Foundational Ideas: The Fall Affected Everything

When sin entered the world (Genesis 3), the fall affected everything. Too often, we think of the effect of the fall was that it resulted in Adam and Eve getting kicked out of the garden, but all of creation was affected by the fall. Humans began to sin, to act and think in ways that were opposed to the will and holiness of God. But it was not just behavior, not just thought, emotions were also affected. Though God created us with emotion, the fall led to poor expression of our emotions. Our relationships were also affected. Larry Crabb writes about the notion of relational sin.  How we engage in relationships with others is affected by our own fallenness and our own selfishness.  Even biology, even culture are affected by the fall.  Sinfulness infects everything. The only hope for the great reversal is Christ’s ongoing redemption. One of the books that most deeply affected me here was Neal Plantinga’s Not the Way It’sSupposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin.

Foundational Ideas: Grace/Forgiveness

My license plates read “GRCE ALN”, for grace alone. Over the last few years, there is probably no concept that has more deeply affected what I believe. Since becoming a Christian, I have given intellectual assent to the notion of grace, but I have not really felt its effects.

Grace says that there is quite literally nothing that I can do to save myself from the wrath of God. My only hope is in the accomplished work of Christ on the cross, where he bore the wrath of God and rose to victory, saving me when I could not save myself. I brought nothing to my salvation apart from my sin.

The two authors who have helped me to see this most clearly have been Tullian Tchvidjian and Matt Chandler. Each of these men preach a message of radical grace, reminding believers that they were saved not based on anything they have done, but on what Christ has done.

I would recommend pastor Tullian’s book One Way Love and Barbara Duguid’s book Extravgant Grace if you want to learn more. One of the best things to read in this regard is Martin Luther’s Commentary on Galatians.  I would also commend the video below. 

 

Foundational Ideas: Absolute Truth

Increasingly, Western culture promotes a relativized view of truth. In other words, as Greg Koukl says, some people believe that truth is like ice cream. I may like rocky road, but you may prefer vanilla.  Neither of us is wrong, because this truth is subjective (i.e., based on the subject). In this case, what is true for me may be different that what is true for you. 

However, on issues that matter, truth is objective. Questions like, is there a God?, does Hell exist? Does abortion take a life? These questions do not depend upon my subjective interpretation, but are objective (i.e., based on the object). Greg Koukl says this type of truth is like insulin.  Failure to heed this type of truth has very real, even painful consequences.

Operating from a perspective that truth does exist and is objective affects how I view the world. Life is precious. Evil exists. Those who do not turn to Christ will go to hell forever. If this were merely a relativistic truth, then it would not matter if I told others about Christ, but its not ice cream, its insulin.

I would again direct the interested reader back to www.str.org, but I would also recommend Francis Beckwith and Greg Koukl’s book Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Midair as well as Don Carson’s the Intolerance ofTolerance for those who want to read more.