I have taught this subject with good response and amazement in terms of showing how badly the early “inventors” of Catholicism and Protestantism failed in creating their doctrines. Simply said, where did these people get such strange non-scriptural ideas? Throughout the centuries these basic teachings have become landmarks for their respective religions and thus they can “never” be abandoned. The world accepts these teachings on sin and many, maybe most have participated in the associated “ceremonies.” These teachings can best be described in terms of the consequences as being a terror to humankind. The good news is you can confidently walk away from those groups that promote these doctrines if you love the truth. In this chapter you will come to understand the nature of these errors. We are talking about the Catholic doctrine of original sin (or inherited sin) and the Protestant doctrine of inherited depravity (or total inherited depravity or inherited sin nature).

One may also realize if these doctrines are fabricated, then how many other “cherished beliefs” are in error. Some other doctrines of these religions have a basis in the validity of original sin or inherited depravity. Actually, none of the teachings of either of these groups are valid and this could be expected as they have so carelessly handled God’s word. Therefore it is fair to say both of these religions fall on the basis of their errors in this one very central “sin related” issue.

There is truth and there is error and what we are going to discuss is highly damaging error because it involves your eternity. For many people it is necessary to get past what they have been taught before they can accept the truth and of course the truth is the primary motivation of this document. Here is the strange part considering all that is at stake – people frequently don’t care but want to continue in their present belief and are not open to anything different. This is often because they become convinced that no one really knows the truth and their belief is as good, maybe better than anyone else. God has decided to divide people along the lines of having a love of the truth. That usually means loving the truth more than the things needed to fill their various desires and being open to considering things that may in conflict with current beliefs. This desire for truth, this willingness to search for truth makes a huge difference in coming to an understanding of God and what He requires of you. One thing for sure, by leaving your eternal fate in the hands of some theologian or cleric places you in the position of trusting man and not God. Sin enters the world and Catholicism and Protestantism both miss the mark in terms of understanding God’s meaning – really they do not understand God as He has revealed Himself. Doctrinal errors pile up with a bad foundation and in the case of sin there is incredible confusion leading to many new doctrines. As always accepting error leads people further from the truth they so desperately need.

So indeed
The fall of Catholicism and Protestantism in One Simple Lesson
Is very possible!

A BIBLE LESSON:
“WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT
INHERITED SIN / INHERITED DEPRAVITY?”

Note: This material has been used in the authors oral teaching on this subject as well found in his books and websites.

The subject fits well with the objective of the author to help people overcome religious deceit that is in the world with an end goal of “soul success.” This subject does not represent some great theological effort but is the obvious outcome of taking God’s word seriously. The scriptures were not designed by God to be the place for deep analysis by theologians, but straight-forward information related to salvation – for everyone. The scriptures fit God’s purpose perfectly. They can be interrogated in a way such that any issue can be understood by simply realizing God’s message is perfect. Because it is perfect everything in God’s word fits together. Genesis 1.1 through Revelation 22.21 is a continuum with a single purpose. It is not complicated, and God means what He says.

Those who venture into God’s word seeking God and truth after “looking around” in diligent study will begin to appreciate God and His word. God points to the prudent who in “ultra-diligence” go beyond taking God for what He says. They are exceedingly prudent, and God refers to them as those whose knowledge will be brought to nothing. In effect they frequently filter God’s word using various personal filters. They are personal inasmuch as they have motives or certain prejudices injected into their study. Instead of seeking God’s meaning they are trying to bring evidence to their view. A hypothetical example might be the Catholic scholar that needs to find evidence for infant baptism and finds a significant use of the practice in the earlier centuries. He includes this along with other nebulous information like the possibility of Lydia’s household might have included a baby who was baptized and presents this as evidence. Understanding God and His purpose grounds you in what is really important and the seriousness of God’s word. The professional apologist’s of all religions are experts in creating evidence where there is none and those without a love of the truth are easy victims of their skills.

One could suggest that in the process of teaching the truth about inherited sin or sin nature in this chapter there is a prudent effort. However, we take God’s word seriously and do not filter it with any prejudice. The reason for the deep dive “prudent appearance” is the need to talk about the things NOT in God’s word (inherited sin and/or inherited sin nature) and their man-made justifications.

One Overwhelming Aspect of the Truth Is Dread and Anxiety

(A little background before we study the scriptures in relation to original sin and inherited depravity)

Your courage is appreciated in terms of reading something that you might know will be in opposition to what you currently believe. It can be overwhelming to learn long held, cherished beliefs are highly questionable and in fact apparently wrong. In the end it does not help you or others to just know the truth unless there is a willingness to act on it. So even before we begin the study of these subjects do you have a commitment to do the right thing? Since there may be dread and anxiety when truth is discovered. The dread involves those who taught you and those loved ones who died following after error. Also there may be a serious concern of how many other things are wrong. The anxiety may be how your life needs to change. Additionally, at some point you might wonder how were these ridiculous doctrines created – how could people get it so wrong?

