Are We Born Sinners?
Do we inherit the guilt of Adam's sin?
A lot has been said and written over the years about the question, “Are we born sinners?”
Some other names that this question is sometimes called is:
Original sin.
Total Hereditary Depravity.
Romans 5:12-21 is a section often referred to regarding the idea of being born sinful or born with a sinful nature. So before we dive into that section in our study, I’d like to consider the question, “Are we born sinners?”
I don’t expect what I write here will answer all questions and thoughts about this subject. It’s a somewhat complicated subject, and different people hold various beliefs about this question. But hopefully, I will give us something to think about from God’s Word.
Here is what I will do in this article:
Thoughts from those who believe we are born sinners.
Thoughts from those who do not believe we are born sinners.
Some of my thoughts.
Are we born sinners? - “Yes”
The website compellingtruth.org put it this way:
We are all born sinners. From the moment we enter this world until our final breath, we have a sinful nature. It does not matter whether one is a child or an adult, a "good" person or a "bad" one, all of us are sinners.
The website crosswalk.com had this to say about if we are born sinners:
We do not become sinners after we sin for the first time, we sin because we are already born sinners. Scripture reveals all people inherit a sin nature because of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden (Psalm 58:3)…Everyone is born alienated from God as a result of sin.
You can find many other resources where people also answer “Yes” if we are born sinners.
Are we born sinners? - “No”
One writer wrote on this question in the Murray Ledger:
The Bible teaches that each person is accountable for the guilt of his/her own sin. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.” (Ezekiel 18:20). Since the son does not bear the guilt of the father then how would the guilt of sin be passed down from Adam to successive generations? The guilt of sin cannot be inherited or passed from one person to another.
Jim McGuiggan wrote in his commentary on Romans:
The truth that God will not hold one person accountable for the sin of another is explicitly taught throughout the Bible. The Calvinistic view of Romans 5:12ff is that God did indeed hold mankind responsible for Adam’s sin. - 162-163
McGuiggan then points out three Scriptures to provide evidence for his point.
“Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin. (Deuteronomy 24:16)
However he did not execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall die for his own sin.” (2 Chronicles 25:4)
The soul who sins shall die…The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. (Ezekiel 18:4, 20)
McGuiggan concludes:
Now these scriptures seem awfully clear to me. And it would appear that the Calvinistic view of things would have God preaching one thing and practicing another. - 163
My thoughts
I will start by telling you that I agree with those who believe we are not born sinners. Some of you who read my articles may disagree with me - feel free to comment below with your thoughts or questions. I always try to respond as quickly as I can.
I noticed that some who believe we are born sinners interchanged “born sinners” with the phrase “sinful nature.” I would suggest that these two things are not the same - although they would go hand in hand with each other.
Being born a sinner would mean that we are born already guilty of sin. We already have sin on our account.
Being born with a sinful nature would mean that we are born having a natural desire to sin. It wouldn’t necessarily mean that a person has sinned - just that they had that desire. James described how our desires give “birth” to sin (James 1:13-16).
Now, I believe the passages mentioned earlier, such as Ezekiel 18:4, 20, make it clear that we do not inherit the guilt of our father’s sin. as 1 John 3:4 mentions, sin is something we “commit” or “do.” In other words - we are not born sinners, and we are not born with a sinful nature.
Sin is something we do - it’s not a state of being.
We can know that sin is something we do because we can turn from it - that’s what is repeated repeatedly to those who heard the gospel.
Then Peter said to them, “Repent…” (Acts 2:38).
“Repent therefore and be converted…” (Acts 3:19).
“Repent therefore of this your wickedness…” (Acts 8:22).
How could we turn from our own nature if we had a sinful nature? And yet, submitting to the call of the gospel requires individuals to choose to “repent” or “turn.”
Sin is not a state of being for us - it’s something we do. We are not born sinners because what has a newborn baby done that is sinful - that breaks the law of God?
Sin is a choice on our part. Living a holy life in Christ Jesus is also a choice, according to Peter (1 Peter 1:13-16).
I try to keep these articles on the shorter side, so this was never meant to be an in-depth dive into the question, “Are we born sinners?”
If you have questions or if you disagree, feel free to let me know in the comments. I will try to respond to every comment.
Thanks for spending some time studying God’s Word together with me!
We know that “all have sinned and fall short of His glory” and that “no one in righteous, not one”. Romans 5:12 is very clear: “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.” Paul also writes: “For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.” The conclusion is inescapable. We are born with a sin nature and need a Savior. The only person who never, ever sinned is Jesus. By the way, if anyone tells you they’ve gone through their whole life w/o sinning, they are dishonest at best. Hope this helps.
We are born sinners. Yes, because Adam's sin was imputed to our account Rom 5:12-19. The disobedience of Adam brings condemnation to all people. We inherited the sinful nature of Adam that inclined us to sin but that is not the reason why we are condemn by God, it was because of the one sin of Adam that was imputed or credited to our account. In the same way we are not counted righteous because of our righteousness but because of the righteousness of Christ that wasimputed to our account. 2Cor 5:21.Rom 5:19.