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At most evangelistic (as opposed to evangelical) meetings, the preacher is at pains to demonstrate that all are sinners, and that each person needs to repent of his own (personal) sin, and to individually accept the redemptive sacrifice of Christ for himself. Respondees are usually counselled using verses like Ezekiel 18:4 (The soul who sins is the one who will die) and Romans 3:23 (For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God). Deuteronomy 24:16 could be added: Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.But in many cases there is apparent unwitting duplicity. Although personal culpability for sin has been enjoined on the sinner, the common belief is that it is really Adam's sin that is the problem. Adam's sin has caused all men to be condemned, not in fact their own sin. If true, that is deception in evangelism (even if unwitting).More basic, the general picture of salvation in the context of the doctrine of original sin, is that all men have become sinners, not so much on their own account, but in some way due to their descending from Adam, and that Christ's one death on the cross accounts for all sins of all men of all time (unless one has a theory of limited atonement). This general statement, in spite of voluminous attempted theological reasoning, seems to fall short of adequately addressing a number of issues of a significant and disturbing theological nature. If Adam sinned a sin for which he alone was responsible, why should any other man also be held culpable for Adam's sin? (This is the problem of "Alien Guilt"). How can God be considered just when He is deemed to have condemned all men of all time for one man's indiscretion? Is the individual man responsible for his own sin, or is he Condemned Already?Alternatively and significantly, if an individual man is held to be responsible and culpable for his own sin, when did he first sin in order to become a sinner, thus deserving of spiritual separation from God? We must identify a CAUSATIVE sin which takes a man from innocence to being a sinner, and when this took place. Was it at birth, by the act of conception (which would remove his personal culpability for this causative sin), after birth, at some nebulous "age of accountability", or at some other time? This question must be answered.Further, if Adam's sin has led to my condemnation, how can I repent of Adam's sin since it is not my own sin? How then can I become a Christian if I am condemned for Adam's sin rather than my own? I can't repent of Adam's sin. THIS IS A PIVOTAL CONSIDERATION.Any adequate doctrine of original sin, must be