We are born with a sense of right and wrong. It is called a 'conscience'.
God also gave us Free Will by which we can choose to violate that conscience.
Because we were also born with a Sin Nature, there is stronger tendency in us to use our Free Will to violate our conscience than not.
So, left alone, the Sin Nature and Free Will eventually eliminates the Conscience.
This leaves a person with a SearedConscience.
Historically religion and government have bolstered the conscience with rules and regulations of behavior. This enabled past civilizations to avoid imploding.
In the past 60 years we have seen religion rejected by society. As a result we have immoral and amoral people serving in government. So, what we are left with is a world that is largely Morally Bankrupt.
Marvel not that I said unto you, You must be born again. |
Here is the Lord Jesus Christ who created all things, who is the Truth, who died and rose again for our regeneration telling us that our Sin Nature must be destroyed and replaced with His Nature - His Holy Spirit.
Focusing on individual sins has been a major mistake in Christian Fundamentalism, leading sinners to recognize the impossibility of not sinning because of their Sin Nature and Free Will.
Repenting of individual sins makes no sense unless one has repented of the Sin Nature.
Recognizing the destructive tendencies in us is recognizing the problem.
Unless you recognize there is a problem and you acknowledge what the problem is, you will not fix the problem.
It is a fact that all of us were born with a problem - the Sin Nature and death that it produces .
So the thrust of Christianity ought to be repentance from the Sin Nature so that we can receive the ChristNature.