The Consequences of Sin
Basic Christian
Doctrines 25
1. All People Inherit Adam's Sin.
Romans 5 teaches the great doctrine known as Original Sin. It does not refer to the first or original sin of eating the Forbidden Fruit, but to how we were in Adam and have inherited sin. We were in Adam in essence and by representation. When he sinned, we sinned. When he sinned, his soul died and was thrown into a state of rebellion with God. We are born in that state. Eph. 2:3 says we were all “by nature children of wrath.” The image of God is defaced in our nature, but we bear a close resemblance to Adam (cf. Gen. 5:3). Original Sin refers to our nature, what we are. Actual sins flow from it. We have the nature of sin and the necessity of sinning. It is as much a part of us as our fingerprints or DNA code.
2. We Are Born Guilty.
Pelagians
deny Original Sin. Semi-Pelagians and Arminians agree that we inherit something
from Adam - they say we inherit the tendency to sin, but not the sin itself,
and certainly not the guilt. The Bible teaches that we inherit the sin and the
guilt. It is not that we are guilty of something we did not do. Rather, we were
in Adam doing it, and he was our representative. We were born in sin, born evil
by nature (Gen. 6:5, 8:21, Psa. 51:5, 58:3, Isa. 48:8, Pro. 22:15). And born
guilty, too, for how can there be sin without guilt? We were born sinful,
guilty, condemned.
3. Dying Infants Go to Heaven.
Scripture
seems to teach that all dying infants go to Heaven. This is apparent from
passages like Matt. 19:14, David's dying baby, etc. They died before the age of
a formed consciousness, what some call the Age of Accountability. This does not
mean they were innocent, however. Rather, it would mean that God has elected
all dying infants to be saved. That they die proves they are guilty; that they
are saved proves they are elect. They are incapable of faith, and their
Original Sin deserves Hell. But God graciously saves them by grace and they are
given faith as they enter Heaven. But the point is that they needed to be
saved.
4. All Have Sinned.
Since all
people are descended from Adam and inherit his sin and guilt, it follows that
all of them eventually commit individual acts of sin. There are many, many
verses that teach that everyone everywhere has sinned against God, of which
Rom. 3:23 is the most well-known. There are no exceptions, except for the Lord
Jesus Christ, who was not descended from Adam (because of the Virgin Birth).
Some sin more than others, but everyone is sinful and guilty before God. In
fact, we were born in the state of sin and have never known innocence. Adam and
Eve were the only two humans (except Christ) who ever knew what it was to be
innocent, and their innocency was temporary.
5. Sin Infects Every Part of Our Being.
We are
all totally depraved. Sin affects and infects all persons and all parts of
every person. Isa. 1:5-6 compares our being to a sick body which is infected by
disease literally from head to toe. Sin
indwells us in our body, mind, soul, heart, conscience, emotions, will, memory,
down to the smallest part. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Calvinists
alone teach this awesome doctrine. Arminians and others say that our minds or
maybe our wills are not affected, or if affected are not totally affected. But
the Bible is clear: we are one seething mass of sin.
6.
Man is Evil, Not Good.
To answer the old philosophical and religious question, “Is Man basically good with some evil or evil with some good?”, the Bible teaches something more drastic. Man is bad, bad, bad. Bad to the bone. Not even a little good is left in him. Rom. 7:18, “nothing good dwells in me.” Jesus said in Matt. 7:11, “you who are evil” and in vss. 16-18 He added that we are like bad trees bearing bad fruit. Because of Original Sin, there is no good but only bad in us. Indeed, we are sons of the Devil (John 8:44). The difference between us and Satan is quantitative, not qualitative.
7.
Man Does Not Have Free Will.
Man is
responsible to obey God, but is no longer able to do so. His will is dead and
therefore incapable of doing what only a live will could do. We are born slaves
to sin (John 8:34, Rom. 6:20, 2 Pet. 2:19) and slaves of Satan (2 Tim. 2:26).
We are willing slaves, too, who do not want to be free. We sin to assert our
pretended freedom from God. Our wills are dead, not merely sick (Eph. 2:1, 5,
Col. 2:13). If it is so frequently said to be dead and a slave, how can anyone
say it is alive and free?
8. Man is Unable to Obey God.
Fallen
Man does not have the ability anymore to obey God, or to believe, repent, love
God, or anything else of virtue. This is the doctrine of Total Inability. We are unable to come to
Christ because we are bound in sin (John 6:44, 65). It is not that we want to
but can't; rather, we cannot want to. Our natures and wills must be changed
before we are able. Matt. 7:18, “A bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” Rom.
8:7-8, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” But this inability does
not negate our responsibility. It does not lessen our guilt, only compounds it.
9.
Man Loves Sin and Hates God.
Because
of the extremely black state of Man's heart in total depravity and inability,
it manifests itself in two basic ways. First, Man loves sin. He is addicted to
it and enjoys sin. He loves sin as sin. This is not always conscious, but by
nature and choice. Second, fallen Man hates God. See John 3:19-20, Matt. 6:24.
No man is neutral to God; he is either
for him or against him. The man in Adam is against God and for sin; the man in
Christ is for God and against sin. Fallen men hate God and therefore also hated
Christ (John 7:7, 15:18). They still do.
10. Man Cannot Save Himself.
Some
people don't know they are lost, and they don't care. Others sense they are
lost and care enough to try to do something about it. They invent all sorts of religions, all false. Some try building bridges to God by their
own good works, such as charity and philanthropy. Others try to keep the Golden
Rule, the Sermon on the Mount or the Ten Commandments. Still others think that they can be saved
from the wrath of God against sin by being baptized, taking Communion, going to
church, singing in the choir, reading their Bible or putting money in the
offering basket. These are good things, but none of them can save anyone. Why?
Because no one can be saved by his good works (Rom. 3:28, Gal. 2:16,
Eph. 2:8-9, Tit. 3:5). For one thing, fallen Man cannot even do a real good
work or if he could, he could never do enough. We are not saved by having more
good works than bad, as many think. Man
can no more give himself life than a corpse can. He cannot earn salvation for himself, let alone for anyone
else. He cannot change his fallen
nature (Jer. 13:23). He is dead, lost,
doomed, damned, utterly without hope of himself. And unless God alone does
something, he'll go to Hell.