This is largely a brief outline of Chapter 7 of Called to Believe: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine, edited by Steven P. Mueller.
Historical Origin of Sin
Was there evil in God’s creation as he completed his work of creating?
Genesis 1:31
So what happened to God’s perfect creation?
Revelation 12:7-9
2 Peter 2:4
So who first sinned?
When did humanity first sin (The Fall)?
Genesis 3:1-7
Who is to blame?
Who shares responsibility?
Genesis 3:12-13
Does God share responsibility in the Fall?
Could we say God allow the Fall? Could we say God caused the Fall?
Was the Fall a Fall Up or a Fall Down?
What did humanity lose in the Fall?
Original Sin
What was the first sin?
Genesis 3:6 – “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.”
Doubt = Unbelief
What was the result of that sin?
Romans 5:19 — “through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.”
Psalm 14:3 — “there is no one who does good, not even one.”
John 3:6 – “flesh gives birth to flesh”
Sin was passed down from parent to child (Inherited Sin)
Sin is not simply an action; it is a condition!
Original Sin is the sinfulness inherited in our conception.
Genesis 8:21 – “every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood”
Psalm 51:5 – “Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
Romans 5:19 – “through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners.”
Psalm 14:3 – “there is no one who does good, not even one.”
Actual Sins
Original Sin – Objective. A sinful state.
Actual Sin – Subjective. Sinful acts.
Galatians 5:19-21 – “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Actual sins are the product of original sin.
What is sin?
1 John 3:4 – “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in face, sin is lawlessness.”
2 Peter 2:8 – “lawless deeds”
So, whose Law is being broken?
Sins of Commission and Sins of Omission
Exodus 20:1-17 (Commission)
James 4:17 (Omission)
Sins of Thought, Word, and Deed
Matthew 5:22 (Thought, Emotion)
Matthew 12:36-37 (Words)
- John 3:15 (Deed)
The Causes of Sin
The Devil
Revelation 12:9
John 13:2
The World
Matt 18:7
1 John 2:16
The Flesh (Sinful Human Nature)
Matt 15:19
James 1:14
Gal 5:19
Not God!!!
1 John 1:5 – “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all”
1 John 2:16
Consequences of Sin
Sin Separates
Man from Man
Man from God
Temporal Consequences
Divine Punishment (God hates sin)
Chastisement that leads to forgiveness
Consequences for the act itself
Eternal Consequences
Eternal Separation from God
The Ultimate Consequence of Sin – Death
Temporal, Physical Death
Romans 5:12 – “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned”
Romans 6:23 – “the wages of sin is death”
Spiritual Death
Ephesians 2:1 – “you were dead in your transgressions and sins”
Eternal Death
Revelation 20:14 – “second death”
What does this mean for all of us?
Sin was like the opening of Pandora’s Box
Sin brought everything evil, bad, and sad into the world
Pain, Suffering, and ultimately Death
Andy Wrasman 