The deceitful doctrines of Catholicism and Protestantism in this matter has occurred as a result of something God built into His plan to achieve His purpose. Yet in no way is the deceit initiated by God. There are certain people whose characters God does not want to share eternity. Such characteristics as pride, greed, selfishness, envy and so-on are in the background of sinful ways. There are various commands from God that some will find unacceptable. You do not like them and will not follow them. There are also people who realized the power (over others) of twisting God’s word to their own benefit. If done well (deceptive) the scriptures can be twisted to gain control over people often by creating a need usually associated with a person’s eternal success. This is the case for the doctrines we are discussing and additionally building on the “twisted” scriptures leads to a variety of new doctrines and not surprisingly this means more control if appropriately designed. One might wonder how can God allow this. There are many consequences of free will and the twisting of the scriptures is one. Yet there is no meaningful purpose for God if humankind cannot make free-will choices. It is apparent that if free will is restricted then it is not free will. Indeed it is up to each person to make good choices, to have a love of the truth and accept nothing less. There is only meaning for God’s purpose if a person’s chooses to believe to the extent of doing God’s will. God does not force a person to act one way or another and this can easily be understood regarding worshipping God. There would be no meaningful worship if people were forced to worship. It must be a person’s choice and a great deal of what God has done in His plan has to do with encouraging a person to make the free will choice to worship. God has done this perfectly by graciously revealing His purpose and a great deal about Himself. People exhibiting certain characteristics in their life such as pride will choose to reject God. Indeed, God has built-in various things to His plan such that persons demonstrating certain characteristics will choose of their own free will to reject God. The HOW God did this perfectly is not known but is seen in the simple case of a proudful person not willing to open their mind to something different.

So, it might be said by way of helping your understanding that the equivalent of perfection of God creating everything from nothing would be His perfection as He goes about separating good from evil. God is perfect in getting the right persons for heaven and at a high level they will be humble, selfless persons who love the truth. They are the ones that will follow the Savior in obedience. Although the truth is before all men and women only those with “good hearts” will see beyond their desires and live for Christ and the gospel. Indeed, God speaks things into existence controlling for instance the spin of all the heavenly bodies. His purpose is not the stage for the test but the success of the cast (their souls). You can be certain that God is perfect (perfect justice at judgment and perfect love) in assuring only the right people succeed. Yet it will always be their choice, never forced. Humankind is not used to dealing with perfection and God has been generous in telling us a great deal about Himself and His purpose. Jesus explained something to the apostles regarding His teaching in parables. Specifically, Jesus indicated when preaching the parables of the kingdom that some will hear but not understand.

Luke 8:10

10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’

The same principle is at work today inasmuch as people hear but do not understand and it is for the same type of reasons such as hearts hardened by pride. God will NOT be spending eternity with those who exhibit certain unacceptable characteristics. It is not a person’s character that results in the failed life, but ultimately that they die in sin. Life’s test (your personal battle with sin) will sort out those worthy of sharing in the Divine Nature. Let me give a simple example. God is very clear that the proud will not be successful. Yet the message of salvation is open to all and all have a free will to make their choices. One choice is relative to sin, but can a proud or selfish or other such person decide to follow God and abandon sin? Pride is seen in people who do things their way and will not submit to God so despite heaven being within his/her grasp they will choose to get all they can in this present existence.

God has a meaning for everything and has provided humankind the truth and a consistent warning regarding not changing it. The admonition is not to add to it or take away from it. The scriptures are central to a person’s salvation and this chapter deals with making substantial changes to God’s word and in effect thwarting God’s purpose. In our case these changes are largely additions. God hates all lies but changing the word of truth of the gospel is in direct opposition to God’s purpose. In view of the terrible suffering and death which His Son endured to provide the opportunity to share in the Divine Nature there is the reward and there are the consequences of rejection.

There is definitely an overwhelming aspect of dread and anxiety when a person discovers the truth. However, there is also an overwhelming aspect of hope and purpose as you pass through this stage. There is something wonderful inasmuch as there is certainty and heaven is within your grasp. You now know that there was no hope of heaven when the truth was not present in your life. The inventions of sin nature and original sin are not just lies, but their development resulted in other doctrines also not true which destroyed any opportunity for salvation in these religions. Indeed, sin nature and original sin in their existence are destructive to the soul because their association is with those who do not offer truth in relation to sins committed.

The Terror of Original Sin and Inherited Depravity Doctrines

I categorize this lesson as a teaching lesson. Both of these doctrines in the title are false. So much of what people believe religiously has deceit at the core. The lesson deals with this issue of “inherited sin” called by some original sin or what other groups call total inherited depravity or an inherited sin nature. In both cases one or the other of these different doctrines are imputed to each person. At birth you are either born in sin or born with a sin nature according respectively to Catholicism or Protestantism. Both are false and easily dissected for the correct understanding. Sadly, as mentioned, these doctrines are the basis of what many people believe religiously. The good news is that as we easily show these to be false, then the associated doctrines built on these will also fall. One doctrine that is closely associated with these false teachings is infant baptism. Infant baptism is one of those doctrines due to its claims that endears people to a religious organization. People believe they are doing something wonderful for their infant. Seldom, if ever, do people question their religious leadership regarding the long history of their basic beliefs. The doctrines and processes become the religion and can be beloved. We need to understand the origin of our beliefs! Religion should only be valued if it is the truth. Whereas religion is valued in its comfortable rote and that means in its honoring of men and women – not God.
Of course, the reason that these doctrines exist at all is a disgusting disrespect for the word of God. Bible subjects are simple. Confusion only comes when men mix their ideas with Bible passages to create false teaching. The religions based on these doctrines call themselves Christians. They are not Christians and frequently because of this error and its consequences on what God defined for salvation. The consequences evolve into other doctrines, invented in support of the basic error. As a result, they have not done what God requires of them to become Christians. The table below presents the basic name of the teaching, the meaning and generally credited origin. Ironically, these infant baptisms done to eliminate non-existent original sin, or an inherited sin nature may in many or most cases keep a person from receiving baptism for forgiveness of sins that they committed and are real.

