What Is Human Nature? A Study

Last updated on: October 14, 2015 at 5:54 pm by Jack Wellman

What Is Human Nature? A Study 2015-10-14T17:54:25-05:00 Jack Wellman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is the Bible silent on human nature? What is our nature? Here is a Bible study on what human nature truly is.

Mankind’s Nature

The Bible clearly says that like David, you and I must also say “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). That is our nature. We sin because we are human. We had a man once attend our church and he hated the thought of being called a sinner and so left. I tried to show him 1st John 1:8. 10 which says “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” and “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” The word “confess” simply means you agree with God about your sin. If we say we’re not sinners then we are deceiving ourselves and make God out to be a liar, which of course He cannot do (Num 23:19; Heb 6:18). Our nature is as one “who drinks injustice like water” (Job 15:16) but thankfully, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1st John 1:9). You don’t have to teach a young child to lie, steal, or cheat; it comes naturally and stays into adulthood. You do have to train them not to.

All Fall Short

If you have ever read the Book of Romans, you know Paul’s take on human nature. He had no trouble finding scriptural support from the Old Testament on the sinfulness of man and our disposition toward sin. Paul wrote in Romans 3:10-12 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” The Greek word for “all” means just what it says; “each and every one.” We too “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23) and this same “all” have earned the wages of death (Rom 6:23a) but God offers “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23b). Jesus reminds us all that “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18b). Before we had our sins forgiven by repentance and faith, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6a). Jeremiah tells us that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it” (17:9)? Only God does (Jer 17:10).

The Fruits of Humanity

The works of the flesh are easy to see on the nightly news, in the paper, and over the Internet and they are not good at all. They are listed in the Book of Galatians in chapter five as “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Gal 5:19-21a) but goes on to say, “I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:21b-22). Of course not every human have all of these characteristics but all of us have at least one or more of these. Paul says that, as a result, those who do these “things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” We are in deep trouble with the human heart we’re born with. We need surgery. We need a heart transplant…a new heart so to speak and that’s what the Bible says in Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel also writes “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh” (Ezk 11:10). A heart of flesh is open to correction and change. A hard heart is barely movable and almost unchangeable. This may be why Jesus spoke some very hard sayings; soft words harden hearts while hard words soften hearts.

A New Creation

God is currently saving people from all over the world. The Spirit of God is revealing Who Jesus Christ is and showing them their need for the Savior. It is the Word of God with the Spirit of God that’s making the children of God for the glory of God. Once a person has repented, which means they’ve turned away from and forsaken their sins, and then put their trust in Christ, they become a new creation as Paul wrote, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2nd Cor 5:17) and then “we have the mind of Christ” (1st Cor 2:16b). We “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col 3:10) as we were originally designed, finally being in the image of God (Gen 1:27). It is “just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Rom 6:4).

Conclusion

Every one of us will battle sin after we are saved. We might in fact have our biggest battle with sin at that point. The good news is that God sends His Spirit and His Word to help us overcome sin and become a new person in Christ. Then, you’ll start to have new desires, new aspirations, new goals, and new dispositions. You’ll start to hate with contempt the sin that so easily sneaks up on us. Read all about this great struggle in Romans chapter seven where Paul uses himself as an example of what we’ll all go through. When it sounds like Paul’s just about to give up and says “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death” (Rom 7:24) then he says from where his help will come, “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 7:25) so my brothers and sisters in Christ, “let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb 12:1b).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

Previous Post

October 14, 2015

What Is Hellfire Preaching? Should This Be Done More Often?

Next Post

October 15, 2015 Top 7 Bible Verses About Justice With Commentary

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Answers Bible Definitions Bible Story Bible Study Bible Verses Christian Books Christian Entertainment Christian Fathers Christian Mothers Christian Quotes Devotional Famous Christians Music News Parables Prayers Quotes Sunday School Lesson Uncategorized Youth Sermons

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many books are in the New Testament?

Select your answer to see how you score.

39 66 27 22