Original Sin

I. Introduction

What is meant by the term ‘original sin’? This is an incredibly important question as it is a foundational doctrine which will affect how we build our theology of salvation. There are currently at least four versions of original sin, most of which contradict each other, therefore, at the very least some of them are building on a foundation of sand. In this video/article we will examine four of these and the theological implications that each bring to the issue of salvation. But let me be very clear from the outset. Scripture is without contradiction when it states that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). This statement may be applied to every version of original sin, although some denominations claim it only for themselves. 

The first version we will examine is the Augustinian view.

II. The Augustinian View: Inherited sin, guilt and wrath. Sinners from conception.

In the late fourth century Augustine of Hippo departed from early church theology and introduced his version of original sin which states that all humanity were in Adam when he sinned and therefore, all inherit Adam’s sin, guilt and condemnation from conception. This doctrine is forced to deny dozens of verses which speak of the innocent blood of children, that Jesus used children as examples of heavenly citizenship, and can only be supported by two verses stripped of original context. I have discussed the implications of this doctrine on previous video/articles, so here will give just a brief outline.

Psalm 51:5 does not state that a child is conceived as a sinner, but conceived by sinners. The Septuagint version of the Old Testament makes this abundantly clear. The second verse is Romans 5:19 which states:

For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the disobedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19)

The word polloi (πολλοί), translated as many, is problematic for those who use this verse for Augustinian original sin. If we decide it means ‘all were made sinners’, then we also have that ‘all will be made righteous’ as the same word is used. However, if polloi can mean all or many, what was Paul speaking of?

Romans 5 is a discussion about death and life and has absolutely nothing to do with inherited sin. Rather, death is the result of sin and because of one man’s sin all died (5:15), and death reigned to all (5:17) and in this sense they were made sinners (5:19). We inherited death from Adam, and death is the consequence of sin, therefore we were made sinners (born to die) as if we committed the sin itself. Furthermore, if Paul believed we were born sinners, we would see this theology clearly taught in his letters and wouldn’t need to try and twist this doctrine from a single verse. 

Other verses used to support the doctrine are examined in my other videos on inherited sin and in chapters 7 and 10 of my Practical Systematic Theology: Reclaiming the Doctrine of the Early Church.

The fruit of Augustine’s view is horrific to say the least. That babies are born again at baptism, the immaculate conception and Mariology, and presenting a Docetist Christ with a completely different flesh nature to our own who cannot atone for sin, in total contradiction to Hebrews 2:17. In Reformed theology, the doctrine has become the foundation of TULIP, a series of doctrines I consider to be a cult rather than Christianity. These doctrines are examined and refuted in videos and articles on this channel. In summary, the Augustinian view has no support in Scripture. 

III. The so-called ‘Pelagian’ view.

Pelagius contradicted Augustine’s view of original sin after Augustine departed from early church theology. It should be noted, that Pelagius quoted Augustine prior to this. Pelagius was contradicting Augustine’s insistence that humans have no free-will. He is accused of teaching that with free-will human beings could live a sinless life however, this idea is not expressed in the few writings of his which have survived. Recent scholarship, such as that by Dr Ali Bonner, have exposed Augustine’s blatant defamation of Pelagius which have no grounding in truth. An outline of Bonner’s work can be found here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzs9HOJA6mc  

Furthermore, there is a great deal of evidence to strongly suggest that Pelagius, who was exiled to Britannia, had a huge influence on Patrick and Northumbrian Christianity which is considered a renaissance of biblical Christianity at this time in Church history. This brings us to our third view.

IV. The majority evangelical view: The capacity and inclination to sin.

The majority of genuinely evangelical Christian theologians respect the multitude passages which speak of the original innocence of children and reject the claim that we are born sinners. They argue that we are born with the capacity and inclination to sin and in this respect, ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23).  All would agree that every human being has inherited physical death through Adam, however, there is still a great deal of confusion about what motivated the fall, if Adam and Eve were originally different in nature to every other human born, and the human nature of Jesus Christ. It is accepted by most that we have inherited a ‘sinful nature’, however again, this idea is a human construct depending on how we understand this term. When a verse is about us, some translate ‘sarx’ as ‘sinful nature, and when about Christ, as ‘flesh’ as in John 1:14, but they are all the same word. This is translating according to tradition, and immediately promotes a Christ with a different human nature to our own, in contradiction to Scripture.

Scripture simply uses the word flesh, or ‘sarx’ in Greek, and insists, with 16 verses, that Jesus inherited the same flesh as us. This was the position of the earliest theologians such as Justin and Irenaeus. Biblically, there is no evidence at all to state that Adam changed the inherit nature of humanity from being made in God’s image other than condemning humanity to physical death. Both Genesis 9:6 and James 3:9 state that we are still made in God’s image and likeness.

Therefore, if Christ was ‘made like his brothers in every way in order to make atonement for sin’ (Hebrews 2:17) we must be able to state clearly whether or not He had the ‘capacity and inclination to sin’, and if not, then why not? We cannot  adhere  to Augustine’s idea that sin was passed through male semen and in this way Christ escaped original sin, as Romans 1:3 blatantly contradicts this stating Christ was of the ‘genome’ and ‘spermatos’ of David ‘according to the flesh’. If we promote a Christ with a different human nature to our own, we are promoting a form of Docetism, and denying the possibility of atonement, two incredibly serious heresies.

In the next section I will argue that Scripture gives us very clear answers to these problematic questions. This is the fourth understanding of original sin. 

