Hamartiology (Doctrine of Sin): The Origin of Sin in Humanity
Hamartiology, the doctrine of sin, is a central pillar of Christian theology. It cannot be separated from anthropology, which studies humanity, or soteriology, which studies salvation. To understand the Gospel, one must first grasp the problem it addresses—sin and its devastating origin.
The Bible traces the entrance of sin into the human story to Adam’s first transgression in the garden. This act was not compelled by external force or internal defect but was a voluntary choice against God’s command. Sin, therefore, did not exist as a created substance but came into being as a rebellion of the will.
The origin of sin reveals both the mystery of evil and the necessity of grace. By examining Adam’s fall, the nature of sin as a willful act, the solidarity of humanity in Adam, and the theological consequences of original sin, the church confesses why redemption in Christ is essential for salvation and hope in the last days.
1. Act of Adam
The Bible consistently roots the origin of sin in Adam’s disobedience. In Genesis 2:16–17, God commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve transgressed this command by eating the fruit, believing the serpent’s lie rather than God’s truth.
Paul interprets this event theologically: “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Adam’s act was not a myth or metaphor but a historical reality with universal consequence. Christian theology stands or falls with the confession of a historical Adam and a real fall.
This first sin was not merely a mistake but a willful rejection of God’s word. It marked the entrance of rebellion into human existence and established the pattern of sin for all who descended from Adam.
2. Nature of the First Sin
The origin of sin must be understood as a voluntary act of the will. Adam was created holy, without any sinful inclination. His transgression arose not from defect but from self-determination. In this sense, sin originated ex nihilo—from nothing.
Theologians describe this as a “lapse” of the will, where Adam turned from one inclination (obedience) to another (disobedience). Sin is therefore not a created substance but an accident, a characteristic that attaches itself to the will. It has no independent existence but is a distortion of good.
This explains why Scripture never portrays sin as a thing in itself but as lawlessness, rebellion, or transgression (1 John 3:4). The first sin was not caused by God, nor did it arise from creation, but from the misuse of human freedom.
3. Solidarity of Humanity in Adam
The Bible presents Adam not merely as an individual but as the representative head of humanity. His sin is reckoned to all who are in him, just as Christ’s righteousness is reckoned to all who are in him.
Paul emphasizes this covenantal solidarity in Romans 5:18–19: “As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” In 1 Corinthians 15:22 he adds, “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
This solidarity means that sin is not simply imitated but inherited. Humanity shares in the guilt and corruption of Adam’s fall. All are born under sin, not as neutral beings but as those already alienated from God. This doctrine underscores the necessity of the Gospel, for only union with Christ can overcome the condemnation that union with Adam brings.
4. Consequences of Original Sin
The origin of sin in Adam has profound theological consequences. Among them are:
Guilt – All humanity is counted guilty in Adam (Romans 5:12).
Corruption – Human nature is bent toward sin (Psalm 51:5).
Death – Physical and spiritual death enter through sin (Genesis 3:19; Romans 6:23).
Alienation – Humanity is separated from God (Ephesians 2:1–3).
Bondage – The will becomes enslaved to sin (John 8:34).
These consequences are not temporary defects but enduring realities passed down through generations. They explain the universality of sin: “None is righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).
Yet the doctrine of original sin also points forward. Just as condemnation comes through one man, salvation comes through one man, Jesus Christ. The consequences of Adam’s fall highlight the necessity of the cross and the resurrection.
5. Gospel and Last Days Hope
The doctrine of sin cannot end with despair. The Gospel proclaims that the second Adam, Jesus Christ, reverses the curse. Where Adam disobeyed, Christ obeyed. Where Adam’s sin brought death, Christ’s righteousness brings life. Paul declares: “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).
The last days reveal the full reversal of sin’s origin. In Revelation 21–22, death is no more, the curse is removed, and God dwells with his people. The story that began with sin in the garden ends with redemption in the new creation.
Understanding the origin of sin prepares the church to proclaim the Gospel. Sin is not an illusion or social construct but a historical reality with eternal consequences. Yet the hope of Christ is greater, for the same solidarity that bound humanity to Adam now unites believers to the risen Lord, ensuring resurrection and eternal life.
Conclusion
The doctrine of sin teaches that the origin of sin lies in Adam’s first act of disobedience, a willful and voluntary lapse of the will that introduced guilt, corruption, and death into the human story. Humanity shares in Adam’s fall through covenantal solidarity, making sin universal and inevitable.
Yet this doctrine also directs us to the Gospel. Christ, the second Adam, undoes the consequences of the first. The last days promise not only deliverance from sin’s penalty but full restoration of humanity in resurrection and new creation. To understand the origin of sin is to understand why the Gospel is necessary and why hope in Christ is sure.
Bible Verses on the Origin of Sin
Genesis 2:16–17 – “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.”
Genesis 3:6 – “She took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”
Romans 5:12 – “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin.”
Romans 5:18–19 – “As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification.”
1 Corinthians 15:22 – “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
Psalm 51:5 – “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”
1 John 3:4 – “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”
Ephesians 2:1–3 – “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.”
Romans 3:10 – “None is righteous, no, not one.”
Revelation 22:3 – “No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it.”
