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THEO 101 || Chapter 8 || What Is Sin, and What Has It Done? ||

 

CHAPTER 8  ·  WEEK 8 What Is Sin, and What Has It Done? Hamartiology — and midterm week

 

WHAT WE BELIEVE Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God. In Adam, humanity fell. We are now guilty and corrupt by nature, unable to save ourselves, and under the just wrath of a holy God. Sin is worse than a mistake. Grace will have to be greater than we think.

 

Learning Aims for This Week

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

· Define sin biblically (rebellion, unbelief, idolatry, lawlessness).

· Explain original sin and personal sin without blaming God.

· Describe the consequences of sin in relation to God, self, neighbor, and creation.

· State why “try harder” is not the gospel.

Key Terms

Term	Meaning in this course
Hamartiology	The doctrine of sin.
Original sin	The guilt and corruption inherited from Adam’s fall.
Total depravity	Every part of us is affected by sin; not that we are as bad as possible.
Inability	Apart from grace we cannot turn to God as we ought.
Transgression	Crossing a line God has drawn.
Iniquity	Twistedness; the inner warp of the heart.
Idolatry	Trusting, loving, or serving a created thing as if it were God.
Wrath	God’s holy, settled opposition to evil — not a temper tantrum.

 

Teaching Notes

1. The fall is history, not a mood

Genesis 3 is the hinge of the biblical story. God is good; the command is good; the man and woman are responsible. The serpent lies. They take. Shame, hiding, blame, exile, and death follow. Romans 5:12–21 treats Adam as covenant head: through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin. You do not need a theory of genetics to confess that the world you were born into — and the heart you were born with — is not Genesis 1:31.

2. What sin is

Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). It is falling short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). It is unbelief (Rom. 14:23). It is idolatry (Rom. 1:25). It is not first a social inconvenience or a psychological wound, though it produces both. It is personal offense against the Holy God. David prayed, “Against you, you only, have I sinned” (Ps. 51:4) after harming Bathsheba and Uriah — because the vertical breach is the deepest one.

3. How far it reaches

Total depravity does not mean every sinner is a monster in every moment. It means there is no untouched floor in the house — mind, will, affections, body, relationships. We can still be kind, civic, and brilliant. We cannot make ourselves right with God. “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10–12). This is why the next chapters must be about Christ, not about technique.

4. Wages

The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23): spiritual alienation now, physical death in history, eternal judgment if we remain outside Christ. Creation groans. Relationships fracture. Work becomes toil. The doctrine of sin is not meant to produce despair in those who will look to Christ. It is meant to end all boasting and all pretend innocence.

Midterm this week. The midterm covers Weeks 1–7: terms, key texts, and short essays. Use the Key Terms tables in Chapters 1–7 as your first study sheet. Be able to explain, not merely recognize.

 

Key Scriptures

Read these passages slowly before class. Mark what they teach about this week’s doctrine.

· Genesis 3 — The fall.

· Psalm 51 — Confession from the inside.

· Isaiah 59:1–2 — Sin separates.

· Jeremiah 17:9 — The heart is deceitful.

· Romans 3:9–26 — All under sin; righteousness from God.

· Romans 5:12–21 — Adam and Christ.

· Romans 3:23–24 — Memory verse: all have sinned; all may be justified by grace.

· Ephesians 2:1–3 — Dead in trespasses.

For Discussion

· Why do modern people prefer words like brokenness or mistake to the word sin?

· How does original sin differ from “I picked up bad habits from my parents”?

· If total depravity is true, what is still good in the world — and how?

· How should this doctrine change the way you confess sin in prayer?

Personal Application

· Pray Psalm 51 slowly without rushing to “but I try hard.”

· Memorize Romans 3:23–24.

· Where you have blamed others for your sin, practice one specific confession.

This Week’s Work

· Read Grudem on sin.

· Study for the midterm (Weeks 1–7).

· Start Doctrine Brief #2 notes if your topic will be Christology or Soteriology.

A Prayer to Carry into the Week

God of mercy, I am a sinner by nature and by choice. I cannot cleanse myself. Do not let me hide, excuse, or despair. Lead me to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Amen.

Prepared by Rev Rolando E Santiago, ThD DPM

THEO 101 || Chapter 7 || What Does It Mean to Be Human? Anthropology — the image of God ||

CHAPTER 7  ·  WEEK 7 What Does It Mean to Be Human? Anthropology — the image of God

 

WHAT WE BELIEVE Human beings are created by God, in the image of God, male and female, embodied souls with dignity, vocation, and moral responsibility. We are not accidents, not animals only, and not gods. Our worth is received, not invented.