Differences in Catholic/Protestant teaching of original sin versus total inherited depravity

The doctrine “meaning” varies somewhat with different Protestant groups, but most accept the meaning given in the table above. Even though the Catholic and Protestant teachings are quite different, the things that tie them together are the same key verses used as proof texts. One verse from the Old Testament and one verse from the New Testament are primarily used. Both groups are interestingly misinterpreting these verses differently. There are “other verses” used by Catholics and Protestants in support of these respective doctrines. However, none of those verses support either of these doctrines. We will study the verses considered the most powerful used to support the Catholic and Protestant teachings and indicate what is correct meaning. It is difficult to imagine how anyone could conclude from scripture the doctrines of original sin or inherited depravity. It all starts with Catholicism’s creation of original sin. That begins with St. Augustine’s Theory. Saint Augustine of Hippo was born in 354 and died in 430 and is a highly quoted theologian to this day. Original sin was the proposal of Saint Augustine and finally at Council or Trent (1545-63) received the official stamp to the idea that original sin was transferred from generation to generation by propagation – which means during the physical act that resulted in conception. This formalized the notion of Original Sin as part of Roman Catholic doctrine. Amazing, suddenly at the council of Trent a group of Catholic men determine officially all people are born in sin. Historically, there were infant baptisms going back to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th centuries and various doctrinal questions about original sin especially its means of transference to each newborn. Augustine’s anti-Pelagian defense of original sin was confirmed at numerous councils, i.e. Carthage (418), Ephesus (431), Orange (529), Trent (1546) and by popes, i.e. Pope Innocent I (401–417) and Pope Zosimus (417–418). Augustine’s inherited guilt eternally damning infants was omitted by these councils and popes. Catholicism has moved its teaching to fit the times but really to fit the masses of people who strongly did not like their answers. The objection of damning infants not baptized was resolved first by creating a place called limbo which was not heaven or hell but an existence without suffering. Later and to this day (it can always change) Catholic logic teaches since God wants all to be saved (true) and achieve heaven that the Catholic hope is that these unbaptized infants will in some way (only known to God) be allowed into heaven. After all this time of prudent debate on this matter among Catholics they currently present a different doctrine and it is, “a HOPE all turns out well with unbaptized infants.”

Note: The author does his best to discuss the religious inventions of humankind. It is easy to provide the truth from the scriptures as they are perfect – everything fits! The thoughts of humankind in relation to God have no basis in truth but do have nebulous origins that change frequently and there are usually many versions. There may be thousands of human documents associated with each doctrine and developed or being developed over many centuries. These things end up being of equal or greater authority than the scriptures in supporting a groups beliefs. God as He indicates is not the author of confusion, but any other source of religious doctrine brings chaos along with the deceit.

This is not a very difficult study and demonstrates how beginning with the desired doctrine you can find verses to apparently support that doctrine. That is, you can twist verses to fool people into believing you have scriptural support. Peter spoke of this in 2 Peter 3.16 ….. “which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.”

A simple study of these invented sins will produce no evidence of their existence and very importantly show they are inconsistent and in opposition to all scripture. The root cause problem here is much deeper than a few verses being twisted but how the purpose of God and God’s nature as He reveals it is so badly represented. These so-called people of religion are totally void of the true knowledge of God. It is a travesty that so few have been diligent and respectful of the word of God. The teachings of the religions of humankind are heavily influenced by the selfish and power seeking motives of evil persons and typically devised many hundreds of years ago. In effect the religions of these doctrines make God out to be evil and not perfect, and not all powerful. They do this in subtle ways, and they may not fully understand the damage they do, nonetheless they are without excuse. The “so-called Christian” religions understand how various doctrines benefit them, usually related to maintaining power over their supporters. They underestimate the seriousness of God’s word. These teachings on original sin and inherited depravity are in opposition to God’s plan. One of the sad aspects of these false teachings is how they distract a person from the truth. Why look for the truth when you believe you already possess it.

Martin Luther and John Calvin departed from Catholicism, but Protestantism’s mistake was the failure of those opposing Catholicism to realize Catholicism never had any connection with God and could be considered as being the opposite to the truth. Thus they held to many of the Catholic doctrines or in some cases modified them. At least early on they continued to agree on infant baptism and original sin. Eventually, Protestantism would eliminate original sin but apparently must have thought there was some merit and determined humankind was born with a sin nature. Nonetheless, we will look at the claims of those who support these doctrines and how they try to use certain versus to justify the teachings.

The two most significant proof verses are Psalm 51.5 and Romans 5.12

Psalms 51.5

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

And

Romans 5.12

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.

First, I hope people would be suspicious of such names as original sin or inherited depravity because they are not Bible names or in any way Bible concepts. The rules for our study are simple.

Rules of Study

The knowledge from God provided to humankind needs to be highly respected and certainly not carelessly handled. The seriousness of God’s word can easily be underestimated, and the motive is usually personal problems with God’s doctrine – specifically God’s definition of sin and associated punishment. The other common motive is rather sinister and involves creating doctrine that requires others to be needful of for instance a religious organization. It is a way of having power over people and usually the false doctrine makes the person dependent on this “group” for spiritual success. God’s word in its perfection fits everything together thus those loving the truth easily reach the correct meaning. Carefully consider the verses below which are representative of many more verses. You can see the seriousness of God regarding His word which has been left for humankind. You must get to God’s meaning and in a confused world that requires study and diligence. Our rules for study come from God’s advice for handling His word.

2 Tim 3.15,16,17

15 And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly
equipped for every good work.

And

2 Tim 2.15

Be diligent to present yourself approved of God, a worker
who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.

And

Ephesians 5.15-17

15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Some practical advice for getting to the correct meaning that is God’s meaning is as follows:
1. Study all the Bible verses on the subject in question
2. Even in advance of this you will need to understand God’s purpose as well as understand God (i.e. God’s character) as He has revealed Himself. Some interpretations of Bible verses are very obviously in opposition to God’s purpose and/or oppose God’s nature and thus incorrect.
3. Be aware of the consequences of private interpretations, of changing or adding to or taking away from the word of God.

The verses used to support Protestant and Catholic teaching respectively for inherited depravity and original sin will now be discussed. One of the key verses used to support these doctrines is in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. The Old Testament verse used to respectively support Protestant and Catholic inherited sin and original sin is from Psalms.

