"What have you that you did not receive. If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift" (1 Cor. 4:7, RSV).
"God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices" (Eccl. 7:29, RSV).
"[B]ut who are you, a man, to answer to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me thus'" (Rom. 9:19-20, RSV).
"But the one who did not know; and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Luke 12:48, ESV).
"The mass of men lead live lives of quiet desperation."--Henry David Thoreau
What makes us individuals is not merely the interplay of genes in action in an uncontrollable, impersonal fate, but the byproduct of the destiny of God who planned out every detail of our lives and all the contingencies. Sir Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, declared that we are not "pawns of our genes." We are individuals and responsible for our behavior despite our genes, and cannot blame God for our wrongdoing nor think our DNA is fixed and we were born this way. We may inherit music talent, but no God-given passion for it; just like we can have all the food we need, but no appetite; or everything to live on and nothing to live for--there are certain blessings that only God provides.
Many factors went into making us the people we are: environment; education; culture; family; friends; vocation; experience, etc. If you had been born in Russia, you would not be the same person, only Russian, you'd be a different makeup and personality. Isaiah 45:9 says, "Woe to him who strives with his Maker." However, no one can say he is a thief because God made him one! We all have input into our nature and there's no iron-clad karma or law of cause and effect that forces us into some role or part in life. A person may become a math instructor because of natural intelligence inherited from parents in the genes, but God makes him what he is and the passion and opportunity--there are manifold contingencies. Siblings can be so different and even without natural affection for each other. How do you explain a family where everyone is a lawyer or doctor? I would attribute it largely to natural intelligence and family background and experience. What is admired in that family is the legal profession and no wonder they lean that way rather than be the black sheep of the family. God is able to work all the events and circumstances out for our good and destiny, foreseeing every possible outcome and exigency.
The point is that we have a destiny in which we participate and cooperate with God, not a fate that we have no control over and is the impersonal blind fate of kismet in Islam. God wants to personally involve us and desires our input. God's sovereignty is in no way, shape, or form, influenced nor interrupted, restrained, hindered, or even frustrated by man's so-called free will. When I say free will, I mean we are never coerced into anything to do something we don't want to do, which would be determinism--we make the decision of accepting or rejecting Christ's plan for our life. It is wonderful news that God has a plan for our lives and we can achieve a fulfilling life in Christ if we are willing and obedient.
The Christian life is a relationship of knowing God personally and growing in a living love-life. We really fall in love with Jesus, but some have left their first love found at salvation and their hearts have grown cold. The theory that we are pawns of our genes is because secularists believe in monism or that the only thing that exists in the natural world is matter/energy but there is something they must reckon with: intelligence and where it came from--the Ultimate, Supreme Mind behind it all; this view is called dualism and is the Christian worldview that there is a spirit world that doesn't take up form as matter/energy. This must be pointed out because of the laws of thermodynamics; the amount of energy in the universe remains constant, and it cannot be destroyed nor created, but only decreased in usefulness. This is how we know that the universe had a beginning and that the energy clock began ticking at some point in the past.
How is it that two siblings can be so different and contrary? They not only have different natural talents, abilities, and gifts, but so many variables are at play that they are still individuals and not clones of their parents nor of each other. It is rare that a son is a real chip off the old block or in the image and likeness of the parent. There are so many combinations of genes and DNA that there is a nil chance of there being anyone exactly like you in the whole world. Sometimes you can look in the mirror and start seeing your parents and thinking you've become like them, but sometimes we do bear physical resemblance without any personality profile likeness too. It is thought that we inherit our sin nature from our fathers because Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. It is also true that the consequences of the sins of the fathers are passed down to the children.
But the point is that we are totally responsible for our own sins and will die for our own sins, not our fathers'. No one can say he was on the wrong list and think God couldn't save him--he had his chances and no one is treated unjustly by God. The people saved are those who were shown grace, not justice, while the damned were rendered justice, but no one suffers injustice from God, the perfectly Just One. "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" Abraham declares in Gen. 18:25. We must be assured that God always does the right thing and destines no one to hell, they went there of their own choice and volition, and God never made them do or think anything they didn't want to. That is to say, that the Christian cannot give himself any credit for his salvation, while the damned can only blame themselves, for they were never without witness (cf. Acts 14:17).
