Truth Magazine

By Phil Roberts

Throughout history man has sought to shift the blame for his sins onto someone else’s shoulders. The ancient Babylonians spoke of man being created out of the blood of a rebel god named Kingu. Naturally such a race could not help being rebellious itself. Even before the coming of Christ the Jews were speaking of the yetser ha ra, or “evil inclination” with which all men were born. It should not be surprising, therefore, to find that people professing Christianity have behaved pretty much like all other men in this respect. In the history of “Christian theology” this tendency has manifested itself in the development of the intertwined doctrines of original sin and hereditary total depravity. The doctrine of original sin affirms that all descendants of Adam inherit both the guilt and the consequences of his sin. The doctrine of hereditary total depravity follows with the declaration that all such descendants of Adam are so completely corrupted and depraved by it that they cannot, of their own free will, do any truly good work. They cannot, of their own free will, even turn to God.

Now this doctrine of total depravity is commonly thought of as a Calvinistic doctrine, and is especially associated with the Presbyterian Church here in this country. It is the purpose of this article to show that the doctrine in fact pervades most of the denominational world.

Augustine and Catholicism

The doctrine had its beginning among Christians in the early Patristic period. Tertullian, Cyprian, and Ambrose all taught the whole human race somehow participated not only in the consequences of Adam’s sin but in the sin itself. Ambrosiaster claimed biblical support for the doctrine by translating Romans 5:12 “in whom all sinned” in reference to Adam. But it was Augustine of Hippo (commonly St. Augustine) who integrated the doctrine into a fully developed system of theology. And the writings of Augustine have shaped and influenced the thinking of professing Christianity more than the works of any other man since the time of the New Testament itself.

Augustine taught that the whole human race was present in the first man Adam, and thus, in his sin, we sinned. Each descendant of Adam and Eve is born just as much a sinner as they were. Not only that, but the impairment of their nature which God inflicted on Adam and Eve in punishment for their sin “became a natural consequence in all their descendants” (City of God, xiii. 3). Moreover, it is not just a corrupted physical nature that we have inherited from Adam, but our “human nature was so changed and vitiated that it suffers from the recalcitrance of a rebellious concupiscence. . . ” (Ibid.).

Augustine was not exactly a Roman Catholic, but only because he lived around AD 400 and Catholicism was still in the formative stage. But Augustine was very much a part of that formation, and his theology soon became the dominant theology of Catholicism. The doctrines of original sin and hereditary depravity were, therefore, deeply entrenched in Catholicism from the very beginning. From the time of Augustine to the Protestant Reformation, Catholic theologians debated the exact nature of the original sin and its transmission and the degree of totality in the inherited depravity. But these debates produced only minor variations and left the basic doctrine more firmly established than ever. In the meantime the doctrine had begun to generate such secondary doctrines as infant baptism (to remove original sin) and the immaculate conception of Mary (to protect her from contamination with original sin). But these matters are discussed elsewhere in this issue.

Total Depravity Pervades.

That the doctrines still remain as part of the theological foundation of modem Catholicism can be seen by consulting any standard Catholic reference work. In -The Teachings of the Catholic Church (1948), George Smith devotes thirty pages to a defense of the doctrine in even more rigorous terms than Augustine would ever have stated the matter.

The Protestant Reformation

The council of Trent (1545-63) was convened as a Catholic response to the spreading Protestant Reformation, and it pronounced an anathema on any who denied the doctrine of original sin. But the doctrine was hardly a bone of contention for the reformers. They considered themselves just as much heirs of Augustine as the Catholics did.

Of course the most rigorous statements of the doctrines of original sin and total depravity were made by John Calvin in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1560). Yet it is crucial to see that the doctrine was not limited to Calvin and his more direct spiritual heirs, but that it permeated the thinking of almost all the reformers and was enshrined in all the great creeds of the Protestant Reformation, and thus has been passed down in some form or other to almost every Protestant denomination in existence today.

Consider Martin Luther. Original Sin and Total Depravity are especially associated with Calvin while Luther is usually thought of as preaching about faith and grace. But one of the most influential works ever written by Luther was titled Bondage of the Will, the title reflecting the thesis of the book that man’s essential nature has been so depraved by sin that his will is entirely in bondage to sin and he is incapable of willing any good at all. Man is thus entirely dependent on a gracious gift of faith from God in order to be saved. Lutheranism no less than Presbyterianism is thus pervaded by the doctrine. Indeed, the Augsburg Confession (1530), subscribed to by virtually all Lutherans, declares that “all men begotten after the common course of nature were born with sin. . . “; that “man’s powers, without the Holy Spirit, are full of wicked affections, and are too weak to perform any good deed before God.”

Identical assertions are found in The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) of the German Reformed churches, the Belgic Confession (1561) of the Dutch Reformed churches, the Scotch Confession of Faith (1560) of the Church of Scotland, and the Canons of the Synod of Dort (1618-19) which are accepted by the Reformed (Dutch) Church in America.

Especially important are The Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England (1571 and 1801) which declare for the benefit of Anglicans and Episcopalians that “Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians so vainly talk); but it is the fault and corruption of the Nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam; whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil. . . . ” These words have found their way into several subsequent creedal statements including the Articles of Religion which are still being printed in the Discipline of the Methodist Church. Similar affirmations are found in the creeds of the Quakers and the Congregationalists.

But the most influential of all Protestant creeds, at least in the English language, has surely been the Westminster Confession. Concerning the sin of Adam and Eve, it declares that “They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions. ” Now, anything with the name Westminster is generally associated with Presbyterianism today. And the Westminster Confession was actually produced by the Church of England, and comes about as close as any English-language creed can to being a universal Protestant Creed.

The universal nature of the Westminster Confession can be illustrated by the Baptists. Baptists often claim to have no creed but the Bible. But the Baptist Confession of 1688 is basically just another edition of the Westminister Confession, with significant changes made only in the areas of church organization and subjects of baptism. Of course Regular Baptists and Calvinistic Baptists accept the Westminster confession also.

