Local Church Discussions - View Single Post - Nigel Tomes

Arizona · 08-10-2008, 12:37 PM

KSA -

Thank you for the further discussion. Forgive me if this post seems to take us further afield from the original topic but it is leading me to some deeper, maybe more philosophical, questions that I have been wrestling with because of some things I am hearing in fellowship with other believers.

The first is the question of the origination, or originator, of evil itself. Some say that ultimately God Himself must be the creator of evil because Satan is a created being. And, was he created having a free will. If I am understanding you correctly Satan is himself the creator of evil and man followed him after temptation by himself (man) reproducing in himself that which Satan had previously created, and thus producing the sin in human nature, not by taking Satan into his (man) being but by reproduction, which was possible because of man's God-given free will. (sorry for that long sentence).

All of this, to me, leads to the question of ultimate responsibility for sin. If man created his own condition then he is obviously responsible for the consequences. If "the devil made me do it!!", then that is something different. And if God did it, then that is really something different.

The NT tells us the Lord Jesus saying that Satan "had nothing in me" which seems to say that the temptation from outside, with Satan as the source, had no corresponding sin in Christ that would respond to it. No doubt we can all agree that our own personal experience matches this understanding, with the opposite results.

I am tending to agree with your thoughts on this subject but striving for further clarification on my own part. I hope you would continue.

Grace.

Arizona

08-10-2008, 12:37 PM	#56
Arizona Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 22	Ultimate Responsibility KSA - Thank you for the further discussion. Forgive me if this post seems to take us further afield from the original topic but it is leading me to some deeper, maybe more philosophical, questions that I have been wrestling with because of some things I am hearing in fellowship with other believers. The first is the question of the origination, or originator, of evil itself. Some say that ultimately God Himself must be the creator of evil because Satan is a created being. And, was he created having a free will. If I am understanding you correctly Satan is himself the creator of evil and man followed him after temptation by himself (man) reproducing in himself that which Satan had previously created, and thus producing the sin in human nature, not by taking Satan into his (man) being but by reproduction, which was possible because of man's God-given free will. (sorry for that long sentence). All of this, to me, leads to the question of ultimate responsibility for sin. If man created his own condition then he is obviously responsible for the consequences. If "the devil made me do it!!", then that is something different. And if God did it, then that is really something different. The NT tells us the Lord Jesus saying that Satan "had nothing in me" which seems to say that the temptation from outside, with Satan as the source, had no corresponding sin in Christ that would respond to it. No doubt we can all agree that our own personal experience matches this understanding, with the opposite results. I am tending to agree with your thoughts on this subject but striving for further clarification on my own part. I hope you would continue. Grace. Arizona