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The concept of orignal sin is sometimes taken out of context and even teached in a way that isn’t biblical by some churches or religious organizations. Here is a great question I recently received about original sin:

I have a question about “original sin”

I was taught that all humans are born with “original sin” because Adam and Eve sinned against God. That that is the purpose of baptism, so that we can cleanse ourselves of that sin.

My question is why we are all born with that sin. It seems like a baby should be born pure, since it hasn’t done anything prior to being born. Does this mean that it’s a sin to be born??

Please clear this up for me ad I’ve been rolling it around in my head for the past few days and I haven’t been able to come to a good conclusion. Thanks!!

Thanks for the great question. First of all, I want to talk for a minute about the original sin concept, whether we are affected by it, and so forth.

What is Original Sin Anyways? What Does the Bible Say the Original Sin Is?

When people say “original sin,” they are usually referring to the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. As most people know, they committed the sin of disobedience by eating from the forbidded tree of knowledge of good and evil.

As a consequence of their “original sin,” God gave them death, and also banished them from the garden. So this event is considered the “original sin.”

Why Are We Sinners From Adam & Eve’s Sin? That Isn’t Fair?

Some churches or Christian denominations teach that because of Adam & Eve’s sin, we are all “born” sinners. This isn’t believed by all Christians, and I will explain that in a minute. The bible never teaches we are born “sinners.” In fact, the bible teaches that a child is innocent in the eyes of God. If we were all born sinners, then when a child died it would be sent to hell.

I think any logical person can see that God would never do such a thing. In fact, God & Jesus mention several times in the Bible that a child is innocent and belogs to heaven:

Matthew 19:14 (New International Version)
14Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

What people mean (or should mean) when they talk about original sin is that we are all born “Under the Consequence of Sin.” There is a big difference being born a sinner, and being born under the consequence of sin. This means while not born sinners, we do have a sinful nature.

Being born a sinner means we have done evil from the womb, and are already sinning. This just doesn’t make sense, and the bible doesn’t teach it. I don’t even remember my life before the age of about 4-5 years. How could I have consciously sinned?

Being born under the consequence of sin, means we are born under consequences of a sin by someone else. We share in the nature of sin, meaning we have the ability to sin. This means while we aren’t born sinners, we have to live with another sinner’s mistake. This is just how life works, and we know this is true.

Pretend a woman committs a sin, and sleeps with multiple men. She gets an STD, and also becomes pregnant. Her child will most likely get the STD during birth.

Using the example above, did the child sin? No, of course not. Was the child born under the consequence of a sin, and feels the effects of it? Yes. The child didn’t sin, but the child did have to live with a consequence of another person’s sin.

In that same way, we have to live with the consequence of Adam & Eve’s sin. What is the consequence? Death. We all die. But death is not the end. We also live with a sinful “nature” now.

I Thought the Bible Said We Are All Sinners?

The bible does teach we are all sinners, and if we have lived long enough, we have all at some point sinned. It says we have all fallen short of the glory of God. What does this mean? It means that while no person is “born a sinner,” we all have committed a sin during our life and have a sinful nature. The only exception would be a person with a mental illness, or a child who died very young. They did not have the ability to choose between right and wrong. But for us who have lived long enough to choose right and wrong, at some point we have done wrong.

We have all lied at some point? Or broken another one of God’s laws. Jesus was unique because he had the knowledge and ability to sin, yet didn’t. Children don’t have the ability to sin, and don’t sin. Jesus did have that ability, but chose not to. Also, remember that the Bible teaches of people’s names being blotted out of the book of life. So we aren’t written into it, we are only blotted out when we sin.

What gets our names in this so called, “book of life?” Forgiveness of our sins. We can call of the sinlessness and death of Christ, and God forgives us. God gave Christ the authority to cleanse our sins. So in Christ, we have salvation. Salvation just means, God forgives us and we are saved from judgment. We once again become sinless in God’s eyes. We must continue to live a life of obedience to God’s fundamental laws.

What About Baptism? Are We Supposed to Be Baptized for Being Born Sinners?

Again, different Christian denominations may view this differently, but the bible if very clear on baptism, who should do it, and what it means.

Baptism was meant as a declaration of your faith in God, and as a symbol of your forgiveness of sins. If you were baptized, you just publicly showed that you were “cleansed” of you sin, and that you are vowing obedience to God, and to follow the teachings of his son Jesus.

Being baptized does not mean we are covered for life. We can be baptized and then sin, and we have once again broken God’s laws. We must then repent and ask for forgiveness and turn away from the sin.

Should Everyone Get Baptized? Can You Go to Heaven If You Aren’t Baptized?

Getting baptized itself is great, and I would recommend someone do it if possible. I have been baptized myself once. However, it is not an absolute requirement. The most important thing is to seek forgiveness from God of sins, and repent (which means “turn away” or “stop doing”) of those sins. Some people call this baptism by the spirit of God.

