Cheryl Schatz

truthseeker,

You said: “Where in the bible does it say we ‘naturally inherited his rebellious nature? After all, if an inherited nature is required to sin, then where did Adam get his, since he sinned?”

First of all, the Bible tells us that we are by nature in sin from before our birth.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

Psa 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.

Eph 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

Adam was not “born in sin”. Adam did not have a fleshly nature pulling him toward sin. Yet Adam had free will to sin against God. This is what made his sin of rebellion even more serious. Adam was not tempted to sin because of a fleshly nature but Adam was capable of sin. The same goes for satan. Satan chose to sin even though he was created perfect. He lost his perfection in his act of sin and now God says that satan’s nature is that of a liar, destroyer and murderer.

Adam’s nature was changed also with his sin. His propensity to sin from his rebellion caused him to rule over his wife. He was also the only one that God said might reach out to take the fruit from the tree of life. This shows a continuing natural propensity to sin.

The key passage that must be dealt with is Romans 5:16-19. Also the fact that small babies and young children are all naturally prone to sin without being taught. Where does this come from if our nature is perfect without sin from the beginning?