One with a twist and a bit of a spin.
And since I've done all the old ones
'til they've all been done in...
Endlessly searching for an original sin."
- Jim Steinman
There is no such thing, of course, as an "original" sin, in that sense of the word. Every wicked thing under the sun that could be done by man has been done - social media and instant communication simply means that we see man's wicked deeds instantly. But we just keep doing the same old things. And we will - on and on - until the final day.
There is, however, such a thing as Original Sin. It is the sin of our first parents Adam and Eve that we have all inherited and in which we all take part. Original Sin is the death sentence of the human race. It is the total corruption that has destroyed the image of God in us. We are conceived and born in Original Sin. It is what makes us commit all manner of Actual Sins of wicked thoughts, words, and deeds - harming our neighbor and harming ourselves.
Sometimes I wonder if we really believe in Original Sin. Do we really believe what God's holy Word says about us? That is, after all, what confessing God's Word is all about - we say back to God what God says about Himself and what He says about us. Do we really believe that we are spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins? Do we really believe that we are by nature spiritually blind, dead, and enemies of God? My guess is that we don't. Not really.
We adhere to the belief that we are good. Our default position is that we are basically good people. We are good people who - if left to our own devices - make good choices and do good things. But this is not true. Even St. Paul told us that the evil he did not want to do - that is what he did. And the good that he wanted to do - he could not accomplish it. How much more true is that for you and me?
We are dead. We are dead in our trespasses and sin. Original Sin and all the Actual Sins we commit every moment of every day have killed us. Who will save us from this body of death?
Thanks be to God that we have a Savior who took upon Himself all of our sin and all of our death. He took them into His holy, perfect, and deathless body and He became sin for us - for all of fallen humanity! We cannot choose God anymore than a dead man can choose to be alive. But God chose us in Christ before the foundations of the world were laid. He put all of your sin and all of your death into the sinless one who is true God and true Man.
Only in Jesus are you made alive. Only in Jesus are your Original Sin and all of your Actual Sins covered by the righteousness that comes from outside of you, making you alive!
