Original Sin. Is a Child Born Sinful?

„Original sin is the Christian doctrine stating that humans, through their act of birth, inherit a corrupt nature with a tendency to sinful behavior in need of regeneration. The Biblical basis for this belief can generally be found in Genesis 3 (the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden), Psalm 51:5 („Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me„), and in Paul’s letter to Romans 5 12-21 („Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned. „)– source: Wikipedia

According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, every child born has original sin. So children are born in sin. Only when they are „baptized” is this sin removed.
Is this teaching Biblical or does it have Biblical confirmation?
Let’s see.

The first disobedience of people

The first people, Adam and Eve, received simple guidelines from God for living in happiness.

Unfortunately, they did not survive the test and broke the rules:

„And the YHWH God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.” – Genesis 2:16-17.

„Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that YHWH God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’” “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” – Genesis 3:1-7.

“The Lord God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.” – Genesis 3:22

The consequence of people’s disobedience is further restrictions.

A person can live up to 120 years:

“the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful, and they took any they chose as wives for themselves. And YHWH said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years.” – Genesis 6:2-3.

Is a person born sinful?

“Against You — You alone — I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight. So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within. Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt.” – Psalms 51:4-9.

Catholicism refers to the above verse to prove that man is born in sin.
However, can we really draw such conclusions after reading Psalm 51?
We have a man who considers himself a sinner. He complains a lot about himself.
But… would sprinkling hyssop really cleanse us from sin?
I don’t think so. Only repentance, prayers, and changing one’s life will erase sins.
It is difficult to consider these verses as proof of the correctness of the so-called doctrine of the original sin.

The New Testament explains this topic:

“For the unbelieving husband is made holy by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy by the husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.” – 1 Corinthians 7:14.

See the causative power of a parent/parents who believe in the true God and Christ. As long as they maintain a good spiritual level and live in the Biblical truth, their attitude will sanctify their children.
This is the key verse on this topic. It is not known why it is not analyzed by religions. Children are pure from sin, holy, thanks to their God-fearing parents.

Does „baptism” undo sins?

In religions they use the word „baptism”, but the word used in the Bible is translated as: immersion in water.

“And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be immersed, and wash away your sins, calling on His Name.’” – Acts 22:16.

“Immersion, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Yeshu Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to Him.” – 1 Peter 3:21-22.

It is the duty of every servant of God to immerse himself in the correct name of Christ: Yeshu-Yesu. Immersion is the washing away of old sins, it is an act of faith, it is a declaration of faith.
In many religions, they „baptize” or immerse small children. There is no teaching in the Bible to immerse children. A child is born spiritually pure, only the influence of the environment shapes him into good or evil. They can turn evil into good at any time, if they only understand the principles of faith, if they want to serve the true God. Then, they are immersed and the old sins are removed.
The Bible clearly writes that a child is spiritually pure because of his God-fearing parents.

When do parents protect their child?

Every parent who wants to protect their child should strongly analyze these verses, deepen the principles of faith, change their life and immerse themselves in the correct name of Christ:

“Yeshu replied, „Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked Him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” Yeshu answered, „Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” – John 3:3-7.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” – 2 Corinthians 5:17.

“If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Yeshu His Son cleanses us from all sin.”– 1 John 1:7.

„But now, apart from the law, the Righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The Righteousness of God is through faith in Yeshu Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Yeshu. God presented Him as the mercy seat by His Blood, through faith, to demonstrate His Righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented Him to demonstrate His Righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and justify the one who has faith in Yeshu.” – Romans 3:21-26.

Did everybody sin?

„Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned. In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the Coming One. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the One Man Yeshu Christ overflowed to the many. And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification. If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One Man, Yeshu Christ. So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the One Man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” – Romans 5:12-19.

Let’s see how the apostle Paul sums up his argument:

“For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” – Romans 5:19.

One man’s disobedience caused many people to sin. However, this is not the case for every child born.

Summary

We have a teaching that says: God-fearing parents sanctify their child, so a newborn child is spiritually pure and does not have the so-called original sin.
If parents do not believe in God or live in false religions – they believe in religious doctrines, the child will have a chance to learn the Biblical truth. When it is revealed to them, they will decide what to do: whether to be immersed in the name of the true Christ or not. This is what God-given free will is all about.
Immersing a small child doesn’t make much sense. A newborn child has no sins, and the act of immersion itself is not a magic trick that will protect it from evil.
Parents are supposed to protect their children from evil and mistakes. When a child is independent, he or she will decide about his or her own life and faith.

Author: Robert Brzoza

Translator: Hubert Brzoza