WELCOME TO

THE STUDY OF
MAN AND SIN
INTRODUCTION TO
MAN AND SIN

Prepared and Presented by: Jemon L. Subang

 Question

•What is Anthropology?
•What is Hamartiology?
•And why is it necessary for us?
 An Invitation
The study of anthropology
is vital to the Christian.
 John Calvin
“We must now speak of the creation of man, not merely
because he, among all the works of God, is the most
notable example of the Creator’s justice, wisdom, and
goodness, but because, as we have already said, we can
have no clear and real knowledge of God without some
corresponding knowledge of ourselves…

(Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.1).

 Cont.…

…This knowledge of ourselves is two-fold:

namely, to know what we were like when
we were first created and what our
condition became after the fall.”

(Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.1).

Excerpts:
“Without a knowledge of our unfaithfulness and rebellion we
will never come to know God as the God of truth and grace.
Without a knowledge of our pride we will never know Him in
His greatness. Nor will we come to Him for the healing we need.
When we are sick physically and know that we are sick, we seek
out a doctor and follow his prescription for a cure. But if we did
not know we were sick, we would not seek help and might well
perish from the illness. It is the same spiritually…

– James Montgomery Boyce – (Foundations of the Christian Faith, p. 198)

 Excerpts: cont.…
… If we think we are well, we will never accept God’s
cure; we think we do not need it. Instead, if by God’s
grace we become aware of our sickness—actually, of
something worse than sickness, of spiritual death so far
as any meaningful response to God is concerned—then
we have a basis for understanding the meaning of
Christ’s work on our behalf, and can embrace Him as
Savior and be transformed by Him.”
– James Montgomery Boyce – (Foundations of the Christian Faith, p. 198)
“There is no better way of testing our
understanding of the Christian doctrine
of salvation than to examine our
understanding of the true nature of
sin.”

– Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones – (Romans, 7:1-8:4, p. 119)

 I. INTRODUCTION TO
ANTHROPOLOGY
A. Definition of Anthropology
In modern usage anthropology is “that
branch of natural history which deals with
the human species…”

(Encyclopedia Britannica, 14th edition)

• Modern form involves what man is – product of
evolution.
• Modern form involves what man does –
intellectually, politically, socially, aesthetically,
religiously, and economically.
In its theological usage the word
anthropology is derived from two
Greek words: anthropos, meaning
“man,” and logos, meaning “word” or
“doctrine.”
The Bible doctrine of anthropology is
the study of man from a Scriptural
perspective. True anthropology must
begin and end with the Word of God.
Biblical anthropology teaches two main facts:

(1) Man was created by God in His

image, and
(2) man is a sinner by nature.
In its modern and theological forms,
anthropology seeks to answer the following
fundamental questions about mankind:
1. From where does man come? (origin)
2. What or who is man? (nature)
3. Why is man? (purpose)
Christian anthropology seeks to answer these
questions from its presuppositions, namely that

1. God exists
2. God has revealed Himself in the
Scriptures
 B. Significance of Anthropology
“Again, it is certain that man never achieves a
clear knowledge of himself unless he first
looked upon God's face, and then descends
from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.”

(Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, I.i.2).

 “We must now speak of the creation of man, not
merely because he, among all the works of God,
is the most notable example of the Creator's
justice, wisdom, and goodness, but because, as
we have already said, we can have no clear and
real knowledge of God without some
corresponding knowledge of ourselves…

(Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.1).

 …This knowledge our ourselves is twofold:
namely, to know what we were like when we
were first created and what our condition
became after the fall.”

(Calvin, Institutes, I.xv.1).

Anthropology is significant
because all major doctrines of
the Bible are interrelated to it.
1. A study of man causes us to contemplate God
Himself, seeing that man is created in God’s
image (Gen. 1:26-27).
2. A study of man gives us a better understanding
of Christ, seeing that the Second Person of the
Trinity took upon human flesh.
3. A study of man gives access to us to see
the necessity, significance and nature of
the doctrines of salvation.