Where in the Bible does it say that we only inherit the nature to sin and not the original sin?<\/p>\n\t
Don’t you just love questions that want you to choose between two possibilities, but neither one is correct?<\/p>\n
The concept of man inheriting the original sin of Adam was espoused every early on by a man named Augustine around A.D. 400. Augustine’s teachings form the foundation of much of the modern Roman Catholic church’s teachings on many issues. In the early days of the Protestant Reformation, a gentleman by the name of John Calvin took Augustine’s teachings, codified them, and made them internally consistent. Calvin’s teachings heavily influenced most of the Protestant denominations which formed since his time. The problem is that neither man’s teachings are biblically accurate.<\/p>\n
The fact that sin is not inheritable is shown by Ezekiel: “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<\/em>” (Ezekiel 18:20). Such is perfectly understandable because sin is not like a gene passed from one person to another. “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness<\/em>” (I John 3:4). Sin exists when a person breaks God’s law. If you haven’t broken a law, you haven’t sinned. And, sin only applies to the person who breaks the law. I am not held responsible for another person’s sin.<\/p>\n Nor does the Bible teach that a person must sin; that is, that a person inherits a nature that drives him toward sin. What it does teach is that God gives all people choices and that history has proven that people consistently tend to make the wrong choice one or more times during their life. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God<\/em>” (Romans 3:23). The one notable exception is Jesus Christ. “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil<\/em>” (Hebrews 2:14). Jesus took on human flesh and lived as a man, yet he did so without sinning. “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”<\/em>” (I Peter 2:21-22). Jesus’ life proved that it is not inherent in human flesh inherited sin or a requirement to sin.<\/p>\n The problem is that by our own weakness, we tend to make mistakes. We know that. We have a cliche: “To err is human.” Jesus shows it is possible to be sinless; history shows us that we tend to sin. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus\u00a0death spread to all men, because all sinned<\/strong>\u00a0— For until the law sin was in the world, but\u00a0sin is not imputed when there is no law<\/strong>. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses,\u00a0even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam<\/strong>, who is a type of Him who was to come<\/em>” (Romans 5:12-14). We learn many things from this passage:<\/p>\n It is this weakness of man that makes it so necessary for God to rescue us because we certainly cannot be relied upon to rescue ourselves. “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one”<\/em>” (Romans 3:9-10).<\/p>\n In other words, we are all given free choice by God. Given a choice, we know that some people will make the wrong choice. Given enough choices and time, we know that all people eventually make at least one wrong choice. In a sense, it is a reality of statistics. It becomes even more apparent as to why when you realize that there is someone actively going around encouraging people to sin, or failing that, laying traps that catch the unaware in sin. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour<\/em>” (I Peter 5:8).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Where in the Bible does it say that we only inherit the nature to sin and not the original sin? Answer: Don’t you just love questions that want you to choose between two possibilities, but neither one is correct? The concept of man inheriting the original sin of Adam was espoused every early on…<\/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":[1196,113,179],"class_list":["post-7475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-inherited-sins","tag-original-sin","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54933,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-the-reasoning-behind-infant-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":7475,"position":0},"title":"What is the reasoning behind infant baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There is a Catholic whom I talk to and he told me that the reason for baptizing infants is for the opportunity for them to put on the body of Christ if they were to pass away before reaching the age of accountability. They also say that Paul went\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":51139,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-response-is-the-best-ive-read-about-augustines-view-of-original-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":7475,"position":1},"title":"Your response is the best I’ve read about Ephesians 2:3","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The response you provided for Ephesians 2:3 is the best I have read over the last month of research about Augustine's view of Original Sin. Thanks for taking the time to clarify the Koine Greek as well. Blessings on you and the Church in La Vista. Answer: It is\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":50951,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sovereignty-of-god-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":7475,"position":2},"title":"The Sovereignty of God (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 13, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Timothy 6:13-21 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When looking at the history of the development of the denominational world, one issue that has significant impact revolves around understanding God\u2019s sovereignty. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sovereignty is being above or superior to others; to be chief, greatest, or supreme. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The question is: Can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51084,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-differentiates-your-beliefs-from-the-heresy-of-pelagianism\/","url_meta":{"origin":7475,"position":3},"title":"What differentiates your beliefs from the heresy of Pelagianism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 2, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What differentiates your beliefs from the heresy of Pelagianism? Answer: I'm a bit curious why you would think that someone who lived some 1700 years ago has any impact on a group of Christians who focus on teaching the Bible. We follow the Bible and not the teachings of\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":24905,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-homosexuals-have-a-godly-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":7475,"position":4},"title":"Can homosexuals have a godly marriage?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just have to say that when I stumbled upon La Vista Church of Christ's sermon on \"Who Are You Going To Marry?\" while searching for something similar, I found it quite terrifying. As a Christian who is engaged to be married, I am, for the first time, having\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":81514,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-we-get-married-will-the-sin-stop\/","url_meta":{"origin":7475,"position":5},"title":"If we get married, will the sin stop?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do you really answer questions? I have something bothering me. Can you help me with it? I met a woman who has been divorced for a year. I intend to marry her, but the fact is that we have had sexual relations before marriage, and we are living together\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\/7475","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=7475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n