• Title Page
• Introduction
• The Nature of God
• The Nature of Moral Being
• The Nature of Sin
• The Nature of Moral Government
• The Nature of Justice
• The Nature of Mercy
• The Nature of Substitution
• The Nature of Grace
• The Nature of Salvation

The Nature of Sin

Chapter III

The whole race is now committed, through Adam, to that which ought not to be. Love has gone astray, abandoned God, and come under the control of self. The sacrificial principle has been repudiated, the selfish principle adopted, and the heart of man now searches for happiness in vain; for it is sought in the will of man, and it can be found only in the will of God.

Moreover, man is by nature, because of the inescapable effect of sin on the whole race, wholly blind to the cause of his unhappiness, and so is forever blaming others for his misery. He is conscious of some sort of strain between himself and his environment, and so in seeking to overcome the tension, he is always trying to change his environment. And since environment always has personalities behind it, he is on the lookout for those who have any influence on his surroundings and circumstances, that through them he may prevent or modify the conditions he believes are to blame for the strain he feels.

It is little wonder, then, that men are so quick to heap blame on others for the things they do not like. It began with Adam and Eve. When God confronted Adam for an accounting on his condition and the conduct that brought it to pass, he blamed it all on the woman, saying in effect: “If You had not given me the woman, I would not have sinned.” And when He asked Eve: “What is this that thou hast done?” she said: “The serpent beguiled me,” as if she meant, “If You had not allowed Satan to tempt me, I would not have sinned.”