Focus on Psalm 51.5 as claimed evidence for original sin and inherited depravity
Beginning with Psalm 51.1-5, and it will be helpful to read Psalm 51.1-5 to understand the context (David speaking):

Psalm 51.1-5

Beginning with Psalm 51.1-5, let us look at these verses. It will be helpful to read Psalm 51.1-5 to understand the context (David speaking):

1 Have mercy upon me O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight
That you may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge.
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
We want to analyze these verses without prejudice, without being
careless, and with confidence in God’s Word. The Bible definition of
sin will be helpful in this study.

We want to analyze these verses without prejudice, without being careless, and with confidence in God’s Word. The Bible definition of sin will be helpful in this study.
God defines sin in terms of violating His laws.

1 John 3.4

4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

This is a fundamental understanding and nothing in the scriptures indicates sin is produced in any other manner. Sin is always in relation to what God defines as sin. It is typical of those creating doctrine to effectively make God out to be careless. In our case God would be very careless in not making such critical doctrines in relation to sin to be exceedingly clear. God really missed the mark. Or perhaps inherited sin and original sin do not exist. Throughout your life you will be making decisions regarding who to believe that is either God or man. It is because of God’s perfection as seen in His word you can easily to dismantle the religious inventions of humankind. Of course, that brings us back to having a love of the truth and the central question of how badly you want to achieve heaven. Practically speaking we are talking about your intensity in seeking God and truth. The Protestant use of these two verses arrives at the conclusion that each person is born with inherited depravity or a sin nature.

Again for reference the primary verse being studied.

Psalm 51.5

5 Behold, I was brought forth [shapen or born] in iniquity [lawlessness or wickedness],
And in sin my mother conceived me.

The following is typical of Protestant doctrine. This statement coming from London Confession—Baptist, chapter VI, part 2, 4:

Our first parents by this Sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them, whereby death came upon all; all becoming dead in Sin, and wholly defiled, in all faculties, and parts of soul, and body . . . 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.

Another example comes from Albert Garner, Missionary Baptist, in the Royal Birth a Life of Liberty, pp. 8-9.
I, by natural birth, then am too wicked to live, too sinful to die, and too vile to meet God . . . Total Hereditary Depravity means that man in his entire self is bad. He inherited this nature from Adam through the human race, Romans 5:12. Consequently, he is entirely inherently conceived in badness. I mean by total that man is bad, mind, body and spirit. Yes a sinner by nature . . . Before God, I by nature am depraved and unclean. Our best is but odious and obnoxious to the nostril of Him until the life is changed by a new nature that is imparted. So total depravity says you were born with the image of the devil and that you have the same moral nature as the devil.

On the other hand, Catholics use this scripture to teach inherited sin or, as they call it, original sin. A reading from The Teaching of Christ (a Catholic catechism for adults, 1976), page 84:
Basing its teaching firmly on Scripture (esp. Romans 5.12-19), the Church teaches that from Adam original sin has been transmitted to all men. Not only do men tend to imitate the sinfulness that surrounds them, but each individual is born in a condition of sin, and can be freed from that condition only by the merits of Jesus Christ. The original sin each person inherits is not an actual sin he personally commits. Rather, “it is human nature so fallen, stripped of the grace that clothed it, injured in its own natural powers and subjected to the dominion of death, that is transmitted to all men, and it is in this sense that every man is born in sin.”

[Note: this last quotation is from Pope Paul VI, Professio Fidei (“The Credo of the People of God,” June 30, 1968). The transmission of original sin means that each descendant of Adam is created without sanctifying grace, and without the special gifts that had accompanied that grace. Thus the entire human race, all of mankind has been wounded by original sin. Universal human experience confirms the teaching that we are born in a sinful state”].
So original or inherited sin differs from depravity in that depravity says:

• Born with sinful nature
• Original sin says, born with sin

Let’s continue our focus on the Old Testament verse from Psalms.

Psalm 51.5
5 Behold, I was brought forth [shapen or born] in iniquity [lawlessness or wickedness],
And in sin my mother conceived me.

Does Psalm 51.5 (or the context) indicate that David was born with a sinful nature?
Or
Does it indicate David was born in sin?
These verses do not specify either of these things, and scripture does not support such an interpretation.

First, determine who is sin attributed to in Psalm 51.5? The word sin and “in sin did my mother conceive me” is not referring to David, but in sin did my mother. The sin is that of David’s mother! The following is an explanation of Psalm 51.5 that is consistent with the context of Psalm 51 and with all Bible teaching on the subject of sin. It may not be the only explanation, but it makes good sense without violating scripture.
David “was brought forth” in a situation of iniquity. All men “are brought forth” into a world filled with those who break God’s law (Genesis 6.5, 6). All men except Adam—he “was brought forth” into a world where there was previously no sin. David was born into a world where sin was commonplace; even that sin was in his mother when he was conceived. Why is David saying all this? Is he trying to teach the doctrine of inherited sin or inherited sin nature? That would be ridiculous and make God one who is trying to teach doctrine out of context. REALIZE David is talking to God in a prayerful way. Saying, have mercy on me, I have sinned, me, I did it! David is no stranger to sin; it has been around him since he was born. He does not put the blame on God or his mother or even the fact that the world around him is lawless. Nevertheless, I have sinned. Forgive me and cleanse me.

Moreover, in verse 9 of Psalm 51, David pleads with God,

Psalms 51.9

Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities.

