ORIGINAL SIN OR ORIGINAL RIGHTEOUSNESS?

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness . . ." (Genesis 1:26).

One of the most commonly accepted doctrines in Christendom is the doctrine of original sin, the belief that sin is in human nature. It is so embedded in human nature that even the remission of sin found in Jesus Christ cannot eradicate it, for it continues to be passed along to the children of Christian parents.

It seems to me that a doctrine that makes the sin of Adam a more powerful dynamic than the redemption and pardon found in Jesus Christ is suspect. If the doctrine of original sin is such an obvious teaching of Scripture, why is it that the earliest creeds of the church, the Apostle's Creed and the Nicene Creed, did not teach it? Because the earliest Christians still held an Apostolic view of the fall; they understood the difference between guilt and consequences. We do not bear the guilt of Adam's sin, but we share in the consequences, two of which are these:

1) When sin entered the world through Adam's disobedience, he passed from a state of innocence to a state of personal accountability. We share in that consequence.

2) When Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden, they no longer had access to the tree of life, thus their physical death was a forgone conclusion. We share in the consequence of physical death too, for the same reason.

If there is something in the make up of a human being that is passed from one generation to another, it is original righteousness--we are created in the image of God. Though all humanity has fallen into sin, following the desires of the flesh, the wisdom of the world and the seduction of satan, the image has not been blotted out! Beings created in the image of God have great nobility! Beings created in the image of God have a great responsibility! Beings created in the image of God have a great Savior!

The doctrine of Original Sin is a doctrine of death. The doctrine of Original Righteousness is a doctrine of hope!

Grace&Peace,
Tom