Man, Sin, Salvation: On Man's State

On Man's State

Since the dawn of time (or, shortly thereafter) man has been in a quandary; fallen from Grace, removed from that paradise he was placed in. He is short of redemption and has found himself on death row with a jury proclaiming his guilt and a holy Judge dropping the gavel.

How did man find himself in this position? What events were orchestrated in what fashion that lead him, blood stained, before the jury?

Man's Offense

Shortly after creation, man found himself in a paradise with a beautiful woman. They had it good. The whole place to themselves, trees, gardens, fruit, flowers, large carnivorous beasts reduced to mere cuddly animals. It was heaven on earth. That's the way God intended it.

There was only one rule: don't eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:17). The world was their's to inhabit, to have dominion over, and that was the extent of their restriction.

But there was another there whose purpose was Chaos and his weapons were Deceit and Pride. He is referred to only as the serpent (Gen 3:1).

He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'you can't eat from any tree in the garden'?" (HCSB Gen 3:1)

The woman, having never been beguiled, being perfectly innocent, converses with the creature on which trees they may eat from.

"...about the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, 'You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.'" (HCSB Gen 3:3)

"No! You will not die...In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (HCSB Gen 3:4-5)

...So she took some of its fruit and ate [it]; she also gave [some] to her husband, [who was] with her, and he ate [it]. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked... (HCSB Gen 3:6-7)

Lead astray by their desire and the beguiling words of the serpent, Adam and Eve both eat of the fruit. They trespassed against the only Law that God had given them. They were perfect, innocent human beings. Yet, even in that perfection, they chose sin!

Now man stands before the Judge with the same bloodstained, betrayal on his hands: trespassing against the law that God instituted.

Man's Guilt

Man's guilt is two-fold. Firstly, it is genetic, passed down through generations of men starting with the first man, Adam.

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned. So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is there is life-giving justification for everyone. For just as through one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." (HCSB Romans 5:12,18-19)

Through Adam's sin, sin passed upon us all. For we, were we in Adam's perfect state and mind, would have made the very same decision that Adam made. How can we say that we would have done differently? Are we better than Adam? Or was Adam imperfect? No. Neither we, then, were we in Adam's position with his mindset and created perfectly, nor any human creature apart from Christ able to do differently.

We are guilty, secondly, because we have sinned. Whether or not we are as guilty as Adam makes no difference.

"For all have sinned..."(HCSB Romans 3:23) "...There is no one righteous not even one...There is no one who does good, there is not even one." (HCSB Romans 3 10, 12)

So then we cannot say, "Why must I pay the price for something I cannot help. Adam has sinned and condemned me! I am not responsible!" Are you sinless? Have you not sinned yourself? Do you not, every day, choose for yourself what pleases you? Do you not lust and kill? So then you are guilty and condemned of your own sin as well!

One must look no farther for the guilty party than to look at oneself. He is condemned not only because of Adam, but because he too made the decision that eat the forbidden fruit.

Man is guilty and must pay the price for this guilt.

Man's Sentence

Man's sentence is singular, simple: death.

Paul neatly concludes his treatise on man's sin and God's salvation with this statement.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (HCSB Romans 6:23)

Apart from the intervention of God, Man is in a state of sinfulness and guilt. The sentence that hangs over the head of man is death.

Man is under a declaration of guilt for his inclination towards sin and the logical and justified end of that sin and guilt is death. In addition, man is placed in a state of eternal seperation from God in a supernatural holding cell known as Hell.

The end of Hell is a lake of fire.

"And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." (HCSB Revelation 20:15)

Man is seemingly in a state of no hope, sinful, guilty, and headed for death and Hell.

Caner Disclaimer

In the event that anyone visits this site and is a die hard Caner fan, take no offense. I enjoy Dr. Caner's preaching myself.

However, because of the difference in our theological beliefs and his dogmatic attempts to quell Calvinism, he is great for a new satirist to write with.

