The Consequences of Sin

1. All People Inherit Adam's Sin.



Romans 5 teaches the great doctrine known as Original Sin. It does not refer to the first or original sin of eating the Forbidden Fruit, but to how we were in Adam and have inherited sin. We were in Adam in essence and by representation. When he sinned, we sinned. When he sinned, his soul died and was thrown into a state of rebellion with God. We are born in that state. Eph. 2:3 says we were all “by nature children of wrath.” The image of God is defaced in our nature, but we bear a close resemblance to Adam (cf. Gen. 5:3). Original Sin refers to our nature, what we are. Actual sins flow from it. We have the nature of sin and the necessity of sinning. It is as much a part of us as our fingerprints or DNA code.



2. We Are Born Guilty.



Pelagians deny Original Sin. Semi-Pelagians and Arminians agree that we inherit something from Adam - they say we inherit the tendency to sin, but not the sin itself, and certainly not the guilt. The Bible teaches that we inherit the sin and the guilt. It is not that we are guilty of something we did not do. Rather, we were in Adam doing it, and he was our representative. We were born in sin, born evil by nature (Gen. 6:5, 8:21, Psa. 51:5, 58:3, Isa. 48:8, Pro. 22:15). And born guilty, too, for how can there be sin without guilt? We were born sinful, guilty, condemned.




3. Dying Infants Go to Heaven.



Scripture seems to teach that all dying infants go to Heaven. This is apparent from passages like Matt. 19:14, David's dying baby, etc. They died before the age of a formed consciousness, what some call the Age of Accountability. This does not mean they were innocent, however. Rather, it would mean that God has elected all dying infants to be saved. That they die proves they are guilty; that they are saved proves they are elect. They are incapable of faith, and their Original Sin deserves Hell. But God graciously saves them by grace and they are given faith as they enter Heaven. But the point is that they needed to be saved.




4. All Have Sinned.



Since all people are descended from Adam and inherit his sin and guilt, it follows that all of them eventually commit individual acts of sin. There are many, many verses that teach that everyone everywhere has sinned against God, of which Rom. 3:23 is the most well-known. There are no exceptions, except for the Lord Jesus Christ, who was not descended from Adam (because of the Virgin Birth). Some sin more than others, but everyone is sinful and guilty before God. In fact, we were born in the state of sin and have never known innocence. Adam and Eve were the only two humans (except Christ) who ever knew what it was to be innocent, and their innocency was temporary.




5. Sin Infects Every Part of Our Being.



We are all totally depraved. Sin affects and infects all persons and all parts of every person. Isa. 1:5-6 compares our being to a sick body which is infected by disease literally from head to toe. Sin indwells us in our body, mind, soul, heart, conscience, emotions, will, memory, down to the smallest part. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. Calvinists alone teach this awesome doctrine. Arminians and others say that our minds or maybe our wills are not affected, or if affected are not totally affected. But the Bible is clear: we are one seething mass of sin.




6. Man is Evil, Not Good.



To answer the old philosophical and religious question, “Is Man basically good with some evil or evil with some good?”, the Bible teaches something more drastic. Man is bad, bad, bad. Bad to the bone. Not even a little good is left in him. Rom. 7:18, “nothing good dwells in me.” Jesus said in Matt. 7:11, “you who are evil” and in vss. 16-18 He added that we are like bad trees bearing bad fruit. Because of Original Sin, there is no good but only bad in us. Indeed, we are sons of the Devil (John 8:44). The difference between us and Satan is quantitative, not qualitative.




7. Man Does Not Have Free Will.



Man is responsible to obey God, but is no longer able to do so. His will is dead and therefore incapable of doing what only a live will could do. We are born slaves to sin (John 8:34, Rom. 6:20, 2 Pet. 2:19) and slaves of Satan (2 Tim. 2:26). We are willing slaves, too, who do not want to be free. We sin to assert our pretended freedom from God. Our wills are dead, not merely sick (Eph. 2:1, 5, Col. 2:13).

If it is so frequently said to be dead and a slave, how can anyone say it is alive and free?


8. Man is Unable to Obey God.



Fallen Man does not have the ability anymore to obey God, or to believe, repent, love God, or anything else of virtue. This is the doctrine of Total Inability. We are unable to come to Christ because we are bound in sin (John 6:44, 65). It is not that we want to but can't; rather, we cannot want to. Our natures and wills must be changed before we are able. Matt. 7:18, “A bad tree cannot bear good fruit.” Rom. 8:7-8, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” But this inability does not negate our responsibility. It does not lessen our guilt, only compounds it.




9. Man Loves Sin and Hates God.



Because of the extremely black state of Man's heart in total depravity and inability, it manifests itself in two basic ways. First, Man loves sin. He is addicted to it and enjoys sin. He loves sin as sin. This is not always conscious, but by nature and choice. Second, fallen Man hates God. See John 3:19-20, Matt. 6:24. No man is neutral to God; he is either for him or against him. The man in Adam is against God and for sin; the man in Christ is for God and against sin. Fallen men hate God and therefore also hated Christ (John 7:7, 15:18). They still do.




10. Man Cannot Save Himself.



Some people don't know they are lost, and they don't care. Others sense they are lost and care enough to try to do something about it. They invent all sorts of religions, all false. Some try building bridges to God by their own good works, such as charity and philanthropy. Others try to keep the Golden Rule, the Sermon on the Mount or the Ten Commandments. Still others think that they can be saved from the wrath of God against sin by being baptized, taking Communion, going to church, singing in the choir, reading their Bible or putting money in the offering basket. These are good things, but none of them can save anyone. Why? Because no one can be saved by his good works (Rom. 3:28, Gal. 2:16, Eph. 2:8-9, Tit. 3:5). For one thing, fallen Man cannot even do a real good work or if he could, he could never do enough. We are not saved by having more good works than bad, as many think. Man can no more give himself life than a corpse can. He cannot earn salvation for himself, let alone for anyone else. He cannot change his fallen nature (Jer. 13:23). He is dead, lost, doomed, damned, utterly without hope of himself. And unless God alone does something, he'll go to Hell.