George Warnock — Hamartologie
b2 — Evening and Morning
Zelfwil als de kern van zonde (king of Amalek = the WILL)
Warnock werkt in Hoofdstuk 1 het typologische beeld van Saul en Agag uit als diagnose van de wortel van zonde in de mens: de eigenwil die weigert zich volledig aan God te onderwerpen.
“The spirit of Saul prevails everywhere in the Church of Christ. He insisted he had fulfilled the commandment of the Lord and was quite proud of the fact. But ‘what then is this bleating of the sheep, and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?’ asked the prophet.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 1
“We feel we just simply must keep the king of Amalek alive in order to honor God, because man is a ‘free will moral agent.‘” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 1
Warnock concludeert:
“One only knows true freedom when that last great stronghold of the old life is broken down, even the king of Amalek, the WILL—and the will of God takes its place.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 1
Interpretatie: De “king of Amalek” is voor Warnock een type van de eigen wil (the WILL) als het laatste bolwerk van zonde in de mens. Zolang de eigenwil niet onttroned is, is er geen echte gehoorzaamheid — ook al worden uiterlijke offers gebracht.
Gebondenheid door de zonde / onvrijheid van nature
Warnock verbindt de onvrijheid van de mens direct aan de gevallen natuur:
“man is in no sense ‘free’ either as the seed of Adam or as the seed of Abraham. Jesus makes this abundantly clear. Only the Son can make one free, and this is the only true freedom that man can have (Jn. 8:32-36).” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 1
“By natural birth we are impelled by the desires or the WILL of the flesh and of the mind, which leads only to bondage; and we are energized by the spirit of disobedience (Eph. 2:2, 3).” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 1
Bijbelgrond: Joh. 8:32-36; Ef. 2:2-3.
Wet van zonde en dood: gevolg van de val
In Hoofdstuk 2 beschrijft Warnock de reikwijdte van de wet van zonde en dood als directe vrucht van Adams ongehoorzaamheid:
“the law of sin and death which came to the throne when Adam walked in the pathway of disobedience and fell off from his Creator. So far-reaching and devastating has been the sway and lordship of the kingdom of death, that today humanity stands on the brink of extinction!” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
“the law of sin and death holds and exercises a far greater dominion and rulership over the bodies and souls of men than it ever has from the foundation of the world until this day” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
Fulness van zonde: eschatologische rijping
Warnock ziet de zonde in de eindtijd toenemen tot haar volle rijpheid:
“Basically sinful man is just the same as Adam was when he first fell from his Creator. But that sin and that corruption that now prevails in humanity because of man’s original disobedience has come to horrible fulness. The grapes of wrath are not only ripe, but they are over-ripe, as the original implies in Revelation 14:15.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
“The fulness of sin and death is such that no flesh could survive the desolation that lies ahead unless the Lord Himself were to cut the days short.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
Eerste vs Laatste Adam: erfzonde als parallel
Warnock formuleert de parallel tussen erfzonde en erfgenade via imputatie:
“we inherit the power of grace from the Lord Jesus, as we inherit the curse of sin from Adam; that we have God’s righteousness in Christ by imputation, just as we have Adam’s sin and death by imputation; and that as we grow up into Adam’s sin unto its horrible climax by reason of natural generation, by the same token WE GROW UP UNTO CHRIST IN ALL THINGS by reason of spiritual generation.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
Bijbelgrond: Rom. 5 (“much more” — vijf keer gebruikt als contrast met Adams zonde).
“Five times in Romans 5 does the apostle Paul use the expression ‘much more’ relative to the power of the grace of God, in contrast to the sin of Adam.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
Totale verdorvenheid: verborgen potentieel voor kwaad
Warnock erkent een diep verborgen potentieel voor kwaad in de gevallen natuur:
“Have we not all shuddered at the revelation of the great potential for evil that has arisen in our own nature? Have we not lamented over the fall of some great man, and wondered how one so mightily used of God could have been so completely overtaken?” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
“The fact is that man is in no sense ‘free’… the potential that lies dormant in the old nature, a potential which is bolstered and energized by compatible spirits in the world of darkness. Then an unholy conception takes place, and the Serpent brings forth after his kind.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
Zonde als conceptie: definitie zonde als daad
Warnock citeert Jak. 1:15-16 als definitie van de dynamiek van zonde:
“When the lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.” — Jak. 1:15-16, geciteerd in Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
“Sooner or later ‘the prince of this world’ cometh, and because there is standing room in our nature, his horrible works are manifest and we are brought into bondage.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
Wet van zonde en zelf
In Hoofdstuk 4 onderscheidt Warnock een “wet van zonde en zelf” die zwaarder kan drukken dan de wet van Mozes:
“many people, insisting that they are free from the law, have come under greater bondage to the law of sin and self than men do who feel they must remain under the law of Moses.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 4
“The man who is saved by the Grace of God, and knows it, and yet persists in living his own life—he is a legalist.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 4
“True liberty consists of vital union with the Son… in fact, in becoming bound to the Son with bonds of the Spirit which effectually and experimentally liberate one from the former bondage to sin and self.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 4
Bijbelgrond: Gal. 5:18; Joh. 8:32-36.
Verdorvenheid van nature: utter nothingness
Warnock formuleert de totale nietigheid van de mens van nature:
“The fact is we are negative by nature, and victory is not ours by blindly refusing to acknowledge our own futility, and vainly attempting to arouse some secret potential of our character within.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 4
“God is consistently seeking to bring us to the place where we recognize the utter nothingness and futility of our whole being and way of life by nature.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 4
Zonde in de kerk: Gods probleem
Warnock plaatst de zonde van de kerk centraal als Gods primaire probleem:
“Call it what we will: a mistake, or Irish, or human, it is not Christ; and God cannot be satisfied with anything less than the living Christ abiding within your life and mine, in all His glorious fulness.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 2
“Many agencies in the earth and in the Church are desperately trying to solve earth’s problems, but basically the problem is the Church itself. Instead of being the answer to human need, we are the problem. God’s problem has always been with His own people, not with the world.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 4
“Continually every day His Name is blasphemed amongst the nations, because of His people.” — Warnock, Evening and Morning, Hoofdstuk 4