Note, this isn't a website meant to dog LU or Caner. They were only the subject of my first three posts. Indeed, I will be getting away from them as I continue to write. I repeat, Caner and LU were so I could take my baby steps as a satirist! I have no personal agenda against LU or against Dr. Caner.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"---Censorship on Campus

LIBERTY MOUNTAIN---Imagine a place where you can't share your faith or aspects of your faith unless asked, where you can't bring share literature without fear of it being seized. Such is the situation of many missionaries going into countries such as China.

And Liberty Mountain.

The crackdown on Calvinism is well underway at Liberty University. President of the Mountain, Ergun Caner is reported as having said, "The lie is well on it's way back to the pits of hell." But others aren't so convinced.

An anonymous student said it like this, "Don't get it wrong, Calvinists are allowed here. But we can't speak of the doctrines of grace unless we're approached first. If we want books we either have to smuggle them in or buy them from the black marketeers."This reporter was actually able to go behind scenes with the largest black market group on campus. What we found astonished us.

Anonymous: "Yeah. We have a thousand books undergroung at any one time. Most of them sell for between $50 and $100. Some of them sell for more. The Institutes sold for $250 at one time. Augustine normally brings in $150 and Piper about that much. We're a powerful organization."

JB: What kind of penalties can you expect if you get caught?

A: "Well, they usually seize our books, burn them, and appropiate our funds for the distribution of their new John 3:16 Chick Tracts."

JB: "Are you imprisoned? Beaten?"

A. "Oh, goodness no! We just have to take two additional semesters of Caners Theology class..."

JB: "Are any of you in you're organizaiton...Reformed?

A: "Eh---Honestly. I don't know. I don't care. I'm just in it for the money. So are most of my associates."

JB: "Thank you for meeting with me today."The undercover Calvinist are content to stay that way. For the most part. However, there are numbers of them who tattoo themselves in order to get people to ask in order for them to explain without facing any harsh penalties.

Such tattoo's are usually bible quotes but others are whole references or fancy slogans. Some are...

Why I haven't been deflowered

Ask me about my tulip

Romans 9

and a host of others.

When asked what kind of penalties can be expected for sharing their view point and or reading illicit literature, another anonymous student told us, "Well, I haven't experienced it first hand, but I have heard about it from other Calvinist. They call it the 'prosecution of the saints'. When one of us is found and believed to be dabbling in illegal activity they get 'rehabilitated'. They are forced to sit with President Caner himself, watch rerun's of last years John 3:16 conference, and write down 2 Peter 3:9 over and over and over...They're also forced to read John Wesley. It can be pretty horrendous."

"I don't think we'll ever get the calvinist problem completely solved. I think that I'm happy with the numbers though...There can't be but so many..." Ergun Caner said "And after a round of rehabiliation they're usually good to go."

"That may be an optimistic statement." John Doe, said "I've been through it twice...I usually run outside weakly, faint, and then find the first dealer I can and read the Institutes...that's right after reading through the book of Romans. That get's me right back in the mood to tell others about our Glorious Lord and Saviour."

Although unconfirmed, Asbury Seminary is said to have been quoted saying, "I think what President Caner is doing is fantastic. I wish we had thought of it first."

Liberty Mountain "Hell-Firewall"---Censorship On Campus

Liberty Mountain---Less than a year from the day that Liberty Mountain declared itself autonomous, President Caner is again making headlines.

"Censorship is a big problem." Ergun states, "Net Finney just wasn't doing the trick anymore. It guards against and filters specific websites but..." Ergun trails off at this point. A saddened look enters his eyes. "But when you're kids search for this stuff, they find ways around any filter. It's an addiction" He adds.

President Caner himself rooted out 47 students, 3 professors, and 20 other assorted faculty and staff, who were struggling with the same addiction.