 

Learning Aims for This Week

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

· Explain the image of God from Genesis 1–2 and its implications for dignity.

· State a biblical view of the human person as embodied and spiritual.

· Describe the goodness of being male and female without reducing persons to stereotypes.

· Connect anthropology to justice, work, rest, and the sanctity of life.

Key Terms

Term	Meaning in this course
Anthropology	The doctrine of humanity.
Imago Dei	The image of God — the unique dignity and calling of human beings.
Trichotomy	The view that humans are body, soul, and spirit as three parts (debated).
Dichotomy	The view that humans are body and soul/spirit (two aspects).
Vocation	Calling: the work and relationships through which we serve God and neighbor.
Stewardship	Responsible care of what belongs to God.

 

Teaching Notes

1. Made, not self-made

Genesis 1:26–27 is the foundation of Christian anthropology. God makes humankind in His image, after His likeness, male and female. Dignity does not arrive with intelligence, usefulness, or consent. It is bestowed. That is why the unborn, the disabled, the elderly, the enemy, and the stranger bear a weight the world often refuses to see. James 3:9 will not let us praise God and curse people made in His likeness.

2. What the image means

Scripture does not give a single technical definition. The image includes relational capacity (we can know God), moral capacity (we are accountable), rational capacity (we can truthfully name the world), and royal-priestly vocation (we represent God in the garden-world). After the fall the image is defaced, not erased (Gen. 9:6). In Christ it is being renewed (Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24). In glory it will be complete (1 John 3:2).

3. Embodied life

God formed the man from dust and breathed into him; the result is a living being (Gen. 2:7). We are not souls trapped in disposable bodies. The body matters to God — enough that the Son took one, and enough that He will raise ours. Gnostic contempt for the body is not Christian holiness. Neither is treating the body as a raw identity project with no givenness.

4. Male and female

The image is borne by man and woman together. Difference is not defect. Genesis 2 is gift and complementarity before it is controversy. Churches differ on some ministry applications; they should not differ on the goodness of the created distinction or on the equal dignity of women and men in Christ (Gal. 3:28 does not erase Genesis 1; it announces shared inheritance in the gospel).

5. Work, rest, and rule

The first human job description is to fill, subdue, and keep — cultivation, not exploitation (Gen. 1:28; 2:15). Work is not a punishment; toil after the fall is. Sabbath reminds us we are not the Creator. A theology of humanity that cannot talk about labor, rest, marriage, parenthood, singleness, and death is still too thin for real life.

Key Scriptures

Read these passages slowly before class. Mark what they teach about this week’s doctrine.

· Genesis 1:26–28 — Memory verse: image, male and female, vocation.

· Genesis 2:7, 15–25 — Embodied life, work, and marriage.

· Psalm 8 — What is man? Crowned with glory and honor.

· Psalm 139:13–16 — Formed in the womb.

· James 3:9 — The tongue and the image.

· Colossians 3:9–10 — The image renewed in Christ.

· Galatians 3:26–29 — One in Christ Jesus.

For Discussion

· Where does your culture locate human worth? How does Genesis 1 disagree?

· What would change in campus or church life if we treated every person as an image-bearer first?

· How does the resurrection of the body critique both body-hatred and body-worship?

· Why must anthropology be in place before we speak well about sin (next week)?

Personal Application

· Speak to one person this week as an image-bearer you are tempted to reduce to a use or a nuisance.

· Practice a small Sabbath habit: stop, thank, rest.

· Memorize Genesis 1:26–27.

This Week’s Work

· Read Grudem on humanity / man as assigned.

· Prepare for next week’s midterm window: review Chapters 1–7 terms.

A Prayer to Carry into the Week

Creator God, I am not my own idea. Thank You for making me. Thank You for making my neighbor. Renew Your image in me through Christ. Teach me to honor the body, the unborn, the weak, and the difficult. Amen.

Prepared by Rev Rolando E Santiago, ThD DPM

THEO 101 || CHAPTER 6 || Creation, Providence, and the Unseen Realm ||

CHAPTER 6  ·  WEEK 6 Creation, Providence, and the Unseen Realm God the Maker and Governor; angels and demons without speculation

 

WHAT WE BELIEVE God created all things out of nothing by His powerful Word, and He continues to uphold, govern, and care for His creation. Angels are ministering spirits. Satan and demons are real, defeated rebels, not equal rivals to God. History is not chance. It is providence.

