Godhead 10 - Original Sin 2024

Original Sin is a concept that affects all of us. It refers to the belief that humans are born as sinners due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve. This doctrine is held in both Catholic and Protestant Christianity. Scripture supports the idea that humans are born with a sinful nature. Original Sin is seen as a condition, not just something people do. It is the inherent spiritual and psychological state of humanity. Original Sin, is that just a concept or is it a reality that affects every one of us? In this video we're going to break down what Original Sin is, what the Bible has to say about it, how that affects our lives today. So make sure to stay tuned for this teaching on Original Sin. So this teaching, or Drash, is going to be about the subject of Original Sin as it comes from scripture. We're going to be getting into a lot of scripture regarding the subject and we're also going to get into some historical quotes, some historical facts. So make sure to have your notes ready. Make sure you have your notebook open. Make sure you have your pen ready, but if you happen to miss anything or if you would like additional notes, go check out our notes that we took for this subject and made available to you on our website at GodHonestTruth.com. Click on the post right there on the main page and you'll be taken directly to the post for this particular teaching where you will find the on-demand video that you're watching right now. You'll also be able to find the slides that you see here on your screen as well as the notes we took and a transcript if that is so helpful for you. But it's all right there on GodHonestTruth.com. We've also placed a link for you in the description, so if you go down below, it should be there whether you're watching on a video platform or whether you're listening to an audio podcast platform. The link should be conveniently located for you regardless down there in the description. So before we get into the teaching on Original Sin, let's go ahead and review some about what the purpose of this series is. It's so that you can start from a place of knowing absolutely nothing about the Godhead. Learn what scripture says about the Godhead through various aspects and parts that fit into the entire concept of the Godhead. And then at the end, you can decide for yourself which of the four main concepts that you most agree with. You can pick one of the four or you can pick none of them. You may say, well, this is an exercise in splitting hairs. I don't see the importance. I'm not even going to mess with it. That's fine, too, because whichever concept of the Godhead that you end up agreeing with or professing, that has absolutely no weight on your salvation. So we're good whichever way you go, you're still brothers and sisters in Messiah with us. Now, just to recap what we've covered already in this series, in episode one, we went over introduction and terminology. We introduced the series and went over the purpose of it. We went over various terminology like fear-mongering, exodus, and noxious, etc. We went over the four main concepts of the Godhead, which is Trinitarianism, Benetarianism, Biblical Unitarianism, and Oneness or Modalism. Each of those is going to have an episode pertaining to each concept coming up here in the future, but we went over real quickly what each of those were back in the first episode. We also went over a quick survey of what is salvation and why that does not pertain to or which concept of Godhead you most adhere to does not have any weight on your salvation. In episode two, we went over the word God or God and Elohim. We went over the concept of names and titles and how those differ. We went over invariant nouns, the word Elohim, the word God and God, and what each of those means, especially in today's society and cultural context, because sometimes what we think a word means isn't actually what it meant back to them back then. In episode three, we went over the Shema, what the Shema is, ordinal numbers, cardinal numbers, the difference between unity or unified and one, in other words, the difference in Hebrew between the word Yahid and Echad. Episode four, we went over the phrase son of God, how the phrase son of can be applied either directly, meaning genetically, as in the son of such-and-such a man, or how it can be even an attribute, meaning the son of righteousness or son of jealousy, things like that. We also went over how this phrase son of God applied to angels, men, and especially Messiah. Then in episode five, we went over the meaning of names, about what's in a name, the various names of places, men and women. Episode six, we went over the phrase from Matthew 28, 19, name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We went over that phrase, name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, immersion, what immersion was in the Brit Hadashah or New Testament. We went over the concept of name as authority and how it's used in scripture. We went over how scripture uses the singular name in reference to multiple people. Very interesting, so make sure you go check out episode six. We also looked at the Kama Johannion, the Shem Tov, the Didache, and various early writers as it pertains to this phrase, name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In episode seven, we went over the word and concept of worship, we went over how words are ever-changing and how a word might mean something today, but it's not what it meant hundreds of years ago, and how that can create confusing context sometimes when we're studying scriptures and even things outside of scripture as well. We went over the concept of showing respect in the Semitic way of life and also the Hellenistic way of life. We went over the word worship as it pertains to all that we just covered and how it's used in scripture. We went over how worship works in the Tanakh and in the Brit Hadashah. In episode eight, we went over the word and the concept of spirit, what a description of spirit, how scripture distinguishes