God did not place on any person a sin for which he/she was not responsible. Neither did God give us a sin nature (a devil nature, an immoral nature). Somehow, someway, man would like to place some or the entire burden for our problems on God. This may be why these teachings without any scriptural basis have become so popular or were invented in the first place. However, by understanding the Catholic mode of operation it can be seen that original sin brought a certain amount of control over the people. To be cleansed they need the wisdom and processes of the Catholic church. Protestantism would receive similar benefit (power over people) just by following the pattern of Catholicism. I really do not know the motives, just speculating. I do know there is absolutely no original sin or inherited depravity in the scriptures. Even more so these doctrines would indicate evil originates from God, which we will see is a pathetic and blasphemous indictment of our generous and loving benefactor. As we read through this chapter we will see God indicating we are His offspring and we were created upright. The valued lesson from David’s prayer is that he admitted he sinned and looked for no excuses, looked to blame no one except himself. David did not ask to remove the sin that God placed against him or to remove his sin nature. David said, I did it and despite all of David’s weaknesses God would say of David that he was a man after God’s own heart.

Thus, men beginning with what they want to believe gain support using some scriptures that “at a careless glance” could be teaching these things. Therefore, we have the fundamental doctrines of Roman Catholic and Protestant religions placing some or all the responsibility for sin on God. You cannot have these doctrines placed on humankind at birth unless God so designates, and this could be considered as indicating God is evil. It is likely that these rule-making men did not intend to blame God in their doctrines, but it is a potential consequence of having God impute sin (or sin nature) to each person. However, humankind is born upright and is the offspring of God and sin comes into their lives by the choices they make, and this is what God consistently emphasizes.

Men can say, “I was born with a nature like the devil.”
Or
“I was born, God having placed a sin against me.”

“Obviously, I had nothing to do with these things; certainly, I am not responsible. I had a bad start!” But God says in:

Ezekiel 18.4

“The soul that sinneth it shall die,”*

and goes on to say in

Ezekiel 18.5 and 9,

5 “But if a man is just
And does what is lawful and right;
9 If he has walked in My statutes
And kept My judgments faithfully—
He is just;
He shall surely live!”**
Says the Lord God.

*Death (spiritually speaking is separation from God) and is the result for the one that sins.
**Live (eternal life) is attributed to following God’s commands.

We can continue in Ezekiel to see how this whole idea of inheriting sin or a sin nature is entirely alien to Bible teaching.

Ezekiel 18.19,20

v19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the
father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and
has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live**”
v20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt
of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The
righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the
wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”

Once again, we see God attributing complete responsibility for lawlessness to the individual. God is not responsible! Ultimately, your earthly father or mother is not responsible for what you do. Neither are you responsible for what they did. Adam’s children were not responsible for what he had done. They did not inherit his sin or a sin nature from Adam. God is the perfect absence of evil and does not impute evil on humankind. God wants humankind to succeed and allows them to make free will choices and would do nothing to hamper their success. He certainly knows the difficult choices every person will have in order to overcome God defined sin.

[Note: Humanity has developed all sorts of ideas about God and often they conclude God is evil in various ways. There is a page called, “God is the perfect absence of evil” and it was designed to help understand how God is the perfect absence of evil. It might seem that having suffering in the world and that ultimately everything that exists comes from God and thus in some way evil has an association with God. This is NOT the case and this page (God is the perfect absence of evil) points out why God is in no way is evil.]

Let’s pause to see the emphasis God places on His perfection, His fairness and that sin always is related to the choices people make.

1 Peter 1.17 says,

The Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work.

Another version (KJV) reads:

The Father without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work.

Do you realize that when one teaches inherited sin, God becomes a “respecter” of persons by placing a bad mark or bad nature against an individual at birth? If that child were to die as an infant or small child having never done anything contrary to God’s will, he or she would be guilty of this mark or would have possessed this “devil” nature. So in complete ignorance of God’s word the “so-call Christian” religions rush off to sprinkle water on a baby. There were no baptisms of babies in the New Testament, no baptismal fountains because there is no sin and babies could not meet the qualifications for baptism as defined in the scriptures (like believing, confessing Christ and repenting). God would have shown less fairness (respect) for one than another. Shame on anyone who would make God a “respecter” of persons, He is not, and He says He is not a “respecter” of persons, but He judges according to every man’s work. The Bible is full of passages that teach where responsibility lies:

Matthew 16.27

27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

Romans 2.5,6

5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds.

Rev 20.12,13

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

1 Corinthians 5.10

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Repeatedly, the Bible teaches that you and I will be held accountable for what we do, for the things done in the body, whether they are good or bad, lawful and right, or lawless and wicked. Jesus is asked a question in Matthew 18.1 and answers that question revealing a characteristic of those who will be obedient. Whereas, God does not assign a bad start to each person in the form of a sin or a sin nature, He observes the sort of character each person develops and its association with the sins they commit. God’s emphasis is on helping people to succeed and He would not universally hamper the efforts of humankind. He does provide how to establish a relationship with Him through His Son and valuable advice on remaining faithful.

Matthew 18.1-4

1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them,
3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus points to the innocence and humility of little children. At times, little children may seem more like little masses of mischief and trouble, but Jesus recognized that as little children, they have not reached the age to be capable of making judgments of right and wrong. So these little children are innocent, sinless, without a sin nature. Their lack of sin/sin nature makes them such as the kingdom of heaven! Jesus makes a special point of a child’s humility. A child exhibits this characteristic of humility in many ways. Young children typically respond well to parental direction when consistently provided. They have not yet learned the “skill” of being bitter and resentful. But as children get older, it becomes a little more of a serious matter. Their pride is beginning to show. Finally as adults, people hear a bad word said about them or even a hint that perhaps someone said something negative about them, and suddenly people are not talking to one another, and grudges are held. Sometimes, something they have believed for years is challenged, and it is very personal; I have been personally attacked! Jesus recognized how a little child can accept teaching and how difficult it is so many times for an adult to humble themselves to God’s message. Therefore, in this lesson of the small child, Jesus pointed out to His disciples and to us through His Word the innocence of little children and how, in fact, we need to turn and become as little children if we are going to be part of the kingdom of heaven. Could Jesus say what He says here in Matthew 18.1-4, to use an example of little children if they had been marked by sin (separated from God) or if from birth they had a sinful nature, totally depraved? I think we can see how ridiculous this is, how ashamed the authors and the supporters of these sin related doctrines ought to be! God in defining salvation has referred to the process as being born again (John 3.5). This has been discussed in previous chapters as obedience to the gospel and that being the form of doctrine patterned after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus as demonstrated in baptism. Peter also refers to our hope as “begotten us again to a living hope.” This idea of begotten again or born again is going back to our sinless state – the pure state of our birth meaning no sin, no sin nature.