That Baptists generally accept the doctrine of original sin is also illustrated by The New Hampshire Baptist Confession (1833), which has been printed in the Baptist Church Manual for American Baptists. It says that man was created in holiness, but sinned and fell, “in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners.” The wording of this confession is softer and more ambiguous than some creeds. But Baptist theologian A.H. Strong is not ambiguous at all: “The Scritpures represent every human nature as totally depraved” (Systematic Theology, 1896, p. 341). Indeed, though Baptists don’t advertise the doctrine of original sin all that much, the strength which the doctrine has in Baptist theology is clearly evidence by the very popular doctrines of Justification by Faith Only and Once Saved, Always Saved, which are derived from the doctrine of original sin.

Rumblings of Discontent

There have, of course, been periodic rumblings of discontent surrounding the doctrine of original sin and total depravity in Protestantism. The first major challenge came from the teachings of James Arminius (1560-1609), the critical points of which are summed up in The Five Arminian Articles prepared in 1610 as remonstrances to the various Dutch confessions mentioned above. But it must be noted that Arminius and his heirsnever denied ihe doctrine of inherited original sin itself.

The principle spiritual heirs of Arminius today are Wesleyan denominations such as Methodists, Nazarenes, and Pentecostals. Their discontent with Calvinism has centered around the exact extent of the consequences of original sin. Most especially, they are anxious to deny the related doctrines of absolute predestination and unconditional election. They affirm that man does have free will, and that saving grace can be resisted by the exercise of that free will. They likewise debate about the nature of the transmission of original sin. But the doctrine of original sin itself is never seriously challenged.

Methodist acceptance of the doctrine has been illustrated above by the fact that the statement on original sin and total depravity which is found in the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England has been incorporated verbatim into the Articles of Religion published in the Discipline of the Methodist Church. Acceptance of the doctrine among Wesleyan groups is further illustrated by Nazarene theologian H. Orton Wiley who says, “Not only are all men born under the penalty of death, as a consequence of Adam’s sin, but they are born with a depraved nature also” (Christian Theology, Vol. 2, p. 98). A few other groups, such as the Cumberland Presbyterians and the Free-Will Baptists, have likewise rejected the predestinarian implications of Calvin. But like the Wesleyans, they retain the doctrine of original sin without question.

Likewise, it may fairly be said that Arminians; do not really believe in total hereditary depravity. They generally affirm that some truly good works can be performed by unregenerate man. But in the long run that turns out to be an inconsequential distinction because they continue to affirm that man was sufficiently depraved for it to be impossible for him to believe and respond to the gospel apart from the assistance of a direct operation of the Holy Spirit.

Moreover, the doctrine of original sin is intimately bound up in one of the most distinctive doctrines of Wesleyan churches – entire sanctification. According to their theology, the root of original sin remains in man even after he has been converted. It can only be removed by a second work of grace whereby man is thoroughly purged from every inclination to sin, and entirely sanctified – able from that point on to live without sin. But again, man can only achieve this state by a miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit to overcome the last remnants of his depraved nature.

Several Protestant groups have sought other means of mollifying the consequences of the doctrines of original sin and total depravity. For example, both the Methodists and the Church of the Brethren deny that children are born in sin (though the Methodists used to affirm this). But they do so without actually letting go of either original sin or total depravity. They would say that every child conceived does in fact inherit the original sin and depraved nature of Adam. But, they say, that original sin is immediately forgiven by the atoning act of Christ’s sacrifice.

I do not know of any major Evangelical Protestant body which unequivocally denies either original sin or inherited depravity. Even neo-orthodox theologians such as Karl Barth cling tenaciously to the doctrines. They are as systemic to Protestantism as is the doctrine of salvation by faith only. Of course we must remember that many of the individual members of these denominations may not believe the doctrines.

Modernism And The Spirit Of The Age

There is, however, an element of Protestantism which has rejected both doctrines, but not for reasons that we would like to see. Modernism, which has deep inroads into many Protestant bodies, and virtually controls some denominations such as the United Methodist Church, the United Presbyterian Church, and the United Church of Christ, denies both original sin and inherited depravity. But this denial springs, not from a respect for Scripture, but from a total disregard for Scripture. They reject the biblical account of creation and they believe the story of Adam and Eve is just a myth. As theistic evolutionists they deny that there ever was an historical Adam. Thus they cannot believe in either original sin or inherited depravity.

Indeed, many such modernists deny, not just original sin, but virtually deny sin itself. They believe man is really good at heart, and needs only to be set free from oppressive and antiquated ideas of sin and guilt. And this affords me an opportunity to bring this article to a close with a warning. While it is surely good for us to probe the tragic errors of the doctrines of original sin and inherited depravity, let us not forget that the even more dangerous spirit of our age is to deny sin and depravity altogether. While denying that we inherit either the sin or the depraved nature of Adam, let us remember that we are, of our own will, sinners. And without blaming anything on Adam we must still confess that the heart of man is “deceitful above all things, and exceedingly corrupt” (Jer. 17:9).

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 1, pp. 1, 38-39
January 1, 1987

By Mike Willis

When one accepts a proposition, there are certain logical consequences which follow. That is true when one accepts the proposition “There is no god” or “Man is the product of evolutionary development.” There are certain logical consequences which result from such an affirmation.

Similarly, if one accepts the doctrine of inherited total depravity, or some watered-down version of it, there are certain logical and doctrinal consequences which follow. Not everyone who accepts inherited total depravity is consistent in his reasoning; hence, many who accept the premises reject the conclusions (without giving logical reasons for rejecting them). We do not charge that everyone who believes man has an inherited corrupt nature teaches these consequences; rather, they are the logical consequences drawn from the premise.

