In the 5th century A.D., a man by the name of Pelagius—a teacher in Rome though British by birth—began a teaching regarding man’s nature. This man taught that people have the ability to fulfill the commands of God by exercising the freedom of human will apart from the grace of God. In other words, a person’s free will is totally capable of choosing God and/or to do good or bad without the aid of Divine intervention. The prevalence of sin is to be accounted for upon the ground of evil example and surroundings. Accordingly, it is possible for men to lead lives of such
complete freedom from sin that they may stand in no need of redemption or of regenerating grace. This, of course, is a bold-faced lie in light of the Scriptures!
Pelagius taught that man’s nature is basically good. Thus, he denied original sin, the doctrine that we have inherited a sinful nature from Adam, and any necessary connection between the sin of Adam and the character and actions of his descendants. He said that Adam only hurt himself when he fell, and that all his descendants were unaffected by Adam’s sin. He taught that a person is born with the same purity and moral abilities as Adam had when he was first made by God. That people can choose God by the exercise of their free will and rational thought. God’s grace, then, is merely an aid to help individuals to come to Him. Again, this belief is nothing but a lie and is repudiated by all evangelical churches!
If one takes one’s child and places him/her in a room with a bunch of children who are sharing, one’s child will not learn to share. But take one’s child and place him/her in a room with a bunch of children who are biting, one’s child will learn to bite. This is evidence of our sinful nature. If one isolates one’s child from the rest of the world, one can teach one’s child everything that is good, and yet one’s child will still learn to lie. This, again, is evidence of our sinful nature. Man tends toward evil. Man is not as bad as he could be because the Spirit of God lifts up a standard to protect us. But, in the last days all perverse thoughts of men will utterly come to fruition. Man will be as bad as he can be.
Pelagius failed to understand man’s nature and weakness. We are, by nature, sinners (Eph. 2:3; Psalm 51:5). We all have sinned because sin entered the world through Adam: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Furthermore, Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Therefore, we are unable to do God’s will (Rom. 6:16; 7:14). We were affected by the fall of Adam, contrary to what Pelagius taught.
The doctrine of Pelagianism has been condemned by numerous councils throughout church history. Here is a small sample of such councils:
The recognition of the reality of sin, not only in the sense of actual disobedience, but also in the sense of innate sinfulness, is essential. For only thus can be seen the necessity for a special revelation, and only thus are men prepared to accept the gospel of salvation in Christ. To deny that man is born with a sinful nature is to allow such thoughts as “God would not send me to hell, I am a good person” to run rampant. It encourages the false thought that men can earn salvation by their works. The Bible declares that “we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). If it were possible for a man to live nothing but a good life, which it is not, his entire life is as a filthy rag before God, and God still accurately calls that man a sinner. Why does one suppose that is?
Likewise, God has stated that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). Jesus repeated these words saying, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, [and actions]” (Mark 7:21). The “heart” is not a bodily artery. It is the core essence of each individual.
In Romans 5:19 Paul said, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Many people misread this verse and then try to argue with their finite and faulty thinking. They claim that if many were made sinners, then it must stand that many were made righteous. Read the verse again and pay close attention to the English language used. Regarding Adam, it says “were made,” while regarding Christ it says “shall be made.” With Christ, a condition exists that was not required with Adam. That condition is faith (Heb. 11:6— “But without faith it is impossible to please him”)!
For people to use the faulty thinking that if we are sinners because of Adam we are righteous because of Christ, they must take it a step further. They cannot ignore one without the other. They must also believe that since we die because of Adam, we must also live (regardless of belief in Christ) because of Christ. And in so believing, how do they explain man’s death? They cannot. Ergo, their line of thinking and system of belief is false.
In chapter 6 of By Divine Design by Michael Pearl, he attempts to take the most extreme action of man’s sinfulness and tack it on to man’s nature. He claims that if we have a sinful nature, then murderers and rapists, upon receiving freedom from prison, will say, “It’s my nature to be this way” and continue doing it. Sorry, but it does not work this way. Murder or rape is not man’s nature. They are the result of man’s nature, which is sinful. To claim them as man’s nature is to say that all men must commit murder or rape, which is false. All men are capable of murder or rape, but God’s grace keeps many from committing such actions.
