Have you ever wondered why we can never just be good?  When we drive somewhere, we always speed, even just a little (yeah, we all do it).  When someone of authority tells us to do something, we don’t always want to do it, or we secretly grumble in our hearts.  The writers of the Bible have an answer as to why we can never just be good on our own.  In Genesis 3, Moses writes about an event called The Fall.  In this short article I want to describe The Fall and one of its effects.

What is the Fall?

In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve decided to disobey God and thus fall from their originally good position.  In Genesis 1-2, God created Adam and Eve good.  Often when we call something “good,” we mean something is “tasty, pleasing,” and so forth.  When God, however, calls something “good,” then something reflects the goodness in His perfect character.  Yet, when tempted by the devil, Adam and Eve fell from their “good” status before God.  This event is what theologians have termed “The Fall.”  This Fall is why we never just be good.  The Fall is the root reason why we speed every time we drive.  The Fall is the reason why we don’t like other people telling us what to do.  The Fall is the reason for broken relationships.  The Fall is the reason for a self-love, cheating, stealing, and so forth.  The Fall is something with which we should be well acquainted because it effects affect us daily.

An Effect of the Fall: Unable and Unwilling to Be Obedient to Christ

A major effect of the Fall is that mankind is now unable and unwilling to be obedient to God who is most clearly revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  First, let’s consider our inability.  God is a perfectly righteous God.  That means that his every thought, desire, action, etc., is entirely perfect.  We, however, are entirely unrighteous.  Our thoughts are unrighteous; our desires are unrighteous; our actions are unrighteous.  Our unrighteousness is the problem.  Recently I attended a camp with my youth group in which the first day was focused on the word “stained.”  Their point was that sin has stained us to the point that we are entirely unable to clean it.  That’s precisely our predicament.  We are stained with unrighteousness in the sight of God.  For someone to be obedient to God in Christ they must be righteous—one flows from the other.  Yet, we are entirely unable to attain this righteousness.  Let’s consider our own lives.  Think of all the times just today that we have messed up—getting ready in the morning, driving to work, and so forth.  We can do nothing perfectly as God requires (Matt 5:48).

Second, let’s consider our unwillingness.  Frankly, we don’t want to be obedient to Christ.  We simply want to live our lives how we want with no one else telling us what to do.  Nickelback wrote a song with lyrics that echo our desires. Notice how he wants to avoid restrictions on his life (in the underlined lines):

I’m through with standing in line

To clubs we’ll never get in

It’s like the bottom of the ninth

And I’m never gonna win

This life hasn’t turned out

Quite the way I want it to be

I want a brand new house

On an episode of Cribs

And a bathroom I can play baseball in

And a king size tub big enough

For ten plus me

Nickelback is clear—he wants what he wants with no one else telling him what to do.  Because of the Fall, now all of us have this same attitude towards God.  We want to do what we want, no matter what God wants from us.

The Fall has left us in a terrible situation: we are both unable and unwilling to be obedient to God in Christ.  Certainly, we are not all as bad as we could be.  Nevertheless, we are still in a sad position.  While Christ offers us salvation from this sad predicament, for now let’s consider fully how bad we are apart from Christ.

One evening while I was spending time with my fiance’s family in their living room, her father turned on the television to ABC.  Usually I refrain from watching television but a show came on which instantly fixated my attention: “Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition.”    I had seen before, and others had told me about, the amazing things that the regular “Extreme Makeover” show had brought about for people — remodeled houses for people who couldn’t afford it yet needed it and for those who give their lives to some great cause and are without funds to repair their homes.  Yet, when I saw this same show having a “Weight Loss Edition,” I was shocked at the mere idea of it.  The first episode I saw consisted of someone who weighed over 500 lbs. and had to be weighed on a freight scale because no other scale was able to weigh them.  As the show progresses, usually this individual learns to eat healthy, exercise, and then by the end of the show they look like an entirely different person.  The makeover ends up being, well, extreme – sometimes people go from over 500 lbs. to a normal and average weight.  It is just shocking to see the transformation.

Watching this show and simply scoffing at the morbidly obese person is easy.  Yet, the situation is a little different when the spotlight is turned to ourselves.  Regardless of our weight and body appearance, are we actually serious about our own personal health management?  As strange as it reads, sometimes skinnier people who appear to look good can be unhealthier than someone who is slightly overweight, based on what they eat, how much they exercise, what they drink, and so forth. Given that most Americans, including Christians, are overweight, eat out often, and don’t exercise, it seems we are probably not very concerned about our own health management.  Just consider yesterday – how many calories did you eat versus how many you’re supposed to eat?  How many calories did you bur?  What was the difference between the two?  And how helpful was your exercise and those foods you ate?  Or do you even have any idea about those questions or the answers to those questions?

We must be serious about our health management because God who created our bodies is serious about them.  Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So, glorify God in your body.”  If we are Christians, then the Holy Spirit actually dwells in us.  Therefore, we are to honor God with our bodies.  This transcends into even how we manage it physically.

If you are like me up until the past couple months, you probably have had little knowledge about how to manage your physical health.  That’s okay!  We have plenty of resources available.  Apps like LIVESTRONG and MyFitnessPal have helped me calculate how many calories I am supposed to have, how to track them for everything I eat, how to track my workout, to being to see a difference in my lifestyle, and then to track my monthly progress.  I would offer these apps and similar online resources to aid you as you learn to manage your health.  So, instead of making fun and simply be shocked at the morbidly obese person on television, let’s actually follow Paul’s teaching and glorify God with our bodies by managing our physical health in a way that is honoring to God.