1 Peter 1.3-5

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

The extent of damage done by lies (such as infant baptism) in support of this basic lie (inherited sin or sin nature) is very likely more than you can imagine. The nonsense of the religions of humankind is overwhelming and as we declare does not fit together with all scripture and certainly not with God’s purpose. Only the truth stands up to that criteria.

Our heritage is not from the devil but is from God.

Genesis 1.27

So God created man in His own image.

Paul refers to man as the “offspring of God” and tells us how we ought to think of God.

Acts 17.28,29

28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
29 Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s devising.

It is a terrible thing to say we “were brought forth immoral” when we were brought forth in His image and when we are His offspring. God has described our built-in character as upright in Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 7.29

Truly, this only have I found:
That God made man upright,
But they have sought out many schemes.

This verse alone defines humankind as being made upright and that the problems arise out of humankind’s own schemes. It happens to fit together perfectly with all scripture on this subject.

Focus on Romans 5.12 as claimed evidence for original sin and inherited depravity

Now, let us turn our attention to the New Testament verse used as proof text for original sin and inherited sin nature. To get the context, let us look at four verses in Romans.

Romans 5.12-15

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and
death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because
all sinned—
13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed
when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over
those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the
transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to
come.
15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s
offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by
the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.)

Once again, Romans 5.12 as Psalm 51.5 does not teach inherited sin or sin nature, but in fact, they both teach the opposite, that sin, whenever it occurs, is solely the responsibility of the individual. Romans 5.12 declares that sin and death (spiritual death, separation from God) entered by one man, but it does not say or imply that this first sin passed unto all men, that all men receive sin or a sin nature as a result of Adam’s sin. It does teach that all sinned and that death upon all men is for the reason that all sinned. Adam sinned and (spiritual) death entered his life actually physical death would also eventually overtake Adam. As Romans 6.23 teaches, “For the wages of sin is death,” but Adam was the first to sin, so the statement can be made in Romans 5.12, wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin. There is absolutely no indication of sin or sin nature being transmitted to Adam’s descendants – also as mentioned see Ezekiel 18.19,20. The Bible teaches plainly, where sin originates, in Adam’s life or in your life or in mine. Just as explained in James.

James 1.15

15 Then, when desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

The Bible does not attribute sin to your nature but to a choice that you make. When you have the strong desire (lust) for something and that something is a transgression of God’s law, when you do it, you sin of your own free will. It was your choice. God did not put the lust there.

James 1.13,14 says,

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

Reference verse 15:
15 Then, when desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Sin, we learn does not come to man from God in any way! Instead, sin’s pattern is as follows:

• Temptation (which is not from God)
• Followed by lust (strong desire) within the heart of man
• And finally the transgression itself (whether in thought, word, or deed) committed by man or woman
  Note: The death of verse 15 is spiritual death that is dying in sin with its eternal
  implications.

Now let us look at the grammatical construction of Romans 5.12. To make a point, I will substitute words for sin, death, and sinned. Respectively eating, weight gain and eaten are substituted.

Wherefore as by one man, eating [sin] entered into the world and weight gain [death] by eating [sin], and so weight gain [death] passed upon all men, for that all have eaten [sinned].

This teaches that you put on weight because you eat. Those who teach inherited sin or sin nature would have you believe that because Adam ate, you will put on weight. Of course, such is not true! Adam’s sin caused his separation from God, just as your sin or mine causes our separation from God. God’s word is never confusing and does not contain hidden meanings in verses. Thus things like original sin or inherited sin nature or infant baptism are the inventions of humankind – because they are not in the scriptures. In fact, God’s definition of sin is given and well explained and that eliminates all other explanations of sin.
The doctrines of inherited sin and sin nature place a part or all of the blame on God for man’s problems, make God a respecter of persons, and man a child of the devil and thusly add to in places and take away in others from God’s word. The old saying that a lie will require a bigger lie and even yet, a bigger lie just to protect the first and subsequent lies has never been more accurate than it is of these Catholic and Protestant “sin” teachings.

The evolution of Catholic doctrine due to the doctrine of original sin

Let us look at some of the Catholic theology associated with this “unfortunate doctrine” of original sin.

The Immaculate Conception of Mary
Mary, mother of Jesus conceived without original sin

In an amazing bit of irony, Catholicism’s cumulative false doctrines crash into each other and then in a continuing ignorance of the scriptures they envision necessary inferences. In fact, they left truth way back in Matthew 16.16-19 when they devised the idea of a pope. That lie may be the pinnacle of all lies and possibly the most divisive event in human history.

From “The Teaching Of Christ, a Catholic Catechism for Adults” (1976), page 122:
William of Ware and John Duns Scotus developed the concept of “anticipatory redemption.” Although as a descendant of Adam in a sinful human race, Mary would naturally have incurred the guilt of original sin, a special divine decree kept her free from it in light of the foreseen or anticipated merits of Jesus Christ. Pope Pius IX solemnly defined the Immaculate Conception as a truth of revelation in 1854. “The Blessed Virgin Mary in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, in view of the foreseen merits of Jesus Christ the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.
This is an example of the burden of Catholic’s invention resulting from original sin. Now with their human reasoning, Mary in bringing Jesus must be (they infer) free from original sin. Thus the invention of the Immaculate Conception defining Mary as born without original sin. This is one of many doctrines aimed to honor Mary. No one is to be honored except God. In this case the non-existent original sin had to be dealt with in the case of Mary or so they thought. I mentioned the Catholic mode of operation and in the background it always in some way brings more control to Catholicism. Mariology as it is called holds many Catholics in awe and brings worship to Mary.

