BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: MAN, SIN, & DEATH—A SUMMARY

SUMMARY OF JACK COTTRELL’S “COLLECTED WRITINGS” SERIES:
VOLUME SIX: BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: MAN, SIN, & DEATH, by Jack Cottrell

INTRODUCTION

Here I am continuing to summarize the contents of my 18-volume series of “Collected Writings”; this one is volume 6, Biblical Anthropology: Man, Sin, and Death. In systematic theology this subject would come up directly after the doctrine of God, and would simply be called “the doctrine of man.” As you can see, in preparing these volumes I have not followed the usual order. That is because this book series is not meant to be a systematic theology; for that, see my The Faith Once for All: Bible Doctrine for Today, in which chapters 6-12 cover anthropology.

This book is divided into four sections. Section ONE is “General Studies”; and the next three sections cover the three main subjects into which the doctrine of man is divided: Section TWO, “The Nature of Man”; Section THREE, “Sin”; and Section FOUR, “Death.” Two of these sections (2 & 4) are just miscellaneous essays on various aspects of the nature of man and human death. Most of the content in the other two sections (1 & 3) consists of two sermon series: “A Matter of Life and Death,” and “The Awfulness of Sin.” I have summarized both in some detail; you may be surprised at just how interesting and how valuable sermons on these subjects can be!

Here are the summaries of the contents of this volume.

PART ONE: GENERAL STUDIES

A. “Who Are You?” (pp. 3-21). In these days of cultural identity theory, everyone is told that there is no single norm that defines any human being. Rather, each individual is free to define (“identify as”) himself, herself, or itself any way he/she/it chooses. The results are often bizarre and blasphemous.

I say blasphemous because the Bible—the inerrant and authoritative Word of God—has defined once and for all the nature of human beings. It gives us the absolute pattern after which every man and woman must identify and define himself or herself. This present essay sums up that identity. So—who are you?

1. You Are 100% CREATED. This is the first and most important fact about who you are. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1), and shortly thereafter He created mankind—the human race—in His own image (Gen. 1:26-27). To say that you are 100% created means that every part of you—body and spirit—owes its existence to this creative act of God.

That God is your Creator means that He is your owner; you are His possession, His slave. He has 100% authority over you. You owe complete obedience to the laws He has given us to live by.

2. You are 50% created IN GOD’S IMAGE. Why just 50%? Because only your soul or spirit is made in God’s image; your body is not, since God Himself does not have any kind of body. He is uncreated, divine, eternal Spirit.

The essence of the image of God is personhood. God is personal (actually, three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and we too are persons with abilities patterned after God’s. This applies to our minds, wills, moral natures, and emotions, with the gift of free will to use them all.

3. Every one of us is a SINNER. This is not how God created us; it is the result of our wrong use of the gift of free will. As unbelievers we were 100% sinners in the sense that sin had corrupted both our bodies and souls (though not totally). Even as Christians we are still 50% sinners since only our souls (i.e., spirits) have been redeemed thus far; our bodies are still under the power of sin and will not be redeemed until the second coming (see Romans 6-8). The better way to think of this, though, is that we are 50% SAVED!

4. Every Christian is a SAINT. We are not saints in the Roman Catholic sense, but only in the Biblical sense. In the Bible a saint is a “holy one”; and the words for “holy” mean “sanctified, set apart from, separated from.” I.e., we have been separated from the world of sinners, and incorporated into the family and kingdom of Jesus Christ (Col. 1:13). This does not mean we are 100% good, but 100% forgiven (justified).

So – who am I? Who are you? As a Christian: you are a creature, a sinner, and a saint!

B. Sermon Series: “A Matter of Life and Death” (pp. 23-75). In a real sense, the main theme of the whole Bible story is LIFE, DEATH, and RESURRECTION. Life is the natural state of all existence; death in the human realm is an invader and a curse. The first two sermons of this series are about life; the last two are about death. You will see how it all fits together nicely.

1. ONE: “The Living God.” This is a basic truth we often pass by: Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is the Living God. Why is this so important that the Bible emphasizes it over and over? Because pagan unbelievers have invented the existence of thousands—even millions—of false gods, and not one of them is REAL! Not one EXISTS! Not one is ALIVE! Yahweh alone is the only true and living God.

What is special about God’s life? Jesus declares that “God is Spirit” (John 4:24), which means that His existence is personal. He is also unique in that He alone is the ONLY eternal, infinite, spiritual Being. The Living God is Eternal Spirit.

2. TWO: “The Living Creation.” Some created stuff is non-living, but that which truly matters is endowed with created life, of which there are three kinds. First, God created angelic life, angelic beings, whose nature is spirit alone. Angels are created spirits who exist in a spiritual universe of their own.

Second, in a different (physical) universe, God made physical life. This is the universe in which we human beings live; it is filled with physical stuff, some of which, here on Earth, is endowed with life. This is one of the most marvelous and mind-boggling facts about this universe. The very existence of this physical life is strong evidence for a Creator. Its uniqueness and complexity are proof of intelligent design.

The third kind of created life is human life—which is unique, sacred, and God-like, since it alone is created in the image of the living God. Human life is also risky, since it includes free will, which is the most remarkable thing God has created!

