The Psalmist asked the question of the Lord, "What is man that Thou dost take thought of him?" (Psa. 8:4). Even though the Bible was written over a period of 1500 years, its teachings are consistent about the nature and identity of the human being. Human philosophies underwent drastic changes and revision, but the Scriptures always taught the same things because its ultimate Author is God.

The Bible teaches that a human being is created with two parts: body and spirit (Gen. 2:7; Zech 12:1). From the beginning the Bible lets us know that we each one are responsible for all of our choices and that we are capable of making moral decisions. This is one of the things that sets us apart from all other of earth's creatures. We are created in God's image.

The Bible also shows that there is a constant appeal made to the hearts of men and women from two opposite directions. One is from God and the other is from Satan. The more we listen to one, the dimmer the other becomes, but in every human heart there is a struggle until the battle for that heart is won by one side or the other; but it is up to the individual as to who will carry the day. God appeals to our best qualities; love, dignity and nobility, while Satan appeals to our lusts, greed and pride.

Each one of us makes the decision as to who will be our lord. God will abide by our decision: He forces no one to walk faithfully. He will also insure that Satan must abide by our choice as well. We will spend eternity with the Master we choose.

 

By Jon W. Quinn
The Front Page
From Expository Files 14.12   December 2007

https://www.bible.ca/