{"id":9369,"date":"2007-04-11T11:02:23","date_gmt":"2007-04-11T16:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=9369"},"modified":"2019-09-10T11:19:17","modified_gmt":"2019-09-10T16:19:17","slug":"if-there-is-no-inherited-sin-then-wouldnt-this-leave-a-possibility-for-a-person-to-live-a-sinless-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-there-is-no-inherited-sin-then-wouldnt-this-leave-a-possibility-for-a-person-to-live-a-sinless-life\/","title":{"rendered":"If there is no inherited sin, then wouldn’t this leave a possibility for a person to live a sinless life?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I came across your article on infant baptism while doing a web search for Scriptures on the topic.\u00a0 In reading your article, I get the impression that your church does not believe in original sin?\u00a0 This seems to me like an astonishing view, as it would leave open at least a theoretical possibility for a person to live a sinless life.\u00a0 If you have the time and could clarify, I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.<\/p>\n

To further clarify my own question, as a Lutheran I don’t believe we inherit the guilt of specific sins committed by our parents, but I do believe we inherit a sin nature — an innate will toward sin which in itself is sufficient to separate us from God.\u00a0 The Lutheran understanding of baptism is identical to that of Catholics: Baptism is the normative means by which we are cleansed of that sin nature.<\/p>\n

This does not contradict Ephesians 2:8-9 because baptism is an act performed upon a person, not a work on the part of the recipient.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

I agree that if sin is not inherited, then it leaves the possibility, in theory, that a person could live a sinless life. And God has informed us that such has happened.<\/p>\n

“For He made\u00a0Him who knew no sin<\/strong>\u00a0to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him<\/em>” (II Corinthians 5:21).<\/p>\n

“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:\u00a0Who committed no sin<\/strong>, nor was deceit found in His mouth<\/em>” (I Peter 2:21-22).<\/p>\n

“And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and\u00a0in Him there is no sin<\/strong><\/em>” (I John 3:5).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You state that sin itself is not inherited, but that a “sin nature” is inherited and that “sin nature” is sufficient to separate a person from God. This is not what the Bible states. “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But\u00a0your iniquities<\/strong>\u00a0have separated you from your God; and\u00a0your sins<\/strong>\u00a0have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear<\/em>” (Isaiah 59:1-2). Clearly it is sin that separates a person from God and God defines sin as being the breaking of law (I John 3:4). The separation is not due to the inheritance of a singular sin nature but the personal commitment of many sins.<\/p>\n

The idea that sin (or a “sin nature”) is inherited leads to the natural dilemma of explaining how Jesus could be born into the world as a man and not be guilty of sin. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin<\/em>” (Hebrews 4:15). The Catholics claim that Mary had a miraculous birth where her connection to the inherited sins was broken. Of course, such is not mentioned in the Bible. And it leaves the obvious question of why such a miracle could not have been done directly with Jesus, instead of indirectly with Mary. If a sinless ancestor is required then wouldn’t Mary’s parents need to also be “disconnected” from this inherited sin nature? And their parents in turn? And before you know it you are back to Adam and Eve arguing that everyone was born disconnected from this inherited sin nature.<\/p>\n

Jesus’ life proves that man has never been forced to sin. Sin has always been the result of man’s free choice and thousands of years of history has shown that men eventually choose to sin (Romans 3:9-23). This matches what Paul stated: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned<\/em>” (Romans 5:12). Death did not spread because sin, or a sin nature, was inherited. Paul states that it spread because men personally and actively commit sin. It is universal in the result, but it was never because people did not have a choice. Therefore, Jesus’ sinless life proves that we cannot avoid responsibility for our choices.<\/p>\n

You state that infants can be baptized because it is external and not a personal work. If such were true, then why don’t we get some really strong Christian men and start going around the world dunking people in water whether they want to or not? After all, they are in sin, so let’s save them by baptizing them! (See: “An Anecdote from ‘Raccoon’ John Smith<\/a>“).<\/p>\n

But such doesn’t work. Baptism is done to a person, but the Scriptures always present it as the result of a person\u00a0choosing<\/strong>\u00a0to accept being baptized.<\/p>\n

“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord<\/em>” (Acts 22:16).<\/p>\n

“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”<\/em>” (Acts 2:37-38).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The question was, “What shall we do<\/strong>?” The response was, “Repent<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0be baptized<\/strong>.” Therefore, baptism is something a person chooses to do. Notice that in each of these passages, baptism is not presented as a way to remove a vague “sin nature.” Paul was invited to wash away his personal sins. Peter told the people to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins. Both are in the plural and indicate that many sins need to be removed or remitted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I came across your article on infant baptism while doing a web search for Scriptures on the topic.\u00a0 In reading your article, I get the impression that your church does not believe in original sin?\u00a0 This seems to me like an astonishing view, as it would leave open at least a theoretical possibility for…<\/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,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[1196,113],"class_list":["post-9369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-inherited-sins","tag-original-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14421,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-person-live-a-completely-sinless-life-and-enter-heaven-without-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":9369,"position":0},"title":"Can a person live a completely sinless life and enter Heaven without Jesus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 22, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Can a person live a completely sinless life and enter Heaven without Jesus? Answer: The question is pure speculation since God has said, \"all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God\" (Romans 3:23). One point of Jesus' coming to earth was to prove that a sinless\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":30347,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/infant-baptism-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":9369,"position":1},"title":"Infant Baptism (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Romans 7:7-25 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Historians will admit that infant baptism did not appear in the church until the second or third century \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Roman Catholics \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThere is no express mention of the baptism of infants in the New Testament\u201d [Question Box, page 23]. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt is difficult\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":21307,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/isnt-sin-the-tendency-of-human-beings-to-do-evil\/","url_meta":{"origin":9369,"position":2},"title":"Isn’t sin the tendency of human beings to do evil?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am particularly disturbed by the concept of Original Sin. \u00a0The article mentioned that there is no original sin and every baby is born sinless. This is an Islamic concept. All along, I had been taught that sin entered into the world through Adam. The sin here is normally\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":9263,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-you-clarify-why-you-say-we-dont-inherit-adams-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":9369,"position":3},"title":"Could you clarify why you say we don’t inherit Adam’s sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. I am a Christian, not a Catholic, and have been very pleased with your website where you lay things out very clearly and precisely. Thank you for providing such a resource to the world. I especially enjoyed the article on the Epistle to Laodicea. I was reading this\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":9189,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-we-didnt-inherit-adams-sin-why-arent-we-all-starting-in-the-garden-of-eden\/","url_meta":{"origin":9369,"position":4},"title":"If we didn’t inherit Adam’s sin, why aren’t we all starting in the garden of Eden?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding Adam and not inheriting his sin: If that were so, wouldn't we all start in the Garden of Eden and each be given a chance to follow the command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? No. We are sent\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":19792,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-could-jesus-be-sinless-when-he-was-born-of-mary\/","url_meta":{"origin":9369,"position":5},"title":"How could Jesus be sinless when he was born of Mary?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: As Mary was the mother of Jesus, she was also, like all of us, a descendant of Adam and Eve. Even though Mary was a virgin, she was in human flesh as Adam and Eve and of sin nature. How can it be said Jesus was without sin after\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\/9369","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=9369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}