THE STATE OF CORRUPTION

By Gary Ray Branscome

The words, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin,” tell us that there was no sin in the world before Adam and Eve disobeyed God (Romans 5:12). And, because there was no sin, Adam and Eve were righteous and holy in the sight of God. Therefore, contrary to the lie Satan told (Gen. 3:4-5), Adam and Eve’s fall into sin was not something good, but the greatest evil that man has ever committed. It is the greatest evil, because every evil that has come into the world since, including Christ’s betrayal and murder, are the result of that sin. All of the millions who have died in war, the millions killed by the Communists and Nazis, and the millions being murdered today by abortion suffer the consequences of Adam’s sin.

If Adam and Eve had not sinned, the heart of man would not be “Deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,” (Jeremiah 17:9). And, the heart of man would not be producing, “Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, immorality, theft, false witness, blasphemy” (Matthew 15:19).

Because the words, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” and the words, “Put on the new nature, which after the image of God is created in righteousness and true holiness,” tell us that Christ came into the word to save us from our sins and restore us to the image of God; the doctrine of sin is an essential part of theology (1Timothy 1:15, Ephesians 4:24). And, we will deal with it under three heads: a) Sin in General; b) Original Sin; and c) Actual Sins.