Adam's Sin and Our Nature
At this point, I must introduce an important theological distinction that has shaped Christian understanding of the fall for two thousand years.
It is the distinction between Adam's sin as a legal act and the fallen nature that has been transmitted to every one of his descendants.
Adam was not merely an individual human being. He was also a representative, a federal head of the entire human race. When he acted, he acted not only for himself but for all who would descend from him.
This is what the Apostle Paul teaches in his letter to the Romans:
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned."—Romans 5:12
Notice the language: "through one man sin entered the world."
Sin came into the human experience through Adam's transgression. Before Adam sinned, sin did not exist in the human race. There was no inclination toward evil, no sinful nature, no pull toward disobedience. But Adam's sin opened the door, and sin entered.
Then Paul says, "Death spread to all men, because all sinned."
This is the key. Some translations read, "because all have sinned," referring to the fact that when Adam sinned, we all sinned in him.
His act was our act. His choice was our choice. His fall was our fall.
This is not simply a matter of inherited guilt, though guilt is certainly involved. It is a matter of inherited nature.
When Adam fell, his nature changed. He was no longer righteous and holy. He became a sinner by nature. And that sinful nature, that bent toward evil, that inclination to choose self over God, has been passed down to every human being born from Adam's seed.
David understood this intuitively when he wrote:
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me."—Psalm 51:5
David was not saying that the act of his conception was sinful. He was saying that from the very moment of his conception, from the very beginning of his existence, he carried a sinful nature.
He was not born righteous and then chose to sin. He was born a sinner, with a nature that was already bent away from God.
This is the condition of every human being born into this world. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.
The sinful nature is not acquired through our actions. It is inherited from our first father, Adam.
And it is this nature that makes us incapable of pleasing God, incapable of saving ourselves, incapable of earning our way back into His favor.
At this point, I must introduce an important theological distinction that has shaped Christian understanding of the fall for two thousand years.
It is the distinction between Adam's sin as a legal act and the fallen nature that has been transmitted to every one of his descendants.
Adam was not merely an individual human being. He was also a representative, a federal head of the entire human race. When he acted, he acted not only for himself but for all who would descend from him.
This is what the Apostle Paul teaches in his letter to the Romans:
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned."—Romans 5:12
Notice the language: "through one man sin entered the world."
Sin came into the human experience through Adam's transgression. Before Adam sinned, sin did not exist in the human race. There was no inclination toward evil, no sinful nature, no pull toward disobedience. But Adam's sin opened the door, and sin entered.
Then Paul says, "Death spread to all men, because all sinned."
This is the key. Some translations read, "because all have sinned," referring to the fact that when Adam sinned, we all sinned in him.
His act was our act. His choice was our choice. His fall was our fall.
This is not simply a matter of inherited guilt, though guilt is certainly involved. It is a matter of inherited nature.
When Adam fell, his nature changed. He was no longer righteous and holy. He became a sinner by nature. And that sinful nature, that bent toward evil, that inclination to choose self over God, has been passed down to every human being born from Adam's seed.
David understood this intuitively when he wrote:
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me."—Psalm 51:5
David was not saying that the act of his conception was sinful. He was saying that from the very moment of his conception, from the very beginning of his existence, he carried a sinful nature.
He was not born righteous and then chose to sin. He was born a sinner, with a nature that was already bent away from God.
This is the condition of every human being born into this world. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.
The sinful nature is not acquired through our actions. It is inherited from our first father, Adam.
And it is this nature that makes us incapable of pleasing God, incapable of saving ourselves, incapable of earning our way back into His favor.
Adam's Sin and Our Nature
At this point, I must introduce an important theological distinction that has shaped Christian understanding of the fall for two thousand years.
It is the distinction between Adam's sin as a legal act and the fallen nature that has been transmitted to every one of his descendants.
Adam was not merely an individual human being. He was also a representative, a federal head of the entire human race. When he acted, he acted not only for himself but for all who would descend from him.
This is what the Apostle Paul teaches in his letter to the Romans:
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned."—Romans 5:12
Notice the language: "through one man sin entered the world."
Sin came into the human experience through Adam's transgression. Before Adam sinned, sin did not exist in the human race. There was no inclination toward evil, no sinful nature, no pull toward disobedience. But Adam's sin opened the door, and sin entered.
Then Paul says, "Death spread to all men, because all sinned."
This is the key. Some translations read, "because all have sinned," referring to the fact that when Adam sinned, we all sinned in him.
His act was our act. His choice was our choice. His fall was our fall.
This is not simply a matter of inherited guilt, though guilt is certainly involved. It is a matter of inherited nature.
When Adam fell, his nature changed. He was no longer righteous and holy. He became a sinner by nature. And that sinful nature, that bent toward evil, that inclination to choose self over God, has been passed down to every human being born from Adam's seed.
David understood this intuitively when he wrote:
"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me."—Psalm 51:5
David was not saying that the act of his conception was sinful. He was saying that from the very moment of his conception, from the very beginning of his existence, he carried a sinful nature.
He was not born righteous and then chose to sin. He was born a sinner, with a nature that was already bent away from God.
This is the condition of every human being born into this world. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.
The sinful nature is not acquired through our actions. It is inherited from our first father, Adam.
And it is this nature that makes us incapable of pleasing God, incapable of saving ourselves, incapable of earning our way back into His favor.
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