The Doctrine of Original Sin

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Lesson #08

• The Doctrine of Original Sin
  • You will find that this doctrine is one of most disbelieved doctrines in the Bible among Christians and non-Christians. Do a little experiment in a group and ask this question, “Is man basically good or basically evil?” You will find an interesting discussion, and that a great many people think that man is basically good.
    • Man tends to look at himself and think that most of us are not so bad.
    • Man has good intentions, good works, and basically thinks well of others.
    • Just look at innocent babies. How can man be that bad?
  • Nothing is more deceptive to man’s eternal condition than this attitude that man is basically good.
  • The Bible clearly teaches that man is basically evil. It is this concept that is the foundation of the doctrine of original sin.
    • Before we consider the concept of original sin, we must first define sin because it is a complex mystery expressed by various different words.
    • The basic nature of sin is that it is rebellion against God taking many forms.
      • When man questions or contests God’s ultimate authority, it is rebellion.
      • When man rebels against God, he in fact is elevating his position so as to be superior to God and His wisdom.
  • What is the doctrine of original sin?
    • Read Gen 2:16-17
    • Sin originated in the human condition when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in Gen 3.
      • The curious problem is this: Why would Adam and Eve, who were sinless and without an inclination to sin, make the decision to rebel against God?
    • It is through Adam’s sin that the curse of sin and death came upon all humans.
      • Why does it not say that sin came by Eve? She was the first to sin.
        • It is because Adam was the authority figure.
        • He was responsible for relaying God’s message about the prohibition to Eve.
        • God did not personally tell Eve not to eat of the tree. He only told Adam.
    • Eve was deceived, but Adam ate willingly.
    • Therefore, every person born after Adam and Eve is born with a sin nature and in need of salvation.
      • Read Gen 3:22-23
      • Read Rom 5:12-21
      • Read Rom 3:23
  • The result of original sin:
    • The result of Adam’s sin produced immediate spiritual death. Spiritual death is eternal separation from God and His kingdom. This condition of spiritual death is automatic, and it is an eternal condition unless it is remediated by God in His way.
      • Spiritual death is alienation from God that causes man to fear.
        • Adam and Eve immediately feared God.
        • They tried to run from Him and hide themselves.
      • Spiritual death is alienation from others that causes man to feel shame.
        • Adam and Eve felt shame because they were naked.
        • They tried to clothe their nakedness by the works of their own hands, the fig leaves sewed together.
      • Spiritual death causes man to blame others as Adam blamed Eve and God, and Eve blamed Adam.
      • Spiritual death causes man to be alienated from nature.
        • God placed a curse on childbearing.
        • God placed a curse on the ground.
      • Spiritual death alienates man from eternal life.
        • God removed Adam and Eve from the garden.
        • They could no longer eat of the tree of life.
    • The result of Adam’s sin produced the beginning of the physical death process. Adam and Eve did not die physically that same day, but they began to age that day until they finally died physically.
      • Therefore, today we can physically see the concept of original sin in reality.
      • When we see people age and physically die, we can know it is the doctrine of original sin active in the world today.
    • The result of Adam’s sin produced the beginning of spiritual death that came upon Adam and Eve the very moment they disobeyed God.
      • The wages or the consequence of sin is death. (Rom 6:23)
      • Sin and death passed to all humans born of Adam and Eve.
        • All people in this condition are destined for eternal hell and separation from God forever.
        • All people born with the original sin nature are subject to the process of age and eventual physical death.
        • All people born with the original sin nature are automatically placed in the kingdom of Satan.
        • Therefore, man is more closely linked to Satan than to God after the fall of Adam and Eve.

Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” (Joh 8:44)

Therefore, after the fall of Adam and Eve, man’s nature became a sinful nature linked to Satan, the father of sin, and subject to both physical and spiritual death.

Read Gen 2:17

“…Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” (Joh 8:22-24)

What did Jesus mean when He said that the religious leaders were from beneath?

Since every human is born with a sin nature from the time of Adam to our present day, we are all condemned to hell and controlled by our sin nature which is subject to Satan. We are all just like the scribes and Pharisees.

