Critical Demeanor

A "demeanor" is how a person appears to another. "Critical", in this context, is criticism or disapproval.  Some have a "critical demeanor", and respond with undue negativity. Their M.O. is negativity. What is it that most people desire to do when continually encountering a person with a critical demeanor? The answer is avoidance! To subject oneself to undue criticism is stress-causing and unnecessary. Only a fool likes to be continually demeaned!

Let's look at the person whose demeanor is critical. They are not happy campers! Who or what is it that they dislike? Others and life itself! Some people respond with criticism because they just don't like life. Their existence depends on others unhappiness. Why are people that way? Because they lack love. It's obvious that joy and love are interdependent. One can't be joyous unless they love and they don't love because there is no joy in their hearts.

How are Christians to operate?

Ephesians 4:29  (ESV) "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. "

So according to inspired Paul, Christians are to build each other up!  That seems contrary to the disposition of the person with a critical demeanor! Why? Because it is! Oh, what are critical people to do? Build each other up! That's not done with criticism. Building up is done by encouraging words:

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ( ESV) "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up..."

The last part I omitted: "just as you are doing", because most people aren't doing that nowadays!

How can we encourage? Firstly, by not saying discouraging things, not by rolling of the eyes, not by showing an attitude! Before one can encourage, one must first abandon automatic discouragement! That is your nature! You must change. Fortunately, if one calls on Jesus, change is possible, but people are critical because they may not have Jesus in their hearts. They fail to do the foremost command. They have not loving hearts! Love is hard to do, but it is an obligation because Jesus commands it!

The second thing to do to encourage is "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!" That's "The Golden Rule"! Do you want others to have a critical spirit with you? Surely not! Even those with a critical spirit don't want to be around others that way! They can't truly stand themselves, so why would they want to contend with others?

With that said, we should treat others well! That's fairness, with meekness, with love and all in accord with God's goodness. That's how you want to be treated. Why not treat others that way?

Thirdly, don't pick at another person. We all are slaves to our own faults. I bet yours are as bad as others! Most people who pick at me, I could destroy with words if that was my demeanor. Mine is to get along and be in accord! Constant criticism is a defense mechanism. It defends a person's inadequacies. Some use this tactic against those who are a threat. It may be education, performance, wisdom, ability or even appearance related. It's jealousy, aka envy.

My former father-in-law had a critical demeanor. There was never a reason to argue or even pay attention to his constant false knowledge and criticism because he was cast in stone. I learned to humor him. I totally ignored his arrogance and negativity because I had to. He was always around!  Of course, another course would be to avoid him, but then we would be avoiding most people. I learned the serenity prayer:

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

And wisdom to know the difference." (Reinhardt Niebuhr).

I cannot change others. They must change themselves. My role is to have the courage to change the things I can change. In this case, I can't change others, but I can adjust my attitude to ignore their murmurings. Knowing that I'm helpless to change others who don't want to change is wisdom. I know that I can't change for them. All that I can do is pray and ask God to give them a loving heart. Their place is to respond to God. Unless they do, they'll never be happy.

Isn't it sad that people go through life with the motivation of making others miserable? What a goal! Jesus can fix that!

How Many Sins Does it Take?

Of course if your belief is in eternal security, this (the title) is a meaningless question. That's okay with me because that's your belief, but not mine. I believe the instant that you become a Christian Satan doubles up on his attack. Of course he works hard when the Holy Spirit calls, but when you submit to Christ the old buzzard tries to steal you away while you're yet a babe. A parallel to how Satan is allowed to work on righteous people is in the Book of Job.

Now, back to the question" How many sins does it take before a person has abandoned God and fell back into the welcoming arms of the devil? One? Two? Multiple? Continual? A lifestyle of sin? Just how many can Jesus bear?

It's not dependent on Jesus. He died for all sins of all people. It's dependent on you! Jesus accepts those of little faith.  The following passage was when Peter attempted to do what Jesus did; walk on water:

Matthew 14:30 "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 32 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased."

Peter walked in faith, then faltered and began to fall. Jesus, because of his grace, caught Peter, chastised him and then ceased the wind and calmed the waters. Jesus provided safety to Peter and never allowed him to fall. Why? Because Peter didn't abandon God! He still had a little faith and it was Jesus who measured it! "Doubt" is the reciprocal of "faith". By Peter having a little faith, he had much doubt even though he followed Jesus, he still doubted that he was truly God in the flesh! Many Christians are of little faith and have much doubt. Jesus still catches us before we fall!

