Do We Inherit the Guilt of Adam’s Sin?

by Jon W. Quinn

Read: Ezekiel 18:19-32. The doctrine of original sin states that all of us are born sinners. Our parents pass along the guilt of Adam and Eve’s original transgression to us, their children, even as they received the same from their parents, and so on, back to the fall of man in the garden.

John Calvin said, “Again, I ask: whence does it happen that Adam’s fall irremediably involved so many peoples, together with their infant offspring, in eternal death unless because it so pleased God?” He concluded by saying, “The decree is dreadful, I confess.” (Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Vol. 2, page 955).

One human written religious creed, the Philadelphia Confession of Faith, says, “They (Adam and Eve - J.Q.) being the root, and, by God’s appointment … the guilt of sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation, being now conceived in sin …”

Let us consider this teaching in light of what the Scriptures actually say. If the Bible teaches it, then it is true. If not, then it is false. It matters not how widespread the teaching is, who believes it, or what the creed books written by men say.

Is the guilt of sin inherited? “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” (Ezekiel 18:20; cf. verses 19-32). Though there are many passages that contradict the doctrine of original sin, I can think of none that do it stronger than these verses in Ezekiel. The Lord has said, “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah” (Ezekiel 18:30). Any doctrine that says we are judged by the conduct of our ancestors, including Adam’s, is clearly wrong.

Compare Calvin’s statement quoted earlier with the following Scripture:
God: “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah: wherefore turn yourselves, and live” (Ezekiel 18:32).
Calvin: “… so many peoples, together with their infant offspring, in eternal death unless because it so pleased God?”

Many other passages also show the impossibility of transferring the guilt of sin (Jeremiah 31:27-30; Deuteronomy 24:16; Galatians 6:5).

Consider the definition of sin. “Every one that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (I John 3:4). Sin is an act of unrighteousness. It is something we do. It is an act that is lawless, or contrary to God’s law. The Bible never refers to sin as something that we are born with. It is never defined in God’s word as a natural weakness or an inherited trait.

For example, the Lord commands, “Thou shalt not kill (murder NKJV)” (Exodus 20:13). I am not a murderer unless I commit an act that violates that command.

While it is true that all of Adam’s descendants pay the consequences of Adam’s sin (i.e., we live in a cursed world; we suffer physical death, etc.) that is not the same thing as being guilty of Adam’s sin. A child of a drunkard may suffer the consequences of his parent’s misbehavior, but this does not mean the child himself is guilty of drunkenness.

Consider the consequences of Adam’s sin. “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:17-19; see context: verses 14-24).

One reads in vain for the idea of “original sin” in the account of Adam’s fall as related in the Bible. Genesis records many consequences resulting from the first transgression. There is pain in childbirth, the ground is cursed, and physical death (the body returning to dust) is decreed. But nothing at all about children inheriting the guilt of Adam’s sin.

What about the proof texts? “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalms 51:5). Some take David’s words to mean that he was born a sinner, but that is not what he said. He said that his mother brought him forth in sin. He was born into a sinful world. So are we and our children. The lure of sin affects us as we grow up. It is all around us from birth.

“The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies” (Psalms 58:3). This passage says the wicked “go astray” not “born astray.” Psalms 58:2 says, “Nay, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.” It is from birth that evil influences begin to work on the innocent one, working estrangement from God.

We are born innocent. Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). This certainly does not sound like Jesus looked upon children as being totally depraved in sin. This is such a different view of children from how Calvin saw them!

We do inherit things from our parents, but those things do not include sin. We inherit our physical traits from our earthly parents. We inherit our spiritual traits from God. He is therefore called “the Father of spirits” in a passage plainly discussing the spirits of human beings (Hebrews 12:9). Paul refers to us as being “the offspring of God” (Acts 17:28-29). Who dares say our spirit is already tainted by sin at birth?

This unbiblical doctrine brought yet another dilemma that had to be dealt with. How does one explain how Jesus, the sinless One, was born without inheriting Adam’s sin through Mary? Catholicism devised the doctrine of the “immaculate conception” of Mary. She was born without sin, and had none to pass on to Jesus. But, where, is that in the Bible? Instead, it says, “Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage … Wherefore it behooved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:14-18). This does not involve inheriting sin! Rather, He “hath been in all points tempted like as (we are, yet) without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

A final point to be made is one of accountability. God does not demand of us or hold us accountable for that which we cannot help. Jesus, for example, said, “If ye were blind, ye would have no sin …” (John 9:41). Jesus is talking about being unable to comprehend right and wrong. Infants have no sin because God does not hold them accountable. Paul referred to this early stage in his life as well. “And I was alive apart from the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died” (Romans 7:9).

(From Expository Files 6.6; June 1999)