What is meant by the term "original sin?"

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Question: What is meant by the term “original sin”?

Anon. Reader

ATP: Original sin is the term used to describe the sin of Adam that brought death to the entire human race. It is interesting to note that Adam and Eve did not have children until after sin entered their lives. Adam’s sin changed his perfect nature to a “sin nature.” The same thing happened with Eve. At that point Adam and Eve no longer had perfect natures to pass along to their children.

Their “spiritual DNA,” so to speak, had been damaged by sin.

Because of Adam’s sin and the change it made in his own nature, all of us are sinners by nature, not just by actions. We are born with a damaged nature inherited from Adam.

If we were to ask the question then, “Do we sin because we are sinners or are we sinners because we sin?” the answer would be “both.” We are both sinners by nature and we are sinners by deed.

Though thoroughly loved by God, we human beings are by nature sinful. Evidence that this is true is plainly seen in our society every day. And we know this by experience from what goes on in our own hearts. As some one once said:

"If things the that have crossed our minds to do or to say in the past month were put on a screen for all to see, we would be run out of town on a rail!"

Evidence of our sinful nature is seen even in small children.

Have you ever known a child that had to be taught to do wrong? Children instead, have to be taught to do right, to not insist on their own way, to share, to be kind and so on. Left to themselves without instruction and loving direction, children gravitate toward their basic nature of selfishness and self-centeredness.

This is one of the reasons that the Bible teaches we must be “born again.” We need God to give us a new nature, a spiritual one. A nature that is fit for heaven. When we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior, he does so.

Unfortunately for us for now, the old sinful nature also resides within us, and causes great inward battles for the Christian. The old nature constantly pulls against the new Christian nature.

The unbeliever doesn’t face that same battle.

They have only one nature, the sinful one, and so may feel no inward conflict when they sin or reject God’s ways. In fact they may think that a Christian is a little odd for feeling guilty about so called “small sins” that the unbeliever feels are of no consequence.

The sin nature has the unbeliever firmly by the throat. Only God, through Christ, can pry its hands away and save the person, giving them a new spiritual nature.