Phil Gons

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Original Sin

I delivered this message at Spring Creek Bible Church on November 22, 2015, as part 7 of The Doctrines of Man and Sin series.

Prefer what I actually said? Read the transcript (lightly edited for readability).

1. Introduction

This is part seven of our series on the doctrines of man and sin. We spent the first five classes talking about the doctrine of man, and now we’re focusing on the doctrine of sin. We covered the Fall last week, and we continue today with original sin.

2. Review

  1. 9/20: Introduction
  2. 9/27: The Origin of Man
  3. 10/11: The Nature of Man
  4. 10/18: The Image of God, Part 1
  5. 11/8: The Image of God, Part 2
  6. 11/15: The Fall
  7. 11/22: Original Sin
  8. 11/29: The Nature of Sin
  9. 12/13: Modern-Day Issues

3. Outline

We’re going to look at Original Sin under these four categories:

  1. The definition of original sin
  2. Views on original sin
  3. The biblical teaching on original sin
  4. Objections to original sin

4. The definition of original sin

Jonathan Edwards wrote an important work on original sin. At the beginning, he defines original sin this way:

BY ORIGINAL sin, as the phrase has been most commonly used by divines, is meant the innate sinful depravity of the heart. But yet when the doctrine of original sin is spoken of, it is vulgarly understood in that latitude, as to include not only the depravity of nature, but the imputation of Adam’s first sin; or in other words, the liableness or exposedness of Adam’s posterity, in the divine judgment, to partake of the punishment of that sin. So far as I know, most of those who have held one of these, have maintained the other; and most of those who have opposed one, have opposed the other.1

On the topic of original sin, you’ll find a variety of terms used:

  1. Original sin
  2. Originating sin: Adam’s original sin
  3. Originated sin: our inherited sinfulness; synonymous with inherited sin
  4. Original corruption
  5. Original guilt
  6. Inherited sin
  7. Imputed sin
  8. Imputed guilt
  9. Mediate imputation
  10. Immediate imputation

Original Sin

  1. The original [human] sin was the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden. Sometimes this is called originating sin.
  2. Original sin refers to our corrupted nature, which we inherited from our parents and ultimately from Adam. Sometimes this is called inherent sin, original corruption, or originated sin.
  3. Original sin refers to our share in the guilt of Adam’s sin. This is also called original guilt, imputed guilt, or imputed sin.

Some prefer not to use the term original sin because of its ambiguity. Grudem and Frame prefer inherited sin. Because original sin is the most popular term for this concept, I’ll continue to use it and will try to make clear which meaning I have in view.

5. Views on original sin

Four Views

There are four main views on original sin:

  1. The Pelagian View: Because Adam sinned, we learn to be sinners.
  2. The Arminian View: Because of Adam’s sin, we are conceived and born sinners. We inherit a corrupt nature from our parents, but God’s prevenient grace universally erases our corruption.
  3. The Mediate Imputation View
  4. The Augustinian View (Seminal Headship):
  5. The Calvinist View (Federal Headship): Because of Adam’s sin, we are conceived and born guilty.

Erickson compares the three major views this way:

Thus, whereas in the Pelagian view God imputes neither a corrupted nature nor guilt to humanity, and in the Arminian view God imputes a corrupted nature but not guilt (in the sense of culpability), in the Calvinist scheme he imputes both a corrupted nature and guilt.2

His use of impute is sloppy. Corruption isn’t something that gets imputed in anyone’s view; guilt is. But the summary is otherwise helpful.

The Pelagian View

Example only. Not corruption or guilt.

Pelagius denied that Adam’s sin directly resulted in our sinfulness. Rather, his sin indirectly influenced us by example. Most of the church has rejected this view as inconsistent with the Bible’s teaching.

The Arminian View

Example and corruption. Not guilt.

Armianians acknowledge that Adam’s example influences us and that we’re born corrupted because of Adam’s sin, but that God’s prevenient grace wipes away the guilt of that corruption. So every person starts with a clean record and becomes guilty only because of their own choices.

The Mediate Imputation View

Example, corruptions, and guilt—but guilt through corruption.

This view holds that we’re affected by Adam’s example, given a corrupted nature by virtue of our connection to him, and rendered guilty, but that guilt comes through our corrupt nature. We’re not guilty until we exist.