Logical Consequences of Inherited Total Depravity

1. It makes man totally unable to will or do good. The Philadelphia Confession of Faith describes man’s condition after the fall:

From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions . . . . Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability to will any spiritual good accompanying salvation … The man who is born into the world cannot will or do any good.

2. It makes man without free will. Many who accept hereditary total depravity will deny that this conclusion follows from the premise. Aylett Raines summarized their teaching well when he wrote,

We know that the advocates for the confession tell us that man has a free will. They proceed on the presumption that man has a free will and acts freely, because, although he can do nothing but sin, and can will to do nothing else, yet he is free to do as he wills (A Refutation of Hereditary Total Depravity, p. 13).

Denial of free will stands in conflict with these passages which teach that man has the ability to choose between good and evil: John 5:40; 7:17; Revelation 22:17; Matthew 22:3; 23:37; Luke 7:30; Joshua 24:15; Psalm 119:130; Proverbs 1:29; Deuteronomy 30:11-14; Hosea 5:15; Genesis 4:7.

3. It releases man from moral responsibility. Each of us would admit that man is not responsible for doing what he cannot avoid doing (e.g., man is not morally reprehensible because he gets hungry or thirsty). According to hereditary total depravity, man cannot avoid sinning because of his corrupted nature. Man sins of necessity. How can man be held responsible for doing that which he could not avoid?

The doctrine of inherited total depravity provides for sinful man exactly what he wishes – an excuse for sinning. Why does man sin? Not because he willfully chooses to rebel against God, but because he cannot prevent sin in his life since he has inherited a sinful nature. Sinners like to hear that their sins are a result of a natural incapacity, rather than of any fault or neglect of their own. Then they can sin without remorse.

4. It makes God responsible for sin. According to the doctrine of inherited total depravity, God willed that Adam’s corrupted nature would be passed down to his descendants. Inheriting this corrupt nature, man can only will to do evil; from this corrupted nature all sins proceed. Hence, man sins because of God’s decree. Even Calvin was dismayed as he contemplated this decree of God. He wrote,

Again I ask: whence does it happen that Adam’s fall irremediably involved so many people, together with their infant offspring, in eternal death unless because it so pleased God? Here their tongues, otherwise so loquacious, must become mute. The decree is dreadful indeed, I confess (Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III, Chap. XXIII, no. 7).

Those who teach that man has a sinful nature shift the blame for what he does from the sinner to the author of his nature!

Thus we see that this theory brings man into the world wholly defiled in all the faculties of soul and body, opposed to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, not even able to will any spiritual good accompanying salvation, until God converts and translates him into the state of grace, so as to free him from his natural bondage, and enable him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good, then, if God never converts him and he is finally lost, who is to blame for it? Surely, not man, for he could not even will or desire his own salvation, or prepare himself thereunto. Why did Christ command that the Gospel be preached among all nations, and to every creature, promising salvation to those who would believe and obey it, when He must have known, if this theory be true, that they could neither believe nor obey it? – nay, they could not even so much as will or desire their salvation, or any thing good connected therewith, to say nothing of doing anything to secure it. And why did He threaten them with damnation if they did not believe it, when, according to the theory, they would have no more power to believe it than they have to make a world? (The Gospel Plan of Salvation, p. 140)

6. It indicts the goodness of God. The theory teaches that God willed to pass a corrupted nature to Adam’s posterity with the result that man has no ability to obey the will of God; he can only will to do evil. Then, it teaches that God punishes man because he disobeys. The injustice in this would be comparable to a person punishing a newborn infant because he could not feed himself.

7. It makes the invitation to respond to the gospel ridiculous, if not altogether ugly. The gospel invitation is extended to every man (Matt. 11:28; Rev. 3:20; 22:17). The doctrine of inherited depravity states that man has wholly lost any ability to do any spiritual good; he has no ability to respond to the invitation until God sends His Spirit to enable Him to do so. Hence, preaching the gospel of Christ to a man who has an inherited sinful nature is merely tantalizing that man, like holding a cool cup of water in front of a man who is dying of thirst and who has no ability to obtain the water. We are cruelly deluded by the Lord, when He declares that His loving kindness depends upon our will, if the will is not able to respond to His offer of grace. The offer of grace is plain mockery of man.

8. It makes exhortations to righteous living and rebukes of sin meaningless. Why exhort a man to do what he cannot do – live righteously? Why condemn him for doing what he cannot avoid doing – sinning? Either God is mocking us when He enjoins holiness, piety, obedience, chastity, love, and gentleness and forbids uncleanness, idolatry, immodesty, anger, robbery, pride and the like or He requires only what is within our power to do. Inherited depravity would require us to believe that God is merely mocking us.

Doctrinal Consequences Of Inherited Depravity

Several false doctrines have derived from the doctrine that man is born totally depraved. We need to be reminded that these false doctrines are connected to inherited depravity.

1. The doctrine of unconditional election and unconditional reprobation. Jack W. Cottrell wrote,

Why does the Calvinist continue to insist on unconditional predestination, even when sovereignty and grace arc not at stake? What is the imperative which necessitates it? The answer is the doctrine of total depravity, which in its essence means that all persons as the result of Adam’s sin are from birth unable to respond in any positive way to the gospel call. There is a total inability to come to the decision to put one’s trust in Christ. This point is truly the keystone in the Calvinistic system. This is what makes unconditional election logically and doctrinally necessary (“Conditional Election,” Grace Unlimited, Clark H. Pinnock, editor, p. 68).

Hence, the doctrine that God, from all eternity, predestined who would be saved and who would be lost is the doctrinal and logical consequence of inherited total depravity. The doctrines of unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints are logical sequences in the system.