 

Learning Aims for This Week

By the end of this chapter you should be able to:

· Explain creation ex nihilo and why it matters for worship and science-and-faith conversations.

· Define providence (preservation, concurrence, government) in pastoral language.

· State a Christian approach to evil and suffering that neither accuses God nor pretends pain is unreal.

· Summarize biblical teaching on angels and demons without superstition or denial.

Key Terms

Term	Meaning in this course
Ex nihilo	“Out of nothing.” God did not shape pre-existing matter; He called being into being.
Providence	God’s continuing work of preserving, cooperating with, and governing all creatures.
Preservation	All things hold together in Christ; creation does not run on its own.
Concurrence	God works in and with creaturely actions without becoming the author of sin.
Government	God directs all things toward His wise ends.
Theodicy	An attempt to speak justly of God in the face of evil.
Angel	A personal, spiritual creature who serves God.
Demon	A fallen angel; a personal evil spirit.

 

Study Notes

1. Creation is gift

Genesis 1–2 is not first a modern science paper. It is a revelation that the world is not divine, not accidental, and not ours to worship. God speaks; the world is. Creation is good. Matter is not the enemy. Time is not a prison. The Maker is distinct from what He has made, and yet He walks in the garden. That combination — transcendence and nearness — is the grammar of biblical faith.

Christians debate the age of the earth and the best reading of the days of Genesis. Those debates matter, but they are not the center. The center is: God made all things, He made them very good, and human beings are creatures, not gods. Creation ex nihilo guards grace. If God needed raw material, He is not the I AM.

2. Providence

Creation is not a clock God wound and abandoned. “In him all things hold together” (Col. 1:17). “He sustains all things by his powerful word” (Heb. 1:3). Sparrows fall under the Father’s knowledge (Matt. 10:29). Providence does not cancel human responsibility. Joseph can say, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good” (Gen. 50:20). Same event, two intentions, one sovereign God who is not the author of sin.

3. Evil and suffering

The Bible never treats evil as an illusion. It never treats God as helpless. It never gives us a full diagram. It gives us a cross. The God who governs also weeps and bleeds. Pastoral care begins there: lament is allowed, accusation of God’s character is not, and cheap answers are cruelty. Romans 8:18–39 is a better companion in a hospital than a clever theodicy.

4. Angels and demons

Angels worship, deliver messages, protect, and serve those who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). They are not to be prayed to. Satan is a liar and a murderer from the beginning, a created rebel, already judged at the cross (Col. 2:15), still dangerous, finally doomed (Rev. 20). Curiosity about the unseen realm should be thinner than confidence in Christ. Obsession and denial are both failures of discipleship.

Key Scriptures

Read these passages slowly before class. Mark what they teach about this week’s doctrine.

· Genesis 1:1–3 — In the beginning God created.

· Psalm 33:6–11 — By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.

· Colossians 1:15–17 — All things created through and for the Son; He holds them together.

· Matthew 10:29–31 — The Father’s care and human value.

· Genesis 50:20 — Human evil and divine intention.

· Romans 8:18–39 — Suffering, hope, and the love of God in Christ.

· Hebrews 1:14 — Angels as ministering spirits.

· Colossians 2:13–15 — The cross disarms the powers.

For Discussion

· What changes if the universe is a gift rather than an accident?

· How can providence comfort a sufferer without sounding like “God wanted this” in a cruel sense?

· Where have you seen Christians either ignore spiritual warfare or become fascinated by it?

· Why must we refuse to treat Satan as God’s equal opposite?

Personal Application

· Thank God for three ordinary created gifts you usually ignore (sleep, bread, a friend’s face).

· If you are in pain, pray Psalm 13 honestly rather than forcing cheerfulness.

· Renounce any practice that treats angels, objects, or formulas as lucky charms.

This Week’s Work

· Read Grudem chapters on creation, providence, angels, and Satan as assigned.

· Write a half-page answer: “What is providence, and what is it not?”

A Prayer to Carry into the Week

Maker of heaven and earth, all that I have is Yours. Uphold me. Govern what I cannot govern. Teach me to hate evil, to trust Your Son, and to refuse both panic and superstition. Amen.