Ivan T. Blazen
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. Romans 5:12.
“What is original sin?” Is it inherited guilt from Adam, or is it our sinful nature, our tendencies or propensities to sin that also have their origin in Adam—or both? What is the teaching of Romans 5:12?
The sin of Adam – Romans 5:12 is the first half of a comparison (the second half is usually seen in v. 18). This verse, as well as 5:13-19, has been an anchor point for the doctrine of original sin. There have been diverse interpretations of the precise nature of this sin, but all views have one thing in common: Original sin refers not to personal sins but to what lies behind them, namely the sin of Adam. According to some, the term “sin” in Romans 5:12 denotes the inherited sin of Adam: “In Adam’s fall, we sinned all.” It could be argued that this view helps to explain why every person without exception has sinned and comes short of God’s glory (3:23). It could also be argued that by showing the utter lostness of all human beings, it exalts the grace of God as the only way to salvation. However, there are important negatives as well that make such a position untenable. In this case the immediate and larger contexts of the passage need to be carefully explored, as well as the teaching of Paul on the topic of salvation.
A faulty interpretation – First, the advocates of original sin, in the sense of inherited guilt, have often supported a faulty interpretation of Romans 5:12. Some, like Augustine, have argued that what is ordinarily translated “because,” before “all have sinned,” should be translated “in whom” and referred to Adam. But in the sentence the pronoun “whom” is too far from the phrase “one man” (Adam). What sense does it make to read, “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all in whom all sinned”? Furthermore, the Greek expression used in the text (eph ho, a shortened form of epi touto hoti which means “for the reason that”) simply means “because.”
Second, the phrase “in Adam” is not found in Romans 5:12-19. It is often argued that the phrase is implicit in the statement “all have sinned [in Adam],” in analogy with 1 Corinthians 15:22 (“For as all die in Adam …”). But “implicit” is not good enough. The phrase “all have sinned” was employed by Paul in Romans 3:23 to summarize not what we did “in Adam” but the history of the actual sins of all humanity from Adam on. The fact that Romans 5:12-21 is about Adam and Christ and the effects of their deeds alone does not deny the reality that the actions of other human beings are addressed in the text. Paul uses the singular phrase “one trespass” to refer to the one sin of Adam (5:15, 17), but he also uses the plural form “many trespasses,” to refer to the personal sins of the race (5:16). In the same passages Paul also refers to the law at Sinai (5:13, 20) and indicates that the effect of the coming of God’s good law among sinful, rebellious people was the multiplication of transgressions (5:20; note 7:8, 11).
Third, the text also requires personal involvement in the salvation that Christ obtained for us. Paul speaks about the many “who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness” (5:17). This is a pointer to the personal faith of these people and fits well with Paul’s teaching in Romans on righteousness (justification) by faith and our personal union with Christ in His death and resurrection through baptism.
Fourth, in terms of sin we have a two-sided emphasis in Romans 5:12: Adam’s sin and our sins. Paul says that death entered the world through the sin of one, and it spread to all because of the sins of all. The text does emphasize the inseparability of everyone’s sin from the sin of Adam. In other words, what Adam did is the fountainhead for what everyone does and the results that follow. Adam’s fall unleashed the reality of sin into the world, and we all have personally submitted to it. In other words, Adam influenced the course that all of us have taken. This is what Paul means in Romans 5:19 when he declares that through the disobedience of Adam many (all) became sinners. This statement refers not to the imputation of Adam’s sin to us, as some contend, but to the fact that, because we are born with a sinful nature, we become persons who actively participate in sin. We ratify our connection with Adam’s sin by our sins.
“Adventists do not stress the idea of original sin in the sense that personal, individual moral guilt adheres to Adam’s descendants because of his sin” (John Fowler, “Sin” in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, ed. R. Dederen [Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2000], 265).
This is confirmed by the immediately following verse that emphasizes the abounding of sin as “transgression,” a term that refers to a deliberate violation of God’s revealed will.
Finally, textually and theologically speaking, it is death that comes to all of us as a result of the sin of Adam, not his own personal sin. This is physical and spiritual death—a state of separation from God that makes sin inevitable for the descendants of Adam and Eve. Sin reigns through death in that fallen humanity cannot resist the power of sin. Consequently, we also are subject to condemnation (Rom 5:16, 18) and eternal death (5:15, 17). Perhaps we could say that inasmuch as Adam’s sin, through our fallen nature and death, works itself out in our personal lives, the concept of original sin, as inherited tendencies to sin, is true.
God’s grace, the antidote to “original sin” – However, that “original sin” cannot block the possibility of obedience to God through the power of Christ’s sacrifice. The antidote to both the power and guilt of sin is the justifying, sanctifying grace of God that makes us new. As Romans 6:1–7:6 argues, God’s grace disallows continuance in sin as the lord of our life (6:2). Rather, through our baptismal union with Christ in His death and resurrection, we walk in newness of life (6:3-4), and slavery to sin as our lord is over (6:6, 16-18). Christ becomes our Lord (7:4) and we bear fruit for God (7:6). When we cry out to Christ for redemption from this sin-prone body of death (7:24), we can say “Thanks be to God” (7:25), who ends our slavery to sin (6:17). Furthermore, by being incorporated into Christ the Spirit of God comes into our lives, setting us free from the law of sin and death (8:2) and making possible the fulfillment of the righteous requirement of the law by the power of the Spirit (8:3-4).
“The result of the eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is manifest in every man’s experience. There is in his nature a bent to evil, a force which, unaided, he cannot resist” (Ed 29).