Family! Wife! Children! Precious Grandchildren! How could such be a hindered obstruction to one’s theology. It can cloud you belief in original sin. Now other children’s behavior may convince us of original sin but not our own. Perhaps unconsciously we stray from a vital truth because of sentimental attachments.
Perhaps the seventeenth century was a different mindset and theology was supreme over men’s sentiments! There was true enlightenment in that period of time. The nineteenth and twentieth century saw a major shift form enlightenment to sentimentalism and subjectivism. That has been pervasive in our theology.
Original sin in it true form is a detriment to free will. How could one man’s sin affect the free choice of us all? Is it fair to say that we are conceived in iniquity, without understanding and we are not seekers after God?
Spiritually men are as infants, they hear sounds but do not have understanding. Spiritually men are as the seriously mentally challenged, they hear sounds but are not understanding without any capability to communicate. They instinstinctively feel pain and pleasure but there is no understanding about life. Their basic infantile needs are met but there is no progress beyond that. Physically they are alive.
The sinner is spiritually dead, lifeless, without understanding. If you clearly believe in original sin then you have to believe that man does not have a free choice in salvation. “Well no wonder we don’t believe in original sin, we know man has free choice!” “How could we love God if we didn’t have free choice?”
The real question that is never asked is, “how could God really love us if we had free choice?”
Remember, when God created He pronounced “it is good” on all but man. The decree to sin was not just permitted but necessary for God’s perfect demonstration of love. A love that would entail a Son being offered as a sacrifice for sinful man. God’s pleasure was fulfilled in Christ. Christ’s death brought Him pleasure! What a wonderful thought! Psalms 53
So Dr Rogers’ error in saying that there is a little light in man is wrong. The light shines all around but not within. His belief in two ways of salvation is erroneous. There is one way to salvation not one for infants and the mentally challenged and another for adults who reach an age of accountability. There is not one for those who cannot make a choice and another for those who can.
Salvation is by election. All who are elected are saved. The application of election is Holy Spirit regeneration according to the pleasure of the Father. There is no human will involved, no matter how hard you try it will not overcome original sin. The only way to free will is the denial of original sin, one or the other.