Peter knew Jesus and was with him every day! We have never seen Jesus. We do sense his presence and love.

Peter was known as "the doubter", but I believe that the title more so belonged to Peter. Here is what Jesus said about Thomas' doubt:

John 20:29 "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

When Jesus spoke to Thomas he spoke to us in this generation because we have never seen him yet believe!  Then it would appear that seeing intensifies belief. All of us believe without the intensifying act of seeing. 

Now let's get back to Peter. He denied Jesus, not once, but thrice. He even denied Jesus with words although he knew Jesus with all of his senses. Jesus continued to catch Peter because he still had a little faith and even after Jesus saved him from drowning with a miracle! Peter denied his Savior!

This man of little faith in the end died for Jesus!  Jesus told Peter how he was to die!

John 21:18 "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. 19 This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me."

Peter died in Rome by crucifixion on a cross in imitation of the one in whom he believed! In this passage Jesus alluded to that type of death "when you're old you will die with outstretched hands" (paraphrased), indicating his death by crucifixion. So as to not disrespect his Lord, Peter asked that he be crucified upside down to which the Romans obliged.

This man of little faith had the faith to live and die a martyr for Jesus although he had much doubt at one time! Even when Jesus wasn't there in body to catch him his Ghost was! However, the Holy Ghost need not catch him because his continual and never-ceasing, but little faith, had held him up until his mission was accomplished; to tell the world about Jesus!

Jesus died for all our sins and everyone's who ever lived. However, when we submit to him, it's our PAST sins which are forgiven:

Romans 3:25 "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God..."

When we're saved God "forgets" all our past sins.(Isaiah 43:25). (People don't!). Our slate is wiped clean and we start out again as a new person. How one can tell if he the enlightenment was real is if there was a change. The new person is expected to do God's will and foremost in his will is "to obey my commands" (Jesus'). What does he command? That we love him and others! The Ten Commandments are the metrics for loving God and others. When we violate what is written on stone, then we are failing to love God and others. A lifestyle of missing those marks is apostasy. It's living completely out of the will of God without feeling guilt in doing so. As long as one feels guilt the Holy Ghost, the Ghost of Jesus, is still catching them because that's why he is here, to Comfort (help) us live righteously!

At some point those with little faith, if they're not protected by God's whole armor, may deplete that faith by which they were made safe and had the hope of salvation!

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God..."

"Saved: here is Greek saos (safe). By grace we are made "safe", having the HOPE of salvation. What is the catch word which makes one safe? Faith? As long as we have a little faith, even though we may doubt, Jesus catches us and doesn't allow us to fall and self-destruct in turbulent waters.

Faith is trusting in Jesus because we know what he did for us (grace) and that we SHALL be saved as long as we have faith. In other words, "faith" is critical to salvation. One sin is not a demonstration that one fails to have faith Two isn't! Many aren't? It's when we fail to see the need for repentance (because past sins only were forgiven) and quit allowing Jesus (through his Ghost) to catch us. Faith is turning to Jesus when we're drowning and realizing that he WILL catch us. When we quit turning to Jesus at all is when we are in apostasy and Jesus is no longer in our thoughts, without doubt not our Lord!

Jesus knew Peter's heart. He knew that Peter still had a little faith. On the other hand he knows our hearts. He knows when he has no part in our lives. Jesus doesn't catch those who fail to have even a little faith. Why should he? He catches us because of our faith! Peter was made safe by Jesus. He didn't die and was saved from death as was Lazarus, His salvation came when he took that last breath on his upside down cross. Until then his faith made him safe until his death when his faith saved him!  (Being saved is when one dies, bit is saved from "dying again" in a second death. It has nothing to do with being saved from mortal death)! He lived in faith of his Lord Jesus Christ and made a living sacrifice!

If Peter had left Jesus when he denied him thrice, the Ghost of Jesus would not have been there to catch him, but his little faith increased with Jesus' Resurrection and Peter's little faith turned into much faith... faith enough to die rather than to deny! Only Judas' little faith turned into no faith. Jesus didn't catch him although he once had faith enough to follow Jesus.

