Re: How to interpret Adam (was: Re: Kerkut)

Dick Fischer wrote:
>
> George wrote:
>
> Nor do I think that sin is coded for in DNA. But it seems
> much too weak an
> interpretation of what Paul says in Romans 5 simply to say
> that those not descended from
> Adam became "accountable" because of him. You would have a
> situation in which person X
> in Mexico circa 7000 B.C., before Adam sinned in the Middle
> East, was not "accountable"
> but in which X's son X', born after Adam sinned, was
> accountable. That seems entirelt
> arbitrary. Could God have held X' accountable & X not?
> Sure. But is that really what
> you want to argue?
>
> No, it isn't. Restoration and redemption only came by way of
> repentance and animal sacrifice from Adam to Christ. Christ, of
> course, was the sacrificial lamb, and the means of redemption became
> belief in Him and public notification through baptism. Whether
> baptism is a requirement can be argued, but I don't want to do it.
>
> In order to be saved there has to be a means of doing it, and they
> have to know what it is. Apparently, those outside the nation of
> Israel were outside the realm of accountability. God "winked at"
> their ignorance (Acts 17:30).
>
> Salvation comes through evangelization. This can be inferred from
> Matthew 23:15, "Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
> compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye
> make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves."
>
> When one outside the Jewish faith was brought to the knowledge of God,
> he became accountable. Because of false teaching, he was condemned.
> This unique status for Israel as God's chosen people was rescinded, or
> at least modified, at the cross. Christ was appointed by God as His
> representative. The second Adam, Christ, was in the "image of God"
> (II Cor. 4:4) just as the first Adam, and the mantle was passed to the
> followers of Christ.
>
> It does not appear that accountability follows based upon the time
> frame in which one lived. Adam did not make all men instantly
> accountable. We can infer that people living in the western
> hemisphere were also not instantly accountable at the resurrection of
> Christ either. "Happy feet" need to reach the people and tell the
> story.

Dick -
        We've probably gone around on this long enough, at least for the time being.
I'm willing to let your above comments be the last word for now.

                                                        Shalom,
                                                        George

George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
Received on Mon Mar 8 08:11:25 2004