To claim sinfulness as man’s nature and to state that all men must commit sin is a true statement. All men do sin. “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin” (Rom. 3:9). “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all” (Rom. 11:32). “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Gal. 3:22). God has had mercy upon all. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
When Jesus said “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17), he was not claiming that there are men who are utterly righteous, because the Bible declares this false. He was referring to those men who think they are righteous. Because they think they are righteous, Christ has nothing to offer them. It is only the man who realizes that he is sinful from the very core of his being whom Christ can do anything for; because this man knows that he is lost without Christ.
“To claim sinfulness as man’s nature and to state that all men must commit sin is a true statement.” —If this statement is not true, then I challenge anyone to find one man or woman in all of history who defied this statement. If you can find one, then this person was capable of dying for all humanity and God had no need to take on humanity Himself.
Many advocates of this line of teaching have quoted Ezekiel 28:15 as proof text: “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” The use of this verse is taken entirely out of context and such a use is called eisegesis—a reading into the text something that is not there. For the learned Bible student, all he/she has to do is read one verse prior. No man is an anointed cherub. This verse is speaking of Satan prior to his fall. Not man. For man was judged under Adam. Adam is our head. But Christ is the head for those who receive Him.
1John Hoag, Open Bible Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 1, January 2007), p.1
Pelagius taught that man’s nature is basically good. Thus, he denied original sin, the doctrine that we have inherited a sinful nature from Adam, and any necessary connection between the sin of Adam and the character and actions of his descendants. He said that Adam only hurt himself when he fell, and that all his descendants were unaffected by Adam’s sin. He taught that a person is born with the same purity and moral abilities as Adam had when he was first made by God. That people can choose God by the exercise of their free will and rational thought. God’s grace, then, is merely an aid to help individuals to come to Him. Again, this belief is nothing but a lie and is repudiated by all evangelical churches!
If one takes one’s child and places him/her in a room with a bunch of children who are sharing, one’s child will not learn to share. But take one’s child and place him/her in a room with a bunch of children who are biting, one’s child will learn to bite. This is evidence of our sinful nature. If one isolates one’s child from the rest of the world, one can teach one’s child everything that is good, and yet one’s child will still learn to lie. This, again, is evidence of our sinful nature. Man tends toward evil. Man is not as bad as he could be because the Spirit of God lifts up a standard to protect us. But, in the last days all perverse thoughts of men will utterly come to fruition. Man will be as bad as he can be.
Pelagius failed to understand man’s nature and weakness. We are, by nature, sinners (Eph. 2:3; Psalm 51:5). We all have sinned because sin entered the world through Adam: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12). Furthermore, Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Therefore, we are unable to do God’s will (Rom. 6:16; 7:14). We were affected by the fall of Adam, contrary to what Pelagius taught.
The doctrine of Pelagianism has been condemned by numerous councils throughout church history. Here is a small sample of such councils:
- Councils of Carthage (412, 416 and 418)
- Council of Ephesus (431)
- The Council of Orange (529) Council of Trent (1546) Roman Catholic
- 2nd Helbetic (1561/66) 8-9. (Swiss-German Reformed)
- Augsburg Confession (1530) Art. 9, 18 (Lutheran)
- Gallican Confession (1559) Art. 10 (French Reformed)
- Belgic Confession (1561) Art. 15 (Lowlands, French/Dutch/German Reformed)
- The Anglican Articles (1571), 9. (English)
- Canons of Dort (1618-9), 3/4.2 (Dutch/German/French Reformed)
The recognition of the reality of sin, not only in the sense of actual disobedience, but also in the sense of innate sinfulness, is essential. For only thus can be seen the necessity for a special revelation, and only thus are men prepared to accept the gospel of salvation in Christ. To deny that man is born with a sinful nature is to allow such thoughts as “God would not send me to hell, I am a good person” to run rampant. It encourages the false thought that men can earn salvation by their works. The Bible declares that “we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). If it were possible for a man to live nothing but a good life, which it is not, his entire life is as a filthy rag before God, and God still accurately calls that man a sinner. Why does one suppose that is?