2. Infant baptism. The modern practice of infant baptism is derived from inherited total depravity. John F. Rowe said,

Augustine is the originator of the doctrine of “original sin,” or “total hereditary depravity.” He flourished in the fourth century. His postulates from his reasoning process are these: The whole human family is totally depraved, by virtue of the first transgression. Infants are totally depraved because they are constituent parts of the human family. But, inasmuch as they can neither think, nor reason, nor believe, nor exercise any sort of freedom of will, something must be done to wipe out the stain of original sin. The act of baptism is the regenerating act, in his speculative theology, that removes from the soul of the infant the stain of original sin! (History of Reformatory Movements, p. 442)

3. Illumination. Those who believe that man has inherited a totally depraved nature also teach that the Holy Spirit must illumine the Scriptures in order for man to understand them. The Westminster Confession of Faith says,

Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the word. . . (Article I, No. 6).

4. Personal indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Those denominations which teach that man has inherited a totally depraved (sinful) nature from Adam are compelled to teach that the Holy Spirit must indwell the Christian in order for him to overcome his sinful nature. According to the Philadelphia Confession of Faith, this indwelling Spirit enables man to understand the Scriptures (Article 1, No. 6), to make him willing and able to believe (Article VII, Nos. 2-3), to strengthen him that he might resist sin’s temptation (Article XIII, Nos. 2-3), to make him conscious of his sin (Article XV, No. 3), and to enable him to do good works (Article XVI, No. 3). Without the assistance of the indwelling Spirit, man is unable to overcome his sinful nature.

5. Immaculate Conception. This doctrine teaches “that the Virgin Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin.” The doctrine was invented to prevent the conclusion that Jesus was born with the stain of original sin.

Practical Consequences of Inherited Total Depravity

Even as there are logical and doctrinal consequences of this false doctrine, there are also practical consequences. Here are a few of them:

1. A feeling of spiritual insecurity. If one holds the position that he has a sinful nature, he will have the concept that sin engulfs him like a cloud. Regardless of how devoted he is to God and to His service, he will always feel that there are sins in his life. If you were to ask such a person, “What sins have you committed?” he might not enumerate any. Nevertheless, he has a feeling of spiritual insecurity because he believes that he has a sinful nature.

Denominations which teach that man has inherited a sinful nature from Adam also teach a system whereby this defect in nature is overcome. The Calvinists teach that the perfect righteousness of Jesus is imputed to the believer so that God sees Jesus’ perfect obedience instead of the believer’s imperfections. The Wesleyans, teach that a second work of grace occurs whereby the believer is sanctified.

Those who accept that man has a sinful nature will continually be searching for a means to find security, whether it be in imputed righteousness, continuous cleansing, or some other means.

2. Passivity in obedience. Those who believe that man has a sinful nature sometimes reach the conclusion that man is passive in his salvation and sanctification (strict Calvinists take this position). After teaching such a person the way of salvation, he may reply, “I just do not feel like obeying the gospel yet.” He will await some mysterious working of the Holy Spirit before obeying the gospel. Until and unless he receives this miraculous operation of the Spirit, he will not obey the gospel. His condition is helpless and hopeless until the Spirit effects his salvation.

Conclusion

Some among us refer to their “sinfulness” in such a manner that the concept is practically equivalent to “sinful nature.” They do not mean by “sinfulness” a list of sins of which they are guilty. Rather, they mean their “tendency to sin.” I do not charge those who use this expression with believing the consequences enumerated in this article. However, if by “sinfulness” they mean “an innate sinful nature,” they have accepted the basic tenets of inherited total depravity, regardless of how watered-down and inconsistent their concept of it might be.

As one considers the consequences resulting from this false doctrine, he should understand why even the slightest indications that men believe in inherited depravity must be opposed. The doctrine of inherited total depravity undermines the power of the gospel to affect salvation in the life of man, destroys man’s ability to believe the gospel and live a sanctified life, and attacks the perfect purity of Jesus Christ or denies that He became like us. The doctrine of inherited depravity is not some unimportant theological doctrine without practical consequences. It is a doctrine which takes the heart out of the gospel message. As such, it must be resisted and opposed wherever it raises its ugly head.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 1, pp. 2, 36-37
January 1, 1986

By Ron Halbrook

The new unity movement of the last 15-20 years has been influenced by several denominational concepts, including inherited depravity. This is not surprising. Israel was influenced by the idolatries of the people around them – the Egyptians, the Canaanites, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians. During the early gospel age, Christians were buffeted and often influenced by the errors of Judaism, gnosticism, and dozens of other ideas outside the purview of the gospel of Christ. They were touched by such Greek philosophies as fatalism, Stoicism, and Epicureanism, and by the political and organizational skills of the Roman government. Any study of early church history must take into account these factors of time and place because they all had an impact on the thought and life of professed followers of Christ.

All of this gives meaning to the warning of Romans 12:1-2 that we be shaped by the Lord’s will and not by the mind of “this world. ” We can be taken captive “through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Col. 2:8). The faith of the gospel in our hearts must be guarded against the influences and inroads of pseudo learning, pseudo science, and pseudo knowledge of all kinds (I Tim. 6:20-21). Constant study and review of the Word of God as the basis of our faith and of our relationship with God is imperative! The approach and appeal of Satan is so crafty and subtle that we may be snared before we realize it in ways we never would have suspected. Notice how many errors of the Gentile world cast a shadow over the Corinthian church, and how many flaws of traditional Judaism overshadowed the lives of Jewish converts addressed by the Epistle of James. No wonder Paul feared “lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3).

What shadows of this present world of darkness, evil and error are falling upon the history of God’s people today -perhaps failing over my own heart? It is not always possible to trace the course of such influences directly from one person and one movement to another. The factors which move a person toward error and evil may be so diverse and subtle that we cannot explain the origins of their cumulative impact. We can see the result and judge it in the light of Scripture (1 Jn. 4:1-6). We can also recognize some basic errors which are common to our time and place – errors deeply rooted in tradition, spread through many channels, often repeated, and often adapted. We must expect these common tenets to have an impact on our brethren from time to time, and even upon ourselves, unless such concepts are checked by constant review and resistance in the light of God’s Word (Acts 20:28-32; 2 Tim. 43-5; Jude 3). False and dangerous doctrines thrive in an atmosphere where all controversy is avoided, where “positive” themes such as God’s love are considered sufficient to solve every issue or sin which arises. Such an atmosphere may attract many followers and build large churches, but it does not produce strong faith or sound churches.

