WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH ABOUT THE SIN NATURE OF HUMANITY?

By
Kabuye Alex
MDIV/3511/23

An Assignment
Presented to Dr. James Ndungu
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
THS 502
THEOLOGY 2
April, 16, 2023

International Leadership University

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 INTRODUCTION.

This paper is intended to discuss what the bible teaches about the sin nature of humanity

and of course it is vitally important to note that the entire bible helps us to have a proper

understanding of the issue so that everyone can know the state of humanity and what happened

from the start and why do we possess the sin nature even without sin. Also to have an

understanding of how man can overcome this powerful force that was imputed on us from the

first man Adam (Rom.5:12-14), this force can only be overcome only through Jesus Christ

(Rom.5:15-19) who gives us the Holy Spirit that empowers us to walk our journey of salvation

but without him, one can never fight this force. According to Erickson, “all of us, apparently

without exception, are sinners. By this we mean not merely that all of us sin, but that we all have

a depraved or corrupted nature that so inclines us toward sin that it is virtually inevitable

(Erickson, 2013, p.610). And in giving a solution for this sin nature through Christ, Derickson

says that “since Christ died for the entire world, and since His death cared for all sin then we

might deduce that sin is universal in man (Derickson, 1997, p.839).

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 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES ABOUT THE SIN NATURE OF HUMANITY.

Throughout the scriptures of the Holy Bible given to us by God Himself (2 Tim.3:16), the

sin nature of humanity is implicitly and explicitly stated to show how really man is from inside

to the outside of himself. The Bible teaches that every human being has a sin nature. This means

that every person is born with an inclination towards sin and rebellion against God. The sin

nature is a result of the Fall of Man when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God in the Garden of

Eden (Gen.3) and this is referred to as the original sin as coined by St. Augustine (Packer, 1993,

P.93) that became continuous to all the other generations up to date and it is personal. Morgan

and Peterson have it that Genesis 3:15–19 demonstrates that each individual is responsible for his

or her actions. God made the man, the woman, and the Serpent. But he did not command the

Serpent to tempt Adam and Eve. God made the fruit, but he warned the people not to eat it.

Adam and Eve lacked the faith necessary to believe in their Creator rather than another creature

(Morgan &Peterson, 2013, p.37). As a result of their sin, all of their descendants are born with a

sinful nature (Rom.5:12). The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, says that "all have

sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). This means that no one is exempt from

the sin nature, whether they are religious or not, moral or not, or of any nationality or ethnicity.

In addition to this, the Bible teaches that sin is not just a matter of individual acts of

wrongdoing, but is a condition of the heart. (Jeremiah 17:9). This verse speaks of the corrupt

nature of the human heart, which is prone to sin and rebellion against God.

In Psalms 51:5, David explicitly acknowledges that he was born into sin that he was sinful

at birth, and even the time his mother conceived him which shows us that sin is an inherent part

of human nature and this is sin all around the world even when many do not want to accept to be

called sinners in doing evil but rather term it as their rights. Take the example of transgender and

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homosexuals which are on high rise in most parts of the world and in countries where they are

refused, it is said that human rights are not exercised to the extent of suing those who do not

want to associate with them yet it is something evil clearly God hates (seen in Genebut man calls

it human rights.

Also, Morgan and Peterson have it right in saying that, “Sin is rebellion against God’s very

being, against his explicit word, against his wise and ordered reign. It results in the creation’s

disorder and in the spiritual and physical death of God’s image bearers”(Morgan & Peterson,

2013, p.19). This is the very sin nature of man which resulted from the fall of man that man no

longer wants to know about God whether from His word or even to believe that He indeed exists

and expects us to behave with certain standards but rather man believes is free to do and live in

any that is pleasing to him.

