THE CAUSE AND UNIVERSALITY OF ORIGINAL SIN

 

By Gary Ray Branscome

 

          In understanding original sin, it is important to keep in mind the words, “God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good,” and the words, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned” (Genesis 1:31, Romans 5:12). Those words tell us that sin is not in our nature because God made us that way, or because of what we are made of, but because our nature has been corrupted. That corruption not only produces blindness and ignorance of the truth, but actively fights against the truth. We find that taught in 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,” and in the words, “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and they are opposed to each other” (Romans 7:23, Galatians 5:17).

 

          The Bible tells us that the cause of sin is not God, who, “Cannot be tempted with evil, and does not tempt anyone,” but the devil, and our first parents who listened to the devil (James 1:13). The words, “The serpent deceived Eve through his craftiness,” compared with the words, “That old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world,” tell us that it was Satan working through the serpent who deceived Eve (2Corinthians 11:3, Revelation 12:9). The words, “Adam was not the one deceived, but the woman being deceived led in transgression,” tell us Eve’s part in man’s fall into sin (1Timothy 2:14). And, the words, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world by one man, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men, because all have sinned,” tell us that it was through the sin of Adam that death entered the world, and all men die because all have sinned (Romans 5:12). And, when the Bible says all, it means ALL. The words, “I was formed in iniquity; and sinful when my mother conceived me,” tell us that the word “ALL” includes infants (Psalm 51:5). And, the words, “The wages of sin is death,” tell us that if infants were not sinners, they would never die of natural causes (Romans 6:23).

 

Since this section deals with the universality of original sin, I need to point out again that Christ is the one exception. The words, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses; but one who was in all points tempted just as we are, yet without sin,” tell us that Christ had no sin (Hebrews 4:15). And, the words, “The Holy One who will be born of you will be called the Son of God,” tell us that Christ did not inherit a sinful nature, but was without sin “holy” from the very beginning (Luke 1:35).