This view breaks the parallelism with the immediate imputation of Christ’s righteousness. God doesn’t declare us to be righteous by first making us inherently righteous. He justifies the ungodly. He pronounces us righteous by the imputation of Christ’s alien righteousness to our account, which becomes our by virtue of our union with him.

The Augustinian View

Example, corruption, and guilt—through natural propagation.

The Augustinian view affirms that Adam’s sin indirectly influences us by example, but also directly influences us by passing to us a sinful nature and by our sharing in the guilt of that original sin in which we really participated.

Following Ambrosiaster, Augustine understood the Greek phrase eph ho (ἐφʼ ᾧ) in Romans 5:12 to mean “in whom.” This resulted in the reading, “[D]eath spread to all men, in whom all sinned.” Augustine affirmed a traducianist view of the origin of the soul and held that all of humanity was literally in Adam, participating in his sin and guilt.

Hebrews 7:7–10 was used to support this view:

It is beyond dispute that the inferior [Abraham] is blessed by the superior [Melchizedek]. 8 In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

The author of Hebrew was establishing the superiority of Christ’s Melchizedekan priesthood over the Levitical priesthood, and he argues that Levi, a descendant of Abraham, paid tithes to Melchizedek in Abraham’s loins.

We won’t get into the details of this passage, but some think it supports the Augustinian view.

This view is called natural or seminal headship. We were united to Adam in a physical way, and therefore share in the fall and its effects.

The Calvinist View

Example, corruption, and guilt—through representation.

The Calvinist view is nearly identical to the Augustinian view, but it holds that the nature of our connection to Adam was not a physical one but a representative one. This is called federalism or federal headship, or covenantal headship.

Q. 25. Wherein consisteth the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?

A. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consisteth in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of that righteousness wherein he was created, and the corruption of his nature, whereby he is utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite unto all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually; which is commonly called Original Sin, and from which do proceed all actual transgressions.3

This view is often associated with a creationist view of the origin of the soul. Since our souls are not passed down from Adam, our sharing in Adam’s sin cannot be through natural or physical means only. Instead, we share in Adam’s guilt by imputation. God reckon’s guilt to us because we are united to Adam as our representative head.

Michael Horton defines original sin as “the guilt and corruption brought on the human race as a result of Adam’s sin.”4 He goes on, “We are not only guilty for Adam’s sin; we are guilty as sinners in Adam.”5

Summary of the Views

ExampleCorruptionGuilt
Pelagian Viewx
Arminian Viewx/
Mediate Imputationxx/
Augustinian Viewxxx
Calvinist Viewxxx

6. The biblical teaching on original sin

Questions about original sin

The key questions we ask as we look at the biblical data are

  1. Are we born sinners? Or do we become sinners after we’re born? To put it another way, are we sinners because we sin, or do we sin because we’re sinners?
  2. If we’re not born sinners, why does no one resist and not become sinful?
  3. If we’re born sinners, are we guilty because of our own sin only, or somehow guilty in Adam’s sin? At the beginning of human life in the womb, before we’ve had a chance to commit acts of sin, are we completely innocent before God? Or are we guilty? If we’re guilty, are we guilty because of our sin nature only, or is our guilt attached to the original sin?

Propositions that point to original sin

The Bible’s teaching on sin is extensive. We can summarize it in these four statements:

  1. Sin is universal. Because sin is universal, we’re forced to ask and try to answer the question of why.
  2. Sin is natural. Because sin is part of our natures, we’re forced to ask how it got to be that way.
  3. Sin is inherited. Because we inherited our sinfulness from our parents, we must conclude that this has happened since the beginning.
  4. Sin is Adamic. Our sin is someone connected to Adam’s sin.

Sin Is Universal

Everyone is born sinful, only Jesus excepted.

Genesis 6:5: The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (cf. Ge. 8:21)

1 Kings 8:46: “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near,

Job 4:17: ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?

Job 14:4: Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.

Job 15:14: What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?

Job 25:4: How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?

Psalm 130:3: If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

Psalm 143:2: Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

Ecclesiastes 7:20: Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.

Romans 3:23: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

1 Corinthians 15:22: For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

Ephesians 2:3: among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

The Bible clearly affirms the universality of sin. No one escapes its reach.

