 1 - We Were Set Up

The objective of Chapter 1 is to reveal what the Scriptures tell us about human (sinful) nature; the condition we are all arranged under.

Specifically, the New Testament (NT) repeatedly tells us the following:

1. We were all set up to be sinners, "slaves of sin."
2. We were all set up for unbelief, emptiness, frustration, and futility.
3. We were all set up to be under the law, which makes us aware of sin, and gives it strength.

(All three points are interconnected and inseparable.)

Now, before we get to the NT texts revealing the above allow me to provide some context.

1. More than anything, I am writing this Chapter to establish the truth, not explain its implications. The following content must be understood for the rest of the NT to be rightly discerned. (I cannot emphasize this enough.)

2. I have identified 40 Scriptures from the NT exposing the condition of sinful human nature. The most direct seven are immediately below. The rest, along with my commentary, are listed in the Chapter 1 Appendix. There are many more, but I have only chosen the ones requiring little to no explanation.

3. The Greek word translated sin means two things. 1 - no share in (separation) and 2 - miss the mark. It is a Greek archery term used for missing the mark. Sin is our natural state of separation from God, and our "missing the mark" is inherent within the separation.1 "Christianity" has incorrectly reversed the order by teaching our sins (missing the mark) separate us from God. They do not; they are the evidence of our subjected separation, and powerlessness to do anything about it.

4. Always remember that our slavery to sin is temporary because of Adam, and our freedom is eternal because of Jesus. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ, all are made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." (Romans 3:23-24)  Sidenote: Why do almost all Christians only quote :23?

 The Scriptures:

Romans 3:9-11 – “For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.’"

Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned.”

We are separated from God because of Adam. Our sins/works and sense of condemnation (guilt) are the effect of separation, not the cause.

Romans 8:20-21 – “For the creation was subjected to futility [emptiness, lack of meaning and purpose], not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”

The Greek word translated subjected means "arranged under." Arranged under implies intention. Every one of us was arranged under futility, emptiness, and a lack of purpose and meaning.

Romans 11:32 – For God has bound all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

The Greek words translated disobedience mean not persuaded, and not persuaded is synonymous with unbelief. God purposely arranged for humanity (us and them) to be under futility, and bound to unbelief. (Romans 3:3-4,1 Peter 2:8 and Hebrews 3:18-19 further support this position.)

Galatians 3:22-23 – “The Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.” (Notice the relationship between the law and faith here.)

Romans 3:19 – “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become accountable (under right judgment) before God.”

1 Corinthians 15:56 - "The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law."

We're all under the law, and the strength of sin is the law. 

God arranged everyone (us and them) under the law, sin, futility, and unbelief. Please allow that to sink in. It was a setup, not a choice.

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