Are Men Born Sinners? - Library of Theology

Matt. 13:38-39; John 3:8; Rev. 12:9; II Tim. 2:26; Eph. 4:27; Eph. 6:11; James 4:7; I
Peter 5:8-9.
If the doctrine of original sin is true, the devil is in complete ignorance of it. Or if he is
not ignorant of it, he is dumb enough to go to the trouble of tempting men for nothing.
Would the devil tempt men if he knew that they had a sinful nature which would make
them sin without being tempted? How foolish and ignorant the devil must be. If the
doctrine of original sin is true, then Jesus and the inspired writers lived in complete
ignorance of it, as well. Jesus exhorted his followers to watch and pray that they not enter
into temptation, and he taught them to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
from evil." Matt. 26:41, Matt. 6:12. His Apostles, in their writings, exhorted the believers
to be on their guard against the snares of the devil, lest they be tempted and fall into sin. I
Peter 5:8-9, Eph. 6:11-12. These would have been useless exhortations if all Christians
have a sinful nature which makes them sin without being tempted. In fact, if the doctrine
of original sin is true, Jesus and the inspired writers lived under a complete cloud of
ignorance. Instead of ascribing the sins of mankind to a physical connection with Adam,
they ascribed them to a moral connection with the tempter--the devil. They spoke of
sinners as being children of the devil and as being of their father the devil (I John 3:8-10,
John 8:44, Acts 13:10). They spoke of the sins of mankind as being the work of the devil
and of sinners becoming sinners by the agency of the devil. Matt. 13:38-39. They spoke
of Christ as coming to destroy the works of the devil. I John 3:8. Finally, they spoke of
the sinner as being a captive of the devil, who needed to recover himself out of the devil's
snare. II Tim. 2:26. It is hard to understand how they could have been so far off the track
if the doctrine of original sin were true.
The Bible teaches nothing about an inherited sinful nature from Adam. It teaches only
that all men are tempted and that they sin when they yield to their own desires rather than
obey the law of God and reason.
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Appendix F
The Folly of Taking Text out of Context
In answering the objection in chapter five that "Paul taught that the flesh is sinful and that
sin dwells in the flesh," I made the statement that "Every kind of foolish and superstitious
belief can be proved from the Bible if it is not interpreted according to the demands of
context, language, common sense, and reality." As an illustration of this, I referred the
reader to the passage in Romans 7:14-25, which is used to teach that the Apostle Paul
was himself in bondage to sin at the time he wrote his epistle to the Romans.