The thief on the cross was about to die, and said to Jesus, “Will you remember me.” Jesus replied, “Verily I say unto you, today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” Yet, the man wasn’t baptized with water.

Conclusions on Original Sin & Baptism:

The bible clearly shows we are born under the consequence of sin, not that we are “born sinners.” Children are seen as sinless in God’s eyes. We all have a sinful nature, and have all fallen short of the glory of God. We all should seek forgiveness of our sins, and turn away from them and follow God’s laws.

Baptism, while a great way to show your public acceptance of God & Christ, is not an absolute requirement for forgiveness. Instead, it is only a public declaration of your change. It represents being “cleansed.” You old sins and life are now gone, and you are born again.

Thanks again for the great question!

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Here is a great question regarding Jesus’ death and suffering:

I think that this question is probably one of the more common ones asked of Christians, but I still can’t find a really good answer to it.

I know that Jesus was the son of God, that he told people to worship God and follow his commandments, that he offered advice and guidance to any who asked, and that he was kind and forgiving to all. I also know that the Romans crucified him because he claimed to be a Messiah. So he was nailed to a cross where he died, then his body put in a cave. When the cave was opened three days later, his body was gone.

I know that he spent three days in hell for all of man’s sins and that we can call upon his sacrifice in order to cleanse ourselves of our sins.

What I don’t understand, however, is why that is. We (humanity) killed Jesus, but that helped us somehow. It seems to me that killing the son of God would not be a good thing, but for some reason it is. Why is that? Also, why is it that he spent that time in hell if he was free of sin?

I guess I don’t understand the ideas behind the death of Jesus. If you could, would please retell the story of how and why Jesus died and how that helps us?

I’m sorry to ask a question that many would argue I could find the answer to in the bible. But, the bible is a little hard for me to understand and it seems to be a little vague. Thank you!

This is a very good question. There are a few things in this question that are not 100% biblical, so I will explain that later. First, let me explain more about Jesus’ sacrifice, why he died, and what it all meant.

God Promises a Messiah in the First Book of the Bible:

As you pointed out, Jesus is the messiah. So to learn more about what it means, let’s look at one of the first verses in the bible regarding the messiah, and talk about why we need one. It all starts in the Book of Genesis. As you know, Satan tempted Adam and Eve into disobeying God. After this happens, God says some very interesting things to both Satan (being the serpent), and Adam & Eve. Here is what God said:

The LORD God said to the serpent (Satan), “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3  :14-15)

Okay, so what is that talking about? Basically this is what happened: When man sinned against God, it caused a severe consequence that God warned (death). That day, Adam and Eve died spiritually (they disobeyed God), and later, they died physically.

When this happened, God is telling Adam, Eve, and Satan about other consequences, and future events as well. What he says to Satan in the Genesis verse above is this: This deceitful act you have done, has caused conflict between man and Me (God). Now, man has rebelled and followed your path of rebellion (they are your ”seed” as sinners). However, in the future, there will be emnity (hostility) between YOU (Satan) and the Woman’s “seed.” Now comes the interesting part…

God then says this part to Satan: “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” That single statement is the first known prophecy of the Messiah. The “HE” it is talking about is the woman’s future “seed” which is the Messiah. It says “HE” will bruise Satan’s head, and Satan will bruise the Messiah’s heel.

After that point, everyone knew “right from wrong,” and would have “sinned” at some point in their life. We are all sinners, simply because we all do “wrong” at times in our lives. God knew this. However, God also indicates that a Messiah would come, and that Messiah would “Bruise” Satan’s head.

When you have a wound to the head, it is fatal. When you have a wound to the foot, it is not. So what God is saying is that Satan will tempt this “Messiah” with evil just like all of humanity since the beginning of the world. He will bruise the Messiah’s “Heel” meaning the messiah will feel pain, but it will not effect him. However, the Messiah will bruise Satah’s “Head.” This means the Messiah will resist the temptation, and defeat Satan.

Did Jesus Crush Satan’s Head, and Defeat Satan?

By resisting all of Satan’s temptation, and living a life that pleased God (Sinless), Jesus defeated Satan. Jesus is the only one in the history of the world that faced all the temptation we all face, yet did not sin 1 time.

Let me explain it like this:

• Adam and Eve sinned, and that caused a severe negative consequence (Death). That consequence still happens today. We all die a physical death.
• Jesus felt all the same temptation we all felt, yet did not sin. His act of sinless had a lasting POSITIVE consequence on all of humanity. Forgiveness from God based on that sacrifice.

Why Did Jesus Have to Die? Wasn’t Jesus’ Death a Bad Thing?

You asked why killing Jesus was a good thing. The answer is: It wasn’t! The fact that the people killed Jesus is not good. In fact, Jesus warned about the fate of those who rejected him. No doubt, they will pay the price of death for the act if they didn’t seek forgiveness.

So it wasn’t the killing of Jesus that was good. It was the fact that at his death, it sealed the deal of someone who fulfilled God’s will 100%. When his blood was shed by the act of murder, that shed blood represented the sacrifice of a person who was SINLESS. That was the good part, that Jesus lived and died with no SIN. The fact that he died wasn’t good. The fact that he died SINLESS was. That is the main difference.

