Sinful—yes. But…by nature??

All Christians would agree that mankind is sinful—this is a basic doctrine of our faith. We recognize sin in actions and attitudes—in the position of our hearts and in our values. But…what does it mean to be sinful in our natures? Eph 2:3 says, in part, “…(we) were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” Yes, Christians recognize sinful behavior, but what about this business of being sinful by nature? King David was so convinced of his own sin that he proclaimed that when he was born he was a sinner. He wrote that when he was “brought forth” from his mother’s womb, he had been “brought forth in iniquity.” (Ps 51:5) A similar idea is affirmed in Ps 58:3, “The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth, speaking lies.”

Sin is not, I believe, an entity in and of itself. It is, rather, the absence of something—God. Sin is the natural condition of things when God is not manifest. Sin is like darkness. Darkness is not something in itself; it is the absence of light. Likewise, sin is simply raw existence in the absence of God.

The natural character of man manifests sinful quality. Sin is more than doing or thinking evil. Sin is a deeper thing than that. It indwells our very character. I can illustrate “sin by nature” from an animal model.

Several years ago, I was walking through the Sahel in northern Senegal. The Sahel is the grassy strip of land south of the Sahara Desert. For a few weeks in early spring, it’s rolling country is covered with green, waving, grass dotted by small groups of trees. It is very beautiful. As I walked along, I came upon the carcass of a dead cow. Overhead circled several vultures. As I watched, the vultures descended to feed on the cow. As they landed, I saw that they were huge animals and very beautiful. There were two different species—one stood six feet tall; and the other stood five feet. As the vultures converged on the dead body, they began to fight viciously among themselves. They pecked, kicked, flapped, bumped, pushed, and shoved one another. They fought violently over the carcass. There was not one single evidence of charity, generosity, or mutual respect among the group of vultures.

I thought to myself, “This is sin, personified!!” This was sin by nature. Those giant birds did not evidence any kindness or cooperation, at all! They were acting “by nature.” I believe that this bird-behavior is just the kind of effect we see in human beings who have not been touched by Christ’s Spirit—sinful “by nature.”

Still, there are those who would deny that young children are sinful. After all, they have not had the opportunity to sin. Really?? I would ask you to look carefully at the behavior of young children. They are just as selfish and belligerent as they can possibly be. Yes, they manifest sin “by nature.” God has not touched their little hearts, yet! They need to be taught and socialized before they can be tolerated by others. Later, hopefully, they will be indwelt by Christ’s Spirit and redeemed of their natural tendency toward sin.

You might think that my comparison of vultures and men is far-fetched. Well…I’m not so sure that my comparison is very far from the unvarnished truth. We, all, like vultures have gone astray!