God gave Adam and Eve a neutral spirit and free moral agency; they chose the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, predisposing their offspring to sin.

Though Satan influences, the choices an individual make are totally his own, even for those without God's Spirit. We sin when we are drawn away by our own desires.

Though we inherit the proclivity to sin, neither it nor Satan makes us sin. We are responsible for our own sins and for the consequences—death.

The Romans would torture murderers by shackling them to their victims, a striking picture of a sinful individual's relationship with his iniquities.

Israel's trek was not only a physical journey, but a mental wandering caused by rejecting God's leadership. The potential to sin is a test of resolve.

Repentance is a first step, but it is also ongoing throughout our lives. To become a true Christian, we must repent—and then we must make it a continual practice.

Christians must continue to fight against self-centered and deception long after their calling to deepen and strengthen their relationships with God.

Our lives parallel what Christ experienced: crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and glorification. The death of self must precede resurrection and glory.

Even though sin offers fleeting pleasure, we must learn to intensely hate sin, regarding this product of Satan as a destroyer of everything God loves.

We have two conflicting natures: a downward-pulling carnal nature versus a divine nature imparted by God's Holy Spirit, continually at odds, seen in Romans 7.

If we learn to fear and love God, loyalty, faithfulness and commandment-keeping will naturally follow, and we will instinctively hasten to depart from evil.

Progressives tend to believe that human nature is perfectible and evolving. Conservatives tend to believe that human nature is evil and must be controlled.

Our pilgrimage to the Kingdom will not be easy; we will suffer fatigue from difficult battles with serious consequences. We fight the world, Satan, and our flesh.