1. 1 Humanity How should you see yourself and others? How does God see you and others?

2. 2 4 Views of Human Origin 1.Atheistic Evolution: the race evolved through millions of years by strictly natural and physical means. 2.Theistic Evolution: God used the process of evolution to produce humanity. 3.Progressive Creationism: God made the world through a series of creative interventions over a period of millions of years. 4.Special Creationism: God created the world in six 24 hour days. 5.Persuasion level or opinion level.

3. 3 1.We are born basically good with a thin veneer of bad. 2.We are born basically neutral and made good or bad by conditioning. 3.We are born basically bad with a thin veneer of good. 4.The Biblical view: Originally created totally good, but because of the Fall, now born hopelessly fallen. What is Our Basic Human Nature?

4. 4 The Fall Man sinned by disobeying God; thus he was alienated from his Creator. That historic fall brought all mankind under divine condemnation. Man’s nature is corrupted, and he is thus totally unable to please God.  What is sin 1. Ignorance 2. Illusion 3. Incomplete evolution 4. Independence or selfishness 5. Lack of conformity to God’s perfect character 6. Lawlessness: desire to transgress restriction Sin is any failure to conform to the moral law of god in act, attitude, or nature.

5. 5 The Fall has formed a barrier Because of God’s perfectly pure righteousness, He cannot be in intimate fellowship with anyone who is contaminated with the filth of sin. Isaiah 64:6, 59:1-2; Romans 3:19-20; and James 2:10. The real question is not, “How can a loving God send anyone to hell?” Rather, from God’s perspective, “How can a righteous God allow any sinner into heaven?” To simply embrace sinful people in an unaltered condition would be to compromise His own nature—He’d cease to be God. God’s absolute holiness + our sin=offense to God’s nature. God’s justice demands penalty=spiritual and physical death.

6. 6 Slavery to Satan and Sin and Sin nature Slavery to Satan and Sin:1 John 5:19; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 6:17,20; John 8:33,34 Everyone who does not know Christ has a hopeless addiction; is a slave to sin. Sin Nature: Ephesians 2:3, Jeremiah 17:9, Mark 7:20- 23. Our tendency from birth toward wrong in thought, word, and deed. Participation in sin weakens our perception of it. We are not sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners. Born with a sin nature.

7. 7 Spiritual Death Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1, Romans 5:12 Spiritual death is just as real, though not just as obvious as physical death. It means we are separated form God who is the source of all life. The result of these 4 barriers is that we are totally unable to please God. Total depravity We are not worthless-We are made in God’s image The corruption of sin that extends to all parts of men such that there is nothing with in man that can give him merit in Gods eye.