What is the root source of sin? It comes from within us: We are free to make our own choices. But then why do we make sinful choices? Is it because of Satan’s temptation? Does the devil really make, or cause, us to do it? Or would we sin even if Satan didn’t exist?
There are three layers of answers. I’ll work backwards, starting with our current condition.
We have a sin nature inherited from Adam.
Like all of us, I was born with a set of built-in characteristics. I have blue eyes and brown hair; I have some things that I’m good at it, easily; I have other things that I have to work hard at in order to do them well (if at all). Those are in my DNA, passed down from generations of ancestors. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!)
One of my built-in features is that I am a sinner 1. Even in those rare moments when I am not actively committing any specific sin, that sinful nature is still a part of me. My instinct will always be to resist God’s sovereignty. I will always prefer to get my own way, without regard to others’ wishes or needs. I don’t like that in myself, but I can’t help it. I have no control over that instinct. Ick!
That default setting is what theologians call “original sin”. There are a couple of aspects to it. One is what I described above: I commit individual “sins” because of my inherited nature of being “a sinner”. Another is that Adam is the original representative of the human race, and as Adam goes, so go we all. This is similar to the way a president, prime minister, or ambassador stands for their country: To the rest of the world, what the leader does is what the nation as a whole does. Or, it’s like the way the “head of household” speaks for the entire family in many cases; Adam is the head of the human household.
The Bible speaks to both of these aspects of original sin.
Our Sin-Nature
For the sin-nature within us, Biblical teaching is extensive. Here are just a few examples.
The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
Psalm 14:2-3, repeated in Psalm 53:2-3
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
The heart is more deceitful than all else
Jeremiah 17:9
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…
Romans 3:23
Note that this does not absolve me of guilt, or exempt me from the consequences of sin. I can’t get by with saying “What does God expect? He knows I can’t help it. Why does He blame me for it?” Sorry, that doesn’t work. Even though the instinct is there, I always have the choice to override it. (My instinct is to sleep in and eat bon-bon’s all day. I manage to override instinct and get my tail off the couch to exercise and eat healthier…usually!) For any specific action, nothing is forcing me to make the wrong choice. Paul addresses this in his letter to the church of Rome, most clearly in Romans 3:5-8.
Adam as Our Representative
Further on in that same letter, Paul discusses the idea of Adam as a representative prototype for the entire race.
…just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned…
Romans 5:12
Paul repeats the same concept in his letter to the church as Corinth: “For as in Adam all die…” (1 Corinthians 15:22). However, that leads directly to the Gospel: “…so also in Christ all will be made alive.”
The Good News of Christ as the New Adam
If at first it seems unfair for all mankind to face judgment because of the sin of our leader, Adam, it leads to a very bright side, also. Jesus is the prototype, ambassador, leader of a new race of human beings: Those who have accepted His offer of salvation. We don’t have a choice to be born as human sinners. We do have a choice to be born again as children of God. That transaction brings with it many benefits, but I’ll mention just two of them here.
- As Jesus goes, so go His followers. In the same way that Adam’s sin cascades to his descendants, so does Christ’s righteousness cascade to His.
- A new Christ-nature joins the original sin-nature. The sin-nature doesn’t go away, unfortunately. But we are given a fresh instinct alongside it. Now, there is something pulling us toward God more strongly than sin pulls us away from Him.
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:17, 19
…
For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
This incredible gift,
purchased by Jesus at great cost
but freely available to all who are willing to receive it,
is the entire heart of Christianity.
Everything else — styles of music or dress, giving money or participating in activities — is all just details.
Adam and Eve yielded to temptation.
Going further back, there is another question: Why did Adam and Eve sin? They were created innocent. Sin did not yet exist in the world. They didn’t have a sin nature, an instinct toward sin and away from God. On the contrary, they had constant loving communion with God. After all, it’s the reason that they (and we) were created.
However, they did have the possibility of sin…because they had free will to choose whether or not to trust and obey God. If they had never exercised that possibility, we wouldn’t be in the condition we are, and Jesus would not have had to die in order to rescue us.
Adam and Eve chose poorly, because they fell for Satan’s temptation. He introduced a thought that would not have occurred to them on their own: What if God is not really the best thing for us? What if we can do better for ourselves?
If they had just stopped to consider, they would have known better. But once the idea was there… “Hmm, what if we could be just like God? What would it be like to know both good and evil? Are we missing something important? And what if…what if...God has been lying and holding out on us all this time?”
They didn’t come up with the questions by themselves. But once there, the only way — or so it seemed to them — to get the answers was to try Satan’s suggestion. What a mistake that was!
Satan wanted to be equal to (or greater than) God.
Now we need to go even further back. Why did Satan choose to start the chain of sin?
Satan and the other angels (and demons) are created beings, the same as humans are. They likewise were given free will. Satan willfully chose to set himself up against God. Why? The Bible’s answer is “Pride”.
Satan was at the top of the angel hierarchy. Ezekiel 28:14 tells us that he was “…the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.” But that was not good enough for him. He didn’t want anyone, not even God, to be superior to him. Isaiah 14:13-14 shares his thoughts: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.“
Instead of ascending even further above his already-high position, Satan has descended. He is kicked out of heaven, now trying (with some success, sadly) to rule over humans instead of angels. Along the way, he convinced some of the other angels to join his rebellion and side with him against God.
Note that, unlike Adam and the inheritance passed down to humans, there is no sin-heritage with angels/demons. Each started fresh; each made their own individual choice. Also unlike humans, there is no hope of redemption for Satan and his demons. Jesus didn’t die for them. There is no atonement possible for their transgression. They are hopelessly doomed.
Satan and his followers are destined to descend even lower. Their ultimate end will be in “the lake of fire and brimstone … and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)
Bottom Line
In a way, we can truthfully say that “the devil made me do it.” Sin comes to us from Satan’s temptation, through Adam’s weakness, and down via the nature we inherited from him. However, I’ll end with three points:
- Despite our sin, we are still infinitely valuable to God.
- Regardless of our nature, or our value, we are still individually responsible for every choice we make.
- God offers a solution, reconciliation, a new nature, and a new destiny…all through Jesus.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
2 Corinthians 5:17, 21
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He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