between body, soul, and spirit. We went over spirit in scripture, lives in scripture, like always. We went over various scripture types, or what we deemed as scripture types in scripture, that being spirit of men, supernatural beings, Yahweh, and various attributes as well. In episode nine, we went over spirit of the holy in connection with that previous episode of spirit. We recapped real quick what we did in the previous episode, we went over various problems that creep up when you're studying the concept of spirit of the holy or holy spirit. We also went over what the set-aside spirit actually is and how it pertains to our study and learning of the Godhead. So that was episode nine. That brings us up now to episode ten, original sin. But what is original sin? When you think about it, what does that mean, original sin? Well, it could mean a movie done back in the 90s called Original Sin, starring Antonio Banderas and Angelina Jolie. It could mean that new Dexter series, Original Sin, that just came out not too long ago. But that's not what we're talking about because this is a scriptural concept that we're trying to get at the heart of it. So with scripture in mind, what does original sin mean? Does it mean the rebellion of Satan in the heavens before the earth was created? Well, possibly, because that was the very first original sin that ever occurred. Could it also mean the eating of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil? So that was the first original sin committed by human beings. No, when we're talking about the concept of original sin, what we're talking about is the concept that's put forth is that humans are born as sinners. And according to Merriam-Webster, getting a secular definition for this, original sin means a depravity or tendency to evil held to be innate in humankind and transmitted from Adam to all humans and consequence of his sin are an inclination to evil inherent in human nature. In Roman Catholic theology, going on with this Merriam-Webster entry, it says in Roman Catholic theology, original sin means the deprivation of sanctifying grace and consequence of the sin of Adam. According to Bruce Valter, quote, the doctrine which holds that by the very fact of birth into the human race, a person inherits a tainted nature in need of regeneration and with a proclivity to sinful conduct. Augustine, followed generally by the early reformers, taught that the essence of original sin lay in concupiscence. In its extreme forms, this view led to a concept of a wholly corrupt human nature bereft of free will. At least as in the existential fact of the human condition, and however it may be called or explained, original sin remains a doctrine of traditional Christianity, Catholic and Protestant, end quote. And according to DesiringGod.com, or .org, sorry, quote, there are several lines of evidence for the historic Christian doctrine that we are all born into the world with sinful nature due to the sin of Adam. Scripture says that we are born sinners and that we are by nature sinners. Scripture speaks of humans as unrighteous from infancy and that infants die, therefore, they are not innocent, end quote. Starting to get a better concept of what this theory of original sin is trying to state or put out, according to BeliefNet.com, the writer Leslie White states, quote, original sin is a doctrine which holds that human nature has been morally and ethically corrupted due to the disobedience of mankind's first parents. The doctrine of original sin holds that every person born into the world is corrupted by the fall. Original sin is a condition, not something that people do. It's the normal spiritual and psychological condition of human beings, not their bad thoughts and actions. We are all by nature sinners. While God did not create the human race sinful, but upright, we fell into sin and became sinful due to the disobedience of Adam. End quote. And one more from Christianity.com. Original sin, also described as ancestral sin, is a Christian view of the human nature of sin in which humanity has existed since the fall of Adam, since the fall of man. Original sin can be explained as that sin and its effects that we all possess in God's eyes as a direct result of Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden. Scripture says that we are born sinners and that we are by nature sinners. It must be inferred that we are all born sinners since we are all human and original sin is considered as a part of humanity. End quote. So, in other words, the concept of the theory of original sin states that we are sinners the moment we are conceived. When we are born, we are guilty of sin and all this is due to the fact that Adam sinned way back in the Garden of Eden. And since Adam sinned way back in the Garden of Eden, this sin nature, this guiltiness of being sinful has been passed down the line ever since then from generation to generation. We're just born as sinners and that's original sin in a nutshell. But before we can understand this concept of this theory of original sin, let's first understand what sin actually is. So, what is sin? According to Merriam-Webster, their entry for sin states that sin is an offense against religious or moral law, a transgression of the law of God, or a vitiated state of human nature in which the self is estranged from God. Now, that last entry right there doesn't really get at it. That's really defining more of original sin. But as far as an offense against religious or moral law or a transgression of the law of God, that's heading more towards what sin actually is. According to Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, quote, sin is a riddle, a mystery, a reality that eludes definition and comprehension. In the biblical world, sin is, from its first appearance, tragic and mysterious, end quote. But is that true? Is sin something that cannot be defined, something that's mysterious and avoids any kind of human comprehension, can't be defined? Is that true? Going on, Billy Graham says this about sin, quote, a sin is any thought