Chapter 8 – Inherited Sin And Our Sin Nature

Today in our continuing study of the book If God Is Good by Randy Alcorn, we will look at chapter 8 – inherited sin and our sin nature. You can find links to the previous chapters under the heading Bible Studies in the menu above.

Captain John Newton

Randy Alcorn opens the chapter with a brief look at John Newton.

As a young crewman, John Newton professed Christ when his ship nearly sank. However, he spent years committing evil before he experienced a true conversion and became a follower of Jesus Christ.

In 1750, at the age of 25, John Newton commanded an English slave ship he anchored off the African coast purchasing natives taken captive by rival tribes.

Newton’s men took the terrified slaves and chained them below decks in two-foot-high pins to prevent suicides. As many as 600 lay side by side like fireplace logs, row after row. There were no toilet facilities or ventilation. The stench was indescribable.

Like other captains, Newton allowed his crew to rape female slaves, as Newton did himself. Sometimes 1/4 or more of the slaves died on the journey. Newton blasphemed God and engaged in brutality and immorality. He prided himself on being incorrigible.

After he became a true follower of Jesus Christ, he left the slave trade and felt increasing remorse for what he’d done. For the last half of his life, he pastored a church near London, where he preached the gospel, taught the scriptures, and eventually spoke out against the slave trade.

At age 82 shortly before his death, John Newton said “my memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great Sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior”.

Newton wrote hundreds of hymns, the most famous of which is the most popular song among many African Christians throughout the world:

Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

Newton’s claim to wretchedness wasn’t hyperbole; he clearly saw the evil in himself, an evil that remains hidden in many. While Newton may appear as an extreme case, the Bible teaches that all of us are evil lovers and evil-doers, blind wretches in desperate need of God’s transforming grace.

J. I. Packer wrote:

“The subject of sin is vital knowledge…If you have not learned about sin, you cannot understand yourself, or your fellow man, nor the world you live in, or the Christian faith. And you will not be able to make head or tail of the Bible. For the Bible is an exposition of God’s answer to the problem of human sin and unless you have that problem clearly before you, you will keep missing the point of what it says.”

Quoted in C.J. Mahaney and Robert Boisvert, How Can I Change?
(Gaithersburg, MD: Sovereign Grace Ministries, 1996), 41.

The Semantics of The Sin Nature and Total Depravity

The sin nature refers to our fallen state that distrusts, dishonors, and rejects God. The following Scriptures emphatically declare our sinful nature.

“The heart is deceitful above all things And it is extremely sick; Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives?” – Jeremiah 17:9 AMP

as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” – Romans 3:10-18 ESV

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” – Romans 3:23 NKJV

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8

“Before Christ redeemed us, “All of us also lived among them [those disobedient to God] at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” – Ephesians 2:3 NIV

“Unredeemed human beings are “darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” – Ephesians 4:18 NIV

Our sinful nature compels us to love ourselves. In our reckless pursuit of self-gratification, we impose upon ourselves gnawing emptiness rather than the joy and contentment that comes in loving God and loving others.

An Outrageous Offense

To view evil accurately we must see it above all as an outrageous offense against God.

We tend to minimize our sin because we fail to see its real object. When we hurt those we love, we become aware of our sins. Their pain reflects our evil back to us, like a mirror.

However, because we do not see God and how our sin hurts Him, we don’t see either the frequency or the gravity of our offenses. We imagine our sin has no effect on Him.

WE COULDN’T BE MORE WRONG.

David and Bathsheba

The author uses the story of David and Bathsheba as an illustration. You can find the complete account in 2 Samuel 11-12. David, after coming to terms with his adultery with Bathsheba and his part in the murder of her husband Uriah, confesses his sin. If you read too fast you will miss something that he says that is very surprising: “I have sinned against the Lord.”  – 2 Samuel 12:13

David also states in Psalm 51:3-4:

“For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.”

David rightly recognizes the very definition of sin: whatever is evil in God’s sight. But David sinned against his friend, his family, and his nation. Why then does he say, against You, You only have I sinned?

Randy Alcorn thinks David is correcting in himself the tendency we all have, to limit our sorrow to the hurt we’ve inflicted on human beings. David probably caught himself mourning more over what he had done to others than what he had done to God.

All Sin is Against God

Pastors who have committed adultery often profoundly feel the consequences of their evil as they see the faces of their wives, children, friends, fellow pastors, and congregations. They may feel deep sorrow for the hurt that they brought. However, sometimes they fail to see their primary sin is against God.

Moreover, when we fail to see that we have sinned against God above all, the one who has maximum worthiness, then no matter how bad we feel about what we’ve done to others, we will inevitably minimize our sin.

The depth of pain that others suffer because of our sin should point us to the depth of our evil before God almighty. All sin is against God.

