Original Sin
by Lyndon Conn
Adam sinned without a sinful nature
Original sin says we inherited a sinful nature from Adam, but when Adam fell into sin, he didn’t have one. How could Adam pass along something he didn’t have?
Adam’s sin had catastrophic consequences for the human race, but his sin did not lead to a redesign of the original prototype. Men did not start growing horns or tails as a result of the Fall, and God’s workmanship remains as good as ever (Psalms 139:14).
God never said original sin was part of the curse
After Adam fell, God outlined the consequences of his sin (see Genesis 3:14–19). God told Adam all the bad things that would happen, but he said nothing about passing on a bad gene or a sinful predisposition or a rebellious nature. Augustine has added to the curse.
If we are born corrupt, we can’t become corrupt
Original sin says you were born corrupt, defiled, and lost, but the Bible says we become corrupt and go astray and turn aside. “All have turned aside and become corrupt” (Psalms 14:3). Many scriptures describe how this happens (e.g., Psalms 14:3; Galatians 5:4; 6:8; I Timothy 6:10, 21, etc.).
You cannot pass on a righteous nature
Original sin came to you from Adam by way of your parents, but what if your parents were spirit-filled believers? They would no longer have a sinful nature. One with the Lord, they had a righteous nature.
Did you inherit your parents’ righteous nature? Were you a natural-born saint? No one believes you can inherit your parents’ righteousness, so why do we think we inherited their sinfulness?
Original sin cannot account for Old Testament saints
If anyone was going to inherit Adam’s wicked gene, surely it was his son. Yet Jesus said Abel was righteous (Matthew 23:35). So were Noah, Lot, and Daniel (Genesis 6:9; Ezekiel 14:20; II Peter 2:7).
The related doctrines of original sin and total depravity say that none of us can reach out to God, but Abel and the other Old Testament saints prove that the unsaved can operate in faith. God is not far from any of us (Acts 17:27).
Original sin says you have no choice
Original sin says it’s not your fault that you are wicked and incapable of living by faith. You are a hapless victim. Unless God happens to grace you (and who can say if he will?), you are eternally lost.
The devil would love for you to believe this because such a message will leave you unmoved and unchanged. It will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The good news declares you have a choice. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin?” (Romans 6:1). Do you see? You don’t have to continue in sin.
In Adam, we had no choice, but Christ was “raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). You have a choice. You can choose to walk in Adam's old way or Jesus' new way. Choose life.
The end of the matter
Here are three ways to tell if a teaching is unscriptural:
- it’s not in the Bible,
- it contradicts the Bible, and
- it leads to illogical conclusions.
Augustine’s doctrine of original sin fails all three tests. There is not one scripture that says we inherited Adam’s sinful nature, and plenty that say otherwise.
Original sin is unbiblical and illogical, but its greatest flaw is the way it portrays God as harsh and unjust. Original sin says the sons are judged for the sins of the father, but this is contrary to the heart of God. Not even under the law-keeping covenant were children judged for their parents’ sins (Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:20).
Original sin says humanity was created good but became bad. “You can be made good again, but no matter how good you are, your children will always be born bad.” Huh?
