Cornerstone # 4 - The Nature of Man

First, let me recap my first three cornerstones:

1. God's revelation in nature and in our conscience -- the key point here is that God is not a hidden God. He has chosen to reveal himself to us in a general sense. But this revelation does not take us to Christ, so more in needed.
2. God's special revelation in Scripture -- because God's general revelation is insufficient for an understanding of God's nature and his desire for us his creation, God chose to reveal himself in our written word. You and I have argued over whether Scripture is inerrant. I will admit freely that believing the Bible to be inerrant is an act of faith. I believe that because I am not certain how one can establish a foundation of faith in Jesus Christ in the face of no confidence in the Bible being true.
3. The nature of God: Holy, different, set apart -- the key here is that while we may have been created "in God's image" (that is, possessing qualities similar in nature to him), it would be a mistake to assume we are "like God." The chasm that separates God from us is enormous; He is utterly perfect and beyond our comprehension; we are by comparison nothing. Having a sense of God's Holy nature helps us develop a sense of reverence for him. Absent reverence, I'm not sure a trusting faith in Christ is possible.

That leads me to the 4th Cornerstone:

The Nature of Man - Inherently Sinful

This is not a popular topic with contemporary society. We wish to hold that while we may do bad things on occasion, we are, overall, not that bad.

The problem with this thinking is that it allows us to hold out the glimmer of hope that we might have salvation despite our shortcomings, as if God will look upon us and say, "Oh, that's okay. I'll give you a pass just because I know you tried." Many people believe this. But the Bible doesn't teach that, and the Christian faith is definitely not based on that.

And that's why this is a cornerstone: only by finally coming to understand that we are inherently sinful -- sinful beyond our ability to fix -- do we come to a point where we give up trying and fall upon God's mercy, offered through Christ crucified and resurrected.

That's the definition of a "Christian" -- one who trusts in Jesus Christ's atoning work for our salvation, without hope in any other method of gaining God's forgiving Grace, and thus trusting in Christ as our savior we bow in obedience to his Lordship over us.

But is it true? Are we really that bad? The answer is yes, but we can only really grasp that when we compare ourselves to our best comprehension of God's Holiness. If God's true Holy nature is properly understood, we will see ourselves by comparison to be vastly inferior to him. How do we know that God is Holy? Because the Bible tells us this. How can we trust the Bible? Because we believe it to be God's written revelation. How do we know God wishes to reveal himself to us? Because we see evidence of his revelation in nature and in our consciences.

Those are my four cornerstones so far:

• God's general revelation -- suggesting he wishes to reveal himself
• God's special revelation -- in Scripture
• God's nature -- Holy, as revealed in Scripture
• Our nature -- inherently sinful, evident when we consider God's Holiness

Two more cornerstones to go.