or action that falls short of God's will. God is perfect and anything we do that falls short of his perfection is sin, end quote. Okay, now that sounds pretty good as far as a definition of sin goes. Now, Billy Graham here is defining sin, and this is, you know, a definition that sounds good. It sounds like something a preacher is supposed to say. But is that true? Because it doesn't really define sin down to something more concrete. This leaves it up to the reader's own interpretation of what sin is and what God's will is. So, I still think we're not exactly getting to what sin actually is. According to John G. Lake, quote, men tell us these days that sin is what you think it is. Well, it is not. Sin is what God thinks it is. You may think, according to your own conscience, God thinks according to his, end quote. Now, he's hitting it right on the money here. Is that sin is what God thinks it is. So, what does God think that sin is? Well, that gets defined by scripture in 1 John chapter 3, verse 4. Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness and sin is lawlessness. So, in other words, sin is the breaking of the law. Sin is the breaking of the Torah. In fact, you can see here on screen that it's even defined or translated in that very way. In the complete Jewish Bible, quote, everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah. Indeed, sin is violation of Torah, end quote. According to the ECB translation, quote, everyone doing sin also violates the Torah. For sin is the violation of the Torah, end quote. So, now we know what sin is according to scripture and it was defined by scripture. So, sin is not something mysterious that can't be defined. Sin is not something that eludes comprehension. No, sin is clearly defined in and by scripture as the breaking of the Torah, breaking of the law. So, what does this word sin actually mean when you look it up in like a lexicon or something like that? Well, according to the Blue Letter Bible, this word used for sin in the Hebrew is Strong's H2398, Hata. Hata. And it means something like miss the mark, go wrong, incur guilt, stuff like that. And it really points back to like an archery term, where you miss the target completely or you miss that center that you're actually aiming for. But it means to miss the mark. And here is your Strong's definition and your Brown, Driver, Briggs definition for sin or the Hebrew word Hata. Here's your De Finis's Hebrew lexicon and the Klein's dictionary for sin. And the Klein's dictionary for Hata. And they're all saying pretty much the same thing. That this word Hata means sin or to miss the mark. And what is the mark that we should be shooting for? It's the Torah. It's the law of Yahweh. Now, sometimes it's called the law of Moses, but we all know that Moses didn't come up with it. It all came from Yahweh. That is Yahweh's law. And that is the mark we should be shooting for. And when we break the Torah, we're missing the mark and we are sinning. Now, when we sin, when we miss the mark, this is something that we might do unintentionally. We might do it unawares. But still, we're missing the mark. And in order to miss the mark or break the Torah, whether intentionally or unintentionally, we do so by making a choice. We do this or we do that. But if we make a decision, make a choice that is against the Torah, that is sin. But it's all a choice that we make freely and of our own volition. It's not a choice that someone else makes for us. And it's not a, I mean, it's a choice that we make and we are the source of that choice. So, now we know that sin is breaking of the Torah and that it is a choice that we make. So, remember that as you think about this concept or this theory of original sin. When we think about original sin, that concept that we're discussing tonight, when we think about sin, let's go back and think about what was the very first sin that was ever committed? We covered a little bit already. Let's do a little bit more on it now. So, if sin is the breaking of the Torah or breaking of a commandment of Yahweh, we go back and we see the very first commandment that was ever given back in Genesis chapter 1 verse 28. And Elohim blessed them and Elohim said to them, Be fruitful and increase and fill the earth and subdue it and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over all creeping creatures on the earth. So, the very first command that was given was be fruitful and increase. Luckily, or thankfully, Adam and Eve did fulfill this commandment. But this isn't the only command that they were given. They were given other commands as well, including Genesis chapter 2 verses 16 to 17. And Yahweh Elohim commanded the man saying, Eat of every tree of the garden, but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall certainly die. So, Adam and Eve were given commands from Yahweh. They were given a Torah, if you will. But they sinned. So, what does it mean that Adam and Eve sinned? They broke a command of Yahweh. Genesis chapter 3 verse 6. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise. And she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. So, here we see that the first sin was eating of this tree, which Yahweh commanded them not to do. So, that was the very first, quote unquote, original sin that actually took place. And then, all of this concept of original sin, this is where they go back to, and they say that this concept of original sin is passed down from Adam and Eve, from this very first sin itself. And it's in our very DNA, in our very makeup, we're conceived and born as sinners. All dating back to this original sin, this fall of humanity. Now, I also find it interesting to note that this very first sin was the breaking of a food commandment. When Yahweh said, don't eat that, and they ate that, that was the very first sin that ever occurred. Later on, he told us more things that we should not be eating. But people over the years, and even nowadays, still break that command. They sin when they eat things they are not supposed to eat. So, that is the very first