Oooo! This was one of the matters that divided the church during the reformation over which much debate occurred. The matter was technically know as "Original Sin" and the matter to be resolved here is:
- Is "Original Sin" and inherited guilt or and inherited tendency to sin?
That is, we inherit something from Adam and Eve is not disputed - but precisely what is inherited is what is disputed. In other words, when we are born are we already guilty, or, sinfully fallen with a fallen human nature?
Those who believe that we inherit guilt from Adam and eve then insist upon child baptism and the last rights to ensure that the child is guilt free at death. [The reverse is NOT true - not all who practice child baptism believe we inherit guilt from Adam and Eve.]
Surprisingly, the Bible deals with this question directly and explicitly but before discussing this, let me remind ourselves that the problem of sin involves two aspects that also affects how we view Jesus - see the appendix below.
As the main Greek work for sin (hamartia = a missing the mark) implies, sin is any deviation from perfect righteousness. It is used in the New Testament in several different senses that can be broadly classified into the noun and verb forms. These two forms are most clearly seen in 1 John 1:8 (noun) and v10 (verb). Specifically: • Sin as a verb (Gr: hamartano) – an act of wrong-doing against God (Matt 27:4, John 5:15) or man (Matt 18:15, Luke 17:3, 4) or even one’s self (1 Cor 6:18), etc. • Sin as a noun (Gr: hamartia) – a state of being that causes wrong acts of sin (Rom 3:9, 5:12, 13, 20, 6:1, 2, 6, 7:7, etc). David lamented that he had been born is sin, sinful from the time he was conceived (Ps 51:5). This remarkable confession means that we are sinners even before we have committed any act of sin. See also Ps 58:3.
Thus, sin is both an act and a state of being: we are sinners for what we have done and what we are. As sinners we are both guilty and powerless to change; and thus depraved by sin. Rom 3:10-18, 23, 5:12-19, Jer 17:9, Heb 3:13, Eccl 7:20, Eph 4:22, etc.
Inherited What?
Of the two historical positions one can be immediately eliminated. Note the very clear teaching of Eze 18 -
17 He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live.
20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will fall upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will fall upon him.
What we inherit is the tendency to evil - we are all born with a sinful human nature which is part of the plan of salvation to fix (1 John 1:9)
- Ps 51:5, 6 - Surely I was brought forth in iniquity; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. Surely You desire truth in the inmost being; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
- Ps 58:3 - The wicked are estranged from the womb; the liars go astray from birth.
It is this tendency to sin that ensure that every person sins as per Rom 3:10-18, 22-25. Romans 5 is a brilliant discussion about what we inherit from Adam - sinful human nature! this is quite unlike Jesus who inherited no such sinful tendencies and succeeded where Adam failed according to Rom 5 - He was the "second Adam" and was perfect. Indeed, if Jesus were not perfect, he would have needed a Savior Himself.
APPENDIX - Jesus' humanity
If Jesus is fully human, this creates another question – What type of human? There have been two answers to this question; either – • Fallen human nature just like our own (eg, Rom 3:10-18), or, • Unfallen human nature like Adam before the fall. In attempting to decide between these two, let us assemble the Bible evidence:
- Jesus was tempted in all points just as we are, Heb 4:15
- Jesus was also “perfect”, Luke 1:35, Heb 7:26, John 14:30 The solution is simpler that it appears. Let us contrast Jesus’ humanity with ours:
| Fallen humanity = us | Jesus’ humanity |
|---|---|
| We are born in sin and sinners from birth, Ps 51:5, 1 John 1:8 | Jesus was untainted by sin, Luke 1:35, Heb 7:26, 27, John 14:30 |
| We have all sinned, Rom 3:10-18, 23, 1 John 1:10 | Jesus never sinned, 1 Cor 5:21, Heb 9:14 |
| Sin surrounds us, 2 Kings 17:15, Ps 40:12 | Jesus came from heaven, unpolluted, John 3:31, 17:24 |
| We inherit Adam’s sinfulness, Rom 5:12, 16-19 | Jesus is the second, perfect Adam without sin, Rom 5:17-19 |
We should recall that the Bible teaches that we are sinners because of what we have done (1 John 1:10) and because of what we are (1 John 1:8, Ps 51:5). We have done sinful acts and have sinful natures/tendencies.
Thus, if Jesus had a sinful nature (as per 1 John 1:8 and Ps 51:5), then He would also need a saviour. Then what are we to do with the clear statement in Heb 4:15 about Jesus being “tempted in all point just as we are”? If Jesus was perfect (like Adam before sin) why or even how could He sin?
James 1:14, 15 - But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Jesus was tempted in different ways:
- In Matt 4:3, 4, where Jesus, after fasting 40 days, is tempted, via His natural human hunger, to turn stones into bread. For any other human, this would not have even been a temptation but it was to Jesus because he had the divine power, but chose to model our complete dependence on the Father.
- In Matt 27:40 Jesus is tempted to come down from the cross. Again, this is no temptation to ordinary humans as they could not, but Jesus could have. However, he voluntarily submitted (Phil 2:5-8) Himself to the father’s will just as we must.
- In Matt 26:36-40 we read about Jesus’ pleas to the Father to release Him from the trial of the cross. Humanity’s fete hung in the balance; eventually, Jesus submitted by saying, “Your will be done!”