3. THREE: “The Problem of Death.” Free will has resulted in sin, which has resulted in death. Some angels sinned, and they have suffered a kind of spiritual death. Human beings also have sinned, beginning with Adam and Eve, and have been cursed by God with the penalty of death. (In my view, though, death among plants and animals is natural and is for the benefit of human beings.)

Human death has three forms: the spiritual death of the soul, the physical death of the body, and the eternal death of the person. Human death in all its forms is our enemy. In this lifetime, we live in constant fear of death, which makes it a tool of Satan and makes us its slaves (Heb. 2:14-15). Jesus came to do battle with and to defeat this enemy!

4. FOUR: “The Death of Death.” A main aspect of our salvation is the defeat of our enemy, death! This was accomplished by the death and resurrection of our Savior, King Jesus. He solved the problem of death by Himself suffering the pains of death in unbelievable ways, after which He broke open the prison of death by His resurrection! Jesus’s resurrection was His “Sunday punch” or DEATH BLOW to Satan, His DEATH BLOW to death itself!

When applied to Christian believers, Christ’s redemptive work removes all aspects of death. It removes the penalty of death (i.e., hell), the presence of death, and the peril of death. Death is swallowed up in His victory!

PART TWO: THE NATURE OF MAN

A. “Man Is 100% Created” (pp. 79-87). Both our bodies and our spirits (souls) are created. This is contrary to pagan dualism, several examples of which are given.

B. “The Origin of Human Souls” (pp. 89-92). Each individual soul is created at the point of conception.

C. “Soul and Spirit: What’s the Difference?” (pp. 93-96). The original words have more than one connotation. When used with reference to a part of man’s nature, they mean the same thing.

D. “The Nature of the Human Conscience” (pp. 97-99).

PART THREE: SIN

A. Sermon Series: “The Awfulness of Sin” (pp. 107-157). I gave this series of sermons for the Maritime Christian Fellowship in Prince Edward Island in 1997. They specifically requested that I speak on this subject – the only time I have ever been asked to speak about sin!

1. ONE: “Sin DEVASTATES God.” By definition, sin is the violation of the law of the Creator God. It thus causes God untold agony in two ways. First, sin violates the LOVE of God. It is rebellion against His love, a wound in His heart, a slap in His face! How can we bear to hurt the one who loves us so?

Second, Sin evokes the WRATH of God. His righteous nature requires Him to punish sin, and the required expression of His wrath is eternal punishment in hell. We should never think, though, that God enjoys sending sinners to hell. NO! The loving God would much rather NOT have to pour out His fiery wrath upon sinners, but this is who He is. Though He wants to save, He must punish unrepentant sinners—to His devastating pain!

2. TWO: “Sin DESTROYS Man.” The sinful human race is in a state of overall disaster and disarray, yea, even destruction. This is true in several ways:
First, sin destroys our relationship with God. We as sinners are desolate, detested, and damned.
Second, sin destroys our relationship with the world. We as sinners are disrupted, decaying, and distorted.
Third, sin destroys our bodies. We as sinners are dead, diseased, and dominated.
Fourth, sin destroys our spiritual natures. We as sinners are deceived, depraved, and defenseless.

3. THREE: “Sin DESPISES the Law.” The law is God’s loving instruction on how to live our lives patterned after His own holiness. No wonder sin is so awful: sin is lawlessness! Consider these points:

First, the law is directly related to God. He is the SOURCE of the law and the PATTERN for the law. He gave us the law for a specific PURPOSE; thus, “the law is GOOD” (Rom. 7:16).

Second, sin is the very opposite of God’s law code (1 John 3:4). A sinner’s attitude is called “autonomy,” which literally means “self-law.” I.e., the sinner is saying: “I will make my own laws, thank you!” – thus putting himself in the place of God! How awful!

Third, Christians must take great care to have a right relationship with God’s law. For one thing, we must be careful not to try to use law-keeping as our way of salvation, which is a great temptation! Also, we must gladly embrace God’s law code as our natural way of life. To love God is to love His law, to hate sin, and to keep His commandments.

4. FOUR: “Sin DEMANDS the Cross.” This is the greatest “awfulness” of sin, namely, the only way the righteous God can save us from sin is by suffering its punishment in our place on the cross! God’s two-fold nature is kindness and severity, love and holiness (Rom. 11:22). This presents Him with a dilemma: How can God love a sinner and punish his sin at the same time? This is the very purpose of the cross! Jesus satisfies the requirements of both God’s holy nature and His loving nature by taking our eternal punishment upon Himself on the cross!

B. The Rest of Part Three.

1. “Will We Have Free Will in Heaven?” (pp. 103-105). Yes, but a slightly different kind.

2. “The Age of Accountability: What Is It?” (pp. 159-162). Mainly, it is an awareness of God as Lawgiver and of ourselves as sinners condemned by God.

3. “Applauding and Abetting Evil” (pp. 163-166). Thoughts on Romans 1:32.

PART FOUR: DEATH

A. “Your Worst Enemy: Death!” (pp. 169-174).

B. “In the Face of Death” (p. 175- 178).

C. “What Happens to Us When We Die?” (pp. 179-182).

D. “Hades: What Is It?” (pp. 183-186).

E. “Is Cremation Morally Permissible?” (pp. 187-190).