Interesting Questions-22

"An unfair Affair"

Letter to the Editor:
GOD'S MESSAGE, May 2006, p.4

ROMANS   5:12   STATES    that  "through one man, sin entered the world/'  Am I correct in  my understanding that the "one man'' being  referred to is Adam? if so, is there any way we can be set free from  inheriting Adam's sin?  Are we and the next generations after us doomed to carry the curse of Adam's sin?   It just seems so unfair that I or my children have to pay the price for a mistake that was made by someone else.

Patrick Montoya Jr.
Anaheim, California , U.S.A.

 

Editor's reply:

You are right in your understanding that the "one man" through whom  "sin entered the world" being referred to in Romans 5:12 was Adam. However, with your question, "is there any way we can be set free from  inheriting Adam's sin?'', it appears that you believe that sin, particularly Adam's sin, is inherited. Such thinking needs to be corrected.

We should bear  in mind that  sin is the transgression of God's law:

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law" (I John 3:4, King James Version)

Sin is what one commits when he breaks God's commandments.  It  is not something that a person inherits from  another person.  Each person is accountable for his own sins and not for the sins of others,  as  the law of God states:

"Fathers shall not be put to death for their children,  nor shall children be put to death for   their fathers;   a person   shall   be put  to death for his own sin" (Deut. 24:1 6, New King James Version)

How  is it, then, that  "through  one man, sin entered world"?  Remember that prior to the first couple's transgression of God's law, sin did not exist on the earth. Man was placed in paradise, free from sickness and death, and having dominion over every living creature that was moving upon the earth (Gen. 1:28;  2:15, Ibid.). It was only when the first couple disobeyed  God's command  that sin and death entered the world (Gen. 2;17- 3;16- 24, ibid.).
Romans 5:12 states in full:

"Therefore, just as through  one man  sin entered the world, and death  through  sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." (Ibid)

Having  fallen from God's grace,  Adam and  Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:23-24). And since then, mankind's history has been replete with suffering and death

Since all have sinned, with the exception of our Lord Jesus Christ, all need to be forgiven in order to be reconciled with God. How can man's sins be forgiven? He must be reconciled with God through the blood of Christ:

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have  been  brought   near through the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:1 3, New International Version)

It is only through the blood of Christ that man can be reconciled with God,  for "without the shedding of the blood,  there is  no forgiveness" (Heb. 9:22, ibid:)

In view of this reconciliation between God and man, membership in the true Church of Christ is necessary for man's redemption and salvation  because it is the Church of Christ that was redeemed by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ:

"Take heed therefore to yourselves and to\ all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers, to feed the church of Christ which he has purchased with his blood." (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation)

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