What the Bible says ♦ Human condition

Fallen and hopeless

Although other religions describe human nature as good and regenerable by self determination, the Bible describes human condition as fallen and irrecuperable by any kind of human intervention.

This status was caused by Adam’s act of disobedience while he was in the garden of Eden, with his wife Eve. Instead of listening to God’s word, they decided to listen to the voice of Satan, also called the Devil. Satan was once a very important angel, but he rebelled against God and tried to take God’s place. Because of this, God punished him alongside a lot of other angels that were with Satan in his rebellion. The punishment for them is hell, and it will become active at the end of times. Until that time, the main purpose of Satan is to destroy as much as he can, and to make people reject God and lose the chance of salvation that God is offering.

God wanted people to love him willingly. He didn’t create humans as robots, but instead he gave them the opportunity to freely choose if they wanted to listen to him or listen to Satan. But this free option is not without consequences. God told Adam and Eve that if they listen to God's word, they will live, otherwise they will die. And because God created all people to be eternal, to live or to die, is something that passes over the grave and refers to what comes after death. Death is not the end, it is only a gate to what comes next, and the life that comes next is eternal. To live means to be with God for eternity in the greatest happiness, and to die means to be thrown into hell and to be tormented there forever.

The decision of Adam and Eve to disobey God and trust the word of Satan was the biggest disaster ever recorded. It was the biggest disaster because their act meant a total and complete separation from God. Since Adam and Eve, all people that were born inherit this fallen state and can’t change it, no matter what they do.

The disobedience to God’s word is called sin. Sin is what separates humans from the living God for eternity. And the punishment for sin is eternal death! There is no way for someone to change this condamnation and there is no way to avoid the final punishment.

So, regardless of the conception that man can become good by his own power, the Bible teaches that we are born with a sinful nature which will favor us to sin against God. And sin brings a complete and total separation from God. This is the true human condition!

There is no man on Earth capable of living a life without committing sin. The Bible says: "[...] None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood;in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. [...] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:10-18) "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, NIV)

But God had a plan to save people from eternal death, a plan which was made even before he created the world. This path of salvation is unique, and it was fulfilled by the Son of God - Jesus Christ. There is no other alternative except Jesus Christ. And it is offered for free to all who believe in Jesus, repent from their sins and accept him as their personal Lord and Saviour. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NIV)