In Romans 7:18, the apostle Paul teaches that there is nothing good that dwells in man

because of the sin nature within him even when he can know what is good, he does not have the

ability to do it because of the existing forbidden fruit virus within him which only rebels against

God who wishes us to live a life of certain standards. The apostle Paul was a born-again man

who believed in Christ but still makes such a statement helping us to understand that even after

we have become followers of Christ, we still struggle against our sinful nature. This is why many

times we find ourselves doing things we regret because we realize that we are Children of God

(Romans 7:15). Also Romans 5:12-19 gives a very detailed explanation of this all this called the

sin nature of humanity from the time we got it to the how it can be solved. It is only through the

power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to overcome the sin nature and live a life that is

pleasing to God. This is why Paul encourages us to "walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify

the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). And as a matter of fact, indeed human is sinful by

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nature this is explained in the life of a little child who has never been taught how to lie or steal

licks sugar that is not rightly given to him, and when is asked who licked the sugar, he quickly

denies it.

According to Sproul, We reveal our natural hostility for God by the low esteem we have

for Him. We consider Him unworthy of our total devotion. We take no delight in contemplating

Him. Even for the Christian, worship is often difficult, and prayer is a burdensome duty. Our

natural tendency is to flee as far as possible from His presence. His Word rebounds from our

minds like a basketball from a backboard (Sproul, 1998, p.147). This drastically shows the

condition of human beings from the very past to the present and all because of our sin nature.

Sproul continues that by nature, our attitude toward God is not one of mere indifference. It is a

posture of malice. We oppose His government and refuse His rule over us. Our natural hearts are

devoid of affection for Him; they are cold, frozen to His holiness. By nature, the love of God is

not in us.

This confirms how sinful man is just as the scriptures teach us all the way from the Old

Testament to the New Testament and it is in the mind of God that we should know how wicked

our hearts are (Deut.8:2).

Scriptures still confirm this very sin nature of humanity, Jesus states it clearly in Matthew

19:17 letting us know that no human is good but only our God in heaven, and even if we can do

good things as believers we are still evil in nature (Luk[Link]). Also John in his first makes it

plain that we cannot say we are without sin (1 John.1:10). All this brings to our attention that

even believers still possess the sin nature even when they are in Christ and therefore we should

always approach the throne of Grace with confidence to ask for forgiveness from our father in

heaven who is able to forgive His children.

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 Pelagius who does not go along with the issue of the sin nature of humanity that was

imputed to them by Adam, believes that man is not born with fault and is not depraved because

he has free will to choose good or sin and so when he chooses to do wrong, that is when he or

she becomes sinful and so has the ability to live without sin. Ryrie has more about Pelagius in his

book Basic Theology when he says that Pelagius believed that since God would not command

anything that was not possible, and that since He has commanded men to be holy, everyone,

therefore, can live a life that is free from sin. He taught that man was created neutral neither

sinful nor holy and with the capacity and will to choose freely either to sin or to do good.

Everyone is born in the same condition as Adam before the Fall; only now man has before him

Adam’s bad example (Ryrie, 1986, p.358). By this Pelagius implies that man did not get

anything like imputed sin from Adam and so can work hard to please God on his own.

This really contradicts the systematic teaching of the bible about the issue because to know

what the bible teaches about a certain doctrine, we should not use one or two scriptures from

certain places but rather look at what the whole bible teaches about it. On the sin nature, Romans

5:12-19 has it in detail, 1 John 1:10 also helps to know that no one is without sin, and so many

other scriptures hence not in line with Pelagius’ view. As per Matt. 13:11-12, Knowing the

mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, in this context, refers to knowing the gospel. Those who do

not know the mysteries of the kingdom are neither blessed nor healed by God (Ra McLaughlin,

p.5). As Jesus taught, knowing the gospel must be granted to men it is not an innate ability, and it

is not granted to everyone. Other scriptures opposing Pelagius include Phil. 1:29, Acts 16:14-15,

1 John 5:4.

Socinianism which is based on Unitarianism teaches that there is no such thing as the

original sin, and therefore man is not born with the sin nature and it is not in him of which this

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view dies a thousand qualifications according to the bible which overtly states that all people

have sinned and fellow short of the glory of God who is in heaven and pure (Rom.3:23, 1 John

