Hamartiology

I.  The Origin of Evil

            Man was originally made by God to exist in a state of perfection.  God is not capable of creating evil, or that which is opposite of his own nature.  The fall of Satan obviously preceded the encounter between the serpent and the woman (Gen. 3).  Evil entered the world through Satan; evil entered humanity through the fall of man. 

 

II.  General Definitions

            A.  Sin:  Sin is missing the mark, badness, rebellion, iniquity, going astray, wickedness, wandering, ungodliness, crime, lawlessness, transgression, ignorance, and falling away (I John 3:4; Matt 21:41; Matt. 7:11; Exod. 20:20; Gen. 3:5; I Kings 12:19; etc.).  It might also be expressed this way:  Sin is anything I do, say, or think that God does not want me to do, say or think, as well as the inverse.

            B.  Original Sin: Original sin is given to us from Adam (Roms. 5:12), sin is something that we are capable of and persistent in from the time of birth (Roms. 3:9-18), and original sin is the root of all personal sins that we commit.  Original sin is also related to men’s sin nature, or proneness to sin. 

 

III.  The Relationship of Adam’s Sin to the Human Race

            Romans 5:12 tells us that “all sinned” and we all have the consequence of death because sin entered into the world through “one man.”  When Adam sinned we all sinned.

            A.  Important Terms

                        1.  Federal Headship:  Adam is viewed as the legal representative of the entire human race.  Sin is imputed, or accounted, to all of humanity because Adam sinned.  In no realistic sense did any one person have to sin to have this sin imputed to themselves; because Adam sinned, we all sinned.  

                        2.  Seminal Headship:  This position is more literal.  At the point of Adam’s sin, all of humanity could be understood to have literally sinned along with him.  This is because all of humanity was physically present in Adam (Joshua 7:16-26; Hebrews 7:9-10). 

                        3.  Immediate versus Mediate Imputation:  Imputation is when a debt is laid to the account of someone else.  There are two potential types of imputation, immediate and mediate.  The difference between the two lies with the source (direct or indirect).  The Federal headship theory only allows for immediate imputation.  Seminal headship could allow for either, sin is either inherited as a sin nature or original sin through a mediator, or imputed directly from Adam. 

            B.  The Significance of Creationism versus Traducianism

            It is impossible for God to create individual souls unperfected, so creationism is not possible for seminal headship.  However, if souls are naturally generated by the parental union (traducianism), then the result of inherited or mediated sin makes much more sense.  In federal headship, there is no necessity for either view to prevail.  God is able to view Adam as the representative for humanity whether or not he makes individual souls.  If Seminal headship is espoused then Traducianism is required (Ps 51:5; Rom 5:12; Heb 7:10).

 

IV.  The Nature and Condition of Fallen Man (Including Depravity)
            Total depravity teaches that man marred by his sinful nature is depraved in that his entire nature is corrupted, not just particular facets, and there is nothing in man that bridges the gap between himself and God.  This does not mean that man will exhibit his depravity to his full capability, that he will indulge in all sins necessarily, that he is incapable of doing “good” acts as seen by men, or that he will have an innate conscious awareness of God.  Man is incapable of pleasing God in his sinful state since it is contrary to the nature of God.