Was
David a Sinner at Birth?
by Jimmy Mickells
"Behold,
I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me"
(Psalm
51:5).
Those
who teach and try to prove that one inherits the sin of Adam use this
verse as a proof text. Does it really say that David was born a
sinner because of what Adam did hundreds of years before his birth?
Are you and I sinners because of the action of another man? I believe
with all my heart that the Bible answers these questions very
clearly.
In the
book of Ezekiel, the prophet plainly says that the son does not bear
the guilt for his father's sin, nor is the father held responsible
for the iniquity of the son. "The
soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the
father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness
of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the
wicked shall be upon himself"
(Ezekiel
18:20). We suffer the consequences of the sins committed by
others on occasion, yet we are not guilty before God because of their
sins.
The
nature of sin itself denies the fact that we are born sinner because
of the action of someone else. Sin is a transgression of the law of
God (I
John 3:4). It is not something that is transferred from one
person to the other simply because they are descendants. Did Jesus
inherit the sin of Adam when Mary gave birth to Him? The Bible says
that He was without sin (I
Peter 2:22). To avoid the logical conclusion that Christ was born
a sinner like all other babies, the Catholics teach the immaculate
conception of Mary. Merriam-Webster define this expression
(immaculate conception) as, "the conception of the Virgin Mary
in which as decreed in Roman Catholic dogma her soul was preserved
free from original sin by divine grace" (Online Version). This
is how they try to avoid a very apparent contradiction in their
teaching. The truth of the matter is, that no one is born a sinner,
he becomes such when he violates the law of God and is accountable to
Him.
The
Bible tells us that the God we serve is holy and just (Psalm
7:11; I
Peter 1:16). How righteous and good would the Lord be if He
condemned a child to the fires of hell for an eternity because of
what Adam did? Do you think a judge and jury in the United States of
America would find a son guilty of a crime that they knew was
committed by his father? I think not! It is hard for me to imagine
that someone would make such a charge against a loving, caring, and
compassionate God. Yet those who teach this false doctrine do just
that!
When we
stand before Jehovah in judgment, every man will answer for his own
misdeeds, not the sins of someone else. Paul said, "who
"will render to each one according to his deeds": eternal
life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for
glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and
do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness - indignation and
wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil,
of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace
to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the
Greek. For there is no partiality with God"
(Romans
2:6-11). The apostle didn't say that God would render to each one
according to what Adam did. No, we're held accountable to God because
of our own failures or good deeds, not because of what mom and dad
did or didn't do.
What was
David saying in Psalm
51:5? Robert Taylor said, "He was born into a world where
sin abounds and where all ultimately do sin. He was born into a world
where temptations to sin run strongly and to one of them - fleshly
passion - he had surrendered in a moment of weakness? (Studies in
Psalms, Robert R. Taylor, Jr. p. 56). Sin was all around him, yet he
became a sinner when he yielded to his desires and violated the will
of the Lord.
Notice
these two passages; "You
were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till
iniquity was found in you"
(Ezekiel
28:15). "Truly,
this only I have found: that God made man upright, but they have
sought out many schemes"
(Ecclesiastes
7:29).
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