One anonymous professor says, "I couldn't help myself. I found myself smuggling the books in and reading them at night. I found my way around filters with the help of some of my students...I can't believe I pulled them into this." The professor, looks away as shame fills his eyes "Was it enough that I was reading Piper two to three hours a night?? That I was smuggling in Calvinist doctrine for myself?! And those kids...They're long gone by now...addicted. R.C. Sproul, John Piper, Calvin, Augustine, Paul"

He stops to weep"I can remember every word I read, every book cover, and biography." He wipes his tears, "I'm only glad that I can use my experience to help others out of their addictions. If it wasn't for Caner...I don't konw. I'd be a 5-pointer, but now...now I choose not to."

Despite the fact that Caner has rooted out so many 'closet calvinists', as they've been known as, there are countless others still reading illicit materials.

"There's only so much that President Caner can do." Chancellor of Liberty University, Jerry Falwell Jr. says, "Thankfully, he's passing laws as we speak that will enable this problem to be solved."

Just what kind of laws are being passed? Last thursday, Ergun Caner had a phone conference with the public relations office of Google.

"I'm really excited that Google will help us. This will be a big help." Caner said.Google has agreed to censor 1000+ words in the Liberty Mountain region. Starting last week, even if someone has found a way around "Net Finney, any website containing the words Calvin, Augustine, Paul, Sproul, Washer, Reformed, Piper, Spurgeon, Anti-Arminianism, predestined, election, Romans 9, Soveriegnty of God, Soveriegn, Doctrines of Grace, Grace, Effectual, and literally hundreds of others will cause the search to time out and will yield no results.

"What I'm really excited about," Caner said "Is when someone searches for any of these words in google, it will automatically redirect them to John 3:16 in our online Liberty Study Bible and Caner Commentary."

This move, heralded as "The Hell-firewall" by many, isn't the least of the measures taken by the President and his security force.

"We're not really supposed to be talking about this," an anonymous Liberty Mountain Import/Export agent told us, "But at our new book store, we're really strict on what's allowed. No Piper, Sproul, Spurgeon...Nothing of the sort. Some of the students have smuggled them in and have started a black market operation with them."

"You want Piper? Oh, I got Piper!" and anonymous black marketeer crowed, holding up copy of Desiring God, "And for $100 it can be yours!"

"The addiction has nearly been stamped out." Caner nods as he speaks, "Even now we have agents in the deepest level of their groups, waiting to take and rehabilitate."

Some wonder how far he'll go and if maybe censoring the Bible won't be his next objective.

One anonymous student says, "I'm pretty sure I got a look at his Bible one day...I didn't see a whole lot of Romans...or Ephesians. I think that was the new Liberty Study Bible."

Part 1 of a 2 Part Series

Liberty Mountain Declares Independence From US

LYNCHBURG, VA---Nestled within the rolling hills of Central Virginia lies a small city by the name of Lynchburg. Nestled with the rolling hills of Lynchburg lies one of the most popular, if not THE most popular and largest Christian universities to date: Liberty University.

Liberty University gained national headlines earlier this week when Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. gave notice to the US government and Virginia that Liberty Mountain and, by extension, Lynchburg were declaring themselves autonomous and free from control by the country and by the state.

"We have our bottled water," the Chancellor said, "Our own police force which is credited as one of the most elite in the country, a Wal-Mart, and a bookstore. What more do we need? This will allow us to govern our students with as much freedom as we need and to use our discretion in what is imported on campus."

Although they have already been told that this move is probably unlikely to be allowed, moods are optimistic on campus. One student says, "I've always wanted to live in another country, but I never wanted to deal with other people. This is perfect! I'm now a Falwellian!"

Other students are thinking about larger issues. "What kind of government will we have? How will this work?", Brian Smith asks.

Ergun Caner, presidential hopeful says, "In accordance with Liberty doctrine candidates will be voted in every other year. We will have bi yearly votations"---Election is a buzz word NOT used or associated with Liberty theology or politic---"and 'whosoever will' may run."

When asked about immigration and university acceptance policies, Ergun was quoted as saying, "We're really hoping that people want to join our commune. Everyone will be accepted. We try not to make our standards so high that people who want to join can't. Also, once you join, we keep you here." he said with a chuckle, "Seriously, though. LUPD won't let you leave once you're accepted."

We will keep you up to date as this situation unfolds.