REPENTANCE WITHOUT RECOGNIZING OUR OFFENSE AGAINST GOD… IS NOT REPENTANCE.

Sin: A Despicable Aberration From God’s Nature

We grasp the horror of human evil only when we focus on God’s standards and on the atonement necessary to satisfy them.

Anything that violates God’s nature is evil. Sin is not merely a minor deviation from a negotiable standard. It is, in the eyes of a holy God a despicable aberration from God’s nature.

The clearest indication of our evil’s depth is what it costs to redeem us.

Some talk as if God’s love for us is sufficient to save us. Many believe that no matter what, they will be good enough for heaven. However, the greatest problem of history is how to reconcile evil people with a God who hates evil.

Therefore, it calls for no less than the greatest solution ever devised. One so radical as to be nearly unthinkable, and one that offends the sensibilities of countless people throughout history.

SINCE EVIL OFFENDS GOD’S NATURE, THE TRUE TEST OF GOOD AND EVIL IS HOW GOD SEES IT.

Simply serving our desired ends does not make something good. Moreover, neither does something causing our unhappiness make it evil.

Our Consciousness

Our consciousness can give us insight:

“They show that the essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts; and their conscience [their sense of right and wrong, their moral choices] bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or perhaps defending them.” –  Romans 2:15

But as finite and fallen creatures, our consciousness can be misguided and weak.

“But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.” – 1 Corinthians 8:7

“Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” 1 Timothy 4:2 NIV

“To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.” – Titus 1:15 NIV

We must rely on God’s self-revelation in His Word to know His character and His commandments, and to recognize both good and evil.

God’s Holiness

God’s holiness carries exceedingly high demands. God cannot exercise one attribute and disregard another. Therefore, the omnipotent God could not save us while leaving His Holiness unsatisfied. If redemption could have been purchased at a lower cost, surely God would have chosen it.

The author goes on to say that he thinks Jesus explored this possibility when He fell to the ground and prayed:

We may feel tempted to underestimate the horrors of the cross because to recognize them is to admit that our monstrous evil demanded a price so horrific. To make light of our sin is to make light of Christ’s cross.

Total Spiritual Inability Vs Total Depravity

Total spiritual inability is a better description of the human condition than total depravity.

Scripture insists that all human beings are sinners. Sin touches every part of us, and we cannot earn God’s favor.

• “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our sins sweep us away.” – Isaiah 64.6 NIV
• “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” – Romans 7:15 NIV
• “and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God. “ – Romans 8:8 AMP
• “But without faith, it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6 AMP

God owes us nothing, while we owe Him everything!

We need God to reach down to us so that we may reach up to Him.

Total depravity seems to imply that without Christ, no one can ever do anything remotely good. If that were true, why would scripture say of king Jehoshaphat, who had sinned against God: “Nevertheless, good things are found in you…” 2 Chronicles 19:3?

Randy Alcorn likes using “total inability”, a phrase coined by Wayne Grudem, which he believes is more accurate and helpful than “total depravity”. However, Alcorn said that he would add one additional word to that phrase and call it “total spiritual inability.”

The phrase “total spiritual inability” would emphasize that we have no ability to save ourselves and may avoid the misinterpretations some have of the term total depravity.

The Significance of Inherited Sin

Inherited sin speaks of our moral condition resulting from the fall. People often understand the term original sin to refer to Adam and Eve’s first sin.

This theological term, however, speaks of the effect of Adam’s sin upon us, making us sinners from our very conception. Because of this frequent confusion, the author likes to use another term Wayne Grudem prefers “inherited sin“.

Various scriptures speak of or imply the doctrine of inherited sin.

• “Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” – Psalm 51:5 NIV
• “Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.” Psalm 58:3 NIV
• “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ, all will be made alive.” – 1 Corinthians 15:22 NIV

See also Romans 5:12-19

THE EVIL FROM INHERITED SIN COMES FROM WITHIN; NOTHING FROM THE OUTSIDE IMPOSES IT ON US.

J. C. Ryle and Robert Schuller

 J. C. Ryle wrote:

“Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies, and false doctrines of the present day. Note 6

From the book Faithfullness and Holiness, the Witness of J, C, Ryle by J. I. Packer

As if trying to illustrate Ryle’s statement, ‘false shepherd’ Robert Schuller wrote: (my term, not the author’s)

“To call sin rebellion against God is shallow and insulting to the human being… I don’t think anything has been done in the name of Christ and under the banner of Christianity that has proven more destructive to human personality and hence counterproductive to the evangelistic enterprise than the unchristian uncouth strategy of attempting to make people aware of their lost and sinful condition.”

Robert H. Schuller, Self-Esteem: The New Reformation (Waco, TX: Word, 1982), 65.