and longest lasting sin since creation itself, pretty much. And it continues on down to us today. So, where does this concept of original sin have its basis in? Well, as far as scripture is concerned, there's a couple of passages that the adherents of original sin really root themselves in. One of those is Psalm chapter 51, verse 5. See, I was brought forth in crookedness, and in sin my mother conceived me. And the proponents of original sin look at this and they say, well look, the psalmist is saying that he was conceived in sin. But no, the actual verse says that in sin my mother conceived me, stating that his mother was in a sinful state or doing something sinful when he was conceived. The sin is not about the psalmist or the writer, the sin is referring to his mother. And this belief in this tradition of original sin has actually come down to us and has started affecting various translations, and there's some history behind it too. But in various translations, even nowadays, re-translate this and re-word this to align with this doctrine of original sin. You can see from the complete Jewish Bible, it states here for Psalm 51, 5, True, I was born guilty, was a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me. And from the HCSB, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Indeed, I was guilty when I was born, I was sinful when my mother conceived me. So, these translations are trying to put the impetus on the author himself, or the psalmist that's speaking, and not on the mother. But that's not how the original actually puts it itself. We look at from chapter 51, verse 5, broken down, and here you can see each of the Hebrew words and their prefixes, that goes along with them, diagrammed out for you here. And you can see that this word for sin, this Tata, is in its construct state here, and it's referring to the mother, not the psalmist. So, the psalmist isn't saying that he, let me back up, the psalmist isn't stating that he was sinful when he was conceived. No, instead, he's stating that his mother was in sin, or was doing something sinful when she conceived the psalmist. That make sense? So, in sin, my mother conceived me. But another verse that people, or the proponents of original sin point to, is Romans chapter 5, verse 12. And this is really the crux of the whole original sin tradition. You'll see here in a minute how this came down to us, but anyways, Romans chapter 5, verse 12. For this reason, even as to one man, sin did enter into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sin. And this is how all, pretty much all, modern translations put it. Unfortunately, way back in the 4th century, at least I think it was the 4th century, yeah, yeah, middle of the 4th century, thereabouts, there was a Latin translation that was going around that had gotten messed up. And unfortunately, a guy by the name of Augustine got a hold of this Latin translation, and since he did not know Hebrew, could not read or write Hebrew, and because he did not know Greek, and could not read or write Greek, he could only read and write Latin and understand Latin. This guy by the name of Augustine read this verse here, and in this verse it says, in whom all sin, referring back to Adam. So Augustine understood this verse as saying that we were all in Adam when Adam sinned, and because of that, we are born and come from Adam as sinners. That's not what the verse actually says. It says because all sin. And unfortunately, this has led to a lot of error, especially the error of this concept of this theory of original sin. Even Augustine, way back then, is writing on this, and he writes in his book, or rather on his letters, on Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins and the Baptism of Infants. He writes in Book 1, Chapter 9, quote, But so far as I have discovered from others, they think that this actual sin has not been transmitted from the first man to other persons by natural descent, but by imitation. Hence, likewise, they contend that no such original sin exists at all in people by their birth. But if the apostle had wished to assert that sin entered into the world not by natural descent, but by imitation, he would have mentioned as the first offender not Adam indeed, but the devil. Now forasmuch as this death came upon men from the devil, not because they were propagated by him, but because they imitated his example, it is immediately added, and they that do hold of his side do imitate him. According to the apostle, when mentioning sin and death together, which had passed by natural descent from one upon all men, set him down as the introducer thereof from whom the propagation of the human race took its beginning, end quote. And with Augustine, this is really the origination and the start of this whole concept and this theory of original sin. You don't really see it much before Augustine. And not to get too much into the weeds on this night, because we've got a lot left to go through still, but Augustine began his religious life, as it were, with the Manichean Gnostics. And Gnostics themselves did not view the body as good. And this Manichean influence really had a lot to say in Augustine's development of this theory of original sin. And unfortunately, once Augustine came up with this theory of original sin, and he wrote about it, and he propagated it, this went on down to even the reformers themselves, Martin Luther, and especially John Calvin, who was a big fan of Augustine. And nowadays, we know a lot of the reformed or Calvinist adherents, they have this huge thing about original sin. And it goes back to Calvin, which goes back to Augustine, and it's simply not in Scripture. We'll go through that here in just a moment, too. But you can see that he, Augustine himself, who originated this whole concept of original sin, he was working off a salty Latin translation, and he was also heavily influenced by the Gnostics. In fact, we can see even Tertullian stating that this idea comes from the Gnostics, all the way back in the 3rd century, 100 years or more before Augustine. And