Be warned – these questions will shake preconceived ideas and challenge the very foundations of doctrine, causing people to question what they thought they knew. They will divide groups. Hopefully they will cause readers to carefully re-examine the Scriptures in order to judge between truth and Augustine error.
Sin questions – to get people started
Did I need a sinful nature in order to sin?
Are any people found in the Bible who sinned but didn’t have a sinful nature?
Does the “were by nature the children of wrath” of Ephesians 2:3 refer to being born sinners? Or does ‘nature’ as used here refer to something else like the character of the person?
If Ephesians 2:3 means we are all born with a sinful nature, are we prepared to accept that this would mean that any baby or little child that dies would go to hell to face the wrath of God for eternity?
Do I sin because I’m a sinner? Or Am I a sinner because I sin?
Psalm 51:5 says: Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Does this really mean David was born a sinner? Could this be a description of his mother’s condition?
If you want to have Psalm 51:5 making us all sinners from conception, then are we also prepared to accept that this would mean that all aborted, stillborn and miscarried babies would therefore go to hell to suffer the wrath of God because they were sinners?
Deuteronomy 1:39 speaks of a time when their “little ones” and their “children” had “in that day had no knowledge between good and evil”. What does this suggest?
Isaiah 7:16 This speaks of a time “before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good”. When is that?
Romans 9:11 This was written about Jacob and Esau. “For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil. . .” Does God regard a baby as a sinner?
In Acts 17:28-29 where Paul says “. . we are the offspring of God”, was Paul talking to believers or unbelievers?
If unbelievers are created in the image of God can they be created sinners?
Is it right that because Adam sinned, and since we’re all his off-spring, we have inherited his sin?
Is the Lord Jesus Christ a “son of” Adam too according to the generations in Luke 3 comparing verses 23 and 38?
If we can all be made guilty of Adam’s sin because of the reasoning used in Hebrews 7:9-10 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. 10For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him. i.e. that we were all “in the loins of” Adam and are therefore implicated in Adam’s sin. . . doesn’t this, by the same reasoning, implicate the Lord Jesus Christ also [make Him a sinner]? (In connection with this see the previous question.)
Does Romans 5:19 tell us that we are sinners because of Adam?
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Rom 5:19)
If the first part of the verse [by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners] means that we are all sinners because of Adam, then what would the second part of the verse [by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous] have to mean? Do we accept the heresy of Universalism???
Look again at the consequences of Adam’s [and Eve’s] sin. What “punishments” were given to Adam and Eve as people? What “punishments” were promised to Adam and Eve’s off-spring?
Now consider whether your answers to the previous question are an accurate reflection of the question or relate to the “curse” that God put on the creation, including people, as a consequence of the sin. Is there a difference between implicated guilt and the curse?
What does the Bible teach about the consequences of sin in relation to accountability?
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. (Deut 24:16)
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (Ezekiel 18:20)
Does God punish anyone for someone else’s sin?
Why might the enemy be so keen for us to believe we are implicated in Adam’s sin?
If I am born a sinner, am I accountable or someone else [who made me]? Could I then blame someone else?
If I am born a sinner, how can I then become a sinner by actively exercising my God-designed will and choosing selfishly?
Implications / Ramifications
What doctrine of sin do we subscribe to?
What has influenced this doctrine so much over the years?
What groups actively promote the idea that we all are guilty for Adam’s sin? Why would they? What makes it so acceptable to many people?
Can we claim Biblical backing for the idea of “an age of understanding / accountability” and also claim Biblical backing for the idea that we all are guilty for Adam’s sin [being born a sinner]?
Are the 2 underlying ideas of the previous question mutually exclusive?
Why do so many believers make excuses – “we can’t help sinning”?
Does God expect His people to keep sinning?
Was it possible to keep the laws God gave?
Did the people to whom God gave the laws think it was possible to keep them? (Exodus 24:3)
Did anyone ever get close to keeping God’s laws? What did God think of Enoch, Job, Zacharias and Elizabeth?
Is there a link between a cop-out doctrine and believers who claim lives of we-never-can-be-perfect as the norm?
What excuse do many believers use for their carnal and luke-warm spirituality?
Why should we ever accept the word of others over God’s Word?
Download a PDF copy of these questions: Sin questions
Some Scriptural teaching on the above will be posted sometime in the future, (D.V.).