What is sin?
Sin is any transgression of God’s law. (1 John 3:4)
What is original sin?
This is the sin which comes from our origin.
What do you mean by our origin?
I mean our first parent, Adam. Adam broke the covenant and as a result, all his descendants are born sinners.
What law of God did Adam break?
Adam violated the terms of the covenant of works which God had made with him in the garden. (Genesis 2:17; 3:6)
Why are all Adam’s descendants guilty of the sin he committed in the garden?
The Bible does not answer this question except to teach us that this was God’s plan.
What does the Bible teach us about this sin?
The Bible hints at this doctrine in a number of different places and explicitly teaches it in Romans 5.
Old Testament:
What are the places where this doctrine is hinted at?
First, we have various texts which speak of human depravity. Consider the teaching found in Genesis 5:
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man in the day when they were created. When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. (Genesis 5:1-3)
Here a distinction is made between those persons born in the likeness of God and those born in the likeness of Adam. The thought is not explicit here but is implied that being born “in the likeness of Adam” was to be born in a lower state whereas being born “in the likeness of God” was to share in God’s holiness. In Genesis 8, Noah and his family are the only survivors of the flood. Even of this faithful remnant, God says:
Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.” (Genesis 8:20-21)
This explains what it means to be born in the likeness of Adam. It means having a heart bent on evil from one’s youngest days. Consider also Job’s remark:
Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. You also open Your eyes on him and bring him into judgment with Yourself. Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one! (Job 14:1-4)
Here the thought is that human persons are unclean by nature; it’s not something they learned or acquired by experience. This thought is repeated in the Psalms:
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good. The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:1-3)
Note the sense here that human depravity is universal. There is no one who considers things and then opts out of this life of sin; no one “understands” and decides to pursue a better life. The prophet Jeremiah says that the heart of man is desperately wicked also translated as “beyond cure.” (Jeremiah 17:9) Finally, is the fact that the curse placed on Adam extended to his descendants:
Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and became the father of a son. Now he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed.” Then Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years after he became the father of Noah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died. (Genesis 5:28-31)
Note that the curse on the ground (Genesis 3:17) was not just for Adam but extended here to Noah and his children.
What does David mean in Psalm 51 when he says that he was conceived in sin?
In this Psalm, David is confessing his sin of murder and adultery:
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. (Psalm 51:3-5)
Here David confesses that his sin in the Bathsheba affair, but now he takes it much deeper. He confesses that he is a sinner and that he has been such since his very earliest days.
Romans 5
What does Paul say in Romans 5 about original sin?
Paul writes:
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–for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (Romans 5:12-14)
What does Paul mean here by sin “entering into the world?”
He means that sin became a dominant feature of human life after Adam’s first sin. When Adam sinned, all his descendants became sinners as well. That is why this sin is called original or origin sin.
Does this mean that there was no sin in the garden of Eden before Adam fell?
Yes, the term for this is original righteousness.
What does Paul teach about death’s entrance into the world?
Elsewhere, Paul teaches that death is God’s punishment for sin. (Romans 6:23) Thus, when sin made its entrance into the world, death followed as God’s just punishment for that sin.
To what kind of death is Paul referring here?
This term is used in its widest possible meaning. All the suffering in the world is a result of Adam’s sin. Dodd: “Thus for the purposes of the present passage [Romans 5:12] we may take death to be a comprehensive term for the disastrous consequences of sin, physical and spiritual.” Romans p81–82.
What does Paul mean by death spreading to all men?
This means that death became universal, but note the cause and effect here. Death became universal because sin was universal; death is God’s punishment for sin. (Romans 6:23) Dodd writes that Paul based his answer here on the current doctrine of the Jewish rabbis, that, through the Fall of Adam, all men fell into sin; Romans p79. He quotes 2 Esdras 3:21–22, 4:30.
How are we to understand the last clause “…because all sinned.”?
Initially, we would understand this phrase to mean that all people died because of their own personal sinful actions. The text could be paraphrased this way: Now we know that sin entered the world through the transgression of Adam and that God punished men for their sin with death. Every person must die because every person has sinned. To understand the phrase this way, however, contradicts the previous expression that sin entered the world through Adam’s transgression, not everyone’s personal transgression. Furthermore, it contradicts what Paul says later that through Adam’s disobedience every human was charged with sin. (Romans 5:19) This context, therefore, requires us to believe that Paul is teaching something else here.
