DOCTRINE OF

SIN
Felser 12.2
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WHAT IS IT?
• Is not just a matter of behavior, but a nature of a person
• Not simply just through bad, unethical acts, but the nature and willingness to do
evil
• It is not simple to change someone’s nature or condition of heart from
actions. Just because someone stops doing evil things, does not mean
they are no longer sinners (Strauss)
• Which is why we need Jesus. We need Him to save us from ourselves
and our natures to resort to evil. (Strauss)
• Everyone sins, and therefore, is moral impurity. It is the instinct and willingness
to rebellion, which is why Jesus is there to rescue us from something we can’t fix
ourselves.
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• Psalm 51:5, KJV: Behold, I was shapened in iniquity; and in sin did my mother
conceive me.
• This is what David says towards Bathseba when he sinned towards him
with selfishness and adultery. He implies that he was born a sinner,
shaped and conceived as a sinner since the beginning, thereby having sin
as part of his nature.
• 1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to
mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you
can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you

QUOTES can endure it.

• This implies that even if God has included sin in our natures from when
we were born, no challenges and sinful actions are beyond what we can
handle, and all are according to what we can bear with. However, with
temptation, He will also provide a solution to it, or to endure the
challenges of sin.
• 1 John 1:8-9: If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness
• Just as in mistakes, we must confess our sins for Him to be able to
forgive us. He is there to rescue us of our realizations so that we can
grow as a person, away from sin. And with that realization, is the
stepping stone of growth against sin, and is when he cleanses us. We are
born with sin, for us to learn to resist against temptations, and grow
closer to Him as we do so.
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QUESTION #1
• Why did God create sin in the first place? Why’d he forcefully let us be born with
it when He’ll eventually sacrifice himself to rid us of our sins?
• To put it in simple words, God did not create sin. He created humans as
pure beings, just as Adam and Eve were initially.
• He also created Satan as well and was created good. However, just like
Lucifer, he fell from his place.
• The Bible opens with unexplained evil, just as Satan was there in the
Garden as a serpent. He opposes God, and therefore, gives temptations
towards Adam to rebel and sin.
• Satan wanted to be better than God, and so he was turned into a serpent
and tempted Eve and Adam to not follow the words of God, referenced
in Genesis 2:16-17. (Riggleman)
• Then, Adam brought sin into the world when he chose to disobey God.
(Riggleman)
Therefore, sin wasn’t actually created by God, even if He did create
everything. It was there from the beginning as a source of temptation
towards Adam, in the form of Satan as a serpent. Then, only by falling into
the temptation, did Adam introduce sin into the world. This also proves how,
unlike Him, humans require the guidance of God to lead them away from
sin, as we are not perfect like Him in resisting temptations.
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QUESTION #2
• Why did God create the forbidden fruit in the first place? Was it a test?
• The tree was there as a source of knowledge. As referenced in the Bible,
the fruit taken by Eve bore from the Tree of Knowledge.
• There are several theories as to what the fruit will be used for, even
referenced by Rory Shiner, a well-known writer of Biblical theology, that
God might have allowed them to eat the fruit when they were mature
enough, and give them the wisdom they deserved after experiential
challenges. (Shiner)
• However, with the temptation and downfall of man caused by Adam and
Eve, they chose to eat the fruit, and this caused them to realize and
understand shame, guilt, pride, etc.
• This is how they realized the shamefulness of being naked, of guilt in
disobeying God, etc. (Hampshire)
• It was always a choice. According to Robert Hampshire, God refrained
them from eating it “so they would have a choice between receiving the
eternal blessings that come through obedience and worship to a gracious
God or the consequences from disobedience and idolatry against a just
God.”
• Instead of the life of paradise offered by God in the Garden of Eden
through obeying him, they chose a life of pain by disobeying and
considering their opinions superior to God’s.
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CONCLUSION
• As a Truth-Seeker, I am constantly looking for the causes and sources behind
things. Whether it is scientific, philosophical, or even biblical, knowledge cannot
explain itself and must have a source. The characteristic I have developed, is
curiosity, to put in simpler words.
• Sin is something all humans deal with on a daily basis (maybe more often),
including myself. This drove me to find answers to the causes, sources, and
reasons related to the doctrine of sin.
• A characteristic of a truth-seeker is to always question what’s been given them,
and just as God has eloquently given me salvation against sin, it drove me to seek
what gave me sin in the first place.
• There will always be questions, some might not have answers, but as an advocator
of curiosity as a truth-seeker, the Doctrine of Sin’s existence will not just sit right
with me. Through research, references to the Bible, and experts’ opinions, I came
closer to the truth and understanding of sin, and consequently, a deeper
appreciation towards those who teach and advocate the word of God.
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CITATIONS
• Hampshire, Robert. “Why Did God Create the Forbidden Fruit in the First Place?”
Christianity.com, Christianity.com, 20 Jan. 2021,
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/why-did-god-create-the-forbidden-fruit-
in-the-first-place.html.
• Riggleman, Heather. “Did God Create Sin?” Christianity.com, Christianity.com,
28 Jan. 2021, https://www.christianity.com/wiki/sin/did-god-create-sin.html.
• Shiner, ​Rory. “Forbidden Fruit.” The Gospel Coalition | Australia, 12 Sept. 2019,
https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/article/forbidden-fruit/.
• Strauss, Lehman. “The Doctrine of Sin.” The Doctrine of Sin | Bible.org, 25 May
2004, https://bible.org/article/doctrine-sin.