Just like I mentioned in the last post I made, people could sacrifice an animal in the old days because an animal was considered sinless (they don’t know right or wrong like we do). So when the animal was sacrificed, it was a death of something sinless in place of the sinner’s “death.”

When Jesus died, he hadn’t sinned, yet knew the difference between right and wrong. That is a big difference. That is why God places such an emphasis on this event. Just like Adam and Eve brought death into the world by sinning, Christ brought the ultimate forgiveness back into the world by not sinning. His sacrifice is much more important than an animals, which is why it is 100% unnessesary to ever sacrifice an animal ever again. That is why Christ is referred to as the “Lamb” (sacrifice).

But Why Did Jesus Suffer? Was it God who Tortured Jesus?

First there is something everyone should realize: Jesus didn’t HAVE to suffer, but Jesus CHOSE to suffer. As Jesus pointed out, at any time he could have commanded the power that God gave him, and had a legion of angels by his side. God surely didn’t like seeing a person who never did wrong suffer, especially his own begotten son.

But even so, Jesus did it anyways. Why? First, Jesus knew that it was only temporary. When Jesus preached before his death, he said that he will go into the grave for 3 days, but will be resurrected again. He knew that soon after this torture, he would once again be with God.

Also, Jesus was killed because he made some claims that the people didn’t like. He claimed to be the Son of God, and the Messiah. They thought this was blasphemy. They gave Jesus a chance to deny this claim, but if Jesus denied the truth and said he was not the Messiah, he would have lied (sinned). So Jesus knew he would be rejected, and tortured for preaching the truth. He died because of our sins (we were sinners), and we (humanity) killed him.

So did God do this torture to Jesus? Of course not. As I mentioned, God gave Jesus authority to do miracles, etc. God did not want the suffering. God merely allowed it to take place for a short time. Just like God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to good people, yet good and bad things happen to us, whether we are good or bad. Suffering in this world happens to us all. It is part of being human. But always remember that the suffering we feel in this world is only temperary. We will one day suffer no more. God is a good God.

So Did Jesus Go to Hell and Suffer More? Why Would Jesus Ever Go to Hell?

First this is not a biblical teaching that Jesus suffered in hell. It does not say he suffered ever again after the death on the cross. The work was done, and even Jesus said, “It is finished” before he died. What proves this even more, is that the real ‘HELL’ does not even exist yet. God creates it at the end after the final judgement.

That being said, Jesus did go to “Hades- but not to suffer”. He went preach to the ones there that his work was finished. This may be a little confusing at first if you have never read the bible all the way through, so let me briefly explain this concept:

The bible mentions a place known as “Sheol” in the old Hebrew, or “Hades” in the new Greek. They both mean the same thing, which is “the grave” and the “spirits of the dead.” So when the word “sheol” or “hades” is used, it is either talking about the grave, or the spiritual place of the dead.

When people died before Christ, their bodies decomposed in the graves, while their spirits were gathered in a state of being known as “sheol” as they await God’s judgement.

“Hell” is a place that is not yet created. People often confuse the terms of “Hades/Sheol” and “Hell.” Hell, in the context most people use, is the “lake of fire” that God creates after the great judgement and end of the world. He places all who reject His ways and fail judgement into the “lake of fire” which is the final place they will be for eternity. Again, this is a future event, and the lake of fire has not yet been created.

Right now, if someone dies, they either go temporarily to heaven or “hades.” If you died with forgiveness, you go to heaven temporarily. If you did not, you go to sheol/Hades temporarily. Before Jesus’ time, all temperarily dwelled in “Hades.” After the cross, Jesus went to “Hades” to preach to the ones who died with faith and forgiveness of God.

In heaven, we temporarily wait until the resurrection and Great Judgement. At that point, our spirits will be rejoined with a new body, resurrected, and we will all be judged before God Almighty. Every deed of our lives will be shown, and we will be judged. The same thing will happen to those who rejected God.

Then, God throws all souls who reject him into the “Lake of Fire.” This is the real “hell” where people spend eternity (Revelation 20:14). Then God completely destroys the old “Earth” and “heavens,” and creates an entirely new “Heaven and Earth.”

God will then dwell with man for eternity on the “New Earth” (Revelation chapter 21). We do not actually stay in “heaven” for eternity. This is something many believe, but the bible is quite clear on the future and what happens.

So in conclusion, it never says that Jesus went to hell to suffer or anything like that. That teaching comes from other books written after the bible, that are not regarded as factual. So Jesus did go to “Hades” temporarily, but not to suffer or anything like that. The work was done at his death. After that, he stayed in the grave for 3 days. His spirit was still alive, and then his body was resurrected. He then was witnessed by multiple people, including all of the disciples. He then rose to be with God until his return.

I hope that answers your question! If you have more let me know! Have a great day!

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