Tertullian writes, quote, "'Is not the doctrine of the Gnostics, from the beginning and everywhere, an invective against the flesh? Their doctrine is against its origin, its substance, its casualties, and the invariable end that awaits it. According to them, it is unclean from its first formation of the dregs of the ground. It is even more unclean afterwards from the mire of its own seminal transmission. According to them, it is worthless, weak, covered with guilt, laden with misery, full of trouble." So here, even more than 100 years before Augustine, Tertullian is writing against the Gnostics, who are stating pretty much original sin. We can see the influence that the Gnostics had on Augustine and what the Gnostics actually believed, and this whole concept of original sin goes, well, in Christianity from Augustine, but even further back than that with the Gnostics. Bernhard Loews says pretty much the same thing and backs this up herself. Quote, "'Where we find detailed treatments of original sin and in the theology of the second and third centuries, these have frequently been developed under the influence of Gnosticism and its negative view of matter and of the body.' End quote. And also, if you take another look and really examine this verse in Romans chapter 5, verse 12, let's read it one more time. "'For this reason, even as through one man, sin did enter into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because of all sin.'" Was it sin that was transmitted to everyone because of Adam's sin, according to this verse? No. Let's read that again. "'For this reason, even as through one man, sin did enter into the world.'" So, where did sin go? Did it go into mankind? No, it entered into the world. "'And death through sin, and thus death spread to all men.'" So, it's death that spread to all men. So, the moment we are born and we start that clock, as it were, we all die because death spread to all men. Sin went into the world. It's the sin that influences us from the world. It's not in us. We're not conceived of sinners. Otherwise, in theory, we should be able to map our genetics, find the gene for sin, and take that out if we're conceived as sinners. But no, sin is not passed down to us, through us, in our bodies as we are conceived. No, it's death that spread to all men, not sin, according to Romans chapter 5, verse 12. Also, think about this. The concept of original sin states that we are all automatically made sinners because of one man. But take this into account right here, later on in Romans chapter 5, down in verse 19. For as through the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one, many shall be made righteous. So, if the concept of original sin is true, and we are automatically created as sinners, then doesn't hold true that we should also be made righteous simply because of the one man, our Messiah, Yeshua? No, we're not automatically made righteous, and we're also not automatically made sinners the moment we are conceived. Also, go back and keep in mind that sin is a choice. We choose to break the Torah. We don't choose to be born. So, if being born, or being conceived, is not against the Torah, and we can't choose to be conceived, and we can't choose to be born, then we are not sinners at the moment of conception, because we haven't even made a choice at that point. We haven't even broken any of the commandments contained within the Torah. So, how can we be sinners at conception or sinners at birth? For another perspective, let's also go back and look at how Judaism and original sin relates to each other. Does Judaism have a concept of original sin? Because think about this, when Judaism started in the first century, when they first rejected Yeshua, they were already believing various things that had been believed for hundreds or thousands of years before that. So, does Judaism have a concept of original sin? Well, according to the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, they state, quote, They state, quote, And then from the Jewish Encyclopedia, quote, Man is responsible for sin because he is endowed with free will, yet he is by nature frail, and the tendency of the mind is to evil. Therefore, God, in His mercy, allowed man to repent and be forgiven. Jewish theologians are divided in regard to the cause of this so-called original sin. Some teach that it was due to Adam's yielding to temptation and eating of the forbidden fruit and has been inherited by his descendants. The majority, however, do not hold Adam responsible for the sins of mankind, end quote. So, Judaism does not have this concept of original sin. Now, we should not base our doctrine on Judaism, otherwise we'd be Jews, right? So, we should not base our concept on Judaism, but it's interesting to look back and see what the Jews in Judaism thought about this concept of original sin. We look at John Tose. He states, quote, The earliest retelling of the Adam story in Second Temple Jewish literature is found in a Wesson genre, referring to the Book of Sirach. Sirach is clear that humans were created with free choice and the capacity to obey the Torah. They are responsible to choose between sin and obedience of God's law. There is no such thing as original sin, biological or social, which predisposes people to disobey God and choose sin, end quote. So, here he's stating that even within Second Temple Jewish literature, we don't have a concept of original sin. The first story about Adam, which could even be the very first brick to build a concept of original sin, this story of Adam is not even found until the Second Temple time in Jewish literature such as Sirach, these apocryphal books. Now, I wasn't able to, in the time I had, I wasn't able to track down that reference in Sirach, but I did track down a reference in a book called Second Baruch, which comes to us about the end of the first century after the destruction of the Temple. But in Second Baruch, chapter 54, verse 15, it states, quote, For though Adam first sinned and brought untimely death upon all, yet of those who were born from