"Original Sin" And Eternal Sin

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< > "Born in Sin" Theories There are three types of such theories to be considered: but before doing so it is worth pointing out that neither of the two phrases, "born in sin" and "original sin", occur in Scripture: they are man-made, and have no divine warrant behind them. They have however been so often repeated that very many Christians are sure that they are in the Bible until asked to find them. A. Imputed Guilt The first theory takes the ground that as the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the saint when he is born again, so the guilt of Adam was imputed to all Adam's children. Some would even go so far as to say that even if a man could himself live a sinless life, he would still deserve to go to Hell for what Adam did. — end of page 21 — The Two Great Errors of This Theory 1. In the first place it is not "the righteousness of Christ" which is imputed to the saint, but simply "righteousness" or "justification", two translations of the same Greek word. The convicted felon who has done his time comes out of prison "justified" or "righteous", and it is a legal offence to speak of him any longer as a criminal or convict. He has "paid" for his crime, he is "justified", and re-enters society as a free man. But that does not mean that he is also credited with all the virtues of his country's most famous citizen! No man can have the virtues or sins of another man imputed to him: nor will God impute to any man the perfect righteousness of Christ. He has the name which is above every name. "The righteousness of Christ" is a phrase which means the perfect character of Christ, and the theory, which holds that this is imputed to the sinner, is responsible for the grave doctrinal error that, when the Christian stands before the Judgement of Christ, God will not see him but only Christ, and will therefore count him as perfect. This is of course completely unscriptural, and makes nonsense of the race for the crown of which Paul speaks in 1 Cor. 9,25, and of the danger of losing that crown of which the Lord speaks in Rev. 3,11. It is not "the righteousness of Christ" which is imputed to the sinner, but His death. Christ paid our penalty by His death on Calvary, and upon certain terms God accepts this as our death. The terms are, that we agree that the wages of sin is death and that God ought justly to kill us; that we repent of our own sin, which act gives a guarantee for the future; and that we gratefully accept the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf which kills "the old man" and starts us on our new life with a clean heart. So long as we hold this faith firm unto the end there is no question of our coming into judgement of life or death. Eternal life with God is ours, unless we deliberately throw it away in hatred and contempt and thus commit spiritual suicide.19 But Paul desired that we should not merely be saved, but be saved with glory,20 and it is the deeds done in our body, not in Christ's, which will bring us shame or glory as the case may be.21 2. In the second place there is an entire misunderstanding of the meaning of the word "guilt". The Concise Oxford — end of page 22 — Dictionary defines it as "the having committed a specified or implied offence". To say that a man is guilty means that he is the man who committed the deed either actually or through an agent, and carries with it the necessity of his having been privy to the act. It is impossible for a man to be accounted guilty of having committed an action which was done before his birth by a man of whom he has never heard! Such theology springs from ignorance of the meaning of words, and the absence of any ordinary sense of justice. It is a grievous thing to attribute to the Almighty an outrageous act of injustice which would be criminal in a man! "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18,25). "Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" (Luke 12,57). < >
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"Born in Sin" Theories

There are three types of such theories to be considered: but before doing so it is worth pointing out that neither of the two phrases, "born in sin" and "original sin", occur in Scripture: they are man-made, and have no divine warrant behind them. They have however been so often repeated that very many Christians are sure that they are in the Bible until asked to find them.

A. Imputed Guilt

The first theory takes the ground that as the righteousness of Christ is imputed to the saint when he is born again, so the guilt of Adam was imputed to all Adam's children. Some would even go so far as to say that even if a man could himself live a sinless life, he would still deserve to go to Hell for what Adam did.

— end of page 21 —

The Two Great Errors of This Theory

1. In the first place it is not "the righteousness of Christ" which is imputed to the saint, but simply "righteousness" or "justification", two translations of the same Greek word. The convicted felon who has done his time comes out of prison "justified" or "righteous", and it is a legal offence to speak of him any longer as a criminal or convict. He has "paid" for his crime, he is "justified", and re-enters society as a free man. But that does not mean that he is also credited with all the virtues of his country's most famous citizen! No man can have the virtues or sins of another man imputed to him: nor will God impute to any man the perfect righteousness of Christ. He has the name which is above every name.

"The righteousness of Christ" is a phrase which means the perfect character of Christ, and the theory, which holds that this is imputed to the sinner, is responsible for the grave doctrinal error that, when the Christian stands before the Judgement of Christ, God will not see him but only Christ, and will therefore count him as perfect. This is of course completely unscriptural, and makes nonsense of the race for the crown of which Paul speaks in 1 Cor. 9,25, and of the danger of losing that crown of which the Lord speaks in Rev. 3,11.

It is not "the righteousness of Christ" which is imputed to the sinner, but His death. Christ paid our penalty by His death on Calvary, and upon certain terms God accepts this as our death. The terms are, that we agree that the wages of sin is death and that God ought justly to kill us; that we repent of our own sin, which act gives a guarantee for the future; and that we gratefully accept the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf which kills "the old man" and starts us on our new life with a clean heart. So long as we hold this faith firm unto the end there is no question of our coming into judgement of life or death. Eternal life with God is ours, unless we deliberately throw it away in hatred and contempt and thus commit spiritual suicide.19 But Paul desired that we should not merely be saved, but be saved with glory,20 and it is the deeds done in our body, not in Christ's, which will bring us shame or glory as the case may be.21

2. In the second place there is an entire misunderstanding of the meaning of the word "guilt". The Concise Oxford

— end of page 22 —

Dictionary defines it as "the having committed a specified or implied offence". To say that a man is guilty means that he is the man who committed the deed either actually or through an agent, and carries with it the necessity of his having been privy to the act. It is impossible for a man to be accounted guilty of having committed an action which was done before his birth by a man of whom he has never heard! Such theology springs from ignorance of the meaning of words, and the absence of any ordinary sense of justice. It is a grievous thing to attribute to the Almighty an outrageous act of injustice which would be criminal in a man! "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18,25). "Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" (Luke 12,57).

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