The concept of orignal sin is sometimes taken out of context and even teached in a way that isn’t biblical by some churches or religious organizations. Here is a great question I recently received about original sin:
I have a question about “original sin”
I was taught that all humans are born with “original sin” because Adam and Eve sinned against God. That that is the purpose of baptism, so that we can cleanse ourselves of that sin.
My question is why we are all born with that sin. It seems like a baby should be born pure, since it hasn’t done anything prior to being born. Does this mean that it’s a sin to be born??
Please clear this up for me ad I’ve been rolling it around in my head for the past few days and I haven’t been able to come to a good conclusion. Thanks!!
Thanks for the great question. First of all, I want to talk for a minute about the original sin concept, whether we are affected by it, and so forth.
What is Original Sin Anyways? What Does the Bible Say the Original Sin Is?
When people say “original sin,” they are usually referring to the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. As most people know, they committed the sin of disobedience by eating from the forbidded tree of knowledge of good and evil.
As a consequence of their “original sin,” God gave them death, and also banished them from the garden. So this event is considered the “original sin.”
Why Are We Sinners From Adam & Eve’s Sin? That Isn’t Fair?
Some churches or Christian denominations teach that because of Adam & Eve’s sin, we are all “born” sinners. This isn’t believed by all Christians, and I will explain that in a minute. The bible never teaches we are born “sinners.” In fact, the bible teaches that a child is innocent in the eyes of God. If we were all born sinners, then when a child died it would be sent to hell.
I think any logical person can see that God would never do such a thing. In fact, God & Jesus mention several times in the Bible that a child is innocent and belogs to heaven:
Matthew 19:14 (New International Version)
14Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
What people mean (or should mean) when they talk about original sin is that we are all born “Under the Consequence of Sin.” There is a big difference being born a sinner, and being born under the consequence of sin. This means while not born sinners, we do have a sinful nature.
Being born a sinner means we have done evil from the womb, and are already sinning. This just doesn’t make sense, and the bible doesn’t teach it. I don’t even remember my life before the age of about 4-5 years. How could I have consciously sinned?
Being born under the consequence of sin, means we are born under consequences of a sin by someone else. We share in the nature of sin, meaning we have the ability to sin. This means while we aren’t born sinners, we have to live with another sinner’s mistake. This is just how life works, and we know this is true.
Pretend a woman committs a sin, and sleeps with multiple men. She gets an STD, and also becomes pregnant. Her child will most likely get the STD during birth.
Using the example above, did the child sin? No, of course not. Was the child born under the consequence of a sin, and feels the effects of it? Yes. The child didn’t sin, but the child did have to live with a consequence of another person’s sin.
In that same way, we have to live with the consequence of Adam & Eve’s sin. What is the consequence? Death. We all die. But death is not the end. We also live with a sinful “nature” now.
I Thought the Bible Said We Are All Sinners?
The bible does teach we are all sinners, and if we have lived long enough, we have all at some point sinned. It says we have all fallen short of the glory of God. What does this mean? It means that while no person is “born a sinner,” we all have committed a sin during our life and have a sinful nature. The only exception would be a person with a mental illness, or a child who died very young. They did not have the ability to choose between right and wrong. But for us who have lived long enough to choose right and wrong, at some point we have done wrong.
We have all lied at some point? Or broken another one of God’s laws. Jesus was unique because he had the knowledge and ability to sin, yet didn’t. Children don’t have the ability to sin, and don’t sin. Jesus did have that ability, but chose not to. Also, remember that the Bible teaches of people’s names being blotted out of the book of life. So we aren’t written into it, we are only blotted out when we sin.
What gets our names in this so called, “book of life?” Forgiveness of our sins. We can call of the sinlessness and death of Christ, and God forgives us. God gave Christ the authority to cleanse our sins. So in Christ, we have salvation. Salvation just means, God forgives us and we are saved from judgment. We once again become sinless in God’s eyes. We must continue to live a life of obedience to God’s fundamental laws.
What About Baptism? Are We Supposed to Be Baptized for Being Born Sinners?
Again, different Christian denominations may view this differently, but the bible if very clear on baptism, who should do it, and what it means.
Baptism was meant as a declaration of your faith in God, and as a symbol of your forgiveness of sins. If you were baptized, you just publicly showed that you were “cleansed” of you sin, and that you are vowing obedience to God, and to follow the teachings of his son Jesus.
Being baptized does not mean we are covered for life. We can be baptized and then sin, and we have once again broken God’s laws. We must then repent and ask for forgiveness and turn away from the sin.
Should Everyone Get Baptized? Can You Go to Heaven If You Aren’t Baptized?
Getting baptized itself is great, and I would recommend someone do it if possible. I have been baptized myself once. However, it is not an absolute requirement. The most important thing is to seek forgiveness from God of sins, and repent (which means “turn away” or “stop doing”) of those sins. Some people call this baptism by the spirit of God.
The thief on the cross was about to die, and said to Jesus, “Will you remember me.” Jesus replied, “Verily I say unto you, today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” Yet, the man wasn’t baptized with water.
Conclusions on Original Sin & Baptism:
The bible clearly shows we are born under the consequence of sin, not that we are “born sinners.” Children are seen as sinless in God’s eyes. We all have a sinful nature, and have all fallen short of the glory of God. We all should seek forgiveness of our sins, and turn away from them and follow God’s laws.
Baptism, while a great way to show your public acceptance of God & Christ, is not an absolute requirement for forgiveness. Instead, it is only a public declaration of your change. It represents being “cleansed.” You old sins and life are now gone, and you are born again.
Thanks again for the great question!
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Posted under Ask a Question, Uncategorized, sin
