2 Corinthians 4:18
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

I am beginning this article with 2 Corinthians 4:18, because when discussing the Doctrines of Original sin, some people get the idea that this earth that we live on was originally meant to be our permanent home, and that due to Adam’s sin, he screwed up that plan. This earth is just a temporary place. If you can see it, it’s temporal. If you can’t see it, it’s eternal. It’s always been that way, from the beginning. It was never meant to be our permanent home.

If you are reading this, then you should already be aware of what the Doctrine of Original Sin is. If you are not aware, please seek what it is from other sources, then come back and read this. It will make more sense.

The Doctrines of Original Sin is central to the Doctrines of Grace between both Calvinists Irresistible Grace, and Armenians Prevenient Grace.

If you remove Original Sin, that alone destroys both Calvinism and Arminianism.

Augustine…Augustine had no idea what he was even talking about, but he made himself THE Authority over scriptural matters. Thus, we have the Doctrines of Original Sin declared as Orthodox. He declared Pelagius a heretic for not buying off on Augustine’s teaching of Original Sin. By the time you finish with this post, you should see that it was Augustine who is the heretic. I must emphasize that I am not Pelagian. I am not Calvinist, I am not Armenian, I am not Catholic, nor Lutheran. I’m not a Bishop, or Pope, nor a monk. I’m not a Doctor, Jim. I’m just a lowly non-denominational kinda guy who is not beholden to any “We Believe” statements, or corporate creeds. I never heard of Pelagius until recently, and have only skimmed what he believed. But I can say this, he was more accurate than Augustine was…by a long shot.

Acts 17:11
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

The following verse is used by the Original Sin folks to establish that Adam had a GLORIFIED body before the fall, and therefore, he LOST that glorified body after he “sinned”, therefore, began the DYING process in a different body, and that we “inherited” a sin “NATURE” because of Adam’s sin. Some even go so far as to put Adam’s guilt upon everyone, as if his sin was hereditary. Some say it was hereditary, literally, by fertilizer. The Catholics believe that Mary was sinless, as the “vessel” of Jesus, so there is a contradiction just in that alone, for all have sinned. Carnal fertilizer has nothing to do with anything. And to suggest that it does, makes the life of Jesus on this planet eternal from the moment of conception, meaning, that if Jesus didn’t take our sin on the cross, then Jesus would not have ever died at all. But let’s not forget, that the body of Jesus was DIRT, until the resurrection. Jesus was man based on DIRT, Jesus is God based on SPIRIT. Jesus could have sinned, but he didn’t.

Romans 5:12
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Hebrews 4:15
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Philippians 2:7-8
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Hebrews 2:16-18
16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Augustine is just a man, who had no clue as to what he was reading, but made life a living hell for those who disagreed with him, like Palaguis. I would have been a dead man, had I lived in those days, by suggesting the following:

Many who believe in Original Sin think that Adam FIRST HAD a glorified body, and that he lost that body at the fall, all because God said that IT IS GOOD. Others think that Adam ate of the Tree of Life in order to MAINTAIN eternal life.

They also think that Adam’s disobedience of eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was the sin, and that “in that day” the dying process began, all because God said:

Genesis 2:17
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.

I’m just going to come out and say it now. The death that God is discussing here is NOT NOT NOT related to Romans 5 at all. Genesis 2:17 is discussing SPIRITUAL DEATH, not natural death. This will be proven later in the article. Since Adam did NOT die “IN THE DAY THAT THOU EATEST”, they seem to get the idea that the “dying process” began. Process. It amuses me of the things that the “experts” came up with.

Have you ever told your children not to play with matches? Why is that? JUST BECAUSE? Or, could it be because you don’t want them to get hurt?

So, if your children play with matches, they will get burnt.

Well, that’s why God told them not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because not only did they disobey, but they got knowledge that God did not want them to get. They didn’t know good. They didn’t know evil. They were CARE FREE, free spirited.

Why did they cover their genitals? Because that tree informed them that being naked was a sin. And it doesn’t matter that God put them in the garden naked. They were IGNORANT to the fact that being naked was a sin, and God never told them.