him, each one of them hath prepared for his own soul torment to come. And again, each one of them hath chosen for himself glories to come, end quote. So, even here in this Second Temple end of the first century literature, this Jewish publication, this Jewish writing is still stating that even though Adam first sinned, it's incumbent on each of us for our own sin, our own choices. We don't have original sin, even according to this Jewish literature. But once again, we're not stating that Baruch is scripture. We're not basing our doctrines off of Judaism. We are basing our doctrines and our understanding of these various concepts off of scripture itself. So, if we go by this theory of original sin, we would have to say that we are being punished and declared guilty, declared sinners, because of one man's choice, because of one man's sin. But are we judged and convicted and condemned because of others' sins? What does scripture have to say about that? Well, let's look in Genesis chapter 18, verse 25. Far be it from you to act in this way, to slay the righteous with the wrong, so that the righteous should be as the wrong. Far be it from you. Does the judge of all the earth not do right? Now, for those of you who remember, this verse comes from that passage where Abraham is speaking with Yahweh about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. And he's stating very clearly something about Yahweh himself. That is, far from Yahweh to slay the righteous with the unrighteous. No. In fact, Yahweh would spare the righteous and destroy the unrighteous. Deuteronomy chapter 24, verse 16. Fathers are not put to death for their children, and children are not put to death for their fathers. Each is to die for his own sin. Jeremiah chapter 31, verses 29 and 30. In those days they shall no longer say, The father's ate sour grapes, and the children's teeth are blunted. But each one shall die for his own crookedness. Whoever eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be blunted. Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 20. The being who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the crookedness of the father, nor the father bear the crookedness of the son. The righteousness of the righteous is upon himself, and the wrongness of the wrong is upon himself. So clearly, time and time again, we see scripture stating that each person is responsible for their own sin, for their own choices, for their own decision to break the Torah of Yahweh. We are not responsible for other people's sins. All the way back to Adam. If we're not responsible for our own father's sins, how much more so are we not responsible for the sin of Adam? Ergo, there is no original sin. We are not born sinners. We're not born with sin. We are not born guilty of condemnation as sinners are. No. In fact, time and time again, scripture states we are not responsible for the sins of others. So, if scripture is teaching us that we are not born as sinners, and scripture is teaching us that we are not born or accountable for the sins of other people, such as Adam and our fathers, then it only stands to reason that there are sinners in the world. We have all sinned, right? That's what scripture tells us. That's what scripture tells us. So, if we're born sinless and then become sinners, at what point do we become accountable for the decisions that we make? Well, we don't become sinners until we actually make the decision to sin or break the Torah. We're also not held accountable for the choices we make until a certain age. But does the scriptures actually teach this concept of an age of accountability? Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 39. And your little ones and your children who you say are for a prey, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they are going in there. And I give it, and to them I give it, and they are to possess it. So, here Yahweh is talking to them and telling them that the people, even though they've committed sins, they have not put their faith in Yahweh. When the spies went to scout out the land, the people got scared and put their trust in Yahweh. They built the golden calf. They murmured against Yahweh and against Moses. All these other things. And because of these sins, they were not allowed to go into the promised land. But their children, since they had not committed sin, since they were not of the age yet to know good and evil, their children would be going into the land. They would possess the promised land. But not those people who had sinned. So, here we can see scripture intimating a certain age that people would know the difference between good and evil. Sort of like Adam and Eve back in the Garden of Eden. Isaiah chapter 7 verse 16. For before the child knows to refuse evil and choose the good, the land that you dread is to be forsaken by her sovereigns. So, here this passage is talking about the coming Messiah. And he's talking about the child, i.e. the coming Messiah, even before the child knows to refuse evil and choose the good. So, again, talking about children at a certain point, they will know the difference between good and evil. They will know when to refuse good, I'm sorry, refuse evil and choose good. Again, intimating that there is this point or this age of accountability. Romans chapter 7 verses 9 through 10. And I was alive apart from the Torah once, but when the command came, the sin revived and I died. And the command, which was to result in life, this I found to result in death. So, here Paul is stating that at one point he was alive. And take that for what you will. But he's kind of intimating here that he did not have sin, going back to an age of innocence during his younger years. But then he says, when the command came, when he understood Torah, when he understood making choices between good and evil, that when the command came, the sin revived. That's when he became a sinner. He wasn't born a sinner because he was alive at that point. At a certain point in his life, the beginning part. Then he came to an age where he knew between