Never dabble in thinking "one more sin won't matter", for sin begets sin and by the time one is aware the devil has deceived! As sin compounds itself Jesus is no longer Lord. The devil is. Satan smiles as the believer's faith erodes and all the demons in hell rejoice that you have fallen into their sea. Jesus' arms were there to catch you, but unlike Peter, you failed to reach out to the one who could make you safe!

Inheritance

The rich young lawyer, who by the way, followed the Law asked of Jesus "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? (Mark 10:17).

From a legal standpoint an inheritance is clear. From the Jewish viewpoint it's even clearer!

"Inherit" has numerous definitions. The first one which comes to mind is an the legal definition regarding an estate. When a person dies, traditionally in some fashion, the wealth of the deceased is divided among the heirs. Heirs are usually considered family members, but they can be anyone who has legal rights to an estate. The estate doesn't have to be divided equally. Indeed, especially in the Jewish culture the eldest was the primary heir. The legitimate first born son gets the estate, debts and all. This passing along an inheritance is called "primogeniture" because it's to the benefit of the first born. Usually, the other heirs became dependent on the eldest son and the secondary line drifted into poverty over the generations.

From the rich lawyer's standpoint because he knows law, he thought of an inheritance in the legal sense. Because of his wealth it is likely that he had wealthy parents. My GUESS is that he inherited an estate and likely it was by primogeniture. When speaking with Jesus, he did show lawyerly respect with "Master". That is to be commended. He has learned not to bite hands which feed him!

Under primogeniture the eldest is accustomed to being given things. He likely got free stuff all his life because he surely was the eldest. Knowing the Law, he probably knew that there was no way he could send himself to heaven. He may have looked at heaven as "something I deserve" because he did "good" things commanded of him by God. He was surely an obedient son to his benefactor father, and since it worked for him with his father, he tried to be good for his benefactor Father in heaven. He worked hard because he was given much!

He had several problems. Of course he deceived himself into believing that doing "good" things made him deserve eternal reward. Also, he expected his share in heaven for his works. Because he got an inheritance here, he expected one from there!

The rich lawyer failed to inherit heaven because he failed to please the Benefactor. It wasn't obedience that God wanted from him, but LOVE, for faith without works is dead, according to the Book of James. The rich man failed to inherit anything from the Father because his love was for money. Mammon (wealth) had become his love and he was to die in love with his money because he failed to give it to the poor as suggested by Jesus. You see he obeyed all the other commandments, but failed on just one. He as well have failed on them all! (James 2:10).

The rich lawyer looked at the inheritance as his due, just as primogeniture. He lost his part in the estate in God's kingdom. His room in the mansion which the Father had prepared for him went to another.

Another definition of "inherit" is genetic. Because of the person' s parents they automatically get their biological traits. Most people in the western world today have an inherited type of Christianity. They declare their faith because their parents were Christians.

The inclination to sin is an inherited trait. However, accepting Jesus is not! Christian parents may increase the likelihood that a person comes to Christ, but it is still a personal decision given the free choice not to reject or accept the free gift of salvation.

Being born is not saving. Being "born-again" is. The first birth is by water. The second birth is by the blood! Only by accepting Jesus' sacrifice for one's own sins is effectual for the new birth.

1 John 2:2 "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

The lawyer had always accepted things free, but he rejected the most free thing he was ever offered. He rejected the gift of salvation and turned it down because his god was his wealth! That's never enough payment for eternal damnation. It doesn't seem fair, for he obeyed, but Christ wanted him, not his actions! His heart was with the world, not with Jesus. Jesus had not yet shed that sacrificial blood, but the rich lawyer rejected Jesus and lost his "spiritual inheritance".

A "spiritual inheritance" is what scripture teaches!  Jesus said:

Matthew 19:29 "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

Wills have preconceived conditions. If the eldest son was is in rebellion to the will of the father, then the second son became the "eldest", the older one losing his birthright. An example of this is Esaw the son of Abram. Isaac, the second son got his birthright for a pittance.

The precondition which the rich man had was the same as everyone! They must be willing to give up everything for Jesus Christ to inherit eternal life. Jesus knew the rich man's heart! He knew that wouldn't happen. In effect to inherit eternal life one must sacrifice this life. They present themselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). You see the rich lawyer was the epitome of wealth. He wasn't willing to trade the rich young man for a poor young man because his love was wealth (and prestige which comes with it). His god was in effect him, and his god expected to be pleasured!

