The Congenital Sin Nature

In my videos and comments, I often refer to the sin nature, and the removal of it when we come to Christ.  The KJV refers to the sin nature as "the flesh," but I typically use the former term so as not to confuse it with OUR flesh, our bodies. 

There are those who, to their detriment, attempt to deny their inherent sinfulness, and they often cite Ecclesiastes 7:29 as their main proof-text.

"Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions."

But here Solomon says, "Lo, this only have I found...."  Nowhere does he reference the Lord's words.

The holy scriptures say "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23).  Many use this verse to support their argument that, while man is born good, they all eventually sin and are in need of a Savior.  Notice however, that the verse says "all," without giving any age limit whatsoever.  Romans 3:10 also says, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." 

All but 8 perished in the flood.  Every man, woman, child, and baby.

"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil CONTINUALLY."

(Gen 6:5)

"And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil FROM HIS YOUTH; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done."
(Gen 8:21)

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."
(Psalm 51:5-10)

"For from WITHIN, out of the HEART of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
All these evil things come from WITHIN, and defile the man."

(Mark 7:23)

If we were born good, we would naturally BE good, and do no sin, for a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit.

"But the scripture hath concluded ALL under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe."
(Gal 3:22)

ALL are under sin.  Babies and children are under sin, just as adults, and they do not receive a free ticket into heaven based on their age.  God is not a respecter of persons.

We cannot understand the justice of sin being imputed unto us because Adam, unless we understand the GRACE and MERCY of righteousness being imputed unto us because of Christ. 

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had NOT sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
.... Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."

(Rom 5:12-19)

"We know that, "Those who are born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."  

(1 John 3:9)

"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again."
(John 3:6-7)

If it is illogical to suppose that Adam's sin nature passed through to us, then why would we need to be born again unto Christ and be made a NEW creation, so that His seed would be planted, freeing us from sin?

To say that we are born good, and that the acts of sin are based purely on free will completely negates the experience of the unredeemed man Paul describes in Romans 7.

"Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not."

(Rom 7:17-18)

The flesh (the sin nature) is the source of sinful actions.  This is why, to be made holy, our sin nature must be CUT AWAY, FREEING us from all sinful desires.

"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his."

(Rom 8:8-9)

"When you came to Christ, you were 'circumcised,' but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.
For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.You were dead because of your sins AND because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins."(Col 2:11-13)

This is why 1 John 1:8 states, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  John is addressing SIN (the sinful nature) in verse 8, and goes on to address the ACTS of disobedience in verse 10.  We cannot deny our unrighteousness if we want to to be cleansed from ALL of it.  So if we say we do not have a sinful nature, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  The Lord will not remove something we don't admit to having in the first place.

Christ was human, yet he did not have a sin nature.  This is because he was born of God, and not of man.  Mary was his mother, but the sin nature is passed through the father, not the mother.  Christ was tempted like all men, yet he never sinned, and in him is no sin.  He was human, and yet he was God.  This is one of those Biblical paradoxes that must be received through faith.  Not everything can pass through human reasoning, but in the end, all will be revealed to us. 

Yes, I'm sure there are sinners out there who use the original sin doctrine to excuse their wicked ways.  An unrepentant sinner will go to great lengths to twist the truth and excuse their sin; however, that doesn't make truth any less true.  Because of Adam's sin, we are all born with a sin nature; sin corrupts seed.  But the Lord gives every baby, child, man and woman the in-born knowledge, free will, and measure of faith necessary to choose Christ. 

If we were born without sin, and were able to continue without sin through our own merit, then we would have no need of a Savior at all.  Christ would be unnecessary.