Are Men Born Sinners? - Library of Theology

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Chapter 12: God Hates False Doctrine
"I hate the doctrine of the Nicolaitans." Rev. 2:15. The Bible does not tell us who the
Nicolaitans were. But most Bible scholars believe they were one of the Gnostic sects.
Gnosticism began to have a corrupting influence upon Christianity as early as the first
century A.D. John, in two of his epistles, refuted the doctrine taught by them that Christ
did not come in the flesh, in a physical body. I John 4:2, 3; II John 7. This Gnostic
doctrine was taught to preserve Christ from the pollution of sin, since they believed that
man's flesh was inherently sinful. Whether the Nicolaitans were or were not one of the
Gnostic sects cannot be conclusively proved. They probably were, but that is not the
important point. What is important is to know that they taught false doctrine and that God
hates false doctrine because all false doctrine works evil.
One of the veiled objections I have heard to the question of whether men are born sinners
or not, is: "What difference does it make? We are all sinners and need to be saved
anyway." This objection implies that it doesn't make a difference whether we were born
sinners or not, as long as we recognize we are sinners and need to be saved. However,
what we believe does make a difference. We need to do away with this friendly, cozy
attitude toward false doctrine that says, "What difference does it make?" Doesn't what we
believe concerning the origin of our sin have an effect upon our conduct and how we
view sin, God and the Bible? Doesn't it make a difference in our attitude toward our sin,
our guilt, and our ill desert whether or not we believe that we are condemned for a sin
which we did not commit, and which was committed thousands of years before we had
our existence? Doesn't it make a difference in our attitude toward God whether or not we
believe that the heathen, who have never heard the Gospel and had a chance to be saved,
were created by God with a corrupt sinful nature which makes sin unavoidable and their
damnation inevitable? Doesn't it make a difference in our attitude toward living a
separated and a holy Christian life whether or not we believe that we are born with a
morally depraved physical constitution that makes sin unavoidable and holiness
impossible?
Doesn't this false doctrine make a difference in our thinking concerning all the true
doctrines of the Bible? John had to denounce the false teachers of his day who would not
accept the biblical doctrines of Christ's incarnation, i.e., that Christ came in the flesh,
because they believed the false doctrine that the physical nature of man was polluted and
inherently sinful. And now, those who believe in the doctrine of original sin are
compelled by this false belief to believe that Christ was not really a man with a nature
like other men, as the Bible teaches, but that he was somehow different in his humanity,
with a different human nature than all the rest of mankind. A belief in this false doctrine
does make a difference. It affects how we view and interpret all the true doctrines of the
Bible. It affects our attitude toward God, the Creator of our nature. If affects our attitude
toward our sin and our guilt. It affects our attitude toward everything that is connected