9 - Individual Sin
1. Housekeeping
1.1. Listener Supported – PO Box 491, Woodinville WA 98072
1.2. Next Week – Beginning of Series – The Nature of Salvation
2. The doctrine of Original Sin as taught by Calvinists leads to some disturbing conclusions:
These texts indicate, then, that human nature is corrupt. Therefore, even infants are corrupt because they are human. And if infants are corrupt, then this is the same as saying that we are born corrupt — which means we are born with original sin. One may, however, object that these texts speak nothing of infants, only those who are old enough to make moral decisions. All of those people are sinful, but this doesn’t mean that infants are.
This is an ingenious objection, but it does not succeed. First, the texts do not seem to restrict themselves to people who are old enough to make intelligent decisions. They seem to speak of human nature as a whole, a classification under which infants certainly fall. Second, as Jonathan Edwards pointed out, “. . . this would not alter the case. . . . For if all mankind, as soon as ever they are capable of reflecting, and knowing their own moral state, find themselves wicked, this proves that they are wicked by nature.”
“Infants die, therefore they are not innocent
Death — both physical and spiritual — is a result of sin (Romans 5:12; 6:23). Thus, death only comes upon those who have sinned. Since infants die, they therefore must be sinners.”
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-is-the-biblical-evidence-for-original-sin
3. Let’s explore the idea of inherited sin:
3.1.Man is either a dichotomy or a trichotomy depending on how one interprets certain verses. In the case of the dichotomist, the man consists of a physical body and a soul. In this case the soul and spirit are seen as one. In the trichotomist view there is a physical body and the soul and spirit are separate. In both views there is a material form of the man and a non-material form. We can see this in the statements of Paul when he talks about “having a desire to depart and be with Christ” Philippians 1:23 and “while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord” 2 Cor 5:6 and again in 2 Corinthians 5:8 when he says “absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.”
3.2.The physical body:
3.2.1. God created Adam and Eve with DNA. The DNA of every human who ever lived is descended from Adam and Eve. When the doctrine of original sin was first postulated and popularized, no one knew anything about DNA or how heredity works.
3.2.2. If the “sin nature” as it is called by people is passed through DNA then we have to agree that either the DNA of the “sin nature” was either already present in Adam and Eve or that their DNA was somehow changed by the act of the fall.
3.2.3. DNA can only produce physical qualities, like eye color, hair color and more, but it cannot produce or create acts of the mind. In which part of the body is the sin resident? Is it in the little finger or the elbow?
3.2.4. If it is a physical quality, can I be cleansed of it without a change in my DNA?
3.2.5. Further, sin is not a physical quality, sin is an act of the mind. While the trichotomist and the dichotomist will differ on whether the mind represents the spirit or the soul neither will postulate that the mind and the brain are the same thing. The mind is that non-material part of us that will be “absent from the body” upon death. It is also the thing that will inhabit our resurrection body at the resurrection of the dead.
3.2.6. If the physical body is depraved at birth it must be from the father or mother’s DNA.
3.2.6.1. It is not in the mothers DNA
3.2.6.2. It is not in the father’s DNA
3.2.6.3. Therefore the physical body is not depraved at birth
3.2.7. It’s your sin, not Adam’s
3.2.7.1. Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
3.2.7.2. John 8:34 34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
3.2.7.3. Jeremiah 44:22 - "So the Lord was no longer able to endure it, because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; thus your land has become a ruin, an object of horror and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day.
3.2.7.4. Mark 7:15-23 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man. 16 If[f] anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
3.2.7.5. Mark 7:17-23 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
3.2.7.6. James 1:14 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
3.2.7.7. Ezekiel 18:30 30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord God. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
3.2.7.8. Galatians 6:7-8 7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
3.2.7.9. Ecclesiastes 7:29 “Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.
3.2.7.10. Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord [n]has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
3.2.7.11. Romans 3:12 - 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
3.2.7.12. Matthew 16:27 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
3.2.7.13. John 5:29 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation
3.2.7.14. Romans 2:5-6 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your [a]impenitent heart you are [b]treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who will render to each one according to his deeds
3.2.7.15. 2 Corinthians 5:10 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
3.2.7.16. 1 Peter 1:17 17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
3.2.7.17. Jude 1:15 15 to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
3.2.7.18. Revelation 20:12 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
3.2.7.19. Revelation 22:12 12 “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work
3.2.8. Sons don’t bear sins of the Father
3.2.8.1. Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.
3.2.8.2. Ezekiel 18:20 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
3.2.8.3. Ezekiel 33:20 20 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not [g]fair.’ O house of Israel, I will judge every one of you according to his own ways.”
3.2.8.4. Deuteronomy 24:16 16 “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.
3.2.8.5. Jeremiah 31:29-30 29 In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
3.2.8.6. 2 Kings 14:6 - 6 But the children of the murderers he did not execute, according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, in which the Lord commanded, saying, “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall be put to death for his own sin.”
3.2.8.7. 2 Chronicles 25:4 - 4 However he did not execute their children, but did as it is written in the Law in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, saying, “The fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall the children be put to death for their fathers; but a person shall die for his own sin.”
3.3.The Soul:
3.3.1.Does God create the soul in a sinful state? This creates a host of problems, not the least of which is that everything God created is “good”.Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good
3.3.2. We know that God creates the soul.
3.3.2.1. Ecclesiastes 12:7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
3.3.2.2. Isaiah 42:5 This is what God the Lord says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it.
3.3.2.3. Zechariah 12:1 The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person,
3.3.2.4. Hebrews 12:9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!
3.3.3. Can God create anything that is inherently sinful?
3.3.3.1. Psalm 5:4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil [c]dwell with You.
3.3.3.2. Habakkuk 1:13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.
3.3.3.3. James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
3.4.Is the Soul Created Innocent?
3.4.1. Deuteronomy 1:39 39 ‘Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.
3.4.2. 2 Samuel 12:22-23 22 He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”
3.4.3. Isaiah 7:14-16 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you[c] a sign: The virgin[d] will conceive and give birth to a son, and[e] will call him Immanuel.[f] 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, 16 for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.
3.4.4. Jeremiah 19;4 4 “Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents
3.4.5. Matthew 18:1-3 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
3.4.6. Mark 10:13-16 13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
3.4.7. Luke 2:52 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
4. Is the soul corrupted by it’s proximity to a corrupt soul, does the child in gestation become corrupted by the proximity to the mother?
5. The soul cannot inherit depravity
5.1.The soul is not corrupted by proximity
5.2.The physical body cannot corrupt the soul
5.3.Therefore: The soul is not created depraved
5.4.The spiritual soul cannot be inherently depraved at birth
6. Conclusion
6.1.The body cannot inherit sin
6.2.We create our own sin
6.3.The soul cannot inherit sin
6.4.God doesn’t create wickedness
6.5.Therefore: Inherited sin and inherent sinfulness is unbiblical