Biblical Position Paper on the Book of Revelation

In the Christian context, Sin nature refers to human beings' actions that make them rebellious against God's will. Sin nature refers to people's inclinations to evil ways. When expected to abide by God's will or doing things on their own, they choose to do things on their own. As described in Jeremiah 17:9, humankind’s hearts are deceitful; thus, they do things contrary to God's intentions in our lives ( King James Bible , 2 017) . For instance, no one teaches children how to be selfish, lie, or show hatred to others; instead, people teach their children how to uphold good morals, including being selfless or truthful. However, due to the sinful nature, children start depicting sinful behavior, which could include hatred towards some people, selfishness, or dishonesty. Human beings are sinful not just in practice or theory, but by nature. Romans 8:3 explains human’s sinful nature, which makes them commit evil deeds as explained in Colossians 3:5 ( King James Bible , 2 017) . The book of Romans 6:6 further explains how our bodies are ruled and controlled by sin ( King James Bible , 2 017) . Essentially, human beings are subjected to evil by their sinful nature. The evil livelihoods we lead can only be defined by the sinful nature of human beings as described in the bible. If humankind were not sinful by nature, then it would be easier for us to forgive people wholeheartedly and without any feelings of regrets. As the book of Isaiah 53:6 indicates, everyone has gone against God's will ( King James Bible , 2 017) . The verse explains how everyone, including little children, have sinned against God; implying that human beings are already sinful at birth. If all humankind was not sinful by nature, then the little children would have been exempted from the verse. However, because we are all born into sin, no one can escape its burden. 

The doctrine of original sin can be used in explaining how people gain a sinful nature. In this concept, human beings gain the sinful nature through the sins committed by our first parents, Adam and Eve. According to Genesis 2: 16-17, God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to eat fruits of any tree in the garden, exempting them from eating from that of knowledge of good and evil ( King James Bible , 2 017) . However, according to Genesis 3: 4-5, the devil provided human beings with a contrary story, telling them if they ate of the forbidden tree, they would be like angels and gods, and they would easily understand what's bad or good for themselves ( King James Bible , 2 017) . Tempted with such sweet and enticing words, human nature fell by going against God's commands. By disobeying God, humankind strayed from His ways, thus destroying the harmony that God initiated through his creation. The book of Genesis further explains how humankind was removed from the garden and deprived of various privileges. By going against God’s will, it was evident that sin had entered into the world, thus shuttering the harmony with self, the world, God, and one another. As the original sin, Adams and Eve's sin has continued to affect human beings across generations and can be termed as the source of evils. 

There are various ways through which humankind can overcome the sinful nature. God's grace can save humankind from our sinful nature, whereby only through acceptance of God's forgiveness and love can they get His grace. With the grace, humanity can attain redemption from the original sin. After the fall of humankind, God sent Jesus Christ, His begotten son, to the world to break the bondage of sin. Just like 1 John 4:9 states, God sent Jesus Christ to the world so that human beings can have a life instead of dying ( King James Bible , 2 017) . In essence, life in Christ implies that we are free from the bondage of sin subjected to us by our sinful nature. Human beings can also escape their sinful nature by accepting Jesus' salvation, as indicated in 2 Corinthians 5:15 ( King James Bible , 2 017) . According to this scripture, Jesus died and resurrected to live for others and God. In essence, by accepting Jesus Christ as God’s gift, humanity can escape the sinful nature. Sin makes us live for ourselves, rejecting the teachings and commandments of our God, but acceptance to Jesus makes us live both for God and others. 2 Corinthians 5:17 indicates that if we abide in Christ, we become new creations, and our old self departs ( King James Bible , 2 017) . The scripture implies that humanity can escape the original sin by letting God take away their old self, granting them new lives, free from the sinful nature. In overcoming sin nature, we must first acknowledge that we are a sinful species, as indicated in 1 John 1:8 ( King James Bible , 2 017) . We can also overcome sin nature by being baptized and symbolically, resurrecting with Jesus Christ. Acts 22:16 tells us that through baptism, all our sins and transgressions can be forgiven by God ( King James Bible , 2 017) . After getting baptized, people must walk in God’s ways, thus avoiding the burden of falling into sin nature again (1 John 2:6) ( King James Bible , 2 017) . According to Isaiah 59:2, the sinful nature separates us from God's love by making us contrary to His ways ( King James Bible , 2 017) . The sinful nature also makes us more susceptible to temptations and crimes. People who have not accepted God into their lives remain in their sinful nature. Consequently, such people are susceptible to criminal activities, making it difficult for them to stop committing crimes. In Romans 7:21-23, Paul states that his sinful nature makes him do bad things even when he intends to be on the right track ( King James Bible , 2 017) . Sinful nature makes people commit crimes that they did not intend to do. Additionally, the sinful nature makes people struggle in their attempts to lead holy lives. 

Sin nature plays a critical role in influencing criminal behavior. Crimes can only be explained through the evaluation of the sinful nature of human beings. People are born into sin; hence their minds are naturally evil and cannot escape the desire to do evil. While no one teaches children to steal, some grow into thieves. Such behavior can only be explained through the concept of sin nature. Even without any teachings, human beings can easily understand and master criminal behaviors. Therefore, criminal behavior is not determined by an individual willingness to commit a crime but their inability to fight such desires. The desire to do good can easily be overcome by that of committing evils. In essence, such criminal behaviors are not influenced by people's desire for crime but their inability to tame their criminal desires. The concept of sin nature can be used in understanding how most people convicted for criminal behavior could be wrongfully jailed. Some of the "criminals" could only be in such positions because of their weaknesses when faced with various sinful thoughts. In controlling crime behaviors, authorities must focus on teaching people how to tame their sinful desires. Authorities can also use the concept of sin nature to fight crime by removing all the avenues that could tempt individuals into deviating from the good deeds. Essentially, eliminating the avenues will ensure that people only focus on doing good deeds. 

Reference 

King James Bible . (2017). Cambridge University Press . (Original work published 1769) https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/