on Genesis 8:21

Genesis 8:21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour: and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth: neither will I again smite every living thing, as I have done.

 

This passage is often cited to support the idea that man is naturally sinful from his youth. It is interpreted by some movements as a confirmation that humanity, since the fall of Adam, is irredeemably corrupt. This thinking aligns with the doctrines of total depravity, asserting that man, in his nature, is incapable of producing anything good before God.

However, a more nuanced reading shows that this verse does
not impute an irremediable sinful nature to man, but highlights the human tendency to misdirect his heart through his own choices from his youth. God, in His mercy, decides here to no longer curse the earth for this condition, showing that His patience and grace allow humanity to continue to live
for a little while yet.
In light of free will, the emphasis is on man’s choices from his youth.
The text indicates that the thoughts of the human heart are
often directed toward evil, but this results from voluntary decisions and not from an innate fatality. Man is not forced to act wrongly by a corrupt nature; he chooses to do so willingly.
This shows that moral responsibility is always present.

Man, by exercising his faculty of will, allows himself to be absorbed by immoderate desires and bad behavior. There is no disease or weakness of human nature here. If they act in this way, it is by their free will and under their full responsibility.

Jeremiah 32:19 Great are you in counsel and mighty in deed; your eyes are open to all the ways of the children of men, to give every man according to his
ways, and according to the fruit of his doings

 

Despite this tendency, God chooses to show mercy and patience, offering humanity the opportunity to change its ways. This passage does not deny the possibility of living righteously, but rather reminds us of the need of give up a
sinful lifestyle.