1:8)

Arminianism is another view that does not believe that man is totally depraved and so he

can he can do the will of God when he chooses to do. Ryrie says that Arminianism teaches that

Adam was created in innocency, not holiness, that sin consists in acts of the will, that we inherit

pollution from Adam but not guilt or a sin nature, that man is not totally depraved, that man has

the ability to will to do good and to conform to God’s will in this life so as to be perfect, and that

the human will is one of the causes of regeneration (Ryrie, 1986, p.359). And of course it is

surprising how they skipped so many verses in the bible that treat this issue contrary to what they

say and still move away with it to make others believe the same thing (Rom.5:12-19).

The good news is that God in great mercy and loves the people, He never wanted to see

them all perish and to continue looking at their sin nature and so He made the redemption plan so

that He can send His son to die for humans in that however believes in him shall not perish (John

3:16). Just as sin entered the world through one man Adam, and so is life for God’s elect

(believers) through Christ Jesus (Rom.5:15-19). In his book Basic Theology Ryrie puts it right

that “the moment anyone believes, Christ’s righteousness is reckoned or imputed to that

individual. As all are in Adam, so all believers are in Christ, and being in Him means that His

righteousness is ours (Ryrie, 1986, p.368). One can only overcome the power of the sin nature in

humanity through Jesus Christ because upon receiving him, we get the holy spirit that he

promised would be our helper, counselor, and friend, who will also remind us to do good works

of faith and also convicts us of the sin. Just like in the Old Testament, the blood of animals given

as sacrifices was to cover for the sins of the individuals so that they would appear righteous

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before a Holy God, so is the case of the blood of Jesus Christ whose blood was the sacrifice for

once and for all (Heb.7:27, Rom.10:1-8). Therefore the power of the sin nature can only be

defeated by the blood of Jesus and nothing else is able to do the cleansing so perfectly as the

blood of Jesus (Rom.5:8, 1 John 4:10).

CONCLUSION.

In conclusion, the Bible teaches that every human being has a sin nature, which is a result

of the Fall of Man. This sin nature is a powerful force within us, and it can only be overcome

through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Even after we have become followers

of Christ, we still struggle against our sin nature. However, through faith in Jesus and walking in

the Spirit, we can live a life that is pleasing to God.

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 IMPLICATION AND APPLICATION

Therefore, it should be overtly known that everybody all around the world regardless of

color, ethnicity, country, continent, religion, young or old, good or bad from point birth is born

with a sin nature that is rebellious to God (Rom.3:23) and cannot choose to please God or do the

things of God (1 Cor.2:14) because sin entered into the world through one man Adam and so

everyone has got that imputed Adamic sin nature within them (Rom.5:12-14). But the good news

to the world is redemptive to corrective when God decided to correct everything and sent His son

Jesus (John.3:16) to become the second Adam and fulfill that which the first Adam did not fulfill

hence becoming a sacrifice once and for all (Heb.10:10).

With respect to the teachings in this paper, I am able now to help others in my church,

church leaders, and fellow youths to understand we all have a sin nature but that is not the end of

it all, we have Christ who died for us so that we can overcome the power of the sin nature. All

church leaders, and believers from this paper must know that we still have the sin nature but it

becomes powerless with the help of the Holy Spirit whom we receive upon accepting Christ and

the same message must be extended to even the non-believers all around the world.

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Bibliography.

Derickson, S. L. (1997). DERICKSON’S NOTES ON THEOLOGY. Albany: Digital Version.

Erickson, M. J. (2013). Christian Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Morgan, C. W., & Peterson, R. A. (2013). Fallen: A Theology of Sin. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.

Packer, J. I. (1993). Concise Theology. Norton Street, Nottingham: Foundation for Reformation.

RYRIE, C. C. (1986). Basic Theology. Chicago: Moody Publishers.

Sproul, R. C. (1998). The Holiness of God. Illinios: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

[Link]

McLaughlin)

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