I really enjoy the content you put out. Very straight and to the point. What do Calvinists mean when they talk about “federal headship?” I’ve heard someone mention this in a podcast in an episode on Calvinism. I had not heard the expression until listening to the podcast.<\/p>\n\t
Calvinists believe that Adam’s sin was passed down to all of mankind. This has led to several theories concerning how that passing down of sin took place. Federal Headship claims that Adam stood as a representative of mankind; thus, his sin was imputed to everyone. They based this on “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men<\/em>” (Romans 5:18). This same theory also claims that when Christ died, he also represented mankind as a second Adam and by his sacrifice salvation was given to all men. However, Romans 5:18 doesn’t say that the condemnation of all men came about because Adam represented all mankind. This is just a way some Calvinists try to explain how their belief worked.<\/p>\n This belief fails because if Adam represented every human, then since Christ is a son of man and a descendant of Adam (Luke 3:23-38), he should also have been guilty of sin. Yet, Jesus was the perfect sacrifice who was without sin (I John 3:5). If Jesus was the representative of all mankind to give everyone salvation, then everyone should be saved. After all, if Adam’s act was universal, then so should Jesus’ act. However, Jesus was clear that most will not be saved (Matthew 7:13-14).<\/p>\n What is overlooked is that Paul said why sin was universal. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned<\/strong><\/em>” (Romans 5:12). Essentially, sin a communicable disease of the spirit. It rapidly spreads from one person to another because each person makes the wrong choice at some point in their life. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God<\/em>” (Romans 3:23). Notice that the charge is that all of us have acted sinfully. This then explains Jesus’s freedom from sin. He alone consistently chose not to sin.<\/p>\n While salvation is available to everyone through Jesus’ sacrifice, it is not universally accepted by everyone. “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous<\/em>” (Romans 5:19). Notice Paul’s use of “many” instead of “all.” “Many were made sinners<\/em>” but not all because Jesus did not sin. “Many will be made righteous,<\/em>” but not all because people have to accept the gift of salvation that Jesus is offering, and not everyone will do so.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I really enjoy the content you put out. Very straight and to the point. What do Calvinists mean when they talk about “federal headship?” I’ve heard someone mention this in a podcast in an episode on Calvinism. I had not heard the expression until listening to the podcast. Answer: Calvinists believe that Adam’s sin…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[59,1196,113],"class_list":["post-66504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-calvinism","tag-inherited-sins","tag-original-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53774,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-tale-of-two-gods\/","url_meta":{"origin":66504,"position":0},"title":"A Tale of Two Gods","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"How Calvinism's God and the Bible's God are Two Very Different God's by Ben Giselbach One very popular denominational preacher and writer, John Piper, is famous for saying that \"all things\" - even down to the subatomic level - \"are ordained, guided, and governed\" by God.\u00a0[1]\u00a0The idea that God determines\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85683,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thoughts-on-sinful-nature\/","url_meta":{"origin":66504,"position":1},"title":"Thoughts on “Sinful Nature”","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author Unknown (Labeled \"Guest Editorial\") via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 16 No. 2, June 30, 1990 Sinful natures exist. It would be foolish for any serious individual to deny it. How this comes about in a person's life and just who has a sinful nature are other matters. Please consider a few\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33679,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-realize-now-that-the-church-im-going-to-teaches-calvinism-should-i-go-or-stay\/","url_meta":{"origin":66504,"position":2},"title":"I realize now that the church I’m going to teaches Calvinism. Should I go or stay?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 8, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I grew up in the Catholic church but then I converted to Protestantism. When I converted I discovered the true love for Christ, and I started changing my lifestyle. For the first time, I felt hungry to learn about God's Word, and it also made me into a better\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61506,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/calvinism-in-psalm-51\/","url_meta":{"origin":66504,"position":3},"title":"Calvinism in Psalm 51?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford During my time as a preacher, I studied with people from a wide variety of religious backgrounds. Of them all, the people who knew their Bibles best were unquestionably the conservative Calvinists. 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But that is a misuse\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28388,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-firstborns-only-male\/","url_meta":{"origin":66504,"position":5},"title":"Are firstborns only male?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 11, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: in Exodus 11:5 it says that every firstborn son in Egypt will die, does that mean if the firstborn is a daughter and the second born is a son, then the son would die but not the daughter even though she's really the firstborn?\u00a0 Also in Exodus 34:19, it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66504\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}