Original Sin

Maybe you could shed some light on what you believe about this original sin business. 1. As some people do not believe in it 2. If it did occur then should it not now be dealt with (for the believer obviously to be worked out in the sanctification process) as Jesus died on the cross and defeated sin in the sense of the overarching sin as a whole and our own sin

I admit this is a TOUGH one!

Let’s deal with “Original Sin”.

This phrase isn’t in the Bible. It is a phrase used by Christians to describe why there is nobody who does not sin (various refs, eg Rom 3 23)

We need some background here. Adam (and Eve) sinned in the Garden. They were then excluded from the Garden (to prevent their becoming immortal sinners by eating from the Tree of Life without rejecting their sin first).

God placed decrees upon them (Gen 3 16-19) which reflected their new state – fallen away from his intimate presence because of their rejection of his authority over them.

They had children. These were born outside the Garden, and into Adam’s family – which lived under these decrees. Their lives and environment were affected by the actions of their parents in just the same way that Adam and Eve themselves had been affected.

They lived just as if they had committed the same sin – there was an INHERITANCE of the consequences of sin. Some people talk of INHERITED sin, rather than original sin – I think that makes it a bit easier to understand.

And their descendants inherited other consequences. Adam and Eve’s NATURE had changed when they fell – when God’s influence on their lives had been rejected by them.

From innocence to disobedience.
From being able not to sin, to NOT being able not to sin.
Their descendants inherited this too.

Let me teach you a little Latin – it’s EASY, I PROMISE!

I find it easier to grasp what happens when I use the Latin words – see if you do.
Here’s the Latin first, English and explanation next:
NON = NOT – same word, pretty well
POSSE = POSSIBLE – our word comes from the Latin
PECCARE = TO SIN – we get our word “impeccable” from this, meaning “without fault”

So, lets try to apply that to various people:
1. We’ll start with Adam and Eve in the Garden. Here’s their situation:
Posse peccare. Posse non peccare.

See what it means?
It was possible for them to sin, but it was also possible for them NOT to sin.

Just notice how the Latin saves on words – that’s why I find it helpful.

Posse peccare – we know that’s true, because they DID sin.
Posse NON peccare – we know that must be true, because God did not intend them to sin.

2. Now, let’s try God.
Can He sin? No. He is Holy and Righteous
NON POSSE PECCARE – It is not possible for him to sin.

3. Now you and me:
NON POSSE NON PECCARE – It’s not possible for us not to sin.
We cannot avoid sinning.
The whole human race sins – as Romans 3 23 says.

Why is this?
It’s because we still live with the decrees placed upon Adam and Eve.
And we inherit their rejection of God’s influence on our lives – UNLESS we reject their sin, repent of our own, and turn back to God.

4. Now, what about Jesus?
The Bible repeatedly says he was without sin – I’ll post a list later, but you are familiar with this – he himself challenged people to show he had sinned (John 8 46).
COULD he have sinned?
Well if he COULDN’T, what was the point of the temptations?

Some people have said that if he HAD sinned, then God would have sinned, and therefore ceased to be God – and because that isn’t possible – they say – Jesus couldn’t have sinned.

But that is exactly what would have happened if Jesus had succumbed to the temptation to worship satan.

God would have accepted satan as his ruler, and satan would then have legal title to the Universe, with God doing his bidding to run it.

So for Jesus:
POSSE PECCARE

BUT it was also possible for him NOT to sin – because he didn’t.
So, for Jesus also:
POSSE NON PECCARE

Just notice that this puts him into the same bracket as Adam and Eve BEFORE THE FALL.

It’s as if Jesus hasn’t inherited the “inevitability” of sin like we do. He had NO “inherited” sin.
Is this surprising? No. Why not? Because he was born of the action of the Holy Spirit.
This way the second person of the Trinity comes into the flesh of a baby and still carries the innocence of the couple in the Garden.

IF he then lives a life free of sin, he has reversed the sinful act of the Fall, for himself at least.

And if he then dies a death as a sacrifice on behalf of others (which is how the Old Testament sacrifices worked) then anybody who identifies with that sacrifice gets the benefits of the sinlessness of the sacrifice.

READ THAT LAST SENTENCE AGAIN, SLOWLY.
NOW READ THE LAST BIT AGAIN, AFTER THE BRACKETS.
Are you starting to get it?
This is how it worked, to get us back to God.

When Jesus said, “It is finished”, he was referring to the job he had done, to come to earth and live without sin. When he died, he went from POSSE PECCARE, POSSE NON PECCARE to NON POSSE PECCARE.

So, did Jesus have it easy, easier than us, in STAYING free of sin?

Well, for us, a sinful state is inevitable to start with, but what about after we are Christians?
POSSE PECCARE – Yes, we are all only too painfully aware that we can still sin.

BUT NOW, because of the action of the HOLY Spirit in our lives, for us:
POSSE NON PECCARE – It IS possible for us not to sin.

We have been returned to the same state as Adam and Eve in the Garden.

And what about after we die and lose this “body of sin”?
NON POSSE PECCARE – It will not be possible for us to sin.
Notice this is the same state as God – and Jesus after the crucifixion.

HOW GOOD IS THAT?

So, here’s a table which I hope will be clear:
God:
NON POSSE PECCARE

Adam and Eve before the Fall:
POSSE PECCARE / POSSE NON PECCARE

Adam and Eve after the Fall, and all their descendants (except Jesus):
NON POSSE NON PECCARE (see below**)

The Son before he came to earth:
NON POSSE PECCARE – he was God

Jesus on earth – notice how this makes Him the “Second Adam” (Read Rom 5 and 1 Cor 15 for more on this.):
POSSE PECCARE / POSSE NON PECCARE

Jesus after his Crucifixion (It was “finished”):
NON POSSE PECCARE – he had returned to Glory

You and me before we became Christians:
NON POSSE NON PECCARE – just like our Ancestors

You and me when we have the influence of the HOLY Spirit in our lives:
POSSE PECCARE / POSSE NON PECCARE – like Adam, like Jesus on earth.

You and me when this life is over:
NON POSSE PECCARE – Just like Jesus!

** NB. This state of NON POSSE NON PECCARE is what people refer to when they speak of “Original Sin” or “Inherited Sin”.

It’s not the whole story, we inherit the guilt of the act as well as the nature of the sinner. Maybe you can work out how that guilt is dealt with.

We also have to allow for the fact that we still carry our fallen bodies while we are here. Perhaps you can think of how the Bible says we should deal with that.

Here’s a follow-on thought from above:
The discussion was about, “Could Jesus have sinned?”

**********************
I wrote, “ Some people have said that if he HAD sinned, then God would have sinned, and therefore ceased to be God – and because that isn’t possible – they say – Jesus couldn’t have sinned.

But that is exactly what would have happened if Jesus had succumbed to the temptation to worship satan.

God would have accepted satan as his ruler, and satan would then have legal title to the Universe, with God doing his bidding to run it.”
**********************

Does the enormity of that strike home?

Now think of the risk that God took. The stakes were NOT just whether Jesus could get mankind out of the sin trap and back to God.

God did not just risk a theology, or a good outcome.

When God sent Jesus to become one of us, and allowed the POSSIBILITY that Jesus MIGHT have succumbed to the temptations of satan, God was risking his very own position as Lord of the Universe.

That is how much we mean to him – we are not just worth the sacrifice of his son, we are worth risking his very position as God for.

God put everything he was on the line for the sake of bringing us back to him.

So “it is finished” means a lot more than just the end of Jesus life.

It means that the Universe now cannot escape the destiny of being ruled for eternity by its own Creator.