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Nature of Man
What is the Coptic Orthodox Churches view on the nature of mankind?
a) Wounded by the fall of Adam but still able to live in obedience to the Law of God.
b) Depraved due to the fall of Adam and unable to live in obedience to the Law of God apart from God's intervention through the salvation which is through Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within the believer.
c) Another option that I did not address :)
a) Wounded by the fall of Adam but still able to live in obedience to the Law of God.
b) Depraved due to the fall of Adam and unable to live in obedience to the Law of God apart from God's intervention through the salvation which is through Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within the believer.
c) Another option that I did not address :)
Comments
(Correct me if I am wrong) we inherited corruption and death, not the sin of Adam. We had to follow the law or else the curse of the law was upon us. Christ Came to fulfill the law and the prophecies and abolish the curse of the law, sin, and death. Thank you for your time GOD bless. Please pray for me.
If this is the case, then can a man (apart from the aid of the Holy Spirit) live a sinless life? Or can one only be obedient unto God through the aid and empowerment of the Holy Spirit?
By the way thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. Please also remember me in your prayers as I try to find the Truth and the right way in which I am to follow God.
[quote author=Servant of Jesus Christ link=topic=10242.msg125036#msg125036 date=1292910855]
(Correct me if I am wrong) we inherited corruption and death, not the sin of Adam. We had to follow the law or else the curse of the law was upon us. Christ Came to fulfill the law and the prophecies and abolish the curse of the law, sin, and death. Thank you for your time GOD bless. Please pray for me.
If this is the case, then can a man (apart from the aid of the Holy Spirit) live a sinless life? Or can one only be obedient unto God through the aid and empowerment of the Holy Spirit?
I think SOJC is right about that, but think about this: how hard is it to go a single day without committing a single mistake? How about two days? A week?
I think it is certainly the latter. God knows that we are flawed, and it is for this reason that we only attained redemption through His own blood. But the Bible seems to say that we cannot even attain that level of faith without the Holy Spirit:
"And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth." -1 John 5:6
"And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;" -Romans 8:26
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life." -John 6:63
"For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God." -1 Corinthians 2:11
And (I think) most importantly:
"However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." -Romans 8:9
I think we sometimes undermine the role the Holy Spirit plays in our lives. The Holy Spirit is God, whom God sent down as a guide for us. Think about how impossible it would be to stop committing a habitual sin without the aid of the Spirit. Think about what it would be like to try to whole-heartedly repent, without the Holy Spirit inside of you. It is impossible, and the Holy Spirit is often a gift we take for granted. And you just helped teach me that, so I thank you very much for asking this question.
Thank you both for taking the time to reply to my questions. I am in agreement with the both of you. Apart from the help of God, through the work and power of the Holy Spirit within us, we are unable to serve and be obedient unto God. I am of the opinion that even with the aid of the Holy Spirit we still sin and must repent, however we should never stop trying to live in obedience to God and please Him even in light of our failures. Christ has fulfilled the Law of God on our behalf, and the works that we perform in obedience to God, as Christians, is not done to earn righteousness before God rather to work out the righteousness and salvation that He has already given to us through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Would you all agree with the above statement?