It is said, as an excuse for bad conduct and to avoid the responsibility, that we can blame our genes for our sexual desires, and the sexual deviant or pervert is only captive to his nature and that he "was born this way." They have found that drunkards seem to have less of the dopamine receptor gene, but he is still responsible for his behavior in God's sight and no drunks will inherit the kingdom of God, regardless of genes. By this line of reasoning, you could say that you inherited a desire to commit adultery or fornication and lust more than the average Joe, so you can't help it--poppycock! Everyone has an old sin nature and is still responsible and culpable for his sins and will be judged accordingly if he doesn't repent. The reason is that God can transform the individual from the inside out and it's not a matter of an AA pledge or turning over a new leaf, but of regeneration by God and having a born-again experience that is life-changing and altering. We cannot shift the blame to God for our sins!
We are indeed "fearfully and wonderfully made" and the formulae that made us is nothing short of a miracle to behold, we are surely unique, and when God made us He broke the mold! We are all interconnected and need each other--"No man is an island" (John Donne). Man has always gone on record as pointing the finger (which is forbidden in Isa. 58:9) and playing the blame game, trying to shift the fault to God for his own failures, misdeeds, shortcomings, weaknesses, and sins (this goes back to Adam blaming God for giving him Eve), but with God there's no excuse and man will be judged and held culpable by Him who is coming to judge the living and the dead.
We must all look inward to give ourselves a spiritual checkup and take inventory: "The unexamined life is not worth living" (Socrates). Remember: Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled in the perfect environment and wouldn't take personal responsibility for their wrongdoing--they sinned because they chose self over God, they didn't choose evil for they didn't know what it was, but wanted to rule themselves and be independent; therefore, sin is the declaration of independence from God.
Even though scientists do believe we can inherit a vulnerability towards certain sins or mental illnesses, we are still responsible and cannot point the finger at God. In the final analysis, we're all hard-wired for purpose, dignity, and meaning in life and this can only be found in knowing, trusting, and obeying God, not blaming Him. Soli Deo Gloria!
Amen!
"God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices" (Eccl. 7:29, RSV).
"[B]ut who are you, a man, to answer to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me thus'" (Rom. 9:19-20, RSV).
"But the one who did not know; and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Luke 12:48, ESV).
"The mass of men lead live lives of quiet desperation."--Henry David Thoreau
What makes us individuals is not merely the interplay of genes in action in an uncontrollable, impersonal fate, but the byproduct of the destiny of God who planned out every detail of our lives and all the contingencies. Sir Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, declared that we are not "pawns of our genes." We are individuals and responsible for our behavior despite our genes, and cannot blame God for our wrongdoing nor think our DNA is fixed and we were born this way. We may inherit music talent, but no God-given passion for it; just like we can have all the food we need, but no appetite; or everything to live on and nothing to live for--there are certain blessings that only God provides.
Many factors went into making us the people we are: environment; education; culture; family; friends; vocation; experience, etc. If you had been born in Russia, you would not be the same person, only Russian, you'd be a different makeup and personality. Isaiah 45:9 says, "Woe to him who strives with his Maker." However, no one can say he is a thief because God made him one! We all have input into our nature and there's no iron-clad karma or law of cause and effect that forces us into some role or part in life. A person may become a math instructor because of natural intelligence inherited from parents in the genes, but God makes him what he is and the passion and opportunity--there are manifold contingencies. Siblings can be so different and even without natural affection for each other. How do you explain a family where everyone is a lawyer or doctor? I would attribute it largely to natural intelligence and family background and experience. What is admired in that family is the legal profession and no wonder they lean that way rather than be the black sheep of the family. God is able to work all the events and circumstances out for our good and destiny, foreseeing every possible outcome and exigency.
The point is that we have a destiny in which we participate and cooperate with God, not a fate that we have no control over and is the impersonal blind fate of kismet in Islam. God wants to personally involve us and desires our input. God's sovereignty is in no way, shape, or form, influenced nor interrupted, restrained, hindered, or even frustrated by man's so-called free will. When I say free will, I mean we are never coerced into anything to do something we don't want to do, which would be determinism--we make the decision of accepting or rejecting Christ's plan for our life. It is wonderful news that God has a plan for our lives and we can achieve a fulfilling life in Christ if we are willing and obedient.