We’re forced to ask why this is so. Can we harmonize this with the Pelagian view? What about the Arminian view? Why does everyone sin if only by an external example? Isn’t it conceivable that at least one person might not follow bad examples? Some who hold this view also hold that Christians can attain sinless perfection. What if a child was born to parents who’d achieved sinless perfection and was sheltered from bad examples? Would that child be perfect? Scripture says no, which calls this view into question. The universality of sin seems to pose a challenge for the Pelagian and Arminian views.

Sin Is Natural

More than just being something that affects every human but Jesus, Scripture also teaches is part of our natures. It goes deeper than the acts of sin we commit to our very natures and to the very origin of our natures.

Psalm 51:5: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalm 58:3: The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

Job 14:1, 4: “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble. . . . 4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? There is not one.

Job 15:14: What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?

Job 25:4: How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?

Hosea 12:3: In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God.

John 3:6: That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Ephesians 2:3: among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

If sin comes from our nature, and we possess this fallen nature from birth, then the Pelagian view cannot be true. The Arminian view also struggles. There’s no indication that this fallen, corrupted nature is countered by prevenient grace. Rather, the opposite seems to be affirmed.

Sin Is Inherited

More than being universal and natural, sin is inherited. We aren’t the cause of our sinful nature. We receive our natures from another. Our natures don’t become sinful after birth. But they are sinful before birth and even at conception. This sinful nature is passed to us from our parents.

We infer this from many of the passages we just looked at the talk being sinful from birth.

John 3:6: That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Sin Is Adamic

This line of succession goes all the way back to the original sin. It’s an unbroken chain of corruption begetting corruption. But Scripture goes beyond that. It doesn’t just teach that we receive a sinful nature because of Adam’s sin, but that in some sense we share in Adam’s sin and the corresponding guilt and punishment.

The first passage we’ll look at is 1 Corinthians 15:21–22:

For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

The central text is Romans 5:12–21.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Observations:

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin . . .

  1. Sin and death came into the world through one man, Adam.

and so death spread to all men because all sinned

  1. Death spread to all men, because all men sinned. This little phrase is the crux of the issue: “because all sinned.” If you pay attention to the tenses, you’ll see Paul continues to use the past tense throughout the verse: (1) sin came (εἰσῆλθεν), (2) death spread (διῆλθεν), and (3) all sinned (ἥμαρτον). The question is when each of these actions happened.
  2. Adam sinned and brought death on himself. Death come upon all because all sinned. It seems that Paul is situating all of these things in the same time and event of the Fall. Paul would likely have used the perfect tense and said all have sinned if he meant to convey the individual acts of sin committed by sinners in the four thousand years prior to his time.

Grudem puts it this way: “The context shows that Paul is not talking about actual sins that people commit every day of their lives, for the entire paragraph (Rom. 5:12–21) is taken up with the comparison between Adam and Christ. And when Paul says, ‘so . . . death spread to all men because all men sinned,’ he is saying that through the sin of Adam ‘all men sinned.’”6

13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

  1. In verse 14 Paul offers a proof of what he claimed in v. 12: before the law of Moses, everyone died even though they hadn’t sinned like Adam did. That is, Adam had directly disobeyed the one law that God gave to him. Those who sinned after Adam didn’t sin in the same way. Yet they suffered the same fate. Why? Because they shared in guilt and corruption by sinning with Adam.

Grudem again comments, “Here Paul points out that from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, people did not have God’s written laws. Though their sins were ‘not counted’ (as infractions of the law), they still died. The fact that they died is very good proof that God counted people guilty on the basis of Adam’s sin.”7

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

  1. Paul reinforces this in the following verses: they died through Adam’s trespass (v. 15).

16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

  1. God’s judgment brought condemnation based on one trespass, even though there were many subsequent tresspasses (v. 16).

17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

  1. Back in v. 14 Paul says that death reigned from Adam to Moses before God had given the law. In v. 17 he repeats that death reigned, but this time says explicitly that it was because of one man’s trespass.

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

  1. In v. 18 Paul asserts that the trespass of the one man led to condemnation for all men.

19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

  1. In v. 19 he says it was by means of Adam’s disobedience that we were made sinners.

This is a difficult passage, and we could spend a long time digging into the grammar and structure of Paul’s argument. What’s clear, though, is that Adam’s sin resulted in and was the cause of our sinfulness (v. 12, 19), condemnation (v. 16, 18), and death (v. 15, 17).

