Sin and Its Guilt are not Inherited #2121

1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” (John 9:1–3, NKJV)

The guilt of sin does not pass from parent to child. We do not inherit sin and its guilt (Ezek. 18:4, 20). The false doctrines of original sin and total hereditary depravity are rampant. The Catholic Church teaches people inherit the stain of original sin. The Protestant Reformation codified these errors in their creeds as orthodox. Untold millions are convinced to baptize their babies due to this error. These teachings have convinced many they became sinners at their first breath instead of their initial transgression against God’s will (Rom. 7:7-9; 3:23). Many today think they have a “sinful nature.” Jesus said we must become as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:3). If little children are sinners or have a sinful nature, then why should we become like them to be saved? When asked why the man was born blind, Jesus refused to link his suffering to the generational transference of sin’s guilt (v. 2-3). We accept the weight of our sins, but we refuse to believe we bear the guilt of Adam’s sin. Sin and its wages (spiritual death) entered the world through Adam. Sin and death “spread to all men, because all sinned,” not because Adam sinned (Rom. 5:12).