Ponder the following for a long while:

Genesis 3:11
And [God] said, Who told thee that thou wast naked?

God didn’t tell them. Neither did Satan. A Tree did. Has anyone ever wondered or contemplated as to why God never told them that they were naked? Their eyes were closed to that knowledge. Why? And why were they ashamed of that fact when their eyes were opened? What is the difference between eyes shut to knowledge of being naked, vs. eyes opened to the knowledge of being naked? What was it about being naked that made them ashamed, especially to the point of covering their nakedness? After all, didn’t God put them there like that, and said that it was GOOD?

Genesis 2:25
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 3:7
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Genesis 3:10
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Genesis 3:11
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

Imagine, being naked that whole time, and they didn’t even know it, until a tree told them: KNOWLEDGE, Good and Evil, Tree of.

Speaking of which, it’s also a sin to have sex with your sister, as well. But Abraham slept with his sister, and God never told him that it was a sin. But God gave brother/sister an inbred promised Isaac.

And that is what Romans 5:13/4:15 is all about. KNOWLEDGE, vs. NO KNOWLEDGE.

I’ve read LOTS of Calvinist stuff regarding Romans 5, and it always amuses me when Romans 5:13 is excluded.

Romans 5:13
 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Romans 4:15
Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Speaking of which, let’s get back to the Tree of KNOWLEDGE of Good and Evil.

God never sat Adam down to give him THE LAW. A tree informed him instead.

In essence, God told Adam to STAY IGNORANT, for as long as he was ignorant, he is innocent.

But Satan comes along and tells Eve, STOP BEING SO IGNORANT AND GET EDUCATED. So, they ate, and got educated, and LEARNED of their sin, hence covering up their genitals.

Now, this is where the TREE OF LIFE comes into play, which some think is just a METAPHOR.

It must be noted, that God never told Adam anything about the Tree of Life. Moses narrates that God planted that tree, but God never informed Adam of that tree. God only told him of the one tree not to eat from, but didn’t say one word about the other tree. He said EVERY TREE you may eat from…except one. But no mention of the Tree of Life to Adam.

Genesis 2:16
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:

Genesis 2:17
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.

NOTE:
It’s interesting that those who believe in Original Sin think that a day is as a thousand years in that particular verse (because Adam lived to be 930 years old), but are Young Earth Creation adherents that a day is 24 hours.

Why didn’t God tell him about the Tree of Life?

God had to BLOCK ACCESS to the Tree of Life, because God didn’t want Adam to GAIN eternal life while in a fallen state. Why is that? Because the DEATH that God told Adam about was NOT the natural death of the body, which you think that Romans 5 eludes to, but SPIRITUAL DEATH, meaning SEPARATION FROM GOD.

We need to acknowledge that Adam could have gotten eternal life, even in a fallen state. So now, go back and review Romans 5 with that in mind.

We all die a natural death (Romans 5) because Adam never ate of the tree of life. God blocked access to that tree after the fall so that Adam could not get eternal life while being separated from God (spiritual death).

Now, if that tree was a METAPHOR, why would God have to block access to a metaphor?

Genesis 3:22, 24
22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

NOTE:
And THAT was the reason that God didn’t want them playing with matches, uhm, I mean, eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because he didn’t want them to KNOW Good and Evil! What happens when you know Good and Evil? You learn of your sins, that’s what! Do you really think that Adam and Eve NEVER committed any sin whatsoever before they ate? Oh, but they did. They just didn’t KNOW IT.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

NEXT…what kind of Body did Adam have BEFORE the fall? A Glorified Body? Uh, no.

1 Corinthians 15:42-46
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

This is discussing the NATURAL body (made of dirt, by the way, aka EARTHLY), vs. the SPIRITUAL BODY made from Heaven. Adam was DIRT, remember?

Genesis 3:19
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.

The Natural body is:
sown in corruption (MEANING A DYING BODY AT THE MOMENT IT WAS FORMED…DIRT)
NOTE: The word CORRUPTION here does not mean what you think it means. It means a decaying dying body.