One of the most significant and widespread errors permeating so-called Christendom concerns the nature of man and therefore of God’s grace to man. The doctrine of Original Sin says that Adam’s sin corrupted every part of his nature, including the body, the soul, and every faculty of his being. This total depravity or inherent corruption of nature is the common inheritance of all his descendants. Exactly what is inherited may be interpreted as Adam’s sin, Adam’s sinful nature, Adam’s guilt, or only a tendency toward -sin. In any case, man’s free will is severely crippled or entirely lost so that we cannot seek or obey God unless His divine power acts upon our will. From the premise of total hereditary depravity eventually came many other false doctrines such as infant baptism, personal predestination, the limited atonement, unconditional salvation, irresistible grace, and the final perseverance of all the elect.

“Until the time of Augustine this idea of original sin was relatively undeveloped” (Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, p. 164). Because of his impact on such doctrines, Augustine (354-430) is called “the Second Founder of the Faith” next to Paul. Precursors to his doctrine of Original Sin and inherited depravity include the Greek idea of fate ruling man’s destiny and the gnostic notion that man’s flesh or body is evil and an enemy of his spirit.

As soon as the gospel of Christ broke in upon the Gentile world, it faced the fermenting speculations of gnosticism — a blend of Greek philosophies with esoteric Eastern philosophies and religions. Gnosticism’s basic concept was that God is pure, abstract spirit. Emanations from God descended by stages down toward matter, diluting their spirit nature more and more in approaching the lowest level which is matter. Matter or the material universe is the origin of all evil, therefore “sin is inherent in the material substance of the body” of man (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev. ed., 11:487). Redemption is not pardon from sin but is the discovery of the secret of evil’s origin in matter. Deliverance from the flesh comes through extreme asceticism, or through the realization that the spirit can enjoy union and communion with God regardless of the deeds of the body. Colossians and 1-2 John attacked the premises of gnosticism, as did post-apostolic writers. Still, gnosticism’s “influence upon Christianity was profound and permanent” (McClintock and Strong, Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature 111:896). Some elements of this broad cultural influence were assimilated into the developing theology of an apostate church.

Augustine taught that qfter Adam fell, the body of man is evil and must sin. Because of his fallen nature, it is man’s fate to sin and he cannot help sinning. Anslem. (1033-1109) agreed and held that “in Adam, the person made nature sinful; in his posterity, the nature makes a person sinful.” A modem writer explains that “a man does not just commit sinful acts. Man qua man is a sinner; his nature is expressed in his sinning” (H.D. McDonald, The Christian View of Man, pp. 84, 27). As this concept has been handed down in time and tradition, it has become the common property of both Roman Catholics and Protestants to this day. All major wings of the Protestant Reformation embraced the idea – Lutherans, Calvinists, the Reformed tradition initiated by Zwingli, Arminians, and Anglicans. It has been maintained and at times modified by all the major denominations of modem America – Episcopal, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Baptist – and by many minor denominations, sects, and cults as well.

Every group which accepts this doctrine is burdened with explaining how or why man is accountable for his sins and also how the grace of God reaches this fallen man. Catholics and some Protestants respond by sprinkling babies to save them from their fallen and sinful nature. Also, sins are separated into “mortal” (most serious) and “venial” (less serious) sins. A Catholic theologian explains, “It is, moreover, certain, not only from the divine compassion, but from the nature of the thing, that there are venial sins, or such slight ones, as in just men may consist with a state of grace and friendship with God” (M. & S., Cycl. IX:767). It is assumed that Christians continue to practice venial sins because of man’s fallen nature.

Spokesmen For New Unity Movement

Spokesmen for the new unity movement have uniformly manifested a loss of confidence in the New Testament pattern of truth and a corresponding growth of confidence in denominational literature and concepts. Some are convinced that man must violate God’s pattern of truth because of a sinful nature and that the obedience or righteousness of Christ must be imputed to man to compensate for this depravity. Such a concept contributes to the ecumenical movement at large in denominationalism and to the new unity movement among the brethren. These facts converge in the pages of Present Truth and Verdict magazines. Edited by a dissident Seventh-Day Adventist turned ecumenicist (Robert D. Brinsmead), this paper mediated AugustinianReformation views on the nature of man, grace, and unity to a number of the new unity spokesmen. Men such as Edward Fudge, Michael Hall, Darwin Chandler, and Carl Ketcherside wrote letters of commendation to Brinsmead (P. T., Feb. 1974, p. 7; Feb. 1977, p. 4; June 1977, p. 4; & V., June 198 1, p. 5).

Consider Brinsmead’s views. Both as to faith and practice in the church and as to daily life, man retains his sinful nature and so constantly sins. This accounts for doctrinal diversity. Works of merit and non-meritorious conditions for receiving grace are constantly confused so that both are rejected. God always is constantly forgiving our sins because of the imputed righteousness of Christ. We are told that I John 1:8 means there is “some depravity . . . in the best saints” because even our obedience is “defiled by the corrupt channel of human nature” (P. T., Aug. 1976, pp. 24, 29). No work of obedience “under any . . . name whatever” is necessary for salvation (Ibid., July 1977, p. 12). Christians are “simultaneously righteous and sinful.” Man remains a sinner because of his “corrupt nature” whether committing a sinful act at any moment or not. On this account, “every good work is sin” and must be covered by Christ. This sinful condition and corruption remains in our body until the resurrection, although forgiven and not imputed to believers, according to Luther (Ibid., pp. 25-27). Luther said,

For original sin is a root and inborn evil, which only comes to an end when this body has been entirelymortified, purged by fire and reformed. Meanwhile, however, it is not imputed to the godly (V., Aug. 1979, p. 26).