The Blame Game…

Heresies such as this try to flee biblical truth by appealing to human pride. Though the modern therapeutic movement has done some good, it also can distance us from our sin by blaming it too much on our upbringing, parents, schools, churches, and other influences.

So long as we view evil as coming from sources outside us, we can view ourselves as victims, not perpetrators.

When you sin, it’s your fault; But, when I sin, it’s only because you made me do so. However, the truth of the matter is, other sinners, don’t make me sin. Their actions may influence us negatively and trigger our heart’s sinfulness into revealing itself, however, the choice is ours.

WE ARE NOT SINNERS BECAUSE WE SIN; WE SIN BECAUSE WE ARE SINNERS.

Jesus taught: “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” – Luke 6:45 NIV

We err greatly when we think we are naturally good and that our environment teaches us to sin. The truth is our evil nature is the catalyst.

We Are Accountable For Our Unbelief

We are accountable to God not only for our disobedience but for our unbelief in Christ and His redemptive work.

As unbelievers, we were dead in our transgressions and sins until Jesus Christ gave us new life.

• “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,” – Ephesians 2.1 NKJV
• God’s standard is perfection. “Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” –  Matthew 5:48 NKJV

But how can we who still sin be perfect?

Paul and John both recognize Christians can induce sin.

• “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want.” – Galatians 5:17 NIV
• “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” –  1 John 1:8 NKJV

On God’s moral examination we don’t know whether someone would score 1%, 10%, 50%, etcetera. However, when perfection is the standard, 99% on the final exam is a failing score.

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” –  James 2:10 NKJV

Moral Perfection

So how do we gain the moral perfection God requires of us?

It is only by trusting Jesus to give us what we cannot attain ourselves. The God who requires moral perfection is the God who supplies it in Jesus Christ.

Only when God imputes to us the righteous nature of Christ can we be transformed into righteous beings who please God.

• 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – NKJV
• John 3:18 – “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” – NKJV
• Romans 4:3 – “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” – NKJV
• Hebrews 11:6 – “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” – NKJV

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of its guilt in regard to sin because “men don’t believe in me.” –  John 16:9

Had Christ not gone to the cross, we would have borne the judgment for all our sins. However, since Jesus Christ did go to the cross…

…The greatest sin is to choose not to trust Jesus Christ for His redemptive work.

1 John 5:10 – “Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.” – NIV

The amplified version clears up what it means to believe:

“The one who believes in the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies confidently on Him as Savior] has the testimony within himself … The one who does not believe God [in this way] has made Him [out to be] a liar because he has not believed in the evidence that God has given regarding His Son.” – 1 John 5:10 AMP

Inherited Sin

Inherited sin provides no basis for self-hatred or devaluing others. Some think believing in inherited sin is an invitation to view others and ourselves as worthless, thus justifying evil.

In reality, since no aspect of their lives is untouched by their nature, evil people lack the capacity to gauge accurately the extent of their good or evil. We normally commend ourselves and ignore our flaws.

However, believing in the doctrine of inherited sin provides the ultimate equalizer. Embracing it leads to humility and grace, prompting us to care for individuals we might otherwise despise.

Ironically, wherever societies recognize the human capacity for evil, evil is restrained, and goodness is exalted.

Yet whenever people view themselves as basically good, the greatest evils take place. Denying the doctrine of inherited sin leads to elitism and oppression.

Issues Raised By Inherited Sin

We are sinners in our own right and will be judged for our own lifetime of sins. Had we been in Adams’s place no doubt we would have made the same evil decision he made.

Revelation 20:12 states: “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” – NKJV

Notice the dead are not judged for what Adam did but for what they did. God will render to each person according to his own deeds (Romans 2:6) not according to Adam’s deed.

“But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.” -Colossians 3:25 NKJV

The Broad Road

Jesus portrays the unredeemed as walking a broad road that leads to destruction.

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.” –  Matthew 7:13 ESV

Coming into the world as a sinner is like beginning your life journey on a downhill slope.

You’re headed toward a cliff over a fiery pit; gravity, like your sinful nature, pulls you downward. But road signs posted along the way (conscience, God’s self-revelation in creation in His Word) warn you of the destruction ahead.

Roadside telephones along the way allow you to summon outside help. If we call upon God in Christ to rescue us and empower us, we can resist the downward pull, moving upward to the narrow road toward a new center of gravity.

Does This Appear to be Unfair?

The idea of inherited sin may seem unfair, but God is the proper judge of fairness. The author, Randy Alcorn asks the reader to consider the following:

If you feel proud that your ancestor came over on the Mayflower or that you’re a descendant of a great scientist, but you’re embarrassed by your grandfather who was an embezzler, is it really such a stretch to feel shame that your ancestors, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God?

