Born Sinners?
Augustine of Hippo
In our recent study, At What Point Did We Become Sinners?, we found that the Bible supports the view that the sin we are made guilty for, is one of choice. When we know what is good, true, and right, but choose to reject it, this is when we are guilty before God. However, there is another view of sin that says something completely different. This understanding of sin has been named Original Sin. We intend to explore it within this study.
“But is this so important?”, someone may ask. Yes, it definitely is because our understanding of sin directly influences our understanding of salvation.
So, what does the idea of Original Sin actually say?
Original Sin says:
We are born in a state of guiltiness because of Adam’s sin.
We are born sinners - lost, condemned, and guilty - at birth because we are descendants of Adam and have inherited a fallen nature.
We are born lost and condemned before any choices are made, before we have any knowledge of right or wrong.
Let’s look at two main texts that are used to support the Original Sin idea.
The first text we will look at is taken from the prayer of King David after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrated the murder of her husband Uriah:
Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
David does not say that he was a sinner from birth. He does say that he was conceived “in sin”. But where else could David have been conceived? He was conceived and born in a sinful world to sinful parents – a sinful environment.* The sin that he was guilty of in this chapter was the sin of adultery and murder – wrongs which he personally chose to do at a point in his life when he knew what was right and wrong.
So, are we born sinners because of Adam’s sin or not? The Bible is very clear on where the responsibility lies when it comes to sin. We are responsible for our own sin, not the sin of someone else.
Exodus 32:31-33
31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold.
32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.
33 And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
The children of Israel had sinned by making a golden calf and worshipping it. Moses was willing to take on himself the consequences of their actions and be blotted out of God’s “book”, which is the “book of life” (Revelation 3:5; 20:15; 21:27). However, God gave us a Bible truth while correcting Moses: “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”; or in other words, the person that sinned is the one who is guilty and deserving of the consequences. And as we see from these verses, the sin that Israel was guilty of was one of choice – they chose to rebel against the 1st and 2nd commandments which God spoke to them twelve chapters before in Exodus 20.
Ezekiel 18:20
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
The book of the prophet Ezekiel gives us a clear statement: we bear the guilt and condemnation for our own sin – not the sin of our parents or our children. But if we do not bear the guilt for our parent’s sin, what does this mean for Original Sin’s claim that we are born guilty because of Adam’s sin (who is our very first parent)?
These two clear and definitive passages show us that the Bible rejects the idea of Original Sin. We are not born guilty because of Adam’s sin.
But what about the second text that is used to support the idea of Original Sin? Let’s take a look:
Romans 5:18
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Does this text say that all men are condemned because of Adam’s sin? Yes, it states clearly that because of Adam’s offence, condemnation “came upon all men”. But is this the whole story? In light of this verse, would it be truthful to end the conversation there? To answer these questions, we’re going to look at some texts which speak of Jesus’ work for the whole human race – “all men” – and then return to this verse.
Did Jesus die for all or just for the righteous?
2nd Corinthians 5:14
…if one died for all, then were all dead:
Jesus Christ’s death was for every single person. This means that Christ’s death affected all human beings in a very important way.
Let’s look at some more verses:
1st Timothy 4:10
10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
1st John 2:2
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
2nd Corinthians 5:19
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Christ's redeeming work includes not only the sins of those who have repented and believed in Christ, but He has done something for all the sins that have ever been committed. God has done all in His power to provide a way for us to be saved. The only obstacle is on our part – will we accept the gift of what Christ has done, or will we refuse it?*
Now that we have seen that Christ’s death was for every person, and it had an affect on “all men”, we’ll return to previous text, but this time we will read the whole thing to get the whole picture.
Romans 5:18
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
How many were condemned because of Adam’s sin? It says “all men”. This would include everyone, even those who do not know about Adam and the Biblical record of the creation and fall. The first part of this text tells us that the human race was legally destroyed by Adam’s sin – every human being was doomed because of Adam’s rebellion.*
But is this the whole story? Does this text stop there? Are we left without hope? No way! This one verse gives us the complete picture. Adam’s sin affected “all men”, but the same “all men” were affected by Christ’s life and death. The same “all men” who were doomed by Adam’s sin were freed from condemnation by Christ’s righteousness. What Adam did to the human race; Christ undid for the same human race. All men - the human race - were legally set free from condemnation because of what Jesus did on the cross.*
The word "justification" in this text means "acquittal," which refers to being cleared of charges brought against you. In Romans 5 all mankind is acquitted of the correct charge of rebellion which has been brought against the whole human race. In other words, the race - and all individuals in the race - are no longer under condemnation; corporate condemnation through Adam is cancelled by corporate acquittal through Christ - both situations happened without our personal involvement or choice, and both at the same instant of time.*
As soon as Adam sinned, Christ stepped in as our saviour:
Revelation 13:8
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Since the days of Adam, Jesus has given the human race a second chance, so that we can personally make up our own minds about the gift of salvation that He now offers us. Jesus has given us the responsibility for our own actions and sin – condemnation now comes when we personally choose to sin. We have been given the opportunity to choose eternal life. Will we accept what He has done and is doing, or will we choose to reject His love?*
Because of Adam's sin, we suffer from many of the results of sin, like inheriting a fallen nature, but this in itself does not make us guilty, condemned, or lost at birth.* We are guilty for the sin which we choose to do.
As we have already seen from our previous study, we sin and are made guilty when we know what is right but choose to do wrong:
James 4:17
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Does a baby know the difference between right and wrong? No. A text in Deuteronomy informs us that God fully understands this.
Deuteronomy 1:39
39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
The parents of the children spoken of in this verse chose to rebel against God and disbelieve Him, and they were not allowed to enter into the promised land as a result of their sin. However, their children, who did not know the difference between good and evil were allowed to inherit the promise land because they were not guilty. Knowledge and volition makes us guilty; these two things are far from the ability of a new born baby, or a life that has just been conceived.
If this is the case, there is no need for infant baptisms because a baby is not born lost. And there would be no need for the theological idea of the Immaculate Conception of Mary which comes out of a belief in Original Sin. One error left uncorrected can lead to a thousand more.
God is just and fair. The answers to the questions around Sin and Salvation show us what God is like and how He works. A correct understanding of sin leads us to a correct understanding of salvation.
We hope that this study has been a benefit to you. Please look out for our next study on Sin: Is Temptation Sin?
by LetterBox Bible
*paragraphs adapted from a study on Original Sin by www.dennispriebe.com