The next big “inference” is based on the Immaculate Conception of Mary and named the Assumption of Mary (into heaven)

The Assumption of Mary

The following short paragraph is typical of the Catholic doctrine of the Assumption of Mary. It explains the “logic” used by their theologians that results in Mary, like Jesus rising into heaven to be with her Son.

Because she was the mother of God she had been kept holy always by a singular gift of God. As the fruits of the redemption were anticipated to preserve her from original sin, so they were anticipated to bring her bodily to heaven before the general resurrection at the end of time. Since she had never been subject to sin, she, like her divine Son, was not to remain in the grave, subject to the empire of death that sin had brought into the world. It was fitting then, that she who gave bodily birth to Jesus should be with Him bodily in heaven as she adores Him in the glory of His risen body. This Roman Catholic catechism goes on to indicate that on November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII formally defined the Assumption of Mary as doctrine.

What can I say; none of this is in the Bible. The necessity for creating these doctrines was apparently due to the Catholic idea of original sin. The most common error built on the idea of original sin or sin nature is the idea of infant baptism. Since Catholicism and Protestantism created these respective sin ideas that are infused from birth they need to provide a solution to their “creation.” Thus they invent infant baptism. The Catholic solution removes the sin (original sin) whereas the Protestant infant baptism is more complicated and varied as there is no sin to be “removed.” Some Protestant groups baptize as they see it as a command from the Lord and apply it as soon as possible, i.e. to infants. Some Protestant groups believe that the children of Christians should be baptized. Infants are baptized on the basis of the promise of faith which will come to fruition later in life. Yet, others see infant baptism as a seal or even a commitment by the parents of leading their child into the “faith.” In all cases the Protestant baptism (infant or adult) must in no way be associated with a person’s salvation after all, salvation is by “faith only.”

Note: Dealing with human-devised doctrine leads to all kinds of nonsense that includes error building on error to create meaningless and silly teachings. In the process many of the doctrines negate the possibility of doing the right thing, the things God requires. Obviously it may negate the real requirement for baptism since they were already baptized as a baby – very confusing. Among Protestants there have been many thousands of writings, debates on the subject of infant baptism and incredible disagreement. This has become so divisive that Protestants say this should no longer be discussed as it causes division among those who are “Christian.” This serves as a good example of the horror of privately interpreting the scriptures – there is no original sin or inherited sin. Thus there are arguments about infant baptism when without these sin concepts there would be nothing to argue about. There are literally hundreds of doctrines either built on original sin or inherited sin or that require their existence to support some religious teachings.

Catholics and most Protestant groups practice this infant baptism ritual. Of course, there is no reason for baptizing an infant since, as just shown, there is no such thing as original sin or inherited sin nature. In addition, there is no Bible authority for infant baptism so once again in the process of inventing infant baptism they must violate many other Bible principles. Baptism is well defined by God due to its importance in fulfilling God’s purpose. Infant baptism greatly confuses people due to the powerful organizations that advocate this doctrine. Of course, the scriptures are there, and baptism can be easily understood. You need to rightly divide the scriptures then you will know the following:

• There is no reason for baptizing a baby.
• There is no example of an infant being baptized in the New Testament.
• There are specific requirements for baptism, which an infant cannot fulfill:

Those conditions which an infant cannot fulfill are:

• Hearing and/or reading the message
• Believing
• Repenting
• Confessing Christ

Catholics never find forgiveness of sins and original sin plays a part in creating a doctrine of salvation that is totally false. Once again Catholics must be dependent on the Catholic church in their convoluted doctrine leading to salvation. In the normal Catholic case babies are baptized to eliminate original sin and that is their only involvement with baptism. To manage sins other than original sin, Catholicism invented something called confession. People from time to time confess their sins to a priest and receive forgiveness. Of course, there are no priests in the New Testament (other than all those “in Christ” are part of the royal priesthood). Associated with “Catholic” salvation there are many rules, even the categorizing of sins in terms of severity. They create a doctrine where Catholics on their deathbed can get sins forgiven in a dogma called extreme unction. This is the nature of changing, adding to or taking away from the word of God. All these doctrines to cover up the lie, in this case the lie of original sin. Whenever it is mentioned that the Catholic church is the exact opposite of the truth on everything, people find it hard to believe. Surely they must be right on something, but they are not! They share this condition with those of Protestantism. Certainly they are right to believe in Christ, however in the manner they do this there is no benefit, no relationship with Christ. The scriptures make this clear throughout its pages, for example:

2 John 1.9

9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.

The evolution of Protestant Doctrine and association with inherited sin nature

Protestant doctrine in support of the false teaching of inherited sin
or sin nature like Catholicism evolved quite an impressive list of
likewise false teachings in support of Total Inherited Depravity.

Protestant doctrine does not necessarily build on inherited sin the way that Catholics use original sin to directly create the doctrines of infant baptism, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of Mary into heaven. Inherited sin is just part of the puzzle that intertwines with other basic teachings. These are all contained in Calvin’s five points (commonly referred to as Calvin’s TULIP given below:

• Total inherited depravity as discussed
• Unconditional election of the individual; Modern version: God selects those to be saved and the selection is without the individual meeting any conditions, i.e. unconditional.
• Limited atonement; Christ died only for the elect; Modern version (same).
• Irresistible grace; God is able to affect what He wills; Modern version: irresistible grace or direct operation of the Holy Spirit.
• Perseverance of the saints; Those whom God elects will not defect from their calling; Modern version: Once saved, always saved.