• • • The sin nature inherited from Adam makes man a sinner by nature.
      • Man’s personal sins come from man’s sin nature (called the “flesh” in the New Testament).
      • In other words, because man is more tied to Satan than to God, he cannot help but do the will of Satan.
      • Man’s lusts spring from his basic sinful nature and dominated by his own selfish desires.
        • You can see the sin nature in the smallest child. You do not have to teach children to lie. You do not have to teach them to be selfish. It is their nature.
        • Therefore, the sin nature is the egocentric part of man…the pride…the self-will.
        • We all have it, and we all have to deal with it daily.
        • While all humans are born with a sin nature and need a savior for forgiveness, a child has no personal sin counted against him until he is old enough to understand right from wrong. This is what we call the age when a person can be held accountable for his personal sin.
      • Because of man’s sinful nature, he cannot help but sin, and he cannot please God.
        • Read Rom 3:11, 23
        • Read Rom 8:7
  • Something to contemplate:
    • Discussion: Why are all people sinners just because of what Adam and Eve did? (the concept of original sin) Isn’t it unjust of God to punish us for what Adam did?
    • Read 1Cor 15:21-22
      • We all have a common origin – Adam
      • We all share a common heritage – the sinful fall
      • We all enter a common legacy – born with a sin nature
      • We all would have done the same thing – disobeyed God, lied, cheated, robbed, etc. If it had not been Adam who committed the first sin, it would have been you or me.
      • We all have the same adversary – Satan
      • We all live in a cursed world where Satan is the god of this world system, until the second coming of Christ. (Rom 8:21-22)
  • The Progression of sin through time and through the Old Testament:
    • Cain’s sin: Sin becomes proud and deliberate without a thought to repent.
      • Cain was accountable to God and had a personal choice.
      • Cain chose to kill his brother.
      • God tried to dissuade Cain from killing his brother, but the sin came from the sin nature deep inside of Cain.
        • With Adam and Eve, sin was external to them.
        • With Cain, sin was internal. (The sin nature).
      • Read Gen 4:6-7
    • The days of Noah: Sin becomes predominant and pervasive.
      • Read Gen 6:5
      • Read Gen 8:21
    • The days of the Tower of Babel: Sin becomes unified, obstinate, full of pride, and specific.
      • Full of pride, the people thought they could reach heaven when they built the tower.
      • In rebellious unity they accomplished what individuals could not accomplish.
      • Sin specifically became objective with a goal and centered around idolatry.
    • The family of Jacob: Sin reproduces itself within the family from one generation to the next.
      • Scheming Rebekah taught her sons to scheme.
      • Family sins mar family relationships.
    • The days of Moses: Sin brings suffering and punishment and expresses itself by violating God’s law.
      • From Exodus we learn that sin is transgression.
        • Sin is breaking God’s law.
        • Read Rom 4:15
      • From Exodus we learn that sin is trespass.
        • Sin is crossing God’s line into forbidden territory.
        • Sin is both external and internal.
        • Sin requires a blood sacrifice.
    • Jesus’ explanations:
      • Sin comes from the heart.
        • Read Mat 7:17-20
        • Read Mat 12:33-39
        • The sin nature resides in the heart of man.
      • Sin is spiritual slavery.
        • Read Joh 8:34
        • A person is either a slave to sin or a servant to God. The choice belongs to man.
      • The crucifixion demonstrates the gravity of sin.
      • The resurrection demonstrates the defeat of sin.
  • Biblical terms for sin:
    • Disobedience against God’s orders.
    • Violation of the holiness of God in some way.
    • Rebellion (pesa Hebrew word). An attitude of the heart acted out in deeds. A breach of a relationship.
    • Missing the mark (hatta’t Hebrew word). To fail to reach the goal or to hit the target.
    • Perverseness or iniquity (awon Hebrew word). Depravity.
    • Error or mistake (segagah Hebrew word).
    • Godlessness, Injustice, wickedness, impiety (resa Hebrew word; asebeia Greek word). A negative attitude toward God, toward what is right and correct, and toward the things of God.
    • Mischief or oppression (amal Hebrew word).
    • Offenses (hamartia Greek word). It refers to offenses against the law, against people, or against God.
    • Lapses (paraptoma Greek word). An offense caused by a failure to do something.
    • Unrighteousness or unjust deeds (adikia Greek word).
    • Transgression or trespass (parabasis Greek word).
    • Lawlessness or iniquity (anomia Greek word). Without any moral law.
  • Conclusion: The remedy
  • Read 1Joh 1:6-2:2
    • What is man’s response to sin today?
    • The natural response to sin is guilt and blame.
      • When we sin, we feel guilty. Guilt is a heavy load to bear.
      • Therefore, we look for some way to lighten the load by relieving our guilt.
        • We do this by blaming someone else or something else.
        • When we blame others, it balances the scale between guilt and blame in our own mind and we feel better temporarily.
        • But what have we really done? We have only fooled ourselves into thinking our guilt is any less in God’s eyes.
        • This natural response was Adam and Eve’s way of dealing with guilt. They tried to relieve their guilt by using blame. (12-13)

Adam blamed the woman, and Adam blamed God.

Eve blamed the serpent.

• • • The better response to sin:
      • Instead of the natural response, we must respond to sin by using God’s remedy for sin: God’s way is the way of repentance.
        • Asking God to forgive you is the only way to lift the guilt and not blame someone else or something else.
        • When we go through Jesus Christ, we have God’s guarantee of forgiveness.
        • God’s guarantee of forgiveness brings us a lasting peace and freedom.

The blood of Jesus Christ on the cross is the payment for sin.

Death and sin was defeated on the cross and some day Christ will free us from it totally at our resurrection.

• • In the Bible, we are told that sin is a mystery. A Biblical mystery is something that was not revealed in the Old Testament but was revealed in the New Testament through the first coming of Christ. (2The 2:7)
    • In the New Testament we are told that sin passed on all men through Adam. (Rom 5:12)
    • The New Testament also tells us there is remedy for the mystery of iniquity. It is the mystery of God’s likeness restored to man through the sinless person of Jesus Christ.
    • Read 1Tim 3:16
      • This mystery is the marvelous miracle of new birth that occurs when a person hears the preaching of the gospel and receives Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
      • The Holy Spirit restores that potential to be like Christ when He gives man a new nature at new birth.