We all are candidates to be heirs of God. His share for us is not by primogeniture, but by our willingness to cut off the flesh. The rich man's "flesh" was his idol of wealth. He didn't want to sacrifice that flesh and hence was not willing to make a living sacrifice for his soul. We do have to do things to inherit eternal life. We must have a willingness to change. It's not the act of giving paper money or coins which rewards, but the degree of love of Jesus and our fellow man to be willing to do it!

Part of being "born again" is change. Jesus expects change from an old person to a new one when we are born of the blood. New creations have a new personality. Their soul which once contained sin is cleansed and is the cup for a new spirit; the Holy Spirit! That new person doesn't need sin for happiness; that person has the hope of eternal life. What wealth we have is a great trade to live forever in prosperity. Any other of our  idols which we are willing to sacrifice is as good a trade!

Note that it wasn't his wealth that doomed the rich lawyer. It was it's importance to him!

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

That's what the rich man did! It was his love of wealth which did him in regardless of his obedience to other commands!  In effect, he did serve God, but he had another love:

Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."

God realized that although men believed in him, they still had a perceived "need" to serve another god BESIDES him because God seems to be insufficient. Our problem is not atheism per se, but syncretism, the serving of "other gods in addition to God"! The rich lawyers other god was wealth!

God doesn't make individual deals. It's the same deal for anyone, wealth aside! If the rich man had been willing to give up what he had it would have been credited to him as faith, just like it was for Abraham!

Hebrews 11:8 "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."

It was Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his "only son" as a living sacrifice which was credited to him as faith. God recalled the command at the last moment and Abraham prospered. I believe that even if the rich man had obeyed as Abraham did,  God would have still prospered him. Maybe not extreme wealth, but meeting all his needs. Also he would have had the bonus eternal life!

You are your own god besides God. Your flesh demands appeasement. What type of idol worship does it take to pleasure your god? If anything, it's not worth losing your inheritance from your adoptive Father. When we are born again, God adopts us as his own and we are heirs to his kingdom. It's a spiritual inheritance, and it's not by primogeniture!

Temptations of Christ: Part 2

There were three temptations or better said "three tests of faith":

• God as the provider. Jesus hungered. Satan tempted him with food (bread from rocks; Luke 4:3)
• Meekness and humility vs. Power and glory (earthly kingdoms; Luke 4:6)
• Faith in God. (God's safety; Luke 4:9)

We must remember that Holy Scripture (The New Testament name for the Old Testament) is all about Jesus! The creation story, the birth of mankind and the sin of Adam and Eve were all about Jesus. Sometimes one must pray and say "how, Oh, Lord", but truth will manifest itself to those who truly seek truth.

Adam was allowed to fall. God didn't make him fail and neither did Satan. Because Adam was created with cognition, emotion and free will he was allowed to use them all! Machines have cognition, but emotion and will are discreet to living beings (so far). God KNEW in advance that Satan would tempt Adam and that he would fail because God knew all about "the flesh" when he created Adam!

When you think of "the flesh", don't just think of the skin. Our flesh is much more than an epidermal layer. "The flesh" refers to the mode of the world's effects and affects upon us and includes all the sensory perceptions, the things of the mind and the things of the heart. "The flesh" is the contaminates in the soul where righteousness should be! "The flesh" because it's so easily pleased is symbolic of human desires.

If we look at Jesus' temptations, he was offered "things of the flesh": satisfaction, power and prestige and independence from God! Jesus is tempted just as Adam was! Because he felt the same fleshly desires as Adam, Jesus understood first hand why Adam failed. Because he experienced temptation is why he is so graceful! He understands us because, as they say, "He's been there...", but we stop there! He "has not done that!"

That's what makes Jesus different than us. "He's been there, but not done that!" He could have, but he didn't because he relied on the word of his Father in heaven. It was his sword to fight off the barbs of Satan as they were shot at him, but Jesus demonstrated the power in the Word of God!

There is a profound relationship between Adam and Jesus!

1 Corinthians 15:44 "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening (live-giving) spirit." (parenthesis mine).

Adam was made a living being with a soul, but Jesus, the last Adam, gave him life! We know that Adam was made in "our image" (Genesis 1:26). We should ask ourselves "Who is 'our'?" and the answer should be: "The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost!"  It's important that you understand that Adam was made with flesh in the image of Jesus, not that Jesus had yet procured the flesh, but God had a plan for mankind, and he knew how Jesus would be when born!

