Is everyone a sinner?

by John Holbrook Jr.
A Biblical View, Blog #003 posted August 1, 2016, edited March 9, 2021.

Yes. With the exception of Jesus of Nazareth, everyone ever born of a woman is a sinner – whether male or female, young or old, Jew or Gentile. (Adam and Eve were created sinless, but they soon sinned.)

The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They have all turned aside; they are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good; no, not one (KJ21 Psalm 14:2-3).

God looked down from Heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that understood, that had sought God. Every one of them has turned back; they have altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one (KJ21 Psalm 53:2-3).

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it (KJ21 Jeremiah 17:9)?

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God. They have all gone from the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (KJ21 Romans 3:10-12).

 …all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (KJ21 Romans 3:23).

…we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do, I approve not. For what I would do, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing; for to will is present within me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would do, I do not; but the evil which I would not do, that I do. Now if I do that which I would not do, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me (KJ21 Romans 7:14-20).

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us….If we say that we have not sinned, we make [Christ] a liar, and His Word is not in us (KJ21 1 John 1:8, 10).

So, you are a sinner.

If you persist in believing that you are not a sinner, however, you are lying to yourself. That we are born sinners – the Christian doctrine of original sin – is the most empirically evident fact of life. Start with children. Watch a newborn baby shriek for what he or she wants – more food, more attention, more comfort, more, more, more, etc. Watch a two-year old snatch a toy from his or her playmate or even deliver a pinch or blow. Mothers spend most of their time trying to teach their children to be good, to be civil, to be generous, to curb their self-centeredness and selfishness – let alone to be loving and caring. They don’t have to spend a minute teaching their children to be bad. Now consider yourself. How often do you do something that you knew was wrong, that you didn’t want to do, but you did anyway? That’s sinfulness.

Every person is incapable of avoiding sinning – no matter how hard he or she tries. He or she is born into sin, and his or her sinful nature affects everything he or she thinks, says, or does. Listen to Paul on the matter:

…I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If  then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death (KJV Romans 7:14-24)?

Every person is doomed. A person’s sins condemn him or her to suffer the wrath of God, which is manifested in both temporal calamities and eternal separation from God.

Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping His commandments and His judgments and His statutes which I command thee this day, lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses and dwelt therein, and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, …; and thou say in thine heart, “My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.” But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God; for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish his covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou ever forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them and worship them, I  testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish, because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God (KJ21 Deuteronomy 8:11-20).

…the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shewed it unto them. For from the creation of the world the invisible things of Him are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. For when they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God,  nor were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and to birds and fourfooted beasts and creeping things (KJ21 Romans 1:18-23).

…the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

…when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death (James 1:15).

God hates unrepentant sinners (see Psalm 5:5, Psalm 7:11, Psalm 11:5, and Psalm 34:16). The mantra, “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner,” which one often hears from evangelicals, is sentimental nonsense. He has sentenced every man, woman, and child who was, has been or, will be born to die because of their sinfulness. God destroyed the entire world with the flood because of its inhabitants’ unrestrained evil-doing and later Sodom and Gomorrah with a blast from heaven because of their inhabitants’ unrestrained evil-doing.

God loves repentant sinners – those sinners whose names God-the-Father wrote into the Book of Life before creation began. They are the past, present, and future sinners (a) who acknowledge their sinfulness, rue their sins, and resolve to turn away from further sinning to the extent that, with God’s help, they can, and (b) who throw themselves into the merciful hands of God-the-Son, who died on the cross at Calvary to pay the price for their sinfulness and their sins. They are the redeemed of all ages. Even they, however, will die because of their sinfulness, but they will be resurrected to eternal glory (the lot of the redeemed) rather than to eternal punishment (the lot of the unredeemed).

Pray that you are one of the redeemed. If you have not yet done so, hurry to your knees and kiss the Son, begging Him to forgive your sins and thanking Him for His suffering on your behalf. Don’t put off doing so; you may have less time than you think.

© 2016 John Holbrook Jr.
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