Do we inherit sin? What does the Bible really teach?
Does every human being inherit the sin of Adam and Eve, or are we only responsible for our own sins?
We inherited Adam’s sinful nature and are sinful from the moment of conception.
This is the truth of the depravity of our nature. Godliness and Holiness is not obtained by birth but only through sanctification.
Being set apart in him alone.
The Bible is clear that every human has a sin problem and was born in sin. David even said ² [[v:PSA.51.5|Psalms 51:5]]
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
Sin does not originate from Adam. It is just that sin entered into the world through him.
[[v:ROM.5.12|Romans 5:12]]
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
The Bible says sin originated with satan
[[v:1 J.3.8|1 John 3:8]]
“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
Satan sinned before the creation of man and man was tempted by him.
So what we actually inherited is the “separation from God”. Also the knowledge of good and evil is present in the world. As soon as knowledge of an evil is gathered, there will be prompts to do evil. The capability to sin was present in the world because Adam disobeyed. So we don’t have Adam’s sin but yes we have his sinful nature. The ability to sin.
A lot of Bible verses are against Father’s sin being passed to children. So we all inherited Adam’s nature- separation. But through Jesus we now have an option to be reborn(Born again) dropping the sinful Adam nature.
Now there are verses in the old testament that speak as though God punishes the children for the sins of their parents, for example
v:EXO.20.5|Exodus 20:5–6]] [[v:EXO.20.5|Exodus 20:5–6]]
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
The above verse looks as though God says he will punish the children for the sins of their parents but what it actually says is He does hold children who don’t learn from their parents mistakes accountable. It does not say if someone’s father sins then even if the son lives a righteous life he will still be punished for his Father’s sins. God does not punish a new generation for the sins of a former generation.
Also many verses proves no one can inherit the sins of another for example
[[v:EZE.18.20|Ezekiel 18:20]]
“The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”
Also
[[v:ROM.14.12|Romans 14:12]]
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Also we have to note that even though we inherit the physical appearance of our parents we do not inherit their spirit. The human spirit is given by God.
[[v:ECC.12.7|Ecclesiastes 12:7]]
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
And
[[v:HEB.12.9|Hebrews 12:9]]
“Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them] reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?”
——— Footnotes ———
¹ [[v:PSA.51.5|Psalms 51:5]]
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” [[v:PSA.51.5|Psalms 51:5]]
² [[v:PSA.51.5|Psalms 51:5]]
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
No one is born guilty of another person’s sin. We inherit Adam’s fallen, sinful nature , not Adam’s personal sins. Each person is responsible for their own sin.
¹ [[v:PSA.51.5|Psalms 51:5]]
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” [[v:PSA.51.5|Psalms 51:5]]
² [[v:PSA.51.5|Psalms 51:5]]
“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.”