Are All Men Born in Sin?

By Roger Shiflet

So many people teach that man is born in sin, that many who have not studied the Bible believe that it is true. But the Bible does not teach that Adam's sin has been passed down to all the human race.

In Ezekiel 18:20, the Bible says, “...the son shall not bear the iniquity of the Father.” This one verse is sufficient to prove that children do not inherit the sin of Adam. Also, when Jesus spoke of little children, He did not say that they were in sin; rather, He said, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).

It would be very unfair of God to condemn a child eternally because of the sins of his ancestors. Instead, the Bible teaches that every individual will one day stand before God and be judged, not according to what someone else did or did not do, but according to what he (the individual being judged) did. “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ...So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:10,12).

In every person’s life there comes a time when he knows what is right and what is wrong. When he chooses to do what is wrong (what is opposed to the will of God as taught in the Bible), he sins. But little children, who do not know the difference between what is right and what is wrong — who cannot choose between what is right and what is wrong — have no sin. This is what the Bible teaches. This is what we should believe.