Sin Nature - Job 14:4

Job 14:1-4

1 Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.

2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.

3 And doth thou open thine eyes upon such an one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?

4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

Studying God’s word brings great peace. It is God’s way of revealing Himself to us. He withholds Himself from those who look at His word as another book and shows Himself to those who sincerely search the Scriptures with an open heart. God will reveal Himself to the person who takes his time reading and meditating upon His word especially in this topic of whether or not man has a sin nature. I am saddened when I speak out about what God’s word says on the issue, and I see people hardened to the truth of the Scriptures. What saddens me even more is to know of those who proclaim a sin nature when it benefits them and then claim that everyone has a choice to sin or not to sin. Recently I simply questioned the teaching that sin is passed to all by birth in an institutionalized “church.” Very quickly the response turned sour and I was accused of teaching some “dangerous doctrines.” It was at this very point that I realized the truth. When we speak the truth, we will often be misrepresented, labeled as a heretic, and accused of teaching outrageous things. In the past few months, I have gone through all of the above. I have spoken to several people who are given biblical support to continue believing in an inherited sin nature. Sadly, most of these people have some known sin that they are unwilling to lay aside and are simply looking for some excuse to continue in the same. For those who continue to insist that man inherited a sin nature from Adam, Job 14:4 “shuts the door” on the subject.

All one has to do to understand this passage is to read the book of Job from chapter 11-14 in its context. Unfortunately this is not done, because man runs to the Bible to only get support for his beliefs rather than going to God’s word to teach him what he should believe. Our world has taken on a sort of “fast-food” mentality where they want everything quick and at their fingertips. You can see this all over. The internet is a great example of the mentality. When the internet first came on the scene in the 90s, it was dial-up. Then came cable modems, and DSL, and now everyone has the internet at the palm of their hand by means of a cell phone. Although this is a luxury that I do take advantage of, it is sad to see this mentality of having things quick take hold of “Christianity.” People want an answer, and they want it now. When one has this mentality with sin nature, the end result will more than likely result in the belief that man has a sin nature. Instead of taking the time to read verses in their context and compare scripture with scripture to ensure that there is further support instead of contradictions, many will run to the Bible to attach a verse to their belief as if it was some confirmation of what they already believe or have been taught for generations.

Job 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

In Job 11, Zophar the Naamathite is busy trying to find the answers as to why Job had experienced such great loss and pain in his life. Like a typical Pharisee of today, he suggests that there must be some iniquity that Job has within his heart (“Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.” 11:6) Zophar had no concept that it could be the devil at work as an adversary seeking to devour Job (just like the devil is at work seeking to devour all those whom he equips with an excuse for their sin – sin nature). Before knocking Zophar too much, keep in mind that the purpose of Job’s suffering is recorded for us in the first 2 chapters. Zophar was not privy to the conversation God had with Satan. God had testified of Job that he was a perfect and upright man who eschewed evil. Satan had, therefore, gained permission to afflict Job with the intention of showing God that Job served only because of his temporal blessings. Job responded in a way that showed how much his heart was set on God – “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

In chapter 11, Zophar prescribes a method for Job to get right with God and to get out of the mess that Job was in. He says,

13 If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;

14 If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.

Then the result, he says, will be:

15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:

16 Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:

17 And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday: thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.

18 And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.

Chapters 12-14 records the response that Job had to Zophar, and it is not a response of one who is submitting to the preaching he had just heard. Listen to Job’s language:

Job 12

1 And Job answered and said,

2 No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.

3 But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

4 I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.

5 He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.

6 The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

7 But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

8 Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

9 Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?

