Born In Sin?

Ezek 18:20 is so clear on the “born in sin” theory, it’s like God anticipated the Catholic Church’s eventual invention of “inherited original sin,” and so God decided to head it off at the pass centuries previous. The verse reads “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, 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.” So what we have is:

· the soul that sinneth, it shall die (we don’t die spiritually because of Adam’s sin)

· the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father (no sin guilt is transferred from Adam thru Seth, or thru my dad to me either)

· the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him (Adam was charged with his own sin; nobody else was)

Eccl 7:29 is another great passage that conclusively proves false the Calvinistic concept of “born in sin.” When the verse says “God hath made man upright,” we know it is talking about all “mankind” (NIV), because it goes on to say “they” (plural) “have sought out many schemes” (NKJV), not just the one original scheme/sin of only the first man. In other words, every person is made (born) “upright” (not a sinner – innocent, not guilty of any sin, not depraved), but the reason we all end up lost is because we all sin (just like Rom 5:12b says). This is so clear, I don’t see how anybody can misunderstand the plain language. And don’t we inherently know an infant is innocent anyway?

Also consider Deut 32:5 “they have corrupted themselves … they are a perverse and crooked generation.” True they were "perverse and crooked,” but they weren’t born that way: Instead, they “corrupted themselves,” which implies they weren’t corrupt before-hand (from birth); meaning Adam’s sin didn’t do it. Gen 6:12 confirms this point as it reads “God looked upon the earth and it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” See how they weren’t born corrupt, but instead “corrupted” themselves?

The “born in sin” theory doesn’t make any sense anyway. If Adam was born with no depravity (as the Calvinists admit) and we are his descendants, then we should expect to be born without depravity just like him. And “the fall” wouldn’t change that, because we don’t inherit the traits of our parents that develop after they are born. For example, if my dad lost an arm in an accident, that doesn’t mean I will be born without an arm, does it?

And if the Catholic/Calvinistic doctrine of “born in sin” is true, how could children be called “innocents” in Jer 19:4? No, instead they would have been born guilty of original sin and/or totally depraved – the very opposite of innocent.

A consequence of this “born in sin” theory would be that Jesus was born guilty of Adam’s original sin / totally depraved, because He became a man / was “born of a woman” (Gal 4:4, NKJV). But contrary to that, Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus was "without sin." Notice Jesus was made exactly like us in this regard:

· had the same flesh and blood as us – Heb 2:14a “… as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he (Jesus) also himself likewise took part of the same”

· was made like us – Heb 2:17a “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren”

· was “tempted like as we are” – Heb 4:15

Catholics had to invent the “Immaculate Conception” myth just to try to get around this irrefutable point. I think everybody knows Jesus was _not_ “born in sin,” and since He was "made like” us – then neither are we!

Isa 59:2a is one more passage that clearly refutes the “born in sin” theory. The text reads “your iniquities have separated between you and your God.” How could the Israelites’ own sins separate them from God if they were already separated from God by Adam’s original sin? It seems like that proof would be easy to understand, but so many just ignore plain language when discussing Christianity for some reason.

"Born In Sin" Proponents’ Own Proof Texts Turn On Them …

The “born in sin” advocates say Gen 6:5 (“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”) proves “born in sin,” but verse 12 in the same context (“And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corruptedhis wayupon the earth”) proves thediluvians weren’t born that way, but corrupted themselves.

They also argue Jer 17:9 (“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”) proves “born in sin.” However, verse 5 in the same context (“Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man … and whose heart departeth from the Lord”) proves these men’s hearts weren’t born depraved, but instead “departed” from God. You can’t depart from something unless you were there to start with.

They say Rom 3:10,12c (“there is none righteous, no, not one … there is none that doeth good, no, not one”) proves “born in sin.” However, verse 12 in the same context (“They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable”) proves men aren’t born that way, but instead have _gone_ that way and _become_ unprofitable; it all occurred after they were born. They didn’t start out that way – according to the context. Isa 53:6 confirms – “All we like sheep have gone astray” – not born astray as the “born in sin” advocates suggest.

One of their primary proof texts in my “born in sin” public debates is Romans 5:12. It is true the first part of the verse teaches sin was introduced into the world through Adam (just like Genesis 3 describes); before Adam and Eve’s first sin, there was no sin in the world. But that has nothing to do with what is at issue. The second part of the verse has everything to do with the issue. It reads “death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,” and proves conclusively the “born in sin” concept is dead wrong. According to Rom 5:12b, we don’t die spiritually because of Adam’s sin; each man dies spiritually because each man commits his own sins. Meaning we all die because of our own sin. “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek 18:4) is simple and proof positive.

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