Acts 2:27
Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 2:31
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

The body of Jesus did not decay (corruption). In other words, corruption is not discussing sins, or morals.

sown in dishonour
sown in weakness
sown a natural body

And again, verse 46:
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The natural [DIRT] body came first, meaning that Adam was going to die a natural death ANYWAY, whether he ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or not, REGARDLESS.

The only way that Adam was going to have eternal life was to have eaten of the Tree of Life, and he failed to do that. Not only that, but God never told him of a Tree of Life. Nonetheless, God blocked access to it, after the fall.

So yes, we all die because Adam sinned (Romans 5), but Adam did NOT start out with a spiritual body, because the natural body came first…DIRT.

Adam never ate of the Tree of Life. There is only one purpose of the Tree of Life, and that was to GAIN eternal life, not MAINTAIN eternal life. Just as one bite of the tree of knowledge of good and evil got Adam knowledge of good and evil, so one bite of the Tree of Life would have given him eternal life. There is no need to MAINTAIN eternal life. This negates out the idea that Adam at of the tree for nourishment.

We did not inherit a sinful “NATURE” from Adam at all. We were made weak from the start. The only thing we inherited from Adam was death of the body (Romans 5), but Adam was made to die from the start, regardless of eating of a tree that God told him not to eat from. The death that God spoke of in Genesis 2:17 had nothing to do with Romans 5’s natural death at all. It had to do with SPIRITUAL death, and Romans 5 does not mention that at all. But Romans 7 does.

There is a huge difference between Natural Death (Romans 5), and Spiritual Death (Genesis 2:17). The natural death dying process did not begin “in the day that thou eatest thereof…”

Everyone dies a natural death, but not everyone dies a spiritual death. Knowledge of Good and Evil is required for spiritual death. Babies don’t have that knowledge, hence Bar/Bat Mitzvah’s for the Jews.

Deuteronomy 1:39 (Who gets to go to the Promised Land?)
Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

Who else got to go, and why? Hint, Caleb and Joshua got to go, but why? Hint, they had faith. Everyone else of that generation died off, except for those in Deuteronomy 1:39.

And that is the spiritual depiction told through a carnal story.

Romans 7:7-9
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead.

9 For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

Romans 7:7-9 is discussing Spiritual Death, showing that we are NOT born spiritually dead. It is a death that we die once we get KNOWLEDGE of Good and Evil. It’s no different than Adam and Eve.

*Genesis 2:17 is spiritual death (Romans 7:7-9), Genesis 3:19 is natural death (Romans 5).

We didn’t inherit a sinful nature from Adam at all. Yes, for all have sinned, just like Romans 5 indicates. But Romans 5 also indicates something else that no one wants to talk about. So let’s talk about Romans 5, shall we? I wish to discuss the word KNOWLEDGE, as in the Tree of KNOWLEDGE of Good and Evil.

1 John 3:4
…sin is the transgression of the law

Romans 3:20
…the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 7:7-9
7 …I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

Let’s also include this from chapter 4:

Romans 4:15
Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

Romans 5:13
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Romans 4:8
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

NOTE:
Many times when I read about Original Sin, and Romans 5 is referenced, verse 13 is skipped. They begin with verse 12, skip verse 13, and move on to verse 14 or 15. Apparently, they don’t like what verse 13 has to say.

So let’s add verse 14 from chapter 5 to add context for those two verses, shall we?

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

That, of course, is discussing NATURAL death of the body only. But it also indicates FOR ALL HAVE SINNED. But all those BETWEEN Adam and Moses, Abraham is in that category. Did Abraham have KNOWLEDGE of his sin? What was his sin? And did God inform him of his sin?

In order for sin to be IMPUTED, one must first have KNOWLEDGE of that sin. Let’s look at Abraham, shall we?

Leviticus 18:6
None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the Lord.

Leviticus 18:9
The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy
mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their
nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

Leviticus 18:11
The nakedness of thy father’s wife’s daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.

