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Born in sin

The Truth About Ephesians 2:1-3: What Made Us “Children of Wrath”?

children of wrath
via Gemini

Of the proof-texts used to support the doctrine of Total Hereditary Depravity, few are cited with more confidence than Ephesians 2:1-3. To the proponent of inherited sin, Paul’s description of humanity as being “by nature children of wrath” is the definitive smoking gun. It is argued that if we are under God’s wrath by nature, then that nature – and its attendant guilt – must be something we possess from the moment of conception.

B.H. Carroll, the founder of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, articulated this position clearly in his Interpretation of the English Bible:

This passage knocks the bottom out of the thought that sin consists in the willful transgression of a known commandment. The apostle here refers to original sin – the nature with which we are born. 1

If Carroll is correct, then the Bible teaches that infants are born under the judicial condemnation of God. However, if we examine the context, the grammar, and the historical understanding of the Greek language, we find that Paul is not describing an inherited nature, but a spiritual condition manufactured by personal choice.

The Truth About Psalm 51:5: Are We Really Born Sinners?

Psalm51
via Gemini

When David sat down to pen Psalm 51, he wasn’t writing a systematic theology on the origin of sin. He was a man crushed by the weight of his sin. What may have begun as a lazy season in a stalwart monarch’s life quickly deteriorated into a sin spiral. A lustful stare led to adultery with his neighbour’s wife. That moment of infidelity resulted in an impending birth. Fear of exposure drove David to deceive and intoxicate his friend Uriah, trying to cover his deed. When that failed, he sent Uriah back to the battlefield, carrying his own death sentence sealed by the king. In this Psalm, David wasn’t seeking an excuse or explanation; he was seeking a way back to God.

TULIP: What Is Total Hereditary Depravity?

– PLUCKING THE PETALS OF JOHN CALVIN’S TULIP –

TULIP Calvinism

This first doctrine of Calvinism deals with man’s relationship to sin. The Bible tells us that all have sinned (Romans 3:23), but Calvin’s doctrine goes beyond this. Total Hereditary Depravity (THD) says that every person is born in sin; spiritually corrupt because of Adam’s sin. We read in the Westminster Confession of Faith that Adam and Eve:

…being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity. (Westminster, Chapter VI)

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