Adam was step one! He was with life, but he died spiritually. Jesus was born to give Adam life. Because Adam is our fleshly father, Jesus is our spiritual father, so to speak!

Let's compare the first Adam's temptations to those of the second Adam (Jesus).

• Tree was good for food (Genesis 3:6)
• Tree pleasant to the eyes. (Genesis 3:6)
• Tree food for wisdom.  (Genesis 3:6)

Jesus was tempted with bread. Adam was tempted because the tree offered food.

Jesus was offered the kingdoms of the world. Satan showed him it's beauty. Adam was tempted with a beautiful tree with it's hanging fruit!

Jesus was tempted with independence. Satan denied that God would protect him. In effect Satan was saying "You don't need God when you can only depend on yourself!" That's reasoning. Adam got that same rationale from Satan. "You will become as God. You can depend on yourself!" In both cases Satan, with the first Adam and with the Second Adam, belittled God to endeavor to get both to go it alone, or in effect to worship him!

In both cases Satan was asserting that if Adam or Jesus submitted to him, "Ye shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:6). Satan was a liar from the beginning and that was lie number one! He was still telling the same lie when Jesus came. Jesus knew it was a lie because the same lie is what separated his ancestor, Adam, from God. Adam number two was not going to allow that to happen again, because he understood truth: "God is love and God is the giver of life." As God himself, the second Adam is that life-giver and he is The Word whose Voice communed with Adam in the Garden, then had the grace to provide the sacrifice (blood and death of an animal) to cover Adam's sins; the same thing The Word did for us!

These are not coincidences! Satan tempts the same then as now. "There is nothing new under the son!" according to Solomon. Jesus, the second Adam, was tempted just like the first Adam. Adam #1 failed! Adam # 2 did NOT! That's why we can have faith in the Spirit,  but not in the flesh, remembering that Jesus is the giver of life and we are merely life!

Temptations of Christ: Part 1

Luke 4:1 "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness..."

In this verse the Greek word pleres is transliterated "full". Strong's definition is "replete or covered over".  This is in better agreement with this verse:

Matthew 3:16 "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him..."

In this passage "lighting" is from erchomai meaning "come" and "upon" is from epi meaning "superimposed".

In Mark 18:10 The Spirit descended "upon" (epi; superimposed). Finally, John 1:32:

John 1:32 "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."

'Abode" here is meno (stayed).  With John's baptism which was of water, it was not the baptism of the Holy Ghost. It would appear that the Holy Spirit was present and part of the baptism, but with Jesus, the Holy Spirit came and remained "on" (epi) him. Therefore at his baptism, Jesus was not "filled" (pletho; embued) with the Holy Ghost as in Acts 2:4,  but the Holy Spirit was "superimposed" upon Jesus.

When did Jesus get "embued" with the Holy Spirit. I believe it was when God came down at the transfiguration and Jesus was changed! (Matthew 17:2). Up until then, Jesus had the Holy Spirit "on" him. That day Jesus was fully God endowed completely with the Spirit of God!

This commentary is needed for the subject at hand: the temptations of Christ.  I believe that Jesus faced Satan, not as God, but as righteous man. Sure, at this time he is the Son of God, has God's Holy Spirit "on" him, but he was a man who faced the devil with his temptation. If this had occurred after the transfiguration, it would have been fully God who refrained from sinning! I believe a necessary condition for the temptations of Christ to be meaningful is that Jesus had a "hedge" about him (read Job), but he was at liberty to choose sin over righteousness. We know that God CANNOT sin, but Jesus, at that time, because he is a man, could have!

I have written before that Christians are "embued" with the Holy Ghost. I believe there is a difference between Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost. God's Holy Spirit is the essence of God. The Holy Ghost is Spirit of someone who has died; in this case Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost is the essence which was given to Jesus after he died on the cross Before that he was mortal as well, was somewhat constrained by the confinements of this world, etc., but after his death walls could not contain him as was demonstrated at his Resurrection and when he entered the locked room with the eleven shortly thereafter. 