good and evil, he knew to make choices between good and evil, and he made a choice that was not right. He made a choice that broke the Torah, he sinned. And that's when he became a sinner. And in fact, going back to this concept, this theory of original sin, thinking that sin passed down through the genetic line, through birth, to all men, we look back at the beginning of the book of Genesis, and after the fall, or immediately after the fall, there are various curses that are pronounced upon Adam and Eve and their progeny about things that will come and the hardships and things like that. We look at Genesis chapter 3, verse 16 through 19. To the woman, he said, I will greatly increase your sorrow and your conception, bring forth children in pain, and your desire is for your husband, and he does rule over you. And to the man, he said, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, do not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you, and toiled you are to eat of it all the days of your life. And the ground shall bring forth thorns and thistles for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you are to eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you return. So, here in all these curses that are listed out because of the sins they did that would continue on down, even down to us today, of all these curses that are stated here, not one of them states that their children will be born as sinners or that sin will be passed down to their progeny. No, it tells you plain and clear here in the very last part, it says, for dust you are, and to dust you return, stating that death will be upon those who come from your loins. Death will be upon your children and their children's children, but not automatic sin at conception. So, even then we can't say that sin is passed down from generation to generation. It comes all the way down from Adam. Now, death does. It says that death spread to all men. Remember Romans chapter 5, that sin went into the world because of one man, but death spread to all men. It was death that went to all men, not sin. Now, all of sin, yes, because we are influenced by the world that sin went into, but we are not conceived as sinners. We are conceived as beings that will die because death spread to all men, not sin. However, taking this concept, this theory of original sin, and thinking about it logically using reason to think about this concept and how it applies to scripture, hypothetically speaking, let's say that original sin is true. So, using logic and reason, if we are to concede that original sin is true and that we are conceived or born as sinners, then the following should automatically make sense and should be true as well. Number one, if original sin is true and we are conceived or born as sinners, then sin is simply a misfortune and not a crime, thereby contradicting scripture. If we are born as sinners, then we don't make choices to commit sin. No. So, that would contradict scripture which says that sin is a choice and it's a choice to break the law of Yahweh. Number two, if original sin is true and we are conceived or born as sinners, then the sinner is excused because if you're a sinner, then you say, well, I can't help it. I was just born that way. It only makes sense. If original sin is true and we are conceived or born as sinners, then that makes Yahweh as responsible for sin, especially if you're one of these people who holds to the concept that Yahweh or God creates every single person in the womb. So, he's creating a sinner, someone who is guilty of sin. That makes Yahweh responsible for sin, heaven forbid. And finally, if original sin is true and we are conceived or born as sinners, then aborted children die as sinners and they burn in hell without having the chance to come to Messiah. God forbid. So, you see the fallacies that come along with this theory of original sin. Number one, it's not taught in scripture. Number two, it contradicts good reason and logic because it's a horrible thing to say that aborted babies, these innocent little children are sent to hell because they were conceived as sinners. And we all know sinners do not get into heaven. We look at Revelation chapter 20, verse 15. And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. And again, Revelation chapter 21, verses 23 and 27. And the city had no need of the sun nor the moon to shine in it, for the esteem of Elohim lightened it and the lamb is its lamp. And there shall by no means enter into it whatever is unclean, neither anyone do an abomination and falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. So, to get in the book of life, you have to be saved or born again. In order to be saved or born again, you have to be conscious or at an age or of a mental mindset where you can understand it, you can hear the word, you can come to Yeshua and be saved or born again. Then you'll be written in the Lamb's book of life, you'll be able to get into heaven. But babies, unborn children, infants, they can't understand all this. They haven't reached that age of understanding yet. So, if original sin is true and we're conceived and born as sinners, we don't get written in the book of life because we don't come to Yeshua. And therefore, if we are conceived and born as sinners, we never get in the book of life and we are cast into hell and we have no way to change that. Those of us who have come to an age of understanding, who have heard the word, who have studied the word, we have made that choice whether or not to come to Yeshua, to come to Yahweh and start living by scripture. We have made that choice because we have been taught and we have chosen, made the decision whether or not to follow scripture. Some yes, some no. Those of us who do, we get written in the Lamb's book of life and we go to heaven. But infants, babies, aborted children, they do not have that chance to come to the age of understanding, to hear the scriptures and to make that choice. They haven't got that chance. So, once again, if original sin is true, then aborted babies and infants automatically go to hell when they die. Now, remember, sin as defined by scripture is a choice that we make. We freely choose to break the law, break the Torah. And, therefore, since we are not born as sinners, we are not conceived as sinners, sin comes later on in life. James chapter 1 verses 13-15. Let no one say when he is enticed, I am enticed by Elohim. For Elohim is not enticed by evil matters and he entices no one. But each one is enticed when he is drawn away by his own desires and traps. