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The Myth of Neutral Existence!
by Robert Schmid, August 2006

Years ago, during a general conversation with a friend, I brought up the topic, or more correctly, I tried to bring up the topic of God, when my friend stopped me cold in my tracks and made it clear that he does not want to hear anything about God, because, as he explained, if he would, he may have to act on such knowledge, and he was not prepared to do that. In other words, what my friend was saying was that he wanted to remain ignorant about God, in order to avoid dealing with any demands that God may impose upon his life. Now, I suppose that this attitude is quite common, especially in the western world, where people can and do say to themselves, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing!”

A parallel line of thinking that goes with the above, is that people assume and therefore believe, that NOT knowing about God and the devil, keeps them in a “neutral” condition without any responsibility, and no consequences of their (wrong) actions. So, the question is: Is it possible for the man who has need of nothing, and the Atheist, to refuse contact with either God, or the devil, and simply avoid involvement in the spiritual dimension?

To answer that question we need to first consider and answer the question: What is man? The problem is that the man, who has need of nothing, and the Atheist, are the last people who would spend much, if any time, on that question. Regardless, the answer, as we will see, is that there is no “neutral,” no “third” option. There is only right or wrong, good or evil, God or Satan, and every human being regardless of nationality, race, color, gender, age, or social status, inexorably moves in one or the other direction.

In the beginning, God CREATED the heavens and the earth and Adam. God spoke and by the power of His Word, it was. Eve was MADE from Adam. Adam and Eve were created in the image of God and told to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth. Then, Adam and Eve were given clear instruction by God that they could freely eat of every tree in the garden (which included the tree of life), except of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, lest they would die. In other words, Adam and Eve came into existence without having been exposed to either the “tree of life” (God, the Holy Spirit), or the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Satan, the Evil Spirit). Adam and Eve were the only two human beings ever, that began life in a “neutral” condition. They were physical human beings without a spiritual orientation.

That innocent condition however did not last very long for the serpent (Satan) was more subtle than any other wild creature that the LORD God had made. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They thereby obtained their spiritual orientation from Satan. They became begotten children of Satan. Satan became their spiritual father.

Let’s consider what the problem is with having the knowledge of good and evil. Is this a knowledge that only Satan has and not God? Obviously not! God very much has a knowledge of good and evil, but God, in contrast to Satan, also has the character never to commit evil. Satan’s very nature has become and is evil continually, and he lacks the character not to commit evil. Adam and Eve, by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, have assumed Satan’s evil nature, and lack of character, and became two sinful human beings.

God’s judgment was swift, and the LORD God said: “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever” --- therefore the LORD God drove them out of the garden of Eden, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Soon after that, Adam and Eve had their first children, Cain and Abel, through PROCREATION. Let’s understand, two sinful human beings can only re-produce other sinful human beings. Cain and Abel were born with the same spiritual orientation as that of their parents. They were born as physical human beings, and spiritually begotten children of Satan, their spiritual father. This has been the lot of every human being ever born down to you and me. This inherited, evil oriented nature (imputed sin) with which we are conceived and born, then, immediately becomes the cause of our own sinfulness (committed sin). 

Let us now consider the first two human beings, Cain and Abel, that came into existence through procreation, by being born of their parents Adam and Eve. Even though Cain and Abel were born with an evil spiritual orientation, God never gave up on them or their parents. No doubt, God continued to instruct them as to the solution to their sin problem. How else can we explain that Abel’s offering of a lamb was accepted by God, and Cain’s offering of the fruit of the ground was rejected by God?

“Evidently they had both been told of the necessity for a blood sacrifice as an expression of true faith. Abel therefore offered a more acceptable sacrifice (Heb 11:4). He became the first martyr (Mt 23:35) and is listed as a hero of the faith (Heb 11:4). His death is compared with that of Christ in Heb 12:24.” (HSB)

Even though Cain and Abel were born captives of Satan, they were nevertheless free rational beings with a free will (after the image of God) and it was their decision to either follow the instructions of God, or violate them. Cain CHOSE to violate God’s instructions, Abel CHOSE to follow God’s instructions. Many years later, God pleaded with his nation Israel: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live…”  We today, the Church of God, are those descendants, and God’s plea to us is the same: “CHOOSE LIFE.” However, God’s desire is that no one should perish, but that all (of mankind) should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).

We can see here that REPENTANCE is the key to bring about a change from death to life. Repentance will make it possible to change our spiritual orientation away from Satan, to a spiritual orientation towards God. In other words, repentance from sin (the violation of the laws of God) will change us from being begotten, spiritual children of Satan, to becoming begotten, spiritual children of God. Upon repentance and baptism, God gives us His Holy Spirit, begetting us anew (a second time), replacing our former, sinful, spiritual father Satan, with our new, sinless, spiritual Father God. At the same time we replace our former, physical father, faithless Adam, with our new, physical father, faithful Abraham. Jesus Christ plainly said: “You MUST be born again,” for “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is (begotten and) born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:1-21).

Let us now consider our example and forerunner Jesus, who showed the way of how to become BORN AGAIN through His birth, death and resurrection. Much of the Old Testament is a prophecy of a coming Messiah. Then, in the “fullness of time,” 2000 years ago, the Word (of God) BECAME flesh, BECAME the only (so) begotten Son (of God), named Jesus. Jesus became the begotten Son of God, both physically and spiritually, when God’s (surrogate) wife, the virgin Mary (representing Israel), was impregnated by God. Nine month later Mary gave birth to Jesus, now a born human being, and (still only) a begotten God being. Remember, first is the physical (birth) and then the spiritual (birth).

Jesus was a dual being, physically born of Mary and spiritually begotten of God. Jesus was the God/man, Emman u-el (which means God with us), and Jesus (which means the man with us). However, and to be sure, to be the God/man does not mean that Jesus was “fully God” and “fully man” which is a contradiction in terms, and is simply not possible.

Jesus was a BORN human being and a BEGOTTEN God being, and if the Spirit of God dwells in you, then, you too are a BORN human being and a BEGOTTEN God being. Jesus lived, suffered, died and was resurrected, just as Christians live, suffer, die and will be resurrected. Jesus was tempted in all points, as all Christians are, but He remained without sin and thereby defeated the god of this world, the Devil, and became the Savior of the world. In contrast, all Christians continue to sin, unable to save themselves, totally dependent on the sacrifice and righteousness of Jesus Christ, to satisfy the demands of the law, and make them acceptable to God the Father. 

Since the (neutral) creation of Adam and Eve, and their choosing of Satan, as their spiritual father, in the Garden of Eden, every human being, from the point of conception, has been born with this evil orientation. But, God’s plea to mankind is the same today as it was yesterday;

“See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD God will bless you in the land which you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land which you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you LIFE and DEATH, BLESSING and CURSE therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."
(Deut. 30:15-20)