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When researching and trying to understand what sin nature meant, I came to a conclusion
that sin nature is simply the aspect of/in mankind that makes them rebellious against God. We are
born into sin and some of us are conceived through sin if not conceived through the covenant of
marriage. We are inclined to sin and that is in part what sin nature is referring to. We do not have
to teach a child how to lie or how to be selfish. However, most spend a great amount of time,
explaining to a child that lying is wrong and that they must share with others. It is without a
doubt something that comes naturally. Sin is universal, it is found in all walks of life. The word
sin is literally presented in the very first book of the bible. We also have references to our
sinfulness and come to find terms like “sinful flesh” which can be found in Romas 8:3. Another
phrase that brings up sin nature would be “its our “earthly nature: that produces the list of sins in
Colossians 3:5.”
So, how did we get the sin nature? The bible explains this without using that exact term.
In the beginning, God created Adam and Eve as it states in the book of Genesis. Back then, there
was no sin, the scripture says that God created humans good and without a sinful nature. “God
created man in HIS own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created
them” (Genesis 1:27). The world was perfect, and God placed them in the Garden of Eden in
which they had absolutely everything anyone could possibly want or need. However, it is in our
nature to be curious, and God gave us the power of free will even in the beginning of mankind.
Unfortunately, that partook in what some would refer to as the downfall of man. This is recorded
in Genesis 3 as the disobedience of Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve were placed in the
Garden of Eden, they were given free reign to all that inhabited the garden along with them,
except one tree and its fruit. The bible refers to this as the forbidden fruit, even though
throughout the years we have heard the fruit being referred to as an apple for simplicity’s sake.
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Once an angel, knowledgeable of who God is and what his greatness is, Satan decided to use the
serpent as a means to change mankind. He decided that he was going to make an attempt on Eve,
deceive her so that she may break the only command that was given to her and Adam. As soon as
the chance became available, he used to Eve and got her to take a bite of the forbidden fruit and
if that was not enough, women in her own persuasive nature got Adam to sin with her as he also
partook in the eating of the fruit.
While manipulation and deceit were used with Eve, her decision in the eating of the fruit
is the reason why sin exists today, why we are born sinners. They were stricken with shame and
unfitness, and they automatically hid from God’s presence (Genesis 3:8). Before this, Adam and
Eve did not know that they were in the nude, they did not have to perform manual labor, they
would have never experienced death and childbirth would have been pain free. The
consequences of their sin were not just physical but also psychological because now they were
aware of their nudity, and they now knew that death was imminent and something that could not
be avoided. This sin opened their eyes to a whole new world. Because of this sin, once Adam and
Eve produced offspring they were created in the image and likeness of Adam which now was the
image and likeness of a sinner thus manifesting the sin nature into the genealogy early.
The downfall and sin of Adam and Eve is referred to as the original sin but from that sin
comes sin nature. They are the cause of why humanity is now sinful. Adam and Eve’s first-born
child, Cain became the very first murderer on this Earth as he killed his brother Abel (Genesis
4:8). Sin has entered the world with each of our births. Isaiah 53:6 states “all of us have gone
astray”, which goes to exemplify that we have walked away from the correct path of
righteousness and have indulged in a lifestyle of sin. In the book of Romans, Paul admits that
“the trouble is with me, for who I am all too human, a slave to sin” (Romans 7:14). Paul was also
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in his “sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (Romans 7:25). In these examples, you can see
how sin is in us and that there is no way for us to be pure, to be born without the inclination of
sinning. Soon as we can talk and have the will to do things, sin is inevitable. This brings me to
the next verse, in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 7, verse 20, Solomon states, “Indeed, there is
no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins”.
As it pertains to sin nature, it is important to understand that even children have sin
nature as explained previously and that there are verses that will explain this as well. Psalms 51:5
states, “Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. In Psalms
58:3, David states, “even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward,
spreading lies.” There are many of sins, from lying and gluttony to sins like stealing and murder.
