The Destiny of Natural Man

     We’ve seen that all men including Adam are destined to die.  From Adam to Noah, men had forgotten God and went their own way.

     “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually …So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”  Genesis 6:5, 12

     One might have thought the flood judgment and God’s promise never to destroy the earth by flood again might have changed man’s hearts.

     Such was not the case.  Fast forward several thousand years to the time of Job.

     One of Job’s friends named Eliphaz spoke of man’s innate sinfulness.

     “What is man, that he could be pure?  And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?”  Job 15:14

     Eliphaz contended that one born of a woman could not be righteous.  These words are true.  Every child born of a woman after Adam was born innately evil.

     Then he posed the question; if angels are not pure, how could an earthling be pure?

     “If God puts no trust in His saints, and the heavens (angels) are not pure in His sight, How much less man, who is abominable and filthy, who drinks iniquity like water!”  Job 15:15-16

     David acknowledged the same truth.

     “The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.  They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.”  Psalm 14:2-3

     David recognized that all men are corrupt.  Sin is universal, which is a central theme in the Bible.

     David’s son Solomon spent much of his energy trying to reconcile the fact that a man acting independently could not overcome universal degradation.

     “This is an evil in all that is done under the sun; that one thing happens to all.  Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.”  Ecclesiastes 9:3

     Again, note the words ‘all’ and ‘full.’  He acknowledged that all men live in sin during their life and then go the place of the dead.  Solomon realized there had to be something more.  The final two verses in Ecclesiastes revealed the key.

     Several hundred years later the prophets spoke of the same phenomena made known to David and Solomon.

     “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”  Jeremiah 17:9

     If one’s heart is deceitful, so will be his tongue and actions.  No one can understand such a thing.

     Approximately seven hundred years later Paul became a great teacher/writer.  In his letter to the Christians in Rome he said:

      “What then?  Are we better than they (Jews)?  Not at all.  For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.”  Romans 3:9

     And then to illustrate his argument, he quoted David’s words from Psalm 14 noted above.  The universality of sin was applicable to his time. Nothing had changed.

     He continued by stating that both the words and actions of all men reveal their corrupt state.

     “With their tongues they have practiced deceit…Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways…”  Romans 9:13, 15-16

     Paul summarized his teaching succinctly.

     “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”  Romans 9:23

     And lastly, John confirmed the universality of sin.

     “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  1 John 1:8

     Therefore, sin is universal; death is universal; resurrection is universal, and eternal existence is universal.

     But it seems like the only mention of universalism spoken of today is universal bliss.  Total heresy.

     Every man that dies as a natural man will spend eternity in the lake of fire.

     Question:  How important, then, is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world?  That is the most significant teaching in the entire Bible.