V. Understanding the original sin and our being made in God’s image.

The original sin was committed by Lucifer prior to the creation of humanity, and the details are given in Ezekiel 28:11-19 and Isaiah 14:12-15. In summary, Lucifer rebelled against God and declared ‘I will raise my throne above the stars of God, I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly’ (Isaiah 14:13) and ‘I will make myself like the Most High’ (Isaiah 14:14). Lucifer’s motivation is clearly stated, namely, to enthrone self and make himself like God. This is the very root of all sin, the creature’s demand to place self on our own throne and demand to make ourselves like God our way, rather than his way.  

When we examine the fall in Eden, we see this very same pattern. But keep in mind that Adam and Eve had no knowledge of good or evil until after they sinned (Genesis 3:22) and in this sense they were, as Irenaeus taught, like infants. We know that children imitate their parents, but Adam and Eve had only the pre-incarnate Christ to imitate, the One who walked in the Garden. What greater and nobler desire could a human being have than to be like God? Like young children they had a desire for knowledge, and so were faced with a paradox which Satan exploited. The paradox is this: In order to become more like God, having a knowledge of good and evil, they must disobey God and eat of the fruit.

This is the very contradiction Satan used to deceive Eve, saying, ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil’. The choice they made was to disobey God and try to make themselves like God their way. In essence, this was enthroning self, something Jesus never did. Philippians 2:6 states of Jesus Christ that:

Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. (Philippians 2:6)

The word translated ‘grasped’ in many English versions comes from the Greek ‘harpazo’ meaning to plunder, to take for oneself. Jesus Christ was in very nature God, not simply made in God’s image. Being equal to God He never tried to seize divinity for Himself as it was already His. However, as a human being who laid aside His divine authority for a season in order to be ‘made like his brothers in every way to atone for humanity’s sin’ (Hebrews 2:17), His greatest temptation was regarding the will of the Father, exemplified by His struggle in Gethsemane. 

The root of all sin is ‘anomia’, translated as lawlessness (1 John 3:4), meaning a rebellion against God. Anomia is manifested as a demand for our independence, or refusal to submit, fundamentally placing self before obedience. All human beings apart from Jesus Christ have committed lawlessness, have rebelled and therefore, sinned.

The question is this: From where does this desire to rebel come? For those who claim it is inherited from Adam, we must also ask, then what motivated Adam? There is no doubt, as most point out, that we see this root of rebellion even in young children. Children have several powerful desires. Firstly, to experience everything around them, an initial hunger for experiential knowledge, which, at around age 4-5, when neurons begin connecting to the frontal cortex, is manifested in a continual stream of questions. 

The first seeds of rebellion are usually witnessed when parents deprive a young child, usually for their own safety, of touching particular objects. Like Adam and Eve, the child still does not understand concepts like good and evil, but the desire to experience that which is forbidden leads to demanding their independence in the form of rebellion. Rebellion against parents is rebellion against God, and hence, ‘all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory’.

From where does this desire and motivation for independence come? I believe it is rooted in our being made in God’s image. God is the ultimate autonomous being; He is absolutely independent and answers to no one. God uses his autonomy for righteousness, holiness, love, mercy and grace, whereas we become slaves to our fleshly desires and use our autonomy to feed those ungodly desires. We soon become slaves to our flesh and form habits of thought and behavior which dominate us. For a detailed discussion on this topic, please see my video entitled ‘What motivated the Fall’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHUDOF09zrQ

VI.  Conclusions: Why does it matter?

Some may ask, why does any of this matter if all have sinned anyway. It matters for several very important reasons.

1. Firstly, if we are to take all of Scripture in regards to what is required for salvation, then Jesus and Paul’s emphasis is on the denial and crucifixion of self, of the self-ruling principle of anomia, rebellion. Jesus stated that we must deny self, take up our cross and follow Him. This in essence is a submission to Him as Lord, it is the creature confessing, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, ‘my way leads to death and continual slavery to sin, and your way leads to freedom, life and salvation. I surrender to your way’. In my opinion, any form of conversion which is less than this, is a diluted counterfeit, a counterfeit which is seldom found in the persecuted Church.

2. Secondly, it matters because it affects our theology regarding Jesus Christ. If we teach that Christ was born with a different human nature to our own, we contradict the clear teaching of Scripture such as Hebrews 2:17. We will then have to create man-made doctrines of how Christ escaped original sin, such as the immaculate conception, and the fruit of these heresies will be infant baptism for salvation, the adoration and worship of Mary, etc.

3. Thirdly, apart from these heresies, we will have created a Jesus who cannot relate to our temptations and sufferings, in total contradiction to Scripture. How can you approach Christ in prayer if you don’t believe with certainty that He knows exactly what you are going through? Scripture states;

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we have – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)

We must never dilute or pervert the clear teaching of Hebrews 2:14-18 in any way, or we descend into the heresy of Docetism, which denied the true and full humanity of Christ in the flesh. Please read these verses.

4. And fourthly, it matters that we understand God’s purpose and plan for creating us in the first place. God in Christ became one of us, taking on our corruption of death, and conquering death, so that we might become like Him. Satan deceived Eve into believing that God was trying to prevent her becoming like Him. In truth, God was giving her a choice, to become like Him His way, or her way. The Lord warned her that her way would lead to death, for , ‘there is a way that seems right to a man, or a woman, and the end thereof is death’ (Proverbs 14:12). 

Salvation is not some ‘fire escape’ as so many teach, rather, it is a new birth into an eternal relationship with our Creator, wherein we become partakers of the divine nature, co-heirs with Christ and begin our transformation into Christ-likeness. God wants us to know, love and experience Him, as He experiences Himself as a trinity of persons. This is the purpose and goal of creation and is profoundly demonstrated in that Christ was fully united to our humanity, so that we might be fully united to His divinity.

Steve Copland