Indeed, I was guilty when I was born;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.
Is this a fact of Scripture? A doctrinal Truth? Or, is this the poetic language of a man who is languishing in his stupid, evil poor decisions? Here is my simple perspective.
From an existence standpoint; i.e. the genetic nature of sin, it must be literally true. All of our ancestors were sinners and the nature of sin passes down through the DNA we receive. In my mind, this explains the predisposition to particular expressions of sin that each individual has. However, the fact of sin in our body from birth does not negate the possibility of us not choosing it. We can still refuse to submit to the evil in our bones. We can still choose to do good in light of inherent evil.
The tension arises in relation to those who are so young that they do not understand this and may not actually sense the guilt that follows obedience to genetic sin. Obviously, without this sense of godly guilt there can be no confession or repentance. My perspective and opinion is that God’s grace is big enough to cover these. There is a deep mystery here. It makes no biblical sense to me that any sort of religious ritual would protect these young ones from the sin in their bones. This sounds more like magic than salvation by grace through faith. Surely God knows even the youngest of hearts and has the grace to cover those who are of limited understanding? I mean, how many of us ever truly, fully understand? We are all always growing in our understanding of all aspects of our relationship to God and the invisible, soul saving truths.
One thing cannot be argued or disputed: the depravity of man has been established and clearly demonstrated throughout the history of the world. It is safe to say that sin stalks us from within from the very beginning of our consciousness. “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it.” Jeremiah 17.9. Thankfully, Father God is ever merciful to those who are calling on His Name and walking with Christ.
Ventanas 