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death. So, here we see that sin comes later and it comes because of a desire and desire is conceived and that gives birth to sin. That desire leads us to a decision, it leads us to a choice, and then we make a choice, either right or wrong, and if it's wrong, and it breaks the law, breaks the Torah, that's sin, that's when sin is born. Revelation chapter 20 verses 2-3. And he sees the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and he threw him into the pit of the deep, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should lead the nations no more astray, until the thousand years were ended, and after that he hath to be released for a little while. Here we see that Satan, the serpent of old, the devil, is leading people astray. Are people astray from conception? Are people astray from birth? No, they are later on led astray, and you can't be led astray if you already are astray. See how that works? So, once again, Scripture does not teach this theory of original sin. Scripture does not teach that we are born or conceived as sinners. So, in summary, number one, original sin refers to this concept that we've been exploring tonight. Original sin refers to the theory that human beings are conceived or born as sinners. Sin is defined by Scripture as the breaking of the law, as the breaking of the Torah. Original sin is based on tradition and misunderstood Scripture. Now, we went over that before, how Augustine was led astray by an incorrect translation into the Latin. And because he was led astray, he led others astray, including Martin Luther and John Calvin, who themselves have led others astray down to today. So, it was one error that went on to create many errors and lead many astray. We also looked at that tradition real briefly, where it came from. Now, it came from Augustine, but before him, it came from Gnosticism. And we also looked at the Scriptures and how, contrary to the proponents of original sin, those Scriptures actually do not teach original sin. We are not conceived or born of as sinners. The theory of original sin was most notably introduced by Augustine, which, as I said, came from Gnosticism. And that's a whole study in and of itself. Go back and look, if you can, do a study on Augustine, his life, where he came from, the influences that came upon him, what happened during his life, especially the Pelagian controversy. It's all very interesting. And if we included all that tonight, it would have been very helpful, yes, but it would have taken up a whole lot more time. Judaism and Christians before the 2nd century had no theory of original sin. We went over that in some of the writings. We also looked at that in Scripture. It's just not there. It doesn't come about until pretty much the 4th century within Christianity. We are not judged for the sins of others. We went over that in Scripture. We saw the various verses, how we are each responsible for our own sin, not the sins of our fathers, not the sins of Adam, our own sins. That's what we're responsible for. Scripture clearly intimates an age of accountability. You look at the various passages that we went over, and other passages that we did not go over, and it eludes and intimates this age of accountability, where we are born sinless, we are born without guilt, but we grow up, we learn, and we get to a point where we are held accountable for our choices, and whether we choose the good or whether we choose the evil. Preborn and newborn children are not sinners that are cast into hell. That would not go along with the character of Yahweh, and it is not something that is taught in Scripture. And finally, we are not conceived or born as sinners. And that's just the God honest truth. So, thank you once again for joining us for another teaching from God Honest Truth Ministries. This time, we looked at original sin, and we could have got a lot more in depth on this, and there's more out there. So, we invite you to go even further than this and do your own research on original sin. Some ministries that we would like to put out there to help you further your study of original sin. There's a channel on YouTube called Idol Killer. He's got a great study and lots of videos on Augustine and original sin. Another channel that we would like to put out there to learn about original sin and age of accountability and things like that is a channel on YouTube called Soteriology 101. These guys have a lot of great information, so go check those out. And this is a subject that really gets heated sometimes. So, if you have a comment, something to say, question, comment, concern, or if we happen to miss something, go down in the comments below and let us know all about it. Also, while you're down there, make sure to hit that like button if you like it. If you don't like it, or if you think we missed something, hit that down vote, but also go down and let us know what it is we missed so we can do better in the future. Hit that subscribe button and ring the bell and also hit that share button and share this video around with someone that you may know who would like to know more about this concept of original sin. Thank you for joining us for another production from God Honest Truth Ministries. We really do appreciate your time and hope that we have been of service to you. If you have any feedback, then please reach out to us by writing to team at godhonesttruth.com and make sure to visit our website for more information on our social media link, audio Bible, teaching resources, and so much more.