Sin Entered the World

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1. Introduction

This teaching will define sin, showing that sin entered the world and evil does not pass from generation to generation. This lesson starts with the Father-Son theological reformation by understanding God’s desire to have holy and blameless children through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

Ephesians 1:4-5

A. Related Teachings:

To understand how this scripture relates to sin, I would encourage the reader to first look through the cornerstone teaching Fellowship of the Mystery of His Will.

This teaching and ‘Old Covenant‘ refer to those who have not accepted Jesus Christ. These two messages do not apply to us as believers because we are dead to sin and alive to Christ. In Believer’s Victory Over Sin, we will look at how the believer can reign over sin.

God knew if He made man in His image, they would have free will. Sin did not catch God unaware of man’s sin. Jesus had already decided to die for humanity before He sinned:

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 13:8

2. The Definition of Sin

The Greek word for sin is hamartia, which means ‘falling short of the mark’. Storytellers would refer to the hamartia in a character from around 100BC. Hamartia means there is some fatal character flaw in one of the characters, often the hero.

3. The Effect of Sin:

In the introduction verses from Ephesians, we see that God’s original intention was to have holy and blameless children. Not only that, it is His plan for His children to grow from glory to glory.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 3:18

The effect of sin is not growing in the glory of God.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:23

Some sins may result in the loss of His glory. Sexual immorality and murder have this effect.

We see this in David when he committed adultery and then murdered Uriah. God still loved David, but David did lose some of his glory. It resulted in him losing his kingdom to his son Absalom and never going into battle again. David’s illegitimate son died as a direct consequence of his sin. As a result, there was always disharmony in his family.

4. The End Result of Sin

The result of sin is always death.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

James 1:15

Shame, guilt, hopelessness, anxiety, fear, broken relationships, sickness, poverty, judgment, curses, and condemnation are examples of the wages of sin.

5. Adam and Eve Sinned

They fell short of the mark by doing what God told them not to do. God had expressly given them a choice.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Genesis 2:16-17

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:6

6. Adam and Eve knew what was Good and what was Evil

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Genesis 3:7

Knowing this meant that they knew that God was good, and they had committed evil. Sin brought shame into their lives, and they felt guilty.

7. Sin Entered the World.

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

Romans 5:12

Sin entered the WORLD (Gk Cosmos, referring to the creation on planet earth). This scripture does not say sin entered MAN. It says death spread to all men because all men sin. Adam and Eve’s Eve’s sins did not pass on to the next generation. Humankind is unable to resist the sin in the world. As a result, they act out sin. From there, they develop a nature that sins.
We can see this clearly in the first generation off-spring of Adam and Eve – the story of Cain and Abel:

So the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

Genesis 4:6-7

Do you notice that sin is at the door? God does not say, “sin is inside you, Cain”. Sin is outside of people in the world, wanting to make them sin. It is a force, not just an act.

8. The Incorrect Theology of Original Sin

It is necessary to challenge this doctrine as it goes against the character of God, who IS love.
The theory of Original Sin originates from Augustine’s value placed on the Greek philosophers, particularly Plato. Augustine believed that sin passed from generation to generation through sexual acts, considering that the sexual act in itself is sinful. Progressing on from this wrong theology, he made other errors like Mary never sinned! This contradicts scripture saying all humankind has sinned.

Sin entering humankind through sexual acts would mean that God is not just. Because babies in the womb are incapable of sinning, then with the doctrine of original sin, babies lost in the womb would not have the opportunity to have eternal life instead of going to hell. In “Predestination,” we look further into the Reformed theology error of double predestination, where some are predestined to go to hell.

A. The Cornerstone Scripture for Original Sin.

There is a scripture that, if read casually, appears to say that we are all conceived in sin:

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.

Psalms 51:5

However, careful examination shows this scripture does not support the false doctrine of original sin.

The word IN is an adverb for qualifying the verb, not the object. So it points to the sin of David’s mother. She, during an act of sexual immorality, sins and conceives David.

Let’s use a different word than sin in this scripture: joy.

Behold, I was brought forth…,
And in joy my mother conceived me.

Psalms 51:5

Using this different word says something completely different. IN joy means David’s mother experienced joy when she conceived David. Joy points to the experience of the mother.

B. What Sin did David’s Mother Commit?

Hebrew scholars believe Jessie committed adultery with an unnamed mother. Jessie did not present David to Samuel to anoint him as king of Israel because he was illegitimate.