What is Paul teaching here?
In this phrase …because all sinned, Paul is teaching that the human race sinned in Adam. In other words, when Adam sinned, the human race sinned. The idea here is that there is a solidarity between Adam and his descendants.
What is meant by solidarity?
This is the idea of an individual standing as a representative for a larger group. A father, for instance, stands as the representative of his family; a king for the nation, etc. The idea is often called corporate personality and was developed by H. Wheeler Robinson, see p27. In this way of thinking, an individual’s status is derived from their membership in that group. The status of any individual is that of the group of which he is a member. Thus, any person who is in Adam shares Adam’s legal status. If Adam is guilty, then this person is also guilty. The same goes for any person who is in Christ.
How does this concept help us understand the expression in question here?
When Paul says …because all sinned he does not mean that each person committed their own personal transgression; and for that sin, God punished them with death. Paul’s teaching here is that all sinned in Adam. When Adam sinned, they sinned. Adam’s legal status is now the legal status of all those who are in him.
This seems a peculiar way to understand this phrase.
It is indeed peculiar to us because we are not used to thinking in this way of solidarity. We think only in terms of individuals. The following verses, however, make clear that this is the correct understanding of this expression.
What does Paul teach us in the following verses?
Paul goes on to say:
…for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (Romans 5:13-14)
Here Paul points out that all the people who lived prior to the giving of the law on mount Sinai were sinners. We know this because every one of them died. Death “reigned” over every person, even over those who lived to an incredible age (Genesis 5:5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27) which proves that they were sinners. Again, Paul’s assumption here is that death is God’s punishment for sin. Everyone of these were punished by God with death. Paul calls special attention to those who had died even though they had not committed any personal transgression as Adam had. That Adam died is not difficult for us to understand since he violated such a clear command of God. (Genesis 2:17) But what about those people who had no such command from God? Infant children, for example, died during this time. For what sin were they punished? It could not have been a transgression of the law of Moses since that had not yet been given. Well, reasons Paul, they were punished for their original sin; i.e. for the sin which they committed in Adam.
Continue with Paul’s teaching in Romans 5. What does he say next?
In the rest of the chapter, Paul expands on the thought he introduced earlier that Adam was a type of the One who was to come. This was Paul’s intent in these verses all along; he intended to teach us what Christ has done by placing it in parallel with what Adam had done. In these verses, Paul highlights three contrasts between Adam and Christ:
The first two contrasts are between the effects of Adam’s act with the effects of what Christ did. In verse 15, Adam’s act brought death to all his; Christ’s act brought life to all His. (Romans 5:15) In verse 16, Adam’s sin brought a guilty verdict while Christ’s righteousness brings a not-guilty verdict.
The third contrast pertains to who is holding the power or who is king. Adam sinned; and as a result, death now sits on the throne. Everyone is ruled by this terrible tyrant, and the world is full of cemeteries. Christ, however, came to earth and throws out this cruel tyrant and gives believers their life back. (Romans 5:17)
What does Paul teach us in the remaining verses of this section?
Paul goes on to write:
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. 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. (Romans 5:18-19)
Here Paul highlights, not a contrast, but a similarity between Adam and Christ. This similarity is the way in which Adam’s legal status was transmitted to all those who are in Adam and the way in which Christ’s legal status was transmitted to all who are in Christ.
What is this way?
Paul states in v18 that Adam’s one transgression led to a Guilty! verdict. In the same way, Jesus’ one act of righteousness resulted in a Not Guilty! verdict (same thought as in v16). In v19, Paul explains this further by teaching that the same method was used in both instances. In other words, Christ’s perfect righteousness is given to us in the same way that Adam’s guilt was give us us.
Does this mean that God holds people responsible for the sin which Adam committed?