Because sin constantly inheres in the flesh, even our worship is tainted: “Their most pious and devout deeds, including their prayers and praise, are defiled with the corrupt taint of the flesh” (V., Sept. 1978, p. 12).

Denominational and Ecumenical Thrust

Notice the denominational and ecumenical thrust of such theories. “Individual patterns of church life” are permissible because we are not bound to “the New Testament patterns” on such things as the “mode of baptism … .. worship,” and “organization.” To insist that the New Testament pattern is essential to constitute “the one true church” is a sectarian “denial of justification by faith alone.” Since “no one is without sin” and no church “without error” because of our “sinful limitations,” we all must be saved by “grace alone” (V., Mar. 1981, pp. 9-10, 16). Whether a person be “Lutheran, Calvinist or Catholic,” he shares in “justification through grace by faith alone.” All must “liberate the grace of God from the demands of dogmatic perfection” and “doctrinal purity” by extending “the hand of fellowship outside their own ‘denominational’ confines” (V., Sept. 1981, p. 18).

Now, compare the views disseminated by Edward Fudge and others. Just as some people overlook “the fact that God, by nature, hates and punishes sin, so legalism ignores and fails to reckon with the fact that man, by nature, is a sinner.” This is why man does not obey God perfectly “either before . . . or after” he becomes a Christian. Notice the references just quoted on God’s nature – indicating constitutional and inherent nature – and then man’s nature. Fudge continues, “It is an eternal principle that man, because he is man, sins. God does not make him sin. God did not create him so that he had to sin.” But “man is a sinner” and “even when he sincerely tries he does not do what God wants him to do” (The Grace of God, pp. 14, 17). Since God did not originally make man’s nature constitutionally and inherently sinful, when did it become so? Here lurks some theory of Original Sin with man inheriting sin, guilt, a sinful nature, or a tendency to sin. What is the solution to this sinful nature which causes man to sin “by nature”? Fudge teaches the imputation of Christ’s obedience as the answer. The Bible teaches none of it!

Fudge convinced Bruce Edwards that a Christian could “go through a lifetime believing that instrumental music was okay and still be a ‘man of faith”‘ – i.e. saved by faith (A Journey Toward Jesus, pp. 25, 35). He applies the same premise to institutionalism and any number of other sins. Since man is constitutionally a sinner, we are all in error and should extend the hand of fellowship in all directions.

Arnold Hardin has been on a crusade for years to convert everyone to similar views. He objects to “the notion that the nature of man did not change due to the fall of Adam” and to anyone saying man “could” avoid sin if he “would” (Persuader, I Jan. 1983, p. 3). This means that Adam could have avoided sin and was responsible to do so, until his nature changed with his first sin. If he could not avoid sin afterward, how and why should he be accountablefor any subsequent sin? Since we inherit Adam’s fallen nature, how and why should we ever be accountable for any sin? Like Fudge, Hardin resolves the problem of our corrupt nature by the imputation of Christ’s own righteousness to us. We may understand our position by comparing it to David’s, Hardin claims. David was not separated from God or in danger of hell when he sinned by adultery, deception, murder, or any other way (ibid., 5 May 1985, p. 3). Other writers have echoed this argument on David – and some have made the same application to Simon in Acts 8. R.L. Kilpatrick edits Ensign from Huntsville, Alabama, regards Robert Brinsmead as a modem Martin Luther and Alexander Campbell, and regularly pushes the ideas of sinful nature and imputed righteousness (Sept. 1981, pp. 3-5).

Passages Misused

Passages misused to teach hereditary total depravity include those which speak of -the universality of sin, such as Romans 1-23. All such passages refer to each person sinning on his own choice as Adam did, rather than to man’s constitutional and inherent nature. Psalm 51:11 (“cast me not away from thy presence”) is perverted as proof that David was in fellowship with God even as he sinned and afterward before repenting. A simple reading of the psalm along with Psalm 32 shows that David fully realized the pain and sorrow of his separation from God in sin. He pleads for pardon lest he be cast away with finality as a hardened impenitent (cf. Heb. 6:4-6; 12:17). Romans 5:12 does not say that Adam’s sin or corrupt nature is transmitted to all men, but simply that sin entered the world through Adam.

Romans 7:19 (“for the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do”) does not say that it was impossible for Paul to do right because of inherent depravity. It simply says he did not do right. Having made the choice of his own will to sin, he found the law of Moses made him painfully aware of his guilt but provided no final and perfect sacrifice. The “body” of sin and death and the “flesh” in this context refer not to inherent depravity but to the life of condemnation from which he was delivered by the gospel of Christ (6:6; 7:5-6, 24-25). The remission of his sins released him from this “body” and “flesh,” rather than leaving him to struggle with a supposed sinful nature of depravity and corruption.

Ephesians 2:3 (“by nature the children of wrath”) does not refer to a constitutionally depraved nature but to the repeated practices of those who “walked” after “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (v. 2; cf. Col. 1:21, “by wicked works”). As in Romans 7, they had been delivered from this state, which confirms that one’s constitutional or inherited nature is not in view.

1 John ought to be the last book for anyone to use in trying to sustain the theory that man’s union with God is not broken by sin committed under the impulse of his falleri nature. “The spirit draws near to the light of God’s presence even as the body sins” is the gnostic error John refutes! Rather than argue that man must sin because of the inherent nature of his body, John says, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not” (2:1). John wrote to say that we must not sin – we are commanded not to sin – expected not to sin – responsible not to sin. If we do sin, it is not expected and accepted, not overlooked automatically and continuously. We are accountable. God will call upon us to confess our sin in order that the blood of Christ may remove the blot and stain of our evil deeds (1:5-2:2).