Few organizations are scrutinized more than those intending to bring people out of the homosexual lifestyle. Labeling homosexuality a sinful lifestyle choice is anathema in our modern society. Look at Apple’s recent decision to remove an iPhone app from a Christian-based organization, Exodus International. Exodus International describes itself as “helping those struggling with unwanted same-sex attraction to live a life congruent with biblical teaching.” Intense opposition from gay activist groups caused Apple to cave.

The declaration of homosexuality as biblically wrong is an indictment against the gay community –a condemnation of an immoral lifestyle. Hence, we see virulent opposition as in the case of Exodus International.

During my senior year at California Baptist University, students were privileged to hear a number of godly, well-known, influential speakers: David Platt, Voddie Baucham, and Tom Eliff were among them. These are men who have helped shape my views on missions, the family and evangelism.

But one of the most profound chapel messages came from a man that virtually none of us students had heard of. His name wasBryan. Of the 1,500 + students in the gym that morning, few anticipated what was to be shared. A normally restless crowd remained focused and attentive to the story of an incredible life transformation –a novel one for most, including myself.

Bryanhad been engaged in the gay lifestyle for many years. He told the story of being raised in church and being saved but having a father who felt his son was never the model of masculinity he envisioned. He strived for his father’s approval but always fell short. He did not excel in athletics, nor was he interested in traditionally male pursuits.

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As with many topics in theology, a discussion of homosexuality must take into account the historical redemptive metanarrative of the Bible. In this scheme, Christians begin by pondering the nature of the world as it was in the perfect and harmonious state of creation. The first two chapters of Genesis explain that God created everything that exists, and everything that he created he deemed to be good. But, this creation was never meant to be an end in itself. Instead, God intended it to bring about his worship.

The metanarrative progresses and the story unfortunately gets worse. As the third chapter of Genesis rolls around, we see that things go very wrong. Adam and Eve rebel against God’s law, and everything in the world is thrown into confusion. What was originally beautiful and harmonious becomes ugly and dreadful. The whole world is thrown out of rhythm. The hearts, minds, emotions, wills, and bodies of men are corrupted by sin. Relationships are disrupted, and everything in existence is contaminated. God would have been just in killing Adam and Eve. After all, the wages of sin is death. They deserved to die. However, God decided to show them mercy. He provided clothes for them to cover them in their shame. He cast them out of the Garden to keep them away from the tree of life, thus protecting them from an existence of eternal dying. God could have demonstrated his wrath on Adam and Eve. Yet he chose to show mercy.

As the storyline of the Bible continues, we see men and women sinning over and over again. Obviously, something is wrong with us. The good news is that God’s plan of redemption provides a remedy for the problem. As the metanarrative continues, we see glimpses of God’s plan to restore creation through the person and work of the Messiah who would come, Jesus Christ.

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Paul Washer, thought by many to be one of the greater prophetic voices of our generation, has been and continues to be used to impact the world for the Gospel. You may have already come across Washer’s video below. This sermon, which initially took the internet by storm, has come to be known as his “Shocking Youth Message.” It doesn’t take the listener long to understand why. I don’t want to present this video as a blanket judgment of the Western church, since there are good and Gospel-centered churches and student ministries to be found in America. However, I do think that a large percentage of churches, pastors, student pastors, and students would be benefited if they would take heed to the message presented here.

Washer has received a great deal of criticism for this message. In the following video, he provides some helpful context for the environment in which it was delivered.

This is a great resource for men and women who struggle with the sin of pornography and lust.  Driscoll, like always, is candid and frank about the effects of porn on our lives, and he grounds his discussion in Scripture.  This is a must read for any Christian struggling with this issue.  Read it HERE from the Resurgence[dot]com.

In 10 Questions, a regular interview page in Time magazine (March 28), Dan Savage, a gay syndicated sex columnist discussed his book It Gets Better and his YouTube campaign in support of bullied gay teens. Savage is a controversial speaker and writer at the forefront of gay activism. While aiming to eliminate the abuse of teens embracing a homosexual lifestyle is good, Savage’s advocacy and belief regarding homosexuality has serious implications. His approach doesn’t address any inherent error in the gay lifestyle, but rather encourages acceptance of it. In doing so he makes a statement of profound impact—in which he redefines love:

Time: What advice can you give readers of Time?

Savage: We talk about love in a way that’s very unrealistic: “If you’re in love, you’re not going to want to have sex with anyone else but that person.” That’s not true. We need to acknowledge that truth so that people don’t have to spend 40 years of marriage lying to and policing each other. [...]

When something rocks the boat of purity in the Church, the world takes notice. If they are close to the situation, believers feel a sense of betrayal, and regardless of proximity the unbelieving world snatches the opportunity to manifest the blatant inconsistent lives of the supposed people of God. [...]

I get this question all the time.  Some believe you should reveal every detail of all previous sexual acts to your soon-to-be spouse; some believe you should not.  I fall into the latter category.  It is my conviction and preference that you do not need to reveal everything to your spouse.  Let me to tell you why. [...]

Moving from a discussion of God’s love within His intratrinitarian Persons (see here) and God’s provisional love for all of His creation (see here), we move now to discuss yet another aspect of God’s other-orientation and self-giving love in this third installment within this series on God’s love—God’s general love for all mankind. There is a sense in which God’s love for all of mankind could have been included in the preceding discussion of God’s provisional love for all of His creation.

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