There is a heated debate going on within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) this week. Did Adam’s sin completely corrupt human nature or not? A recent statement by a non-Calvinist faction of the SBC states this:
“We deny that Adam’s sin resulted in the incapacitation of any person’s free will or rendered any person guilty before he has personally sinned.”
What will come of this debate in the SBC is still to be determined. Click here for a Christianity Today article that highlights the conversation. Below is what confessional Lutherans believe and why.
Adam’s sin has completely corrupted those who are naturally born. This sinful nature—passed on from father to child at conception—is called “original sin” or “the Old Adam” (cf. “old self” in Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9). Holy Scripture speaks of original sin in many and various ways. Below is a sampling:
“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.” [Romans 3:10-12]
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” [Romans 5:12]
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” [Psalm 51:5]
Based on God’s holy and inerrant Word, here is what Lutherans confess concerning original sin:
“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.” [Romans 3:10-12]
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” [Romans 5:12]
“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” [Psalm 51:5]
Based on God’s holy and inerrant Word, here is what Lutherans confess concerning original sin:
Our churches teach that since the fall of Adam [Romans 5:12], all who are naturally born are born with sin [Psalm 51:5], that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with the inclination to sin, called concupiscence. Concupiscence is a disease and original vice that is truly sin. It dams and brings eternal death on those who are not born anew through Baptism and the Holy Spirit [John 3:5].
Our churches condemn the Pelagians and others who deny that original depravity is sin, this obscuring the glory of Christ’s merit and benefits. Pelagians argues that a person can be justified before God by his own strength and reason.
Augsburg Confession, Article II
See also:
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article II
- Smalcald Articles, Part III, Article I
- Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article I
- Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article I
By God’s grace, Jesus Christ is the answer to original sin. He died to redeem us, and rose again to give us new life.
“For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” [Romans 5:17]
Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