These things make up the bulk of the fundamentals of Protestantism. There is a great deal of picking and choosing what each different religious “denomination” believes. It should also be realized that sorting out the teaching of men/women claimed to have some relation to religious truth is impossible. God of course, knew this, and left humankind one solid source of truth and it is the word of God. It is the word of God that has not been privately interpreted. In other words you have God’s meaning.

The truth is so much simpler and honors God and His goodness. It involves God’s plan and the bringing of the gospel message to achieve His purpose with each person of their own free will making choices. God is perfect in His plan and everything fits perfectly together and thus the nonsense of God placing evil upon humankind originates in the mind of men. These are men who absolutely do not respect God as seen in their disrespect of God’s word. One obvious result of these doctrines is that people develop teachings such that the gospel message is never obeyed. That is exactly what has happened as Protestants “never” obey the gospel.

The message from God fits perfectly together meaning the scriptures were overseen by God. As the scriptures teach, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” God’s purpose will be accomplished with every piece of the plan fitting together to complete the puzzle. There is a single direction beginning with creation that will fulfill God’s purpose. Unfortunately, humankind likes to insert their ideas and in this case it is inherited depravity and the other teachings that flow from that erroneous doctrine.
Error sticks out “like a sore thumb” in the midst of the truth. It is fair to say that like an iceberg in the ocean and in that analogy the boat’s captain ignores the obvious protuberance. There is more to the iceberg than meets the eye as there is with “modifying” the word of God. These outcroppings are everywhere and ignored and in the case of Protestantism, John Calvin’s doctrine is accepted and deeply engrained into the minds of Protestants to the point it is no longer questioned. Calvin’s and Luther’s theories are easily debunked. Nonetheless, it is not necessary to dissect Calvin and / or Luther because the truth is there and solid – just do what is true! The same is true of Catholicism, just do what is true and do not be concerned with the hundreds of doctrines that absolutely do not fit. They do not fit because there is no support in the scriptures, and they oppose God’s purpose and are not aligned with God’s nature.

Let us go a little deeper into Calvin’s teachings to gain a better understanding. Repeating, John Calvin’s’ five points (TULIP):

• Total inherited depravity
• Unconditional election
• Limited atonement
• Irresistible grace
• Perseverance of the saints

Again, reasoning men, accepting a doctrine like total inherited depravity wrongly assumed to be placed on man by God, conclude that God must therefore act directly on those He elects to save. Let me clarify, since man is totally depraved, he cannot choose or will to be saved; therefore, God chose certain individuals for salvation before the foundation of the world without regard to conditions, character, or conduct, hence, arbitrarily. Here we go on the roller coaster of men’s logic. Since God acts in some way to save those whom He chose, and since God could not be wrong, therefore, “once you are saved, you are always saved no matter how you live, you cannot be lost.”

There is an inter-connectivity or a dependence to various degrees on Total Inherited depravity in the development of the other four of Calvin’s points. Since inherited sin nature falls (is a fabrication) the other four also fall and essentially with that Protestantism falls.
We see that Total Inherited Depravity is the kingpin for the development of the Protestant doctrine, but the associated basic deceit is related to the word predestination and how Calvin’s concept is used in the development of TULIP. Namely, Calvin and Protestants assume predestination refers to individuals being predestined when the correct, consistent with all scripture meaning is God’s plan is predestined. We have addressed predestination in great deal throughout “Catholics Question and Heaven Coach.” As usual, the correct understanding of predestination fits with all scripture.

All five TULIP points are unscriptural and easily refuted. If the false idea of inherited sin or sin nature had not been “invented,” these other teachings of Calvin, which have found their way into so many Protestant religions in a wide variety of forms, would never have existed.

Note: Calvin’s five points (TULIP) came from the Synod of Dort (1618-1619) having the influence of various people, even the “late” Theodore Beza (1519-1605) as well as Calvin (1509-1564), who gets the modern-day “credit.” Calvin’s doctrine was summarized at the Synod of Dort into a simplistic version represented in English as TULIP. As mentioned earlier getting to the bottom of the historical errors of religion is likely impossible with all the changes for many reasons but primarily because they are “invented” and possess no coherence. We have something from God that is perfect – His word. Why do we honor the dictates of humankind in things they cannot know?

I appreciate your patience and courage as we dealt with this subject of original sin and inherited sin nature. The thing that is so clearly wrong is all the efforts by humankind as seen frequently in their councils, committees and so-on to make the rules, to explain God and life and success and failure. Abomination is a very negative word and it fits exactly with those who privately interpret God’s word. Specifically applied to those councils and committees who value THEIR wisdom even though they do not understand God’s purpose or His nature or the seriousness of His word.

Perhaps you can understand why God characterizes success as requiring a love of the truth. It is a sad thing that so many different groups of people have fallen into doctrine that is so dangerous. Largely because of this error (inherited depravity or original sin), the simple, straightforward plan of God has been corrupted. There are so many people caught up in this serious error who want to do the right thing, and most believe they have done the right thing. As we end this lesson, let me accent how God in the Bible emphasized the treatment of the word and then mention why this is so important. It is only the truth that can make a person free from sin (John 8.32). It is only doing the will of the Father that allows one to enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 7.21). There is no relationship with God unless one abides in the doctrine of Christ (2 John 9). When God’s word is not respected, it is ignored or changed and in the case of inherited depravity or original sin the damage to souls is devastating. So both Catholicism and Protestantism fall from these doctrines. These are not close “theological calls.” The truth is simple and does not contain teachings invented by men which bring much confusion and even the necessity to create additional man-made doctrines to support the original inventions.

2 John 9

Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.