Yes. Paul writes that through Adam’s disobedience many were made sinners:
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. (Romans 5:19)
The word “were made” here is καθίστημι which is a word that refers to a change of status as when a ordinary person is appointed to some office (Acts 6:3; 7:10, 27, 35; Titus 1:5; Hebrews 5:1; 7:28; 8:3) James refers to someone whose attitude toward the sinful world changes their status to “enemy of God.” (James 4:4) The status change in Romans 5:19 is from a guilty status to a status of innocence before the law. The meaning is not that Adam’s disobedience made or led people to commit more sin but rather that their legal status changed from that of righteous to guilty as a result of the disobedience of Adam. They were made sinners in that they were charged with sin by God and thus entered the status of guilty.
What other thought is there which supports this understanding of the text?
Because Paul goes on in v19 to state that those who are in Christ are made righteous in the same way that those who are in Adam were made guilty. Paul’s clear teaching in the previous chapters was that no one is declared righteous or justified because of their own obedience to the law. When we bring this teaching to this text, then we see the parallel more clearly:
| Adam’s guilty record is transmitted to all who are in Adam, not because they personally committed the sin which Adam committed, but because Adam’s guilt is imputed to them by God the Judge. As a result, all those in Adam are punished with a sinful nature, and every person is born a sinner and inevitably sins as soon as they are capable of doing so. | Christ’s perfect record is transmitted to all who are in Christ not because they personally performed the perfect obedience which Christ did but because Christ’s righteousness is imputed to them by God the Judge. As a result, all those in Christ are given a new nature. Every believer is reborn and inevitably begins to do good as soon as they are capable of doing so. |
This is not so difficult to understand, but so very difficult to accept.
Indeed it is. There is a mystery here which we struggle to comprehend. The attitude of faith, however, is to bow before it and to accept it. Calvin writes (p214):
The subject [of original sin] gave rise to much discussion, there being nothing more remote from common apprehension, than that the fault of one should render all guilty, and so become a common sin. This seems to be the reason why the oldest doctors of the church only glance obscurely at the point, or, at least, do not explain it so clearly as it required.
In his commentary on these verses, Moule writes:
We make no attempt… to clear up this Doctrine, which approaches as nearly as well can be to complete mystery and leans upon relations between the Head of an intelligent Race and that Race which are probably “knowable” by the Eternal alone. Romans, p262
Is there nothing which can help bring us to the point where we can accept so difficult a teaching?
The only way to contemplate this doctrine is to confront the reality it teaches us, to believe it, and then to fly to the blood of the One who can reverse what Adam has done and bring us into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Why is this doctrine so important?
Because as our understanding of Adam goes, so goes our understanding of what Christ did to roll back the curse which Adam gave us. Wesley said (p201) the following in a sermon on this subject:
Secondly, learn, that all who deny this, call it original sin, or by any other title, are but Heathens still, in the fundamental point which differences Heathenism from Christianity. They may, indeed, allow, that men have many vices; that some [vices] are born with us; and that, consequently, we are not born altogether so wise or so virtuous as we should be; there being few that will roundly affirm, “We are born with as much propensity to good as to evil, and that every man is, by nature, as virtuous and wise as Adam was at his creation.” But here is the shibboleth: Is man by nature filled with all manner of evil? Is he void of all good? Is he wholly fallen? Is his soul totally corrupted? or, to come back to the text, is “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart only evil continually?” Allow this, and you are so far a Christian. Deny it, and you are but an Heathen still.
Previously, you stated that as a result of every person being held guilty for Adam’s sin, they are punished with a sinful nature. Explain this distinction between guilt and a sinful nature.
Yes, exactly correct. The older theologians used the language of guilt and pollution:
- Guilt is outside a person and refers to his relationship to the law. To be guilty means that the law has something against you, and you deserve punishment. To be innocent, means that the law has nothing against you; no punishment is demanded.
- Pollution is something inside a person. The more contemporary term is “sinful nature” which refers to the inclination of our heart to desire and choose evil or “the innate proneness of the will to evil.” (p252) The term total depravity is often used to capture this idea.
Now the term original sin is often used more broadly to refer to both of these realities. When used in its more narrow sense, it only refers to pollution. Shedd highlights (very bottom of p168) three distinct aspects of this discussion:
- the guilt of the first sin,
- the corruption of nature resulting from the first sin, and
- actual transgressions or sins of act which result from corruption of nature.