09.02.2017 Views

The Golden Chain - Robert J. Wieland

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If we say that Christ took the sinless nature of<br />

Adam before the Fall, this statement would be<br />

meaningless, for Adam in his sinless state surely<br />

did not recoil from evil.<br />

Does it imply that Christ was not truly tempted<br />

by sin? We dare not interpret it so, lest we deny<br />

Scripture. I find quinine an extremely bitter<br />

medicine to take—I used to take it when I had<br />

malaria in Africa. Truly, my "nature recoiled" from<br />

drinking quinine, and I would actually shudder<br />

physically when I had to take it. Would it make<br />

sense to say that I had to resist the temptation to<br />

drink quinine? When hot and thirsty I might have<br />

to resist a temptation to drink a cold cola, but I<br />

never had to resist an impulse to drink quinine!<br />

I believe drinking cola is harmful. Suppose I<br />

am trying to help a cola addict to stop using it, so I<br />

say: "Friend, look at me—I have the strength to<br />

resist a temptation to drink quinine, in fact 'my<br />

nature recoils from' drinking it; now you must give<br />

up your cola drinks." Would such "encouragement"<br />

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