How could Christ die for sinners if we don’t inherit sin from Adam?
Question:
Hi,
I came across your website doing a bit of research regarding sin and the choices we make. I am a little confused by your statement that we are not born sinners. I am under the understanding that sin has been passed on through Adam and Eve, e.g. irrational sin. If we are not born as sinners, the work of the cross is made redundant. In other words, Christ came only for those who sin, the ones who don’t, well, they can't get eternal life until they sin, so they can be reborn to enter eternal life. I think your statement is wrong, but I would love to hear what your thoughts are.
Answer:
God teaches us that we all sin, but not that we were born sinners.
The phrase, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23), talks about what we do, not what has been done to us. Adam did open the door to sin, but note how Paul said sin spreads: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12).
Sin occurs when people break God's law. "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness" (I John 3:4). It comes about because individuals are lead astray by their own desires. "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1:14-15). To claim someone is born sinful is to state that they entered this state without ever breaking a law or being drawn away by their own desires.
You stated that sin is passed on from Adam and Eve, but God said that sin is not inheritable, just as righteousness is not inheritable. "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself" (Ezekiel 18:20).
Christ died for sinners (Romans 5:8) and the point Paul makes is that Christ died for everyone because everyone sins.
But let's suppose there are those who have no sin. If that were so, then they would not be separated from God. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). Being in that state, the contention that they would not go to heaven would be false.
For more on this, see: Four Facts Fatal to Original Sin
