Therefore, just as
through one man
Sin entered the
world, and death
Through sin, and thus
death spread
To all men, because
all sinned—
(For until the law
sin was in the world,
but sin is not
imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death
reigned from Adam
To Moses, even over
those who had not sinned
According to the
likeness of the transgression
Of Adam, who is a
type of Him who was to come.
Romans 5:12-14
The setting
forth of the groundwork that is necessary to be able to correctly examine
history and how history is affected our present day world there are some things
that must be illuminated. It is as a backdrop for our study of history to
acknowledge the historicity of Adam and of his fall from grace. The
consciousness of Adam does not exist in our world. The relationship that Adam
had with God is not the same as our relationship with Him today. Therefore, we
must examine two elements of history, the first is non-regenerate man, and the
regenerate consciousness. We cannot take these two elements and be indifferent
about them for if we do not seriously look at this historical data as found in
the Bible then that narrative of Adam has no meaning and if no meaning then
there can be no theological understanding of this world. We must understand and
accept that the fall of Adam was a willful transgression. The law given to him
by God was simple and had not an enticement in of itself to draw Adam or Eve into
disobedience. Sin did not exist. It was the responsibility of Adam to keep this
law as it is our responsibility to keep God’s law. When we do not keep God’s
law then the recompense for our failure is to become separated from God. God
cannot keep company with sin. If we do not believe in the historicity of Adam
and deny that history then man’s responsibility for his actions is reduced and
sin has no reality and all that occurs is due to fate. If sin is not recognized
and fate is all that there is then there is a denial of history and the actions
of men show that men have evil tendencies far above the good that they may
do, further, there is a denial of the Christian view of sin. If there is no
sin, only bad judgment, or due to fate then man is free to do whatever pleases
him. History acknowledges this fact that men have taken life in their hands and
did as they pleased for reason that are ego-centric and others are only pawns
in their hands so that they may accomplish their desires. All a person has to
do is to look in history at the empires, Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian,
Persian, Grecian, Roman, and the atrocities that they did to each other and
then we see that man without a true law to follow will devise a law unto
themselves. Yet, men of history, even of today, attempt to reason the why we
are here and why we do such things, furthermore, whether or not there is a God.
Often these men devise a system of gods, and attempt to anthropomorphize a god
to meet their belief system. History attests to this fact. From the beginning
of man there have been a people who have adhered to the creator God, and only Him
is there God, and when they left behind to follow other gods they brought upon
themselves disaster. Then when they
returned to follow the God of the Universe who is above them in all ways
possible blessing came upon them in a manner that He was revealed to be the God
of the Universe and not some man devised god. History reports that this is true
for His chosen people, the Israelites.
The point
of history that we have entered is after the return of the Israelites to their
homeland, yet many years before the world was changing from a city/state form
of government to a central national government, from tribes separate and
warring to a congealing of tribes into a solidified form or government. This
took time, and the involvement of me who were to influence those men of old and
do influence us today. You are what you have come to believe, those guiding
principles that you make choices by, live life by, so we must look at some men,
(there were many) those of great influence and how they affected the world. As we
have looked at some historical political elements that would be in place at the
time of the birth of Jesus and the world in which He taught men and women the
truth to lead them back to God, we will understand those words that Jesus spoke
to religious leaders, in parables, and the reason He was put to death. Not the
reason why He came, for He came to die for sin and to satisfy the justice of
God, but the reason why at the time of death the world would be able to crucify
an innocent man for He had not committed any crime against the Roman Empire. We
need to know how could such a death be committed, what was the mentality of the
leadership? And the mentality of the Israelites? There is more than can be
written in a blog. I can only scrape the surface, but I do hope to scrape
enough factual information to give understanding of the times, and of those
philosophers, and theologians that not only affected their world but are
affecting our world. God did not haphazardly select a time to come into this
world to accomplish His purpose. God did not take from man second causes. God
did orchestrate those second causes for His purpose by His Providence. When the
world and political climate was right then God entered into our world and by
that culture that was a congealing of men into a great Empire, an Empire that
ruled the Western world, He came and by His coming the world was changed. There
now became a people who were chosen by God to spread the gospel that sin had
been expunged and that they could be the recipients of that propitiation
sacrifice. God has chosen His people from before the foundation of the world
and all He has elected to be one of His children come to Him by the hearing of
the gospel and the faith given to them to accept the gospel and to be converted
to Him, to live for Him, knowing that God is in control of history and as He
did before, He will come to end this world that is in objection to Him and to
restore to His people life everlasting, that life that was lost in history by
Adam.
The next
blogs will be to look at a few important men who affected history and are
affecting our present age.
For I consider that the sufferings
Of this
present time are not
Worthy to be compared with the
Glory which
shall be revealed
In us. For the earnest expectation of
The
creation awaits for the
Revealing of the sons of God.
Romans 8:18-19
Jesus Christ Is Our End
Richard L. Crumb
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