By Gary Ray Branscome
The words, “Through the sin of one judgment came upon
all men to condemnation,” tell us that Adam’s sin did not just result in us
having an inclination to sin, but brought judgment and condemnation “upon all
men” (Romans 5:18). The words, “By one man’s disobedience many were made
sinners,” tell us that we are all sinners because of Adam’s “disobedience”
(Romans
The change to man’s nature as a result of Adam’s sin is
itself sin. The words, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go
astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies,” tell us wickedness is not
the result of bad influence, but is deeply rooted in our nature (Psalm 58:3). The
words, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who
can know it?” reveal how Adam’s sin has changed our nature (Jeremiah 17:9).
The words, “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,”
describe that nature, and tell us that; to a Holy God evil imaginations
and thoughts are sinful (Genesis 6:5). And, the words, “Out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murder, adultery, immorality, theft, false witness,
blasphemy,” reveal the fruit of a sinful nature (Matthew
The words, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh,”
tell us that we are born with a “fleshly” mind (John 3:6). The words, “The
fleshly mind is hostile to God, for it is not subject to the law of
God, nor indeed can be,” tell us that as the result of sin, our mind is by
nature hostile to God (Romans 8:7). The words, “I see another law at work in
my members, warring against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner to the
law of sin that is in my members,” describes the effect of sin in our
nature (Romans
The words, “The son will not suffer for the sins of the
father, nor will the father suffer for the sins of the son: the righteousness
of the righteous person will be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked
person will be upon him,” tell us that the sentence of death that “passed
upon all men” as a result of Adam’s sin, is not punishment for Adam’s sin, but
for the wicked nature passed on to us as a result of Adam’s sin (Ezekiel
18:20). And, the words, “Do not let anyone say when
he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, nor
does He tempt anyone, but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away by
his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin,
and when sin is finished, brings forth death,” tell us that all of the
wickedness of men flows from that wicked nature (James
The words, “Whoever
commits sin is the servant of sin,” tell us that by choosing to sin the
unrepentant place themselves under Satan’s control (John