We see generational connectedness all the time. AIDS is transferred from generation to generation. Child abusers beget child abusers and alcoholics raise alcoholics.

Sin Addicts

Does the condition of my ancestors affect my life? Of course, it does. Therefore, if we see such obvious physical connections why not spiritual connections? If drug addicts pass on their addictions, why not sin addicts?

Why shouldn’t we see sin itself as a communicable disease, one universally (with the exception of Jesus Christ) passed on from parents to children?

And since we are who we are, a good God, concerned for our welfare, must no more ignore our sin problem than a good physician would ignore a patient’s disease.

The Good News

The gospel is God’s cure for our disease. Jesus paid the ultimate price to heal us. However, we will not submit ourselves to the treatment if we deny our disease or bemoan its unfairness.

Healing can only come when we recognize we are sinners in need of a Savior.

The Bible teaches us to confess our sins and embrace God’s forgiveness for ourselves.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9 NKJV

The same principle that connects us with Adam allows us to be connected to Christ and His work for us. Inherited sin demonstrates the connection between a distant representative and us.

The good news is that another person’s action thousands of years ago can also dramatically influence your life today

God sees the human community as an organic whole. The first Adam represents the fallen race. Likewise, the last Adam king Jesus represents the new community of God’s people.

“So it is written [in Scripture], “The first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual);” the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life].” – 1 Corinthians 15:45 AMP

Bad Things Happening To Good People

The reality of human sinfulness answers the so-called problem of bad things happening to good people.

It never occurs to most of us that the book title “When Bad Things Happen To Good People” is based on a fundamental falsehood.

• What if, as the Bible teaches, no people are truly good?
• What if an evil deep within, enslaves even the people we consider “good”?

True, in one sense, the book of Job shows that bad things happen to good people because terrible things happened to Job, who is called “blameless” (Job 1:1).

However, blameless is a relative term since even though he was more righteous than any other man, Job was still a sinner, as he himself recognizes.

Highly educated people who disbelieve in human evil often believe that human government is the root of, and solution to, the world’s problems.

Consider the following quote.

“This tilt of freedom toward evil has become about gradually, but it evidently stems from a humanistic and benevolent concept according to which man, the master of this world, does not bear any evil within himself, and all the defects of life are caused by misguided social systems, which must therefore be corrected.”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Harvard commencement address, June 8, 1978

Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Bad things do not happen to good people. Why not? Because in this world truly good people do not exist.

Although God created us in His image and we have great worth to Him, the fact remains that we are fallen, corrupt, and under the Curse and deserve Hell.

The arguments against bad things happening to good people often testify to humanity’s evil far more than to its goodness.

On the one hand, skeptics argue that bad things shouldn’t happen to good people and that the human race consists mainly of good people and all good people go to heaven.

On the other hand, their very objections concern the bad things people do to one another:

• murder
• war
• rape
• child abuse
• brutality
• kidnapping
• bullying
• ridiculing
• shaming
• corporate greed
• unwillingness to share the wealth
• care for the environment.

Alcorn shared:

“I listened to an atheist argue at length against God’s existence. Though in passing he mentioned natural disasters, he spent the bulk of his time listing atrocities perpetrated by human beings. He amassed a terrible, commutative indictment on humanity; a puritan speaking on human depravity could not have chosen better material. Indeed, were a seminar titled “The Case For Some People Going To Hell” the atheist illustrations would have fit perfectly.”

“Yet he went on to state that he believes in human goodness and that he feels offended that good people suffer. He said nothing to recognize the paradoxical nature of his arguments. It almost seemed he believed in two kinds of humans the hellish ones and the heavenly ones.”

This undercuts the original argument, that humans are good and therefore it’s utterly unjust for bad things to happen to them. since the same human race that commits these evils also suffers from them, since we are not only victims, but the perpetrators, of sin, what would God’s critics have Him do?

Would they insist He strike us all down immediately for our evil? Or would they have Him remove human choice in order to protect us from one another?

Final Thoughts

In answering the author’s question, it would appear that what many want is to take over the role of God, just as Lucifer attempted. Since then, Lucifer has lied, bribed, and enlisted many to continue his cause to destroy those made in the image of God. I’m thinking of people such as:

• Yuval Noah Harari
• Klaus Schwab
• George Soros
• Henry Kissinger
• Obama, the Clintons
• Rockefeller
• Gates

Just to name a few. I’m sure you could add to the list. They will ultimately fail, but until Jesus Christ returns to put an end to Satan’s and fallen man’s revolt against God, evil will rule the day.

It does not end well for these and others who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The closing moments of this age are upon us. Let me ask you the most important question you need to answer…

In Chapter 9 we will look at a deeper consideration of what our sinful nature does and doesn’t mean.