The Holy Spirit emanates from God. The Holy Ghost is the essence of God who experienced what Jesus experienced. When Jesus died he was resurrected a different person. He could not be touched and no one did, not even Peter, until he ascended to be with God. Once Jesus united with God his Ghost descended. It was Jesus! His Ghost is still with us! Just as The Angel of God was always with the patriarchs, the Ghost of Jesus remains with us! Both are our Comforters. The Holy Ghost is wherein God's power lies. We can face the devil much easier with the Holy Ghost than we can without. Jesus faced the devil protected by God, but without the full power of God!

Tomorrow we shall continue with the "Temptations of Christ."

Innocence of Children or Total Depravity

Totality is profound! Whenever I took a college in test I was a poor test-taker for that reason. Many questions used words such as "always", "never", "completely" and such which threw me off. I could always think of an exception which persuaded me to answer wrongly. Like those words, "total" is profound! That's why I question the Calvinistic point #1: total depravity. Essentially, (see, I allow some leeway with "essentially"), this notion propagates this:

"The doctrine of total depravity (or total inability) says that all men, as a consequence of the Fall, are born morally corrupt, enslaved to sin, at enmity with God, and unable to please Him or even of themselves to turn to Christ for salvation." (travis garden.com).

It's true that Adam and Eve are the blame for "original sin". However, it implies that all men are born in sin; that even the newborn infant is a sinner. That notion condemns all infants, even children, to hell because all of them are sinners, and all those with unforgiven sin are damned!  I submit that "original sin" (inherited sin through Adam's genes) is a PROPENSITY toward sin. We are INCLINED toward sin even at birth!  It's obvious that from the womb a baby has not yet sinned, but it is shortly forthcoming.

Luke 22:40 says that people "enter into temptation" and birth is certainly not the route for temptation to enter. People can "flee from immorality" (2 Corinthians 6:18). Infants can't do much "fleeing" because they 1) can't yet discern what's immoral nor 2) run to flee from danger!

Sin can't be until temptation comes.

James 1:14 "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

There is a process for sinning: 1) temptation, 2) lust for the object of temptation, and then 3) actual sin. Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent. The fruit was the temptation. The fruit created lust for it, but they didn't sin until they acted. If they had continually lusted after the fruit they would have sinned in the heart, but they obviously sinned when they intended to  disobey.

When newborn infants lust (desire) nourishment, that's instinct and is a natural response because they have a biological need. Being hungry and signaling the parent is not rebellion. It's communication. No newborn infant has yet sinned!  I have a point: Sin is a learned behavior. It is not biological. Merely "being born is not a sin". Infants gradually learn to get their pleasure by dishonest means. The parents inadvertently "cause" that as they "condition" the child by "positive enforcement" to sin. If a baby is nourished before he has to cry, then crying is not needed. When the baby cries the parent gives him what he wants. After awhile a child cries for play things. The parent encourages crying (selfishness) by rewarding with the object for which he cried?

That's the "birth of sin" in the babies life. It's natural for both the parent and the child. It is said that we all are born in sin because that's our nature. We all are going to sin! That's a given because we all are subject to the desires of the flesh.

Back to "total depravity": We learn depravity because we learn sin. We CAN DO "good" things, but "DOING GOOD" is merely a roadblock to being born-again. Because we DO GOOD THINGS there appears to be little sin for which good people can repent. Only God is "good", according to Jesus. That doesn't mean that sinners can't do good things. It just means that God does not count doing good things as the way to salvation!

Babies are very loving. That's a "good" thing, but a person isn't said to be "good" because he does a good thing. "Good" in God's Lexicon is HIM Only. We all fall short of "total goodness", but God. (Jesus is God).  Any time the mark of "goodness" is missed that's sin. If a baby says "NO!" in rebellion to the parent's authority, that is not total depravity. It means that the baby sinned, but is still mostly love and amelioration!  Therefore, I contend that we are not born into "total depravity", but with the lack of "total goodness".

Babies are not enslaved to sin. As the infant is tempted as life progresses the baby is deceived by operant conditioning by "the world" to sin. Sin is a response to temptation. They gradually put on the yokes of bondage as their sins compound. True even one sin is condemning, but there are till "good things" in the hearts of children, but as far as salvation is concerned "good" doesn't count for redemption. Only by the blood of Jesus is even one sin cleansed! Infants are spied out by the Prince of the World as his slaves and he does enslave them when the child falls to temptation and sins. It's just inevitable because it's in their genes. It's part of the makeup of every human being.

