(1) All men, without respect of condition or class, are sinners
before God.
Rom. 3:9, 10, 22, 23; Psa. 14; Isa. 53:6. There may be a difference
in the degree, but not in the fact of sin. All men, Jew and Gentile,
have missed the mark, and failed to attain to God's standard. There
is none righteous, no, not one.
(2) This universal sinful condition is vitally connected with the
sin of Adam.
Rom. 5:12--"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 the judgment was by one to condemnation" (5:16).
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners" (5:19).
All men were in Adam when he sinned; fallen he, fallen they. Herein
lies the truth of the organic unity of the race. "In Adam all die."
Two questions are raised here: How can man be held responsible for
a depraved nature?--this touches the matter of _original sin_;
and How can God justly impute Adam's sin to us?--this deals with
the question of the _imputation of sin_.
(3) The whole world rests under condemnation, wrath, and curse.
Rom. 3:19--"That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
may become guilty before God." Gal. 3:10; Eph. 2:3. The law of
God demands a perfect obedience; but no son of man can yield such
obedience; hence the curse of a broken law rests upon those breaking
it. The wrath of God abides on all not vitally united by faith to
Jesus Christ (John 3:36).
(4) Unregenerate men are regarded as children of the devil, and
not sous of God.
1 John 3:8-10; John 8:44--"Ye are of your father the devil." 1 John
5:19--"And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth
in wickedness (in the wicked one, R. V.)."
(5) The whole race of men are in helpless captivity to sin and
Satan.
Rom. 7, chapter entire; John 8:31-36; Eph. 2:3.
(6) The entire nature of man, mentally, morally, spiritually,
physically, is sadly affected by sin.
The _understanding_ is darkened (Eph. 4:18; 1 Cor. 2:14); the
_heart_ is deceitful and wicked (Jer. 17:9, 10); the _mind
and conscience_ are defiled (Gen. 6:5; Titus 1:15); the
_flesh and spirit_ are defiled (2 Cor. 7:5); the _will_
is enfeebled (Rom. 7:18); and we are utterly destitute of any Godlike
qualities which meet the requirements of God's holiness (Rom. 7:18).
What does all this mean? A. H. Strong, in his _Systematic
Theology_, explains the matter somewhat as follows: It does not
mean the entire absence of conscience (John 8:9); nor of all moral
qualities (Mark 10:21); nor that men are prone to every kind of
sin (for some sins exclude others). It does mean, however, that
man is totally destitute of love to God which is the all absorbing
commandment of the law (John 5:42); that the natural man has
an aversion to God (Rom. 8:7); that all that is stated under (6)
above is true of man; that man is in possession of a nature that
is constantly on the downgrade, and from the dominion of which he
is totally unable to free himself (Rom. 7:18, 23).
[Illustration with caption: Handwritten notations of Rev. William
Evans, Ph.D. D.D.]