We’re all—because of Adam—sinful, condemned, subject to death, and guilty before God.

What’s less clear is how directly Adam’s sin caused these things and what role our own sinfulness and acts of sin plays in our own guilt, condemnation, and death.

Putting this passage together with other passages we looked it, it seems right to conclude that these things we’re all true of us from conception. If we’re conceived and born sinful, we’re guilty, subject to death, and condemned—because of Adam’s sin and before we’ve committed any acts of sin ourselves.

7. Objections to original sin

  1. It’s not fair for God to punish us for Adam’s sin.
  2. The Bible teaches that God punishes sinners for their own sin.

Objection 1: It’s not fair for God to punish us for Adam’s sin.

Our sense of fairness must be submitted to what the Bible teaches. Our sense of fairness might itself be part of our fallenness. If the Fall affects every part of our being, that would mean our sense of fairness is also distorted.

Our American, democratic individualism also makes this especially difficult for us to accept. Other parts of the world are far less individualistic and are far better prepared to grasp the concepts of representation and solidarity.

Is God not free to create a world where he appoints a man, Adam, to represent everyone and then appoints another man, Christ, to represent a subset of them? Yes, he is. God can create such a universe, and it seems that he has.

This bring us to our second question. It is consistent with what God teaches about individual accountability?

Objection 2: The Bible teaches that God punishes sinners for their own sin.

There are several passages where the Bible says people will be judged only for their own sins and not for others’ sins.

Deuteronomy 24:16: “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

2 Kings 14:6: But he did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. But each one shall die for his own sin.” (2 Chr. 25:4)

Jeremiah 31:29–30: In those days they shall no longer say: “ ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 30 But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Ezekiel 18:4: Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

Ezekiel 18:20: The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

Jeremiah is interesting because it’s right in the context of the New Covenant, which suggest this is something new with the new covenant.

Man’s sin affects others.

But there are also examples of others being punished for someone else’s sins.

God Visits Parents’ Iniquity on Their Children

Contrary to the passages we just read, these passages teach that God punishes children for their parents’ sins.

Exodus 20:5–6: You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Exodus 34:6–7: The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Deuteronomy 5:9: You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Lamentations 5:7: Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities.

Achan
  1. Achan sinned, and God’s anger burned against Israel (Jos. 7:1; cf. 22:20!).
  2. Thirty-six men died because of Achan’s sin (Jos. 7:5).
  3. Achan was stoned and burned along with his sons and daughters and animals and possessions (Jos. 7:24–25; cf. 22:20!).
David’s Son
  1. As punishment for his adultery and murder, God forgave David and killed the son born to him and Bathsheba instead (2 Sam. 12:14, 18).
Other Examples
  1. The Lord killed all the firstborn in Egypt because of Pharaoh’s sin (Ex 12:19; 13:15).
  2. Infants and children were ordered to be killed by God’s people (Num. 31:7; Deut. 2:34; 3:6; 20:13; 1 Sam. 15:3; 22:19).

From these passages we see at least two things:

  1. There were multiple cases where someone was punished for someone else’s sins.
  2. This must imply that there was Adamic guilt in these cases. God wouldn’t take the live of an innocent person. They might not have been guilty of the sin that brought their death, but they were guilty of sin.

Is this fair?

In addition to the things we’ve already noted, there are some other ways we can respond to the charge of injustice.

  1. If we object to having the first Adam represent us, shall we also object to having the second Adam represent us? Just as there is a solidarity between all humanity and Adam, so there is solidarity between the new humanity and Christ. We shouldn’t be so quick to object to representation. Representation is our only hope of salvation.
  2. Those who object to the justice of being culpable for the sin of Adam are also guilty of their own acts of sin. And it is these personal acts of sin that God will judge (Rom. 2:6; Col. 3:25).
  3. We have no reason to believe we would have acted any differently than our representative.
  4. God is just.

Romans 9:14: What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!

Deuteronomy 32:4: “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

Genesis 18:25: Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

2 Chronicles 19:7: Now then, let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Be careful what you do, for there is no injustice with the Lord our God, or partiality or taking bribes.”

Job 8:3: Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert the right?

Job 34:10: “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

“When God chose our representative, he did so perfectly. He did so infallibly. . . . Adam represented me infallibly, not because he was infallible, but because God was infallible. Given God’s infallibility, I can never argue that Adam was a poor choice to represent me.” —Randy VanderHeiden8

What about infants?