10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

11 Doth not the ear try words? and the mouth taste his meat?

12 With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

13 With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.

In chapter 13, Job calls his friends (Zophar included) “forgers of lies,” “physicians of no value.” He asks, “Will ye speak wickedly for God? And talk deceitfully for him?” He tells them to “Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will.” One of the greatest verses on trusting God is found in the middle where Job says, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” The whole chapter, Job is answering his accusers. The difference between Job and his accusers was that Job saw what really mattered – keeping his heart right with God. His accusers, on the other hand, thought that rest, security, and prosperity were marks of a blessed life.
His response is continued in chapter 14 where he asks several more questions to his friends and makes some powerful statements. “Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.” Trouble is not the equivalent to sin. Job was not filled internally with trouble, rather he was born into a world that was filled with trouble – just like all mankind has been since the fall of Adam and Eve. In 2 Corinthians 7:5 Paul tells the Corinthians that he was “troubled on every side.” Trouble is present in the world as told by Christ in John 16:33, but it is not implanted in the heart, flesh, spirit, life of every newborn child. He is born into and unto a world full of trouble. We can take great comfort knowing that the Lord will deliver us out of all trouble – Psalm 54:7!
Verse 4 is where all the complications start. Job asks, “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.” Instead of surmising that he is providing a doctrinal statement for all churches that would ever be established, remember the context. Job asks his friends, which included Zophar, if they can bring cleanness out of Job who were themselves unclean. Before you say, “Aha! I got you in a corner! You confessed that Job’s friends were unclean!” Job did not say they were unclean by birth but by the fact that they were liars, physicians of no value; while he attested to the fact that he was just and upright (Job 12:4 – which was validated by the Lord’s testimony of him in Job 1). Job here was asking a rhetorical question with the purpose of getting his “friends” to realize that he was just and upright before God and they were unclean before God.
For fun, let’s pretend this verse was all by itself in Job 14. Let’s make believe for just one moment that we can take this verse out of context and use it to teach that all babies around the globe and since the Garden of Eden were born unclean – with a sin nature. Since all have sinned and are thereby unclean by their sin, all that are born inherit the uncleanness (sin) from their parents. My question would be, then, what about the Christian and those born of a Christian? Christians are clean as attested to by many verses in God’s word. The following are just a few examples:
John 13:10 – Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
John 15:3 – Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
I John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
I Corinthians 6:11 – And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
A Christian has been cleansed through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. One can not claim the Christian is unclean. If Job 14:4 were to be teaching that an unclean person can only give birth to an unclean person (a sinner can only give birth to a sinner), then a person can rightfully deduce that a Christian (who is clean) can give birth to a Christian (another clean person). This is not my belief, and probably not the belief of a majority of those who are pushing sin nature. However, if you hold to the fact that sin is passed by conception, birth, intercourse, blood, etc. then you must also hold to the belief that a Christian is not clean. As horrible as it sounds, most do believe that Christians are not clean! They like to quote the phrase, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace!” Although it sounds pious and doctrinally sound, you can not find one reference in the Bible which describes a Christian as being a sinner. No doubt he can and will sin against God as he is still in a world of sin and oft tempted by the devil, but a Christian is a new creature. The passage in I Corinthians 6 calls a Christian a saint. Then for illustration sake, Paul describes the unrighteous: fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners. He plainly says that none of these sinners shall have part in the kingdom of God (righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost – what we call salvation). “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” The blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin!
After the above paragraph, I am often met with the response, “Well I guess you are perfect, then. And your children are perfect too!” This technique, known as the Delphi technique, is used by opponents to make it seem like I am completely out of sorts with reality, leaving any who are listening to conclude that the belief in a sin nature is the only logical explanation. I do not believe I am perfect, nor that I have attained anything other than forgiveness and a new life through Christ. This new life has new desires and has seen the old man crucified and old desires pass away. This new man is not at war with the old man, because the old man is dead! I can’t forget that Christ has exhorted me to be perfect and to strive for the mastery. Along the way, my lusts may conceive and bring forth sin, but to be controlled by sin is not what Christianity is about! Christ has saved me from my sins. That is he saved me from the sins I have committed and has saved me from the power of sin. I used to teach that Christ has saved me from the sins I will commit. No doubt, Christ will forgive us from any sin that we confess and forsake (including those committed in the future), but such an attitude should not be present in a Christian’s heart (the attitude that we will sin). Instead we should live freely knowing that He has saved us from the power of sin NOW!
Is it such a terrible thing to preach that a person can overcome sin in this life?! Do I really have to be labeled a heretic by believing in such a thing?! I expect to be called a heretic by the world, but the world tends to understand more about salvation than those found warming the pews listening to some hireling offer an excuse for his and his listeners’ sin. An unsaved person understands the cost of salvation. He understands that to be Christ’s means to no longer live fulfilling the lusts of his flesh. I would like to believe that I John 4:4 and 5:4 speak of a Christian being able to overcome the sin and trouble that is in the world through the power of Jesus Christ! I would like to believe that I can have victory now! It has been my experience that whenever you use these verses to show that a Christian can live in victory and overcome sin, that those who disagree cut these verses out of the Bible and paste them to a time in the future! Although the times of the Old Testament, Tribulation, Millennium, etc. did and will have some unique differences, one thing has not changed throughout time: the ability of believers to overcome sin (Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.)!
It can also be said of you that you DO NOT believe that the blood of Christ has cleansed you from all sin. You DO NOT believe that the words of Christ to His apostles, “Now ye are clean” applies to you! I would much rather believe what the Bible says on the issue. Sin is a choice that each individual makes. It happens when the devil tempts your God-given will to break God’s Law. Hopefully you will see that instead of believing that Job was claiming that all people that are born are unclean! 