A Pies for Vigilance and Balance!

Brethren, strange and uncertain sounds among us bear watching. Open study is imperative. Remember too that someone may hold a tenet related to the false concept of man’s nature without embracing all the errors and implications of an apostate system of unity. His clear and firm convictions on other related matters may hold him in check. His willingness to speak out on matters of truth may tend to alienate him from the radical apostates who are charting a course into denominationalism. In a similar way, Alexander Campbell alienated himself from denominational people because he preached too much truth, before he had given up some denominational ideas. Remember also that controversy conducted in a proper spirit helps us all to review what we believe and teach. It is a bad sign when someone teaches a thing and then wants immunity from review and discussion, always responding with the cry, “Foul play!” rather than with Book, Chapter, and Verse. If all of us will make our appeal to “what saith the Scriptures,” rather than to sympathy because of real or imagined personal offenses, healthy progress will be made by all concerned. May God give us a balance of wisdom from above, courage for truth, hatred of error, and love for one another!

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 1, pp. 3-5, 11
January 1, 1987

By Weldon E. Warnock

“That the sin of Adam injured not himself only but also all descending from him by ordinary generation, is part of the faith of the whole Christian world. The nature and extent of the evil this entailed upon this race, and the ground or reason of the descendants of Adam having involved in the evil consequences of his transgression, have ever been matter of diversity and discussion.”(1)

Theologians speak of Adam’s sin as “original sin” and they usually define it to mean “that man has gone very far from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil.” Consequently, they say that all men, as the descendants of Adam, have this original depravity, derived from continual descent from father to son. There are four (4) principal hypotheses, to one or the other of which all the various explanations offered on this subject may probably be reduced.

Theories

(1) The first theory is that the whole human race was literally in Adam as the oak is in the acorn, and thus participated in his transgression.(2) Augustine taught that “human nature in its totality was present seminally in the first man; not personally but a common act of mankind in their collective or undistributed form of existence.”

(2) The second theory is that Adam was the representative of the race; that as a king, or as an ambassador, or a congress represents the nation, and the entire nation is held responsible for the act of its representative, so Adam represented the human race, was chosen as the type to stand for humanity, and by his trial the whole race was tried, thus sinning in his sin and falling in his fall. Acting thus as representative for the race, his sin was imputed, i.e. charged, to the whole race.

Berkhof wrote: “When he (Adam) sinned in this representative capacity, the guilt of his sin was naturally imputed to all those whom he represented; and as the result of this they are all born in a corrupt state.”(3) This theory explains (in the proponents’ minds) why the descendants of Adam are only responsible for the one sin which he committed as head of the human race, and why Christ, who was not a human being, does not share in the guilt.

(3) The third theory holds that Adam fell, and in falling became a sinner. The universal law of nature is that like begets like. So all his descendants have inherited from him a nature like his own, a nature depraved and prone to sin. Those who maintain this theory add, usually, that man is not responsible for this depraved nature, and that he is not in any strict sense guilty before God for it. . . . In other words, this school distinguishes between sin and depravity, holding all sin to consist in voluntary action, and depravity to be simply that disordered state of the soul which renders it prone to commit sin. . . . According to this view, mankind are overwhelmed in ruin, which Adam brought upon the race, but are not guilty except as they become so by personal conduct.(4)

Tertullian thought the soul consists of human substance and it comes into existence with the body in and through generation as a transmission from the seed of Adam. This is “Truducianism,” a philosophy which means that the soul as well as the body is begotten by reproduction from the substance of the parents. It is the opposite of “Creationism,” which is the doctrine that God creates a new human soul for every human being that is born.

The Bible teaches that God “formeth the spirit of man within him” (Zech. 12:1) and that He is “the God of the spirits of all flesh” (Num. 16:22; 27:16). Hebrews 12:9 states, “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?”

J. Barmby stated: “Our earthly parents transmit to us our carnal existence; our spiritual part, in whatever mysterious way derived or inspired, is due to our Divine parentage; and it is in respect of this that we are God’s children and accountable to him” (Pulpit Commentary). Though Hebrews 12:9 does not teach Creationism. as opposed to Truducianism, it does teach, as Barmby said, our Divine parentage. Hence, we do not inherit a depraved and evil nature since God is the Father of our spirits and we are His offspring (Acts 17:29).

(4) The fourth theory, known in theological language . . . . as Pelagianism, denies that there is any connection between Adam and his posterity, or that the race is in any sense held responsible for, or on account of, Adam’s sin . . . . Each soul, for itself, chooses its own destiny by its voluntary choice of good or evil, right or wrong.(5)

Obviously, and very succinctly, the Bible teaches what is stated in #4. Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven is as little children or infants (Matt. 19:13-15; Lk. 18:15-17). Certainly, Jesus was not saying the kingdom was like little depraved sinners! Man has free will to come to the Lord (Matt. 11:28-30; Rev. 22:17). Space does not allow an extensive study on this matter. Compare other articles in this special series.

Post-Apostolic Teachings

The views about “original sin” and “inherited depravity” arose after the days of the apostles. Tertullian (145-220) was the first to use the expression vitium orginis to describe the stain or blemish or defect from which man’s nature suffered since the Fall; so that while his true nature is good, evil has become a second nature to him. But this “original sin” he did not regard as involving guilt.(6) The moral powers might be enfeebled by the Fall, but with one voice, up to the time of Augustine, the teachers of the church declared they were not lost.(7) Athanasius (293-373), father of orthodoxy, maintained in the strongest terms that man has the ability of choosing good as well as evil, and even allowed exceptions to original sin, alleging that several individuals, who lived prior to the appearance of Christ, were free of it.(8)

Cyril of Jerusalem (died 386) assumed that life of man begins in a state of innocence, and that sin enters only with the use of free will. It is said that Chlysostom (345-407) passed a sincere censure upon those who endeavored to excuse their own defects by ascribing the origin of sin to the fall of Adam. Others, such as Hilary (died 367) and Ambrose of Milan (340-379) taught the defilement of sin by birth. However, neither excluded the liberty of man from the work of moral corruption.(9)

