The concern

The doctrine of original sin cannot be substantiated from the Bible. It is a misleading doctrine. But we should not throw out the baby with the bath water. Of course, the doctrine was created out of a real concern. It is not in the Bible, but I can well understand the concern behind it.

Humans are confronted with two things: We usually mean well but remain flawed, and at the end of life we die without being able to do anything about it. These are two tangible problems for all mankind. What does the Bible say about these things? From such questions arose the doctrine of original sin. The concern is good, but the solution is not right.

Adam and Eve

According to the biblical description, humankind originated from a human couple, Adam and Eve. This is the context that the Bible gives. This is the story. Those who do not believe this should at least let it stand as part of the biblical story. It is an important prerequisite for understanding the further explanations. In both the Old and New Testaments, this story is used to explain many other things. In this sense we should take the story seriously and neither stiffen on a denial (“that can’t be!”) nor on the fact that they both must have lived (we can’t prove that and that is not the concern of the story). My concern is that we read the story as impartially as possible and try to understand what the writers intended.

In the narrative of the Bible, humankind originated from a human couple, Adam and Eve. In this human couple, something happened that is often referred to as the “Fall.” This is something like the beginning of the problems. We read about it in the first chapters of the Bible. Both lived in the Garden of Eden. That is where God has placed them. They were assigned all the fruit of the trees as food, but with one exception: they were not allowed to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:17). This was a commandment they could not transgress. Of course, one can ask why God planted such a tree in the first place and why in the middle of the garden of all places. But that is not the subject of this article.

One day a snake comes and starts a conversation with Eve about the fruits of this tree and God’s prohibition. This is of course extraordinary, because at least today there are no talking snakes – except in some science fantasy movies. Eve is seduced by the serpent here, takes of this fruit and also gives it to Adam. That this fruit should be an apple is merely imaginative tradition.

In the biblical account, Adam is held responsible for this transgression, even though Eve first took of the fruit and the serpent was to blame (Gen. 3:12-13). Adam, as the first human being, transgressed against God’s commandment. We can see from this that this is a symbolic assignment.

This missed target has far-reaching consequences. Along with the prohibition, in fact, God threatened the people that – should you eat of the fruit – they would be “dying until they die” (Gen. 2:17). They were not threatened with immediate death, but with mortality. (This difference is not evident in every translation). This is the context that Paul summarizes in a few words in Romans 5:

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and through sin death, and so to all men death penetrated, whereupon all sinned …”
Rom 5:12

The problem of all people

At length, Paul explained the inadequacy of human beings in the Letter to the Romans. We live, we die, and we make mistakes.

“There is no difference; for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
Rom 3:23

The apostle has justified why he lumps all people together. Not because he condemns, but because we are all confronted with our mortality and all lack “the glory of God.” We suffer from deficiency symptoms. We are mortal and don’t get it together in any other way. All people have that in common. This does not mean that all people are “equally bad”, but that no one can free himself from these things on his own. The Bible is very sober here.

There is now a response from God to this. Just as “sin” and “death” belong together, so “life” and “righteousness” belong together. Sin and death characterize the human experience, while life and justice is God’s response to this desolate situation.

No original sin

Let’s see what happens in this verse:

1. Sin entered the world through a human being
   1. and through sin death
   2. and so death penetrated to all people
2. whereupon all sinned.

The figure of speech is an inversion. The connection is clear. Here Adam is seen as the origin of sin and mortality. Since this oversight, everyone is affected. The fact that it now says “Through a man” indicates that Adam is seen as a channel, so to speak. It happened through him. It is as if his decision opened the floodgate and the problems poured in. The 1st group is mirrored by the 2nd group repeated. In the 1. group is about Adam, in the 2nd group is about all mankind.

Now let’s look at what Paul is describing here exactly:

1. Sin entered and with it death
2. Death now pushes through to all human beings, whereupon all sin.

Here it becomes clear that it is not sin that is inherited, but death. We are mortal. This mortality is passed on from generation to generation. This mortality is now the cause for all to sin, namely to miss their target. Instead of “original sin,” one could more appropriately speak of “inherited death” because of this verse. It would probably be better if we simply spoke of “mortality”.

Man is therefore not “fundamentally bad”, but he is “mortal” from birth. This view not only corresponds to reality, but can be well substantiated here from the Bible. Mortality clings to us and is the cause of many problems. It causes us to sin and we lack the glory of God (Rom 3:23).

This situation is inevitable and therefore a real problem for everyone. This is also the background for the gospel of God’s grace. Sin is real, not because it is “inherited,” but because it is attached to us because of our mortality.

However, the consequence of the doctrine of original sin leads astray. First, one concludes that sin is inherited, then that every human being is “worthy of damnation,” even as a young child, and finally that every child is lost according to the doctrine of heaven and hell and therefore needs sacraments for salvation should he or she be dying. It is a disastrous sequence of false conclusions.

The doctrine of an original sin explains nothing, but darkens the outlook. For example, in no judgment does God judge a supposed original sin, but the behavior is always judged – namely “straightened out”. It is about the question “What have you done in life?”. It is these “works” that will be judged (e.g. Rev 20:12). Neither faith nor original sin play a role in the judgments of God, insofar as human beings are involved.

Only the cross deviates from this impression. Here, man is not judged for his deeds, but the Son of God is judged for the deeds of others. This is what the cross does according to the Bible. This is God’s working in our favor. This righteousness of God is given because no one achieves it. No one attains God’s glory because our mortality leads to constant missing of the mark. We need a solution. This is what the gospel of God’s grace speaks about. This is about God’s righteousness given to us (Rom 3:24).

These things have already been discussed in detail in the article “Original sin questioned”.

Adam and Christ

In the context of our study in Romans, this is not about original sin. Paul never spoke of original sin. He writes in Romans 5:12 about the consequences for mankind. Adam is a channel and he confronts Christ. This is explained in the following verses.

It culminates in the statement in Romans 5:18:

1. Accordingly now, how it came by the one mortification for all people to the condemnation
2. Thus, it is also through the one legal judgment for all people that the justification of life comes about.

Paul argues from 5:12 until this statement in 5:18. Here in Rom 5:12 it is about Adam and the consequence for all men. Subsequently, he speaks of Christ and the consequences for the same humanity.

We will look at that in more detail.