Did you just have a newborn baby? He or she is going to sin! That's a curse. Has he or she sinned yet? Probably not! Watch for your baby's first sin and write it down. That's the birth of him or her into the devil's kingdom. For the rest of the child's life God with his grace will anti-tempt the child from sin by tugging at his or her heart. There is only one thing anyone MUST DO in life to avoid eternal death: respond to the spiritual pull of God!

In Defense of Common Sense

Only God is good! Jesus said that. He was God. Jesus is Good!

With that said, our "goodness" is as filthy rags. Any government's "goodness" are the dirtiest rags. Americans love democracy even though it's a pathway to abuse. To temper that our founders created a republic. Rather than directly voting to abuse others, we elect people to abuse others for us. Our representatives call it "good", but mankind is inclined toward evil.

What "good" is instituted is usually payment for patronage. It's not love and concern leaders feel, but to continue the power which they have. Usually as they give "free things" from one pocket they get it out of the other because nothing is free. Because people get free things for a high cost they are grateful for the breadcrumbs!

This is a land of numerous modern-day Lazarus's; not that people are raised from the dead, but that they even beg at the gate for those crumbs from the rich. Lazarus had little choice! He was full of sores with some type of disease. Americans are healthy and have a choice, but yet they wait on the rich man to provide a few crumbs. Since charity is out of vogue because of taxation, then the government becomes the "rich man". Unmotivated men and women await a few crumbs and then in gratitude, vote for the representative who promises more crumbs. People in general gradually starve themselves to death and thank our leaders for making it a slow death! They fail to use common sense!

Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense. He advocated independence from a tyrannical government because of lack of proper representation and high and unfair taxation. Those colonial Lazarus's raised up from the dead and used "common sense". Killing people for independence is not Christlike, but sometimes Christian people must use common sense. If we are to survive sometimes we must use crooked sticks to defend ourselves!

Martin Luther King was a "crooked stick". He was an immoral man by all accounts. My point is not to defame MLK, but to demonstrate that God uses crooked sticks for "good".

"Ecclesiastes 7:13 Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?"

Politicians are not "good", however there is "good' in some. We cannot depend on the person to provide. It's God who does the providing! We cannot depend on government to protect us. It's God who does the protecting. The government doesn't love us, but God does! Any office holder is imperfect. Some are sincere and caring, but misled! Rather than looking to God for prosperity and protection, they turn to the government.

Now to quote Abraham Lincoln's speechwriters " testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure", we are being tested how long we can endure! Common sense tells us that patriotic Americans want to endure. Therefore those with common sense will vote for those who will have America persevere the longest. With that said, America as we know it has been destroyed the last seven and one-half years. It's endurance has peaked and now we are a weak people. We are no longer a great nation.

With Jimmy Carter we were immasculated. Ronald Reagan's slogan was "Make America Great Again". Reagan was God's "crooked stick" and we prospered until Democrats Barney Frank and Chris Dodd destroyed the economy. People failed to use common sense. They put the party in power who weakened our nation. With that we received in turn moral decay. Now every conceivable perversion has become the norm and Christianity the enemy. Political police repress freedom of speech continually. Americans seem to enjoy suppression. It's the bread crumbs they desire and get! Unfortunately they get the rotted fruit with the crumbs! We are a spiritually polluted nation. Democrats care little about this type of pollution and dump more trash daily.

Now we must make a decision. Some Christians are in a delimma: Shall it be Hillary or shall it be Trump? Neither are righteous candidates. Both have done much evil, but it's not a balanced situation. One is much more evil and her Democrat Party Platform is slightly less evil than she.

On the other hand, Trump does not meet rigid Christian standards. His life has been one of hedonistic living. He claims to have changed and certainly supports Christianity and Christian ideas. He is the lesser of two evils. Like King Saul, Trump will be an imperfect ruler. God ordained imperfect Saul and Saul built the foundation of a grest nation. Trump's slogan is the same as Reagan's "Make America Great Again". Common sense is that if a crooked stick from Hollywood could be used to make America great again, that a crooked stick from the financial world can do the same! It won't be their doing, but God can use crooked sticks for his purpose. My hope is that Trump is God's "crooked stick".

It's common sense for Christians to prevent harm to self and nation. Having pure standards is noble, but not common sense. To stand idle and let Hllary Clinton further destroy this nation and enrich the Clintons is just not "common sense". Pray that Trump is that crooked stick. It has worked for us before!