Leviticus 20:17
And if a man shall take his sister, his father’s daughter, or his mother’s
daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a
wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he
hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.

Deuteronomy 27:22
Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the
daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.
—————————–
And now, ABRAHAM, who obeyed God’s commandments, statutes, ordinances, and “TORAH”?

Genesis 26:5
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Now, because you have read Genesis 26:5 above, you might get the idea that Abraham was “sinless”? How can that be, with the statement, “for all have sinned”?

Genesis 20:12
And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
__________________
And yet, God never informed Abraham of this grievous sin, but blessed brother and sister with a promised inbred son.  According to the codified law, Abraham is cursed, because he did a wicked thing, and should be cut off from the sight of his people, and shall bear his iniquity…yet, he was NOT cursed at all, but BLESSED.  God never told him about this sin, but gave brother/sister an inbred child instead.

For all have sinned.

KNOWLEDGE VS. NO KNOWLEDGE

And FINALLY, let’s get back to Romans 5 regarding FOR ALL HAVE SINNED, and SIN ENTERED THE WORLD, and especially the following:

Romans 5:19
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Now, what does that mean to those who believe in Original Sin? That we inherited a sin “NATURE” from Adam? That we inherited Adam’s sin?

Remember, just above I mentioned KNOWLEDGE vs. NO KNOWLEDGE.

Well, do you know what God did TO US, outside of 1 Corinthians 15:42-46 (planted in corruption, dishonor, weakness, and NATURAL body)? He gave each person a conscience.

Romans 2:14-16
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

15 Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Key Words:

“Law Written in their HEARTS”.

The sin of Adam was NOT imputed to us. We did not INHERIT a sinful NATURE from Adam. We got a conscience directly from God himself. We already know that it is wrong to lie and steal without anyone telling us that it is wrong to lie and steal. God wrote that morality in our soul. By NATURE, Romans 2:14 states.

The FIRST TIME that you ever felt GUILT, that was your conscience telling you that you did something wrong. And it was God that wrote that law into your being.

And this is why I do not believe in ORIGINAL SIN.

Oh, and one last thing, for all those who think that David was a sinner from the womb…that’s not what Psalm 51:5 even states.

Psalm 51:5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

His mother was in sin, not David. The following will explain:

https://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/280331/jewish/Nitzevet-Mother-of-David.htm

Moreover, the OT land of Israel is a carnal depiction of a spiritual matter, called the Inheritance, The Promised Land. For the Jews, it’s a small piece of real estate. For Christians, eternal life in heaven. Galatians 3:16 explains that Jesus is the promised seed for the NT, but in the OT, Isaac was the promised seed.

So, who gets to go to the promised land?

  1. Those who have faith, which really means, believes in the promises of God, given to Abraham, regarding the inheritance. Inheritance, being the key word. Now…what is that inheritance? Remember, one is carnal, one is spiritual…of the same promises, and there were only two promises. Land and Seed.
    a. Caleb, and Joshua from the OT are the only two who had faith, of that generation, who got to enter the Promised Land.
  2. Those who had “no knowledge of good and evil” (little ones, children): Deuteronomy 1:39

That is the promised inheritance. In the OT, it is THROUGH Isaac, a small piece of real estate. In the NT, it is THROUGH Jesus (Galatians 3:16), eternal life in heaven.

My emphasis on this is in regards to BABIES WHO DIE, or CHILDREN WHO DIE, who have no KNOWLEDGE of good and evil. They get to heaven, because they were NEVER separated from God to begin with, never died a spiritual death. They never needed saved, never needed grace, never needed mercy, as God never left them to begin with. Everyone is BORN OF GOD at creation. Once a person SPIRITUALLY dies, then one is required to be born AGAIN, hence the word “again”, which is just another way of saying that you returned to God (God’s Holy Spirit comes back inside your body). However, babies never spiritually died to begin with. They are not lost at all. Even if they sin, they are not lost, all because KNOWLEDGE of Good and Evil is first required in order to be separated from God, or, to spiritually die.

The End