Humanity and Oneself

Often in life as we look upon humanity and the problems which it has we mentally exclude ourselves from humanity. It is the human condition of pride which makes it easy for us to only see the problems in humanity and not see the manifestations in ourselves.

Often it is a process of self justification by comparison of degree. We are above average on kindness or this or that virtue so we are alright.

The bible always measures our life by perfection. It is of course an impossibly difficult standard which we cannot keep.

That is of course why Jesus offered his life as a ransom in our place. You see God commands the impossible of us, but he also gives the impossible freely.

It is interesting the great frustration with the lack of fairness many people find in Christianity. How is everyone not saved?

It is an interesting question of unbelief that fails to grasp the human condition and the lengths at which God has gone to save anyone. In the writers' of scriptures mind it is not surprising that anyone is condemned, that is a given. What is surprising is that any are saved.

Nature of Mankind

"The thing that we regard as surprising is that any member of the human race, any of those excellent creatures known as men, who are supposed to be doing the best they can and be guilty, at the most, of merely trifling and thoroughly forgivable faults, should ever fall under divine displeasure.  But the thing the Bible regards as surprising is that any of those fallen creatures known as men, all of whom without exception deserve God’s wrath and curse, should be received into eternal life.  We regard it as surprising that any are lost: the Bible regards it as surprising that any are saved.  Naturally it is the surprising or unexpected thing that upon which the chief stress is laid.  It is for that reason, or at least partly for that reason, that the Biblical doctrine of predestination is concerned chiefly with the predestination of the saved to their salvation rather than with the predestination of the unsaved to their eternal loss." – Gresham Machen