The Christian life is a relationship of knowing God personally and growing in a living love-life. We really fall in love with Jesus, but some have left their first love found at salvation and their hearts have grown cold. The theory that we are pawns of our genes is because secularists believe in monism or that the only thing that exists in the natural world is matter/energy but there is something they must reckon with: intelligence and where it came from--the Ultimate, Supreme Mind behind it all; this view is called dualism and is the Christian worldview that there is a spirit world that doesn't take up form as matter/energy. This must be pointed out because of the laws of thermodynamics; the amount of energy in the universe remains constant, and it cannot be destroyed nor created, but only decreased in usefulness. This is how we know that the universe had a beginning and that the energy clock began ticking at some point in the past.
How is it that two siblings can be so different and contrary? They not only have different natural talents, abilities, and gifts, but so many variables are at play that they are still individuals and not clones of their parents nor of each other. It is rare that a son is a real chip off the old block or in the image and likeness of the parent. There are so many combinations of genes and DNA that there is a nil chance of there being anyone exactly like you in the whole world. Sometimes you can look in the mirror and start seeing your parents and thinking you've become like them, but sometimes we do bear physical resemblance without any personality profile likeness too. It is thought that we inherit our sin nature from our fathers because Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. It is also true that the consequences of the sins of the fathers are passed down to the children.
But the point is that we are totally responsible for our own sins and will die for our own sins, not our fathers'. No one can say he was on the wrong list and think God couldn't save him--he had his chances and no one is treated unjustly by God. The people saved are those who were shown grace, not justice, while the damned were rendered justice, but no one suffers injustice from God, the perfectly Just One. "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" Abraham declares in Gen. 18:25. We must be assured that God always does the right thing and destines no one to hell, they went there of their own choice and volition, and God never made them do or think anything they didn't want to. That is to say, that the Christian cannot give himself any credit for his salvation, while the damned can only blame themselves, for they were never without witness (cf. Acts 14:17).
It is said, as an excuse for bad conduct and to avoid the responsibility, that we can blame our genes for our sexual desires, and the sexual deviant or pervert is only captive to his nature and that he "was born this way." They have found that drunkards seem to have less of the dopamine receptor gene, but he is still responsible for his behavior in God's sight and no drunks will inherit the kingdom of God, regardless of genes. By this line of reasoning, you could say that you inherited a desire to commit adultery or fornication and lust more than the average Joe, so you can't help it--poppycock! Everyone has an old sin nature and is still responsible and culpable for his sins and will be judged accordingly if he doesn't repent. The reason is that God can transform the individual from the inside out and it's not a matter of an AA pledge or turning over a new leaf, but of regeneration by God and having a born-again experience that is life-changing and altering. We cannot shift the blame to God for our sins!
We are indeed "fearfully and wonderfully made" and the formulae that made us is nothing short of a miracle to behold, we are surely unique, and when God made us He broke the mold! We are all interconnected and need each other--"No man is an island" (John Donne). Man has always gone on record as pointing the finger (which is forbidden in Isa. 58:9) and playing the blame game, trying to shift the fault to God for his own failures, misdeeds, shortcomings, weaknesses, and sins (this goes back to Adam blaming God for giving him Eve), but with God there's no excuse and man will be judged and held culpable by Him who is coming to judge the living and the dead.
We must all look inward to give ourselves a spiritual checkup and take inventory: "The unexamined life is not worth living" (Socrates). Remember: Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled in the perfect environment and wouldn't take personal responsibility for their wrongdoing--they sinned because they chose self over God, they didn't choose evil for they didn't know what it was, but wanted to rule themselves and be independent; therefore, sin is the declaration of independence from God.
Even though scientists do believe we can inherit a vulnerability towards certain sins or mental illnesses, we are still responsible and cannot point the finger at God. In the final analysis, we're all hard-wired for purpose, dignity, and meaning in life and this can only be found in knowing, trusting, and obeying God, not blaming Him. Soli Deo Gloria!
Amen!