Inheritance from Adam

Interestingly, the Rabbis taught, as recorded by Edersheim, that Adam lost six things by his sin. They are: the shining splendour of his person, even his heels being like sun; his gigantic size, from east to west, from earth to heaven; the spontaneous splendid products of the ground, and of all fruittrees; an infinitely greater measure of light on the part of the heavenly bodies; and finally, endless duration of life. But even these are to be restored by the Messiah.(10)

What we inherit from Adam or what consequences we suffer as a result of his sin are set forth in Genesis 3 and other places. The modernists contend that the Genesis 3 account of the Fall and the consequences thereof, are nothing more than allegory or fable. But Horne wrote, “It has been the fashion with minute philosophers and philosophising divines to endeavor to explain away the reality of the fall, and to resolve it all into allegory, apologue, or moral fable; but the whole scheme of redemption by Christ is founded upon it, and must stand or fall with it; a figurative fall requiring only a figurative redemption.”(11)

Genesis 3 is a historical account of man’s fall and we observe the following things man inherits or receives as a consequence of Adam’s sin.

(1) The penalty of physical death. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (v. 19). God had said to Adam, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17). We see this sentence pronounced on Adam after he had eaten the forbidden fruit and fallen in 3:19. Indeed, dying, he died.

Paul wrote, “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:21-22).

(2) The continuous struggle between descendants of woman and serpent. The hostility commenced between the woman and her destroyer was to be continued by their descendants. . . . the seed of the serpent being those of Eve’s posterity who should imbibe the devil’s spirit and obey the devil’s rule. . . . and the seed of the woman signifying those whose character and life should be of an opposite description, and in particular the Lord Jesus Christ, who is styled by preeminence “the Seed” (Gal. 3:16-17), and who came to “destroy the works of the devil.”(12)

Thus Genesis 3:15 has been rightly called the “maternal promise,” the “protevangelium,” meaning the first proclamation of the gospel. We would not want to claim that this “maternal promise,” in its deeper application, refers exclusively to the Christ. It is obvious that in the first part of the verse the terms “the seed of the woman” and the “seed of the serpent” are collective nouns and they indicate an ongoing spiritual conflict between the seed of the woman will gain the ultimate victory, a victory not won by the collective seed of the woman, but by that one unique seed of the woman, the Lord Jesus Christ, and by Him alone.(13) However, through Him we can be conquerors (cf. Jn. 12:31; Col. 2:15; Heb. 2:14; 1 Jn. 3:8; Rom. 16:20; Rev. 17:14).

(3) Pregnancy and childbirth attended by pain. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” (v. 16). For woman the bearing of children is to be a difficulty. The pains which will come to her will threaten her own life, she will go down to the very gate of death before her children come into the world. Too, she will be dependent on her husband and he will rule over her.(14)

(4) Physical hardship, painful toil, disappointing vexations and hard struggle. “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the bread of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. . . ” (vv. 17-19). So serious was man’s transgression that on account of him the ground is cursed. How is it possible for a curse to be placed upon the ground since it is inanimate and not responsible? What is meant is that the curse upon the ground is with respect to man, so that the one who will feel the effects of the curse is not the ground but man himself.

Instead of a friendly earth, a curse now spreads out over the ground and man stands as it were upon enemy soil. Adam is to eat of the ground. It will not deny him its produce, but his eating will be in sorrow. All labor will be difficult. Man will have to engage in severe struggle for his own existence. He will till the soil, but it will send forth thorns and thistles.(15)

(5) Environmental influences and conditions for temptations. “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). Paul does not say how these were made sinners by the disobedience of Adam, nor how they are to be made righteous by the obedience of Christ. It is pure assumption to argue that the disobedience of Adam is imputed to his offspring, or that the obedience of Christ is imputed to anybody. Neither guilt nor personal righteousness can be transferred from one person to another, but the consequences of either may, to some extent, fall upon others.

By his sin Adam brought about conditions that make every person subject to temptation. In this way he made sinners.(16) “It was through the conditions brought about by Adam’s sin that the temptations and environmental influences tended to cause man to sin, that by his disobedience many were made sinners. Actually they were made sinners by their own sins, and not his.”(17)

In the midst of this earthly life we toil, struggle and die. There is nothing we can do to earn the right to partake of the tree of life. There is only One, the second Adam, Jesus Christ, who makes it possible for us to obtain eternal life and gain access to the tree of life in the heavenly paradise of God. In this second Adam there is life, hope and peace. Only in Him who was dead and liveth for evermore, do we have life.

Endnotes

1. Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, Part 2, p. 192.

2. McClintock and Strong, Vol. 9, p. 765.

3.(NOTE: No corresponding number found in original document) Ibid.

3. L. Berkhof, Manual of Christian Doctrine, p. 144.

4. McClintock and Strong, op. cit.

5. Ibid., p. 766.

6. J.F. Bethune-Baker, An Introduction to the Early History of Christian Doctrine, p. 307.

7. Ibid.

8. K.R. Hagenbach, History of Doctrines, Vol. 1, p. 293.

9. Ibid., pp. 293-295.

10. Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus, Vol. 1, p. 166.

11. Thomas Horne, Introduction to the Scriptures, Vol. 1, pp. 143-144.

12. Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 1.

13. G. Charles Alders, Genesis, Vol. 1, p. 107.

14. Edward J. Young, Genesis 3, pp. 123-124.

15. Ibid., pp. 130-139.

16. R.L. Whiteside, Paul’s Letter to the Saints at Rome, pp. 125-126.

17. Bryan Vinson, Sr., Paul’s Letter to the Saints at Rome, p. 106.

Guardian of Truth XXXI: 1, pp. 19-21
January 1, 1987