Sin Nature - Part 6: Are you Teaching "Sinless Perfection"? by Mike Miller

Fifth Most Common Objection:Are you teaching "sinless perfection"?
Answer: No!

As long as there is temptation there will be the possibility of sin. Until we leave this world of sin we will be subject to temptation and there will be a continual battle. To say that we will never lose a battle is to be presumptuous. However, with the Holy Ghost of God living inside us sin shall not have dominion over us. We are no longer slaves to our lusts and the pressure of a sinful world. “Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

The GREATEST difference that sets true Christianity apart from ALL the other religions of the world is the deliverance from sin and its guilt. None of the eastern religions offer true forgiveness or deliverance from sin. Islam certainly does not offer deliverance from sin. None of the pagan religions even seriously consider the matter of sin. ONLY Jesus Christ, through repentance and faith in Him offers genuine forgiveness and deliverance from sin. It is a mystery to me why people who claim to be true Christians would want to give up the major thing that testifies to the truth of our gospel? When you remove true deliverance from sin in THIS PRESENT WORLD from your system of beliefs you are left with nothing more than all the other religions offer.

You may say, “Jesus rose from the dead, and that is what sets Christianity apart.” Yes, He rose from the dead, but if He isn’t risen in your heart and reigning in your life those are empty words to an unbelieving world. The PROOF that He is risen is the new creature you become when you are born again and have the resurrected Lord living in your heart. Otherwise, his resurrection is of no consequence or value as far as you are concerned.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. – 2 Cor. 5:17
We are not teaching sinless perfection, and those who continually make this accusation against us are simply being dishonest. But anyone who would consider living without sin to be somehow wicked is off their rocker, in my opinion, and in light of the Bible. Certainly their thinking is twisted and affected by some ideas that are plainly contrary to the overall teaching of the Word of God. Living without sin should be the desire of every person who is truly born again.
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. – Prov. 4:18
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. – 2 Cor. 3:18
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; – Phil. 2:15
This is the point of contention that should shock at least some people to their senses about this matter. The doctrine of original sin has so warped their thinking that I have heard some say with a smirk, “Well, according to what you believe it would be possible for someone to be born, live a life without sin, and not need to be saved!” That is simply a straw man argument because the Bible is clear that ALL have sinned – there is NONE righteous, no not one. The only one who ever was born on this earth and lived a sinless life was the Lord Jesus Christ. We are standing on the Word of God here and people who make statements like that are just in a mental merry-go-round and can’t seem to get out. Their thinking is not sound because it is so affected by the deception of the doctrine of original sin.

Stop for just a moment and consider what they are really saying! Do they really think that NOT SINNING would be the most wicked thing that anyone could do? Do they really think that God would be DISPLEASED with someone for NOT sinning? They certainly have a distorted idea of the way God views sin! Sin has wrecked God’s creation and He HATES it! God did not create man to sin! In spite of this fact the people who believe in the doctrine of original sin have concluded that we MUST sin so that grace may abound, and they are fully convinced that they have ascended to a higher level of spirituality because they believe this way. In order for God to be glorified they MUST sin. The more we sin, the more grace abounds, and the more God is glorified when He forgives us. Is it any wonder then that the churches are filled with all types of sin and immorality where this doctrine is sown? You can’t teach people that sin is natural, unavoidable, and something that God expects from you, and then expect them to live pure, holy, separated lives!