Notably, against the Hebrew tradition of naming both parents, there is only a reference to his father, not his mother. Not noting a parent was commonly done when there was sexual immorality. Being illegitimate explains why he had the lowest position of being a shepherd boy, where he would not receive any education.

David uses the word yaham for conceived. Usually, intimate relations between a husband and wife use the Hebrew word yada, meaning “to know”. Yaham, on the other hand, is used for an animal in heat. In other words, an act of unrestrained lust also supports the theory. As the Hebrew scholar Dr Robert Alter put it in his excellent translation,’:

“but there is not much here to support the idea [of original sin] that this is the case for every human being.”

‘The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary” by Dr Robert Alter

It is an assumption by theologians that sin entered David at conception, rather than his mother committing sexual immorality.

9. Three Types of Sin Resulting from Sin Entering the World

There are three types of sin mentioned in this verse:

I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Selah

Psalms 32:5

A. Sin is Missing the Mark

g0266. ἁμαρτία hamartia; from 264; a sin (properly abstract): — offence, sin(-ful)., To miss the mark, err or be mistaken.

However, we need to be careful not to make everything a sin. I ask the question of people. “If your teenage son disappeared for three days without telling you where he had gone, would you consider that sin?” By far, the majority say, yes, it is. Yet, God does not think that sin. Jesus did precisely that at the age of twelve. He disappeared for three days and was later found at the synagogue.

An example of sin is maybe someone who gets drunk and then sins somehow.

B. Transgression is a Deliberate Crossing of a Boundary.

Transgression is also a sin, but more severe in that it means a deliberate crossing of the boundary or intentionally disobeying a known rule.

Using the same example as above, the person who gets drunk and then drives has committed a transgression, as he has transgressed the law.

C. Iniquity means Bend, Twist or Distort.

Iniquity is sin, but it leaves a lasting, corrupting impact upon the soul of an individual. Profound iniquity MAY be called wickedness.

The person in the example above now repeatedly gets intoxicated and develops an addiction. That lifestyle will produce an openness to sin in the next generation, resulting in the children getting addictions.
The CONSEQUENCES of iniquity can pass from generation to generation – curses, sickness, generational depression, poverty, etc.

10. We All Sin Because Sin Entered the World

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 3:23

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:8

11. Slaves to Sin

Before we become a believer in Jesus, we are slaves to sin. Sin is in the world, and we don’t yet have the grace to overcome evil.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

Romans 6:20

12. Sin Nature

We have seen that sin does not pass from generation to generation. Many theologians talk about sinful nature.

However, a careful search of the Greek manuscripts does not find the words sinful nature. Instead, the Bible uses the word flesh:

σάρξ sarx; flesh (as stripped of the skin), the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul (or spirit), ), or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties (physically or morally) and passions), — carnal(-ly, + -ly minded), flesh(-ly).

A. The Flesh is Weak.

In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus referred to the flesh as being weak and unable to overcome temptation:

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Mark 14:38

Our weakness is why WE ALL need to believe in Jesus Christ. It is not because we have sin inside of us. Sin is outside of us, constantly tempting us to sin. Every one of us gives in to sin, even from an early age. As a result, we develop a ‘sin nature’ and need rescuing.

We develop a sinful nature when our flesh (as opposed to our soul or spirit) gives in to temptation.

13. Death Reigned From Adam To Moses Because Sin Entered the World:

Sin brought death, and therefore, death reigned until Moses.

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses,

Romans 5:14

14. Sin Entered the World and Brought Judgment and Condemnation

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

Romans 5:18

15. God’s Judgement Is Fair Because Man Judges Others

Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things.

Romans 2:1

The person who is not yet born again, not a son or daughter of God, cannot resist sin. It is not just an action; it is an outward force. The result of sin entering the world is that they become sinners because they act out evil.

16. Summary of Sin Entered the World

• God hates sin because it takes away from the glory He wants to give His sons and daughters.
• The end result of sin is death – eternal separation from God without belief in Jesus and consequences for sin.
• Sin entered the world, not man, through Adam.
• Augustine’s doctrine of Original Sin does not stand up to sound theological challenges.
• We all sin because sin entered the world, and our flesh is weak to temptation without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

© Use by Permission Awakening Impact Ministries/Dr Neville van Eerten 2022