Calvinism teaches that man is born totally depraved, separated from God, and unable to come to Him apart from a divine operation of the Holy Spirit upon his heart. Why is man allegedly in such a state? It is because of Adam’s sin.
The basic idea is this: God created Adam and Eve in the beginning. Later, these two sinned (Genesis 3). Because of Adam’s sin, all of his descendants are cursed, having inherited the guilt of Adam’s sin. One key verse for this doctrine is Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
What we need to remember is that the Bible speaks of two different types of death – physical death (the separation of the spirit from the body) and spiritual death (the separation of man from God). Adam suffered both of these. One was a punishment for his sin. The other was a consequence of his sin.
The punishment for sin was spiritual death. How do we know? God told Adam regarding the forbidden tree: “For in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Yet we know that after Adam ate of the tree, he lived for many years on the earth. His immediate death that was the punishment for his sin was not a physical death. He was separated from God, being expelled from the garden in which he could previously interact directly with His Creator (Genesis 3:8, 23-24).
But there was also a consequence for his sin. When Adam was driven out of the garden, he lost access to the tree of life. Even after Adam sinned, God acknowledged that if he ate of the fruit of this tree he would live forever (Genesis 3:22). So God drove him and his wife out of the garden. Adam was not only separated from God, but he would later suffer another consequence for his sin – physical death. Without access to the tree of life, there would be no way to prevent this.
One of these deaths was passed on to all after Adam’s sin. One was not.
Physical death – the consequence for Adam’s sin – was spread to all men, regardless of our actions. Why? Mankind no longer has access to the tree of life. Therefore, death is inevitable (cf. Hebrews 9:27). Physical death is not a characteristic of depravity since faithful Christians can still die, just as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about “those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
But what about spiritual death? Did that spread to all men because of Adam’s sin? Have we inherited the guilt of his sin? Will we be punished because of his transgression? The Calvinist says “yes,” believing the proof is Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”
This chapter is certainly talking about spiritual death – that which is due us for sin – but it does not teach that we will be punished because of Adam’s sin. We will be punished for our own sin. Death spread to all men because all sinned, not because they were born as a descendant of Adam. While the children often face consequences for their parents’ sins, the Scriptures do not teach that children face punishment for their parents’ sins (cf. Ezekiel 18:20).
The Calvinist doctrine of total depravity misses the point. We are each accountable individually for our own sins. We cannot blame our faults upon others. If we are lost in the end, it will not be because of Adam’s sin, or the sin of anyone else. It is up to us to do what God has commanded and to keep from transgressing His law.
