Jesus teaches us that there is something far more fundamental to our sinfulness than the actual sins we commit. Our sins do not make us sinful. Rather, we commit sins because at the very center of our lives, we are sinful. Sin has invaded the inner recesses of our personalities.
The Heart of the Problem, Tabletalk, June 2008, p. 57, Used by Permission.
The so-called innocence of children is more a matter of weakness of limb, than purity of heart.
The innocence of children may be more a matter of weakness of limb than purity of heart.
G.K. Chesterton once said it is surprising that people have rejected the doctrine of original sin because it is the only doctrine that can be empirically verified.
Quoted in: Who Will Be Saved? Edited by: House, Paul and Thornbury, Gregory. Crossway, 2000, p. 100.
Original sin, therefore, seems to be a hereditary depravity and corruption of our nature, diffused into all parts of the soul, which first makes us liable to God’s wrath, then also brings forth in us those works which Scripture calls “works of the flesh” [Gal. 5:19].
Institutes, II:1.8.
That every person should grow up and do evil can be no coincidence. It calls for an explanation.
Man does not become spiritually dead because he sins; he is spiritually dead because by nature he is sinful [Eph. 2:1].
Ephesians, Moody, 1986, p. 52.
[Original sin] does not refer to Adam’s first sin, but to the guilt and tendency to sin with which we are born. It is “original” in that it comes from Adam, and it is also original in that we have it from the beginning of our existence as persons, but it is still our sin, not Adam’s sin, that is meant (Wayne Grudem and Jeff Purswell).
Bible Doctrine: Essential Teachings of the Christian Faith, Zondervan, www.zonderan.com, 1999.
The sinfulness of man does not begin from without, but from within. It is not the result of bad training in early years. It is not picked up from bad companions and bad examples, as some weak Christians are too fond of saying. No! it is a family disease, which we all inherit from our first parents, Adam and Eve, and with which we are born. Created “in the image of God,” innocent and righteous at first, our parents fell from original righteousness and became sinful and corrupt. And from that day to this all men and women are born in the image of fallen Adam and Eve, and inherit a heart and nature inclined to evil. “By one man sin entered into the world.”
Taken from Holiness by J.C. Ryle, Moody Publishers, copyright 2010, p. 22-23.
Any man who declares children to be born perfect never was a father. Your child without evil? You without eyes, you mean!
11.104.
Even a child in the womb and coming from the womb is wayward and sinful. We often are taught that man becomes a sinner when he sins. The Bible teaches that man sins because he is a sinner. Your children are never morally neutral, not even from the womb.
Shepherding a Child’s Heart, Shepherd Press, 1995, p. 37. Used by Permission. Get this book!
More empirical evidence exists for the doctrine of original sin than for any other truth of Scripture.