While today, we put a sentence on “harsher” sins, the bible does not, and all sins are treated
equal. One can repent from lying just as one can repent from killing. However, the bible speaks
of ten commandments to give a guideline of what a life close to righteousness should steer away
from. In the bible, those commandments can be found in both Exodus 20: 2-17 and in
Deuteronomy 5:6-21. The ten commandments are as follows, 1) you shall have no other gods
before me, 2) you shall make no idols, 3) you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in
vain, 4) keep the Sabbath day holy, 5) Honor your father and your mother, 6) you shall not
murder, 7) you shall not commit adultery, 8) you shall not steal, 9) you shall not bear false
witness against your neighbor and 10) you shall not covet. While these were set in stone, quite
literally, sin is so prevalent that throughout generations each of these commandments has been
broken millions of times.
Sin nature has its consequences which can include ignorance of His greatness, His power
and His truth, this also includes hostility towards God out of pure ignorance and
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misunderstandings of the righteous way to live. In the book of Romans, chapter 8, verses seven
and eight the good book states in the words of Paul, “the mind governed by the flesh is hostile to
God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh
cannot please God.” It is my understanding that this refers to those who do not have a real
understanding of what it is to live in God’s grace and live for him while understanding the
spiritual realm, do not please God because they give in to their need to sin. Sinful nature brings
about chaos, it brings deceit, it creates instability and overall, it creates an atmosphere where
crime thrives. Sin nourishes criminal activity.
Overcoming sin nature is not as easy as just deciding not to sin anymore, it takes
accepting the Lord as your one true Lord and Savior. Unfortunately, just because you have made
this wonderful step in life, it does not mean that you are free of sin. The bible clearly states that
sin remains within us and that the old you (pre-Christ) will continue to be a problem as long as
we are alive. The good news is that by receiving Christ, we now have divine help in fighting that
sinful nature. We must pray and create a strong relationship with Christ, he is understanding that
we are humans, and we will fail over and over again but as long as you continue to pray for your
sins and hold on to him and his promise, you will be fine. After all, Jesus himself died for our
sins on the cross so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). However,
we must understand that the only path to righteousness is through him and the relationship that
we build with him during our lifetime.
While I am a firm believer that a person’s environment is closely correlated to criminal
activity, I also believe that sin has a huge part in criminal behavior. As stated before, the ten
commandments have two of the biggest crimes punishable by law in them, you shall not steal,
and you shall not murder. However, we find these things happen every single day when we
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watch the news or if you are like me and happen to already work in the criminal justice field
these things are a normal reoccurrence in your day to day. Since we are inclined to sin, due to our
sinful nature, it is not surprising that we may be inclined to commit criminal acts or behavior. For
example, envy is considered a sin, and an envious person is considered a dangerous one.
Depending on the circumstances in which that person may find themselves, that envy could be
the first step to stealing. The crime could escalate as well, that sin of envy could influence a
person to go from stealing to now hurting a person physically in an assault or go as far as
committing murder if they do not obtain what they are envious of or simply due to not wanting to
see the other person succeed or have what they are jealous of in that moment.
Our predisposition to sin can play a part in criminal behavior. However, not all sinners
partake in criminal activity. We know now that sin was not a natural thing at the beginning of the
creation of humanity but something that came about due to the disobedience of the first two
people on this earth. So, we can conclude that in the time that there was no sin, there was also a
lack of criminal behavior and activity. When we look at the laws of today, here in the United
States, public indecency is a crime, but pre-sin times, they did not even realize that they were in
the nude. Let’s use a misdemeanor criminal offense as an example, speeding. Sometimes
speeding happens because we are impatient and must arrive somewhere within a time constraint
or because we are too lazy to plan better. Sloth and impatience are both considered sins, sins that
have influenced and have become the reason for speeding, a crime. We tend to focus on the big
crimes because they are the ones who gain our attention and are notorious for making the news,
but the small infractions also play a part in the day-to-day operations of life. Speeding could turn
into a bigger crime, vehicular manslaughter or something of that nature depending on the state.
All in all, there is a correlation between impulses of sin and the committing of a crime.
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In conclusion, sin has an effect on the way we walk through life and our personal
relationship with Christ shows the commitment to trying to abstain from sinning versus not,
Those who walk along Christ should be more inclined to not partake in criminal behaviors thus
they should have a better understanding between the two. Sin nature does explain criminal
activity almost in its totality. There was no crime before there was sin, so one could only
conclude that one exists because of the other.
