Introduction
Many skeptics think that the Bible claims that people are condemned to
hell on the basis of Adam and Eve's sin - the original sin of mankind. The
doctrine of original sin comes primarily from Paul's letter to the Romans. In
this letter, Paul makes the statement that "through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all
men..."
1 Taken
out of context, Paul
seems to imply that all people are condemned because of Adam's sin. This page
will examine what Paul said
in context and how that fits with the
remainder of biblical theology.
What was the original sin?
God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a garden
2
of numerous fruit trees
3 that He had designed,
from which they could eat anything, except the fruit from one tree.
4
Although Adam and Eve had no concept of good and evil, they obviously did know about
disobedience, since Eve told the serpent, "From the fruit of the
trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the
middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or
you will die.'" (
Genesis 3:3) From her statement, it is clear that Eve
knew that she shouldn't eat the fruit. In fact she even added to God's command
with the words "or touch it," which was not in God's original command.
So, the original sin was disobedience, mistrust, and disloyalty against God.
5
Romans chapter five
In chapter 5 of Romans, Paul describes how We are justified before God on
the basis of faith in
Jesus Christ,
6 who came to
earth to die for the sins of mankind.
7 The
chapter takes us back to how we got into the current mess we are in - back to
our original parents, who committed the first sins. Paul's point in doing this
is to compare the transgression by the transgressor to the redemption offered
through the Redeemer. In this chapter, Paul makes it clear that, although Adam
and Eve committed the first sin, we are guilty on the basis of
our own
sin:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men, because
all sinned-- (Romans 5:12)
What the original sin did was to cause the human race to fall into the
practice of sin. We are born to imperfect parents, whose sin negatively
influences us. We become accustomed to committing "minor" sins
without regard to their negative impact on our lives and the lives of others.
However, God, in His love,
8 provided the means by
which all people
9 could become completely
righteous before Him,
10 thus inheriting eternal
life.
11
Conclusion
The Bible says that God has created people to be upright, but they have
chosen to do evil.
12 We are not condemned on the
basis of Adam and Eve's original sin, but our own. Our condemnation is rightly
deserved due to our rebellion and disobedience of God's laws. God is not
responsible for our sin, but we are, because of our own lusts.
13
However, God, in His love, has provided a way of escape for those who
recognize their own inability to live up to God's holy standards.
Jesus Christ
died for our sins to reconcile us to God. Trust Jesus to change you into the
person you really want to be!
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