All that Jesus did was designed to deliver us from our sins. Teachings like original sin and all its offspring doctrines work to have exactly the opposite effect. Therefore, you are working against God and the Holy Ghost when you teach such unbiblical heresy as the doctrine of original sin! How can anyone imagine that teachings and doctrines which encourage sin are of God? Any teaching that lessens the load of guilt and sin while you continue to live in it is a lie! Any doctrine that gives you an excuse to sin, or allows you to blame your sin on something or someone else is a lie from the devil! Sin is YOUR fault and if you will find forgiveness you must be convinced of that. How many souls are being deceived and led into a false hope by this damnable teaching from hell?

“Oh, so you think you can live without sin?” We hear this accusation often. They go so far as to say that if you say you can live without sin for one moment you are totally deceived. They really appear to believe that we live in continual sin and are unable to do any better even after being washed in the blood of Christ and filled with the Holy Ghost. My, what a powerful gospel they have! People can do better than that without God! There are drunks who give up their drinking, smokers who give up their tobacco, drug addicts who quit taking drugs, and others that overcome any sin you care to name – WITHOUT GOD or his help. They simply decide to quit and they quit – with no Holy Spirit living in them and without any influence from the Word of God. I’m saying sinners can and do quit particular sins simply because they decide to do so, and get victory over the bondage that they were held in by that sin. They do it because they have some selfish interest in abandoning their sin. They want to live longer, or they see it is destroying their family and they forsake that particular sin in order to avoid that trouble in their life. They do not get forgiveness from God because they quit a certain sin, and they do not rid themselves of the guilt for the damage their sin has caused. There is no saving power in overcoming their addictions, but they do it anyway. Then along comes someone who says they have been born again of the Spirit of God and made a new creature in Christ and they say they can’t live a moment without sin. To claim to have victory over sin – even for one moment, would be the ultimate wickedness they can imagine. How can you get any further off base than that?

I have known many people who teach these loose doctrines of sin but do not live according to them. They are simply being hypocrites! They have quit sinning in some areas of THEIR lives. If you were to ask them what their sin was most of them could not tell you because their conscience is clean. They make allowance for sin in the lives of others, but not for themselves in their own life. They will defend some fornicator and say he is saved because he made a profession of faith, but they could NEVER allow such sin in their lives and they know it

If you can never be free from sin then how can you ever have a pure heart? How can you ever lift up holy hands? How could you possibly be greeted in heaven with “Well done, thou good and faithful servant?” Are you saying that Jesus is going to say that to people who lived in continual, habitual sin? Ridiculous! Those who hear the Lord say that to them will have purified their hearts, cleansed their hands, and lived and walked in holiness.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. – Psa. 24:3-5
The old doctrine of the Wesleyans and Nazarenes known as “sinless perfection” speaks of a second work of grace whereby you are freed from the possibility of sinning ever again. That is so preposterous I don’t understand how anyone could believe it. As long as we are in a world of sin, we are subject to temptation. As long as we are subject to temptation there is the possibility of sinning. We do not teach “sinless perfection” and those who make that accusation know we do not. They are trying to deceive others about what we believe. They know very well how “sinless perfection” is understood and they know what people assume when they tell them that we are teaching that doctrine.

We do not teach or believe that a second work of grace fixes things so you cannot ever sin again. But we do believe that you are not obligated to sin. We do not believe that you HAVE to sin. Every time you sin it is because you choose to! It is not caused by some “nature” you have that you cannot resist.

Why would you be against someone who preaches against sin? Wake up and realize how far off base you are when you are defending sinners and their sin and attacking someone who is preaching holiness! You may think you are more spiritual, but the Word of God doesn’t agree with you.
Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? – 1 Cor. 5:6
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.2For men shall be …despisers of those that are good, – 2 Tim. 3:1-3
Jesus said about the Holy Ghost:
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: John 16:8
The first work of the Holy Spirit is to reprove the world of sin. If what you are preaching and teaching has the opposite effect you are working against God! How can you expect God to work on sinners while the message you are preaching is contradicting what the Holy Spirit is saying to him? You should be doing all you can to discourage men from sinning. Of course, when you do that others will say you are preaching “sinless perfection.”
 

Next part: Romans 7