On Sin

Everywhere we look today we see the dismaying results of a world gone wrong. Moral and social injustice, disease, death, and pain—these all beg for an explanation. How did things get the way they are today? In this paper I will attempt to briefly explain how things arrived at this state, and then explore our role in the matter. For example, are we somehow held responsible for the mess we see the world in today? Is it our fault? It is an answer to these and other questions that will be developed in this paper.

First, how on earth did things get this way? Why is there evil in the world? The answer to this is found in Genesis 3. Most of you know the account of how Eve was deceived by Satan and ate the forbidden fruit; and how she then gave some to her husband, Adam, who also ate. This was the first sin. What would appear to us to be a nearly harmless act has plunged the world into unimaginable depths of darkness and depravity. How could this happen? Because man has a free will. Adam used his free will here to directly disobey a known law of God (God had previously told them not to eat the fruit). In essence, Adam was raising his fist toward God and saying, “I want my own way!”

And thus, sin entered the world. Notice that sin was not created, but rather that it is simply a perversion of the good. Adam was given something very good, free will, but he abused it, and perverted it, by using it to serve himself instead of God. This broke the relationship God had with man, and with this absence, something terrible filled its place, sin. You see, we were destined to have relationship with God, but when Adam sinned, he broke that relationship, which left a void where that relationship should have been. We are all born with this void. This is proven by Romans 5:12 which states, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” and later on in verse nineteen it says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners…” This is also what David was talking about in Psalm 51:5 when he states, “in sin did my mother conceive me.” He’s not talking about an immoral relationship, rather he’s saying that he was born sinful because of the void that was caused the day Adam fell. Because Adam was acting as the head of the entire human race when he sinned, we still feel the consequences of his action in our own lives today.

But just what is this void? It has been given several names. One biblical name is found in Romans 7 where it is called ‘indwelling sin’. A few of the theological terms attached to it include “inherited depravity”, “original sin”, and “Adamic sin”. But for the purposes of this paper, we will use the term “inherited depravity”. Inherited depravity can be defined as a bent toward sin. With the absence of a holy God in our lives, we naturally tend toward the same choice Adam made, toward sin. This is what Paul is talking about in Romans 7. Inherited depravity is what causes verses such as Romans 3:23 which states, “For all have sinned”, to be a universal truth. Because we are born with a natural bent toward sin, we will naturally commit sin at some point.

Now, to some this might seem unfair. One might ask, “Why are we held responsible for Adam’s sin? Are we guilty for what he did?” The answer is, No. Ezekiel 18:20 states, “The son [us] shall not bear the iniquity of the father [Adam], neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him” (emphasis added). We are not guilty because of what Adam did. We are guilty because of what we do. However, we do suffer the results of what Adam did. As was stated earlier, because Adam was acting as the head of the human race when he sinned (as supported by Romans 5:12), we now deal with the consequences of his actions in the form of inherited depravity (the loss of relationship with God). Just as the choices of a father affect his family, so Adam’s sin affects us.

For example, if a father was to incur a vast amount of debt, and was unable to pay it back, the lender has the right to take away the father’s home and possessions. This would naturally affect his children. When the lender takes away the father’s home, he is punishing the father, but the children cannot help but deal with the consequences, as they are now without a home as well. And so it is with Adam’s sin. While we are not personally held responsible (as Ezekiel 18:20 states), we cannot help but feel the consequences of what Adam did.

But it should be noted in closing, that we are not left here. In fact, the Bible could be described as the story of how God intervened in our plight in an attempt to restore the relationship He once had with mankind. Sin must always be paid for. That’s a universal truth. And that is what God did by sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place. A continuation of Romans 5:19 (stated earlier) says, “For as by one man’s disobedience [Adam’s] many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one [Christ’s death on Calvary] shall many be made righteous.” That was why Christ came, to restore our broken relationship with Him. Romans 5:21 states, “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Christ is the only solution to the sin problem. He is our only hope. Have you accepted this hope into your own life? If not, will you not accept this hope today?