Original Sin: Is It Scriptural?

Welcome. Today we are going to go over the doctrine of Original Sin. Is it true according to the scriptures, and why/why not? Before we go test this doctrine, we need to understand what this doctrine is teaching.

"the tendency to sin innate in all human beings held to be inherited from Adam in consequence of the Fall. The concept of original sin was developed in the writings of St. Augustine."

St. Augustine believe that unbaptized children who die are condemned to hell, though they do not suffer all its pains because they are not guilty of actually committing a sin, which would fuel the idea of Limbo, a place that is considered to be a paradise that is inferior to Heaven in Catholicism, though many Catholics do not believe in Limbo or the harsher version Ignatius proposed.

It teaches that we are all born with a sin, even though we have not sinned yet. It is my belief that we are not born with original sin and that the scriptures used to say so are taken out of context.

1. Psalm 58 3
2. Romans 5 12
3. 1 John 3 4

Notice how it says"the wicked", not man. And even then it doesn't say the wicked were born sinners. It says they're estranged from the womb because the Almighty knows they will eventually become wicked. "They go astray," meaning through their life they will dwell in wickedness. As soon as the wicked are born, their wickedness continues on and they become totally unrighteous because of the choices they made.

This is taken as saying Adam's sin caused everyone to be born as sinners. But this is false. Go to Romans 3 10-11 (quoted from Psalms 19), which says none are righteous and none of them sought after the Almighty. Go to verse 12 and it says that they seek their own ways and do what is unprofitable. He says man is unrighteous because man has turned from righteousness. Man became a sinner, the same way Adam became a sinner. Was Adam born a sinner? No. He rebelled and became a sinner.

Romans 3 23 says they all sinned, not that they were born sinners. This resulted in them becoming "unprofitable" and "none doeth good", not that they were born a sinner. Let's go back to Romans 5 12. Notice how it says "death passed upon all men". This is saying that death came upon all men, not that they were all born sinners. Death comes from sin. Verse 18-19 clarifies this. Sin was brought into the world, and those who sin are doing what Adam did and rebelled. And it says, "many were made sinners", not all. Remember the days of Noah? They all rebelled. Noah and his family were the only righteous individuals. Many people became unrighteous, but Noah and his family were righteous.

What this means is that due to the mistakes of our ancient ancestors, we are now cursed with the ability to sin, but that does not mean that we are born with a sin on our record without even committing it.

If no law is broken, you have not sinned. After you're born you are given choices, which means you choose righteousness or unrighteousness. There is a difference between having a carnal body that naturally wants to sin, and choosing to commit a sin. Romans 7 18-23 clarifies this. In the flesh has no good thing. To do right is to not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Deuteronomy 30:10-14 implies that they are given choice, not that they are inherently evil from the very moment they're born. Nowhere in scripture does it say that man is inherently evil. Sinful nature? Yes, but not a sinner. Here is an example; let's say your child has a toy that can be easily broken. Does that make it no good? No. Just take good care of it and it will be as if it was never broken. However, once it breaks, it is no good unless you repair it. When we sin, if we repent (repair the toy), we are as good as new. However, if we do not, we become unrighteous.

Peace and blessings, and all praises to the Most High.