Likewise, God has stated that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). Jesus repeated these words saying, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, [and actions]” (Mark 7:21). The “heart” is not a bodily artery. It is the core essence of each individual.
In Romans 5:19 Paul said, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Many people misread this verse and then try to argue with their finite and faulty thinking. They claim that if many were made sinners, then it must stand that many were made righteous. Read the verse again and pay close attention to the English language used. Regarding Adam, it says “were made,” while regarding Christ it says “shall be made.” With Christ, a condition exists that was not required with Adam. That condition is faith (Heb. 11:6— “But without faith it is impossible to please him”)!
For people to use the faulty thinking that if we are sinners because of Adam we are righteous because of Christ, they must take it a step further. They cannot ignore one without the other. They must also believe that since we die because of Adam, we must also live (regardless of belief in Christ) because of Christ. And in so believing, how do they explain man’s death? They cannot. Ergo, their line of thinking and system of belief is false.
In chapter 6 of By Divine Design by Michael Pearl, he attempts to take the most extreme action of man’s sinfulness and tack it on to man’s nature. He claims that if we have a sinful nature, then murderers and rapists, upon receiving freedom from prison, will say, “It’s my nature to be this way” and continue doing it. Sorry, but it does not work this way. Murder or rape is not man’s nature. They are the result of man’s nature, which is sinful. To claim them as man’s nature is to say that all men must commit murder or rape, which is false. All men are capable of murder or rape, but God’s grace keeps many from committing such actions.
To claim sinfulness as man’s nature and to state that all men must commit sin is a true statement. All men do sin. “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin” (Rom. 3:9). “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all” (Rom. 11:32). “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Gal. 3:22). God has had mercy upon all. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
When Jesus said “They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17), he was not claiming that there are men who are utterly righteous, because the Bible declares this false. He was referring to those men who think they are righteous. Because they think they are righteous, Christ has nothing to offer them. It is only the man who realizes that he is sinful from the very core of his being whom Christ can do anything for; because this man knows that he is lost without Christ.
“To claim sinfulness as man’s nature and to state that all men must commit sin is a true statement.” —If this statement is not true, then I challenge anyone to find one man or woman in all of history who defied this statement. If you can find one, then this person was capable of dying for all humanity and God had no need to take on humanity Himself.
Many advocates of this line of teaching have quoted Ezekiel 28:15 as proof text: “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” The use of this verse is taken entirely out of context and such a use is called eisegesis—a reading into the text something that is not there. For the learned Bible student, all he/she has to do is read one verse prior. No man is an anointed cherub. This verse is speaking of Satan prior to his fall. Not man. For man was judged under Adam. Adam is our head. But Christ is the head for those who receive Him.
In the early church, false teaching was to be rejected utterly and completely and not to be encouraged in any manner whatsoever (2 John 7-11). Paul similarly spoke strongly against exposing the people of God to false teaching in Romans 16:17, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” He wrote to his young disciple Timothy and instructed him to deflect false teaching away from the church, “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5). True teaching was to be received and teachers of truth were to be encouraged, shown hospitality and welcomed because of their love of truth (3 John 8). When John penned his third epistle, a man named Diotrephes, in pride seeking to have pre-eminence, was controlling the church and not allowing even as prominent and faithful a teacher as John the Apostle access to the pulpit. John wrote his third epistle to encourage Gaius because he was known as a man who welcomed truth into his heart, welcomed men of truth into his home and had a reputation for walking in the truth and working for the truth.1False teachers are becoming more and more aggressive in their attempts to influence the children of God. Christians need to pray for wisdom and discernment as they study their Bibles. Read Second and Third John for the balanced approach in rejecting the false and receiving the true. False teachers have nothing to teach the believer in Jesus Christ.
1John Hoag, Open Bible Bulletin (Vol. 48, No. 1, January 2007), p.1