Romans 5:12, 19
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“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
Does this passage state that all can be judged sinners because Adam alone sinned? Rom 5:12 does show that all human beings suffer death because of what this first man did. The key is the latter part of Rom 5:12—“death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” The end of Rom 5:16 emphasizes that death comes not because of Adam’s sin alone, but because of “many offences” committed by many people, actually every person. The Catholic doctrine of “original sin,” centered on these verses, teaches:
(1) Adam, not us, is really responsible for our sin, referred to as “original sin”!
(2) He passed on his sin in and through our flesh, which is now inherently wicked. Further, Catholics believe, however, that deep inside, all people are good, and secretly want to obey and love God. This idea derives from the pagan teaching that human beings have a pure, pristine immortal soul locked inside an evil “prisonhouse” body, only able to “escape” at death.
Romans 3:11 and 8:7 negate any supposed secret, noble motives lying inside a person’s “mind” and that these are able to somehow control the “flesh.” Paul did speak of a very real internal spiritual warfare going on daily inside Christians. Much of Romans 7:1-25 describes the daily battle of the Christian’s human mind at war against Christ’s mind within him.
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