There are at least three ways people see infants as innocent:

  1. Infant Baptism: Some argue that the role of infant baptism is to remove the original sin and guilt they inherited from Adam. But we don’t believe Scripture teaches either infant baptism or its removable of original sin.
  2. Prevenient Grace: Other argue for a doctrine of prevenient grace that serves essentially the same purpose. I don’t find evidence of just universal grace in the Bible.
  3. Age of Accountability: Still others point to an age of accountability. But this by itself isn’t compatible with original sin.

So how are we to think about infants?

The testimony of Scripture is that infants are guilty by virtue of their solidarity with Adam. God killed David’s infant son. God commanded the destruction of children and infants. God’s justice demands that these infants were not innocent. God could justly condemn them.

But the real question is, does he?

The Bible doesn’t directly answer this question for us, but there are some texts that help us.

David has confidence that he’ll see his son again.

2 Samuel 12:21–23: Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

This is the clearest indication that a believer will be reunited with his infant. Some have said that David is simply acknowledging that his body will go into the ground like his son’s, but surely this is not David’s thought. David comforted himself with thoughts of being reunited with his son, which only makes sense if he believed he’d see him again.

The Kingdom Belongs to Children

There are two other passages are referenced:

Matthew 18:3: and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 19:14: but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

At the very least, these passages affirm for us that young children are capable of the kind of faith necessary for salvation.

Some also argue that the children of believers are made holy by their parents:

1 Corinthians 7:14: For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

Acts 2:38–39: And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Neither of these passages, though, seems to prove the point.

Children Lack Knowledge of Good and Evil9

A third line of reasoning points to the ignorance of children. Adam and Eve lost their innocence when they attained the knowledge of good and evil. There seems to be some connection between lacking the knowledge of good and evil and innocence.

Deuteronomy 1:39: And as for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.

Isaiah 7:16: For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted.

Jonah 4:11: And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

God seemed to take special pity on Nineveh. Some think this was a reference to the children in Nineveh, but it may have been a reference to the ignorance of Nineveh as a whole, those who didn’t have the privileged access to God’s Word like Israel did.

There is a connection between knowledge and accountability.

John 9:41: Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

John 15:22: If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

John 15:24: If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

Romans 1:19–20: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Romans 2:12: For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

Romans 5:13–14: for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

Romans 5:20: Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

Hebrews 5:1–3: 1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.

James 4:17: So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

There are degrees of culpability and punishment.

Deuteronomy 25:2: then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense.

Matthew 10:14–15: 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Matthew 11:21–24: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Luke 10:10–15: But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. 13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

Luke 12:46–48: the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. 48 But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

John 19:11: Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

Hebrews 10:28–29: Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

2 Peter 2:20–21: For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

1 John 5:16–17: If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

8. Conclusion

Original sin is a difficult doctrine. Augustine said of it, “Nothing is so easy to denounce, nothing is so difficult to understand.”10 Peter said that the Scriptures written by Paul contained some things that were difficult to understand (2 Pet. 3:16), and he very well made have had Romans 5:12–21 in mind.

Michael Horton said, “No doctrine is more crucial to our anthropology and soteriology, and yet no doctrine has been more relentlessly criticized ever since it was articulated.”11

God doesn’t fully explain why he appointed Adam to represent us or how it’s fair that we’re guilty, condemned sinners, subject to death, from the earliest moments of life. We do know that God is just, and that the Bible makes a clear connection between Adam’s sin and our sinfulness. We must embrace his word, even when it’s difficult for us to fully understand.

And as we study this difficult doctrine, let us not forget to turn our eyes to the second Adam, the one who reverses the sin, guilt, condemnation, and death of the first Adam. God in his grace imputes the sin of Adam that was imputed to us to Jesus and in return imputes the righteousness of Jesus to us.

While Adam brought sin, Jesus brings grace.

While Adam brought guilt, Jesus brings innocence.

While Adam brought condemnation, Jesus brings justification.

While Adam brought death, Jesus brings life and resurrection.

2 Corinthians 5:21: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

9. Resources

Blocher, Henri. Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle. Edited by D. A. Carson. Vol. 5. New Studies in Biblical Theology. England; Downers Grove, IL: Apollos; InterVarsity Press, 1997.

Edwards, Jonathan. Original Sin. Edited by John E. Smith and Clyde A. Holbrook. Corrected Edition. Vol. 3. The Works of Jonathan Edwards. New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 1997.

Madueme, Hans, and Michael Reeves, eds. Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin: Theological, Biblical, and Scientific Perspectives. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014.

Murray, John. The Imputation of Adam’s Sin.

Murray, John. “The Imputation of Adam’s Sin[, First Article].” Westminster Theological Journal 18, no. 2 (May 1956): 145–62.

Murray, John. “The Imputation of Adam’s Sin, Second Article.” Westminster Theological Journal 19, no. 1 (November 1956): 24–44.

Murray, John. “The Imputation of Adam’s Sin, Third Article.” Westminster Theological Journal 19, no. 2 (May 1957): 140–69.

Murray, John. “The Imputation of Adam’s Sin, Fourth Article.” Westminster Theological Journal 20, no. 1 (November 1957): 1–25.

10. Review Questions

  1. Are we sinners because we sin, or do we sin because we’re sinners?

11. Next Week

Next week we’ll turn our attention to the nature of sin.

12. Pray and Dismiss

Extras

Related terms:

  1. Federal headship or federalism
  2. Seminal headship or . . .

Related doctrines:

  1. Traducianism (origin of the soul)
  2. Creationism (origin of the soul)

Sin is pervasive.

The pervasiveness of sin

Not only are all people sinful, but all parts of all people are sinful.

Verses

Jeremiah 13:23: Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.

Proverbs 15:27

Sacrifices could be offer on behalf of others

Jesus acted on behalf of others

Esau hated by God before he was born or did anything good or evil.

The Bible treats us as sinners before we’re even born. We’re included in the passages about the death of Christ . . .

The question of fairness isn’t just about our participation in the sin and guilt of Adam, but it also extends to our inheriting a sinful nature through our parents. If we’re truly born in sin, we must wrestle with the same questions of justice—or reject the Bible

There are, however, degrees of sin and culpability.

  1. The law increases sin (Rom. 5:?).
  2. Chorazin, Bethsaida, and were going to be held to a higher standard than Tyre and Sidon and Sodom and face fiercer judgment on the final day (Matt. 11:21–22).

Sins of Ignorance

Psalm 19:12: Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

Psalm 90:8: You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.

Job 34:32: teach me what I do not see; if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more’?

Acts 3:17–19: “And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

Acts 17:30–31: The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

1 Timothy 1:13–15: 13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

Hebrews 5:1–3: 1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.

Leviticus 4:27–31: 27 “If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any one of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done, and realizes his guilt, 28 or the sin which he has committed is made known to him, he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. 29 And he shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and kill the sin offering in the place of burnt offering. 30 And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out all the rest of its blood at the base of the altar. 31 And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat is removed from the peace offerings, and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a pleasing aroma to the Lord. And the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

Leviticus 5:17–19: 17 “If anyone sins, doing any of the things that by the Lord’s commandments ought not to be done, though he did not know it, then realizes his guilt, he shall bear his iniquity. 18 He shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish out of the flock, or its equivalent for a guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for the mistake that he made unintentionally, and he shall be forgiven. 19 It is a guilt offering; he has indeed incurred guilt before the Lord.”

Numbers 15:27–31: 27 “If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. 29 You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. 30 But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”

Summary of the Views

ExampleCorruptionGuilt
Pelagian Viewx
Arminian Viewx/
Mediate Imputationxx/
Augustinian Viewxxx
Calvinist Viewxxx

Notes

1. Jonathan Edwards, Original Sin, ed. John E. Smith and Clyde A. Holbrook, Corrected Edition, vol. 3, The Works of Jonathan Edwards (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 1997), 107. ↩

2. Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013), 577. ↩

3. Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith, Edinburgh Edition (Philadelphia: William S. Young, 1851), 180–181. ↩

4. Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 998. ↩

5. Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 426. ↩

6. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 494. ↩

7. Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 494. ↩

8. “Why Does Adam’s Sin Make Me Guilty of Sin?” ↩

9. Exodus 30:14; Numbers 14:28–30. ↩

10. Henri Blocher, Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle, ed. D. A. Carson, vol. 5, New Studies in Biblical Theology (England; Downers Grove, IL: Apollos; InterVarsity Press, 1997), 15. ↩

11. Michael Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 423. ↩