Original Sin in the Bible

Original sin is the doctrine that the fall of humanity's first parents introduced a corrupted nature and condemnation that pass to every human being. The narrative begins in Eden, where Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command. Genesis 3:6 records how the woman "saw that the tree was good for food," took its fruit, and gave it to her husband, and with that act sin entered the human story. Scripture treats this not as an isolated lapse but as a representative event whose consequences ripple outward to all of Adam's descendants. The Apostle Paul develops this teaching most fully in Romans. He writes that "sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12). He continues that "one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people" (Romans 5:18) and that "through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners" (Romans 5:19). Paul's argument is comparative: as Adam brought ruin, so the obedience of Christ, the second Adam, brings life. First Corinthians 15:22 states the contrast plainly: "as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." The Old Testament already senses this inherited bent. David confesses, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5), acknowledging that his guilt was not merely a sum of bad choices but a condition of the heart. Paul echoes this when he says we were "by nature deserving of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3), describing humanity's default standing apart from grace. Understanding original sin guards against both despair and pride. It explains why every person, however well-intentioned, struggles with selfishness, and why moral self-improvement alone cannot reconcile us to God. Yet the doctrine never stands alone; it always points to the remedy. The same passages that diagnose the disease announce the cure in Christ, whose righteousness is credited to all who believe. Original sin, rightly held, deepens gratitude for the gospel and humility before a God who saves what we could never save ourselves.