So, on Sunday I alluded to a big idea: Original Sin. My C-minus explanation of that was that we are all sinners, so we all need God's forgiveness. But the idea of Original Sin has a lot of baggage, both good and bad, that people have struggled with. Original Sin gets wrapped up in to why many in the church feel we need to baptize infants very early on, because they "need" baptism for their sins if something should happen to them. I remember one Mom whose child was born far too early, and wasn't going to live more than a few days, asking me about Baptism for her daughter. She said, "I can't figure out what my child has done wrong, how she could have sinned at all. But I'd like you to baptize her just the same." It was a very real and
heartbreaking question, and a few days after that baptism we did a
heart wrenching memorial service for this little tiny gift of God.
On a different note, There were many who associated the idea of Original Sin with sex. The C-minus description to this goes something like: Since we are all born into sin, and since little children can't sin on their own, then it is sex itself which is sinful and thus we are all born out of a sinful act. Personally I think this says more about the Western
civilizations problems with
understanding appropriate sex as a gift from God, but this definitely played a big role in the churches view on sex for many years.
So, what's the real idea? What's Original Sin really all about? Well Martin Luther and many others wrote a lot about the idea and debated it quite heavily at the time of the Reformation. The general idea was that ever since Adam sinned, every single person born since has been born "corrupted" We are born sinners. This isn't to blame Adam for all our woes, because if any of us were given the same choice as He and Eve we'd do the same. And the real root of this sin, is that we are born without an inherent fear and love of God. We are born believing like Adam, that we can be God. That is our
Original corrupted nature, no longer realising that we are God's handiwork first and foremost.
So, the point for the reformers is that, a 2 day old baby may not show off that attitude, or that nature, but he will. We are born that way, and it cannot be undone except by Christ alone. In fact, in all of the literature I read on Original Sin I'll admit the only thing that really stuck with me is that the whole point of recognizing we struggle with Original Sin is that it drives us to Jesus. By admitting we are sinners, totally and thoroughly, we also admit we need someone to love us and save us. We need Jesus. And that's something I'm happy to focus on.
So, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the whole Original Sin idea, but let's always couch it in a bigger picture. We may just be debating semantics. And that can be fun and worthwhile as long as we don't forget the bigger picture. We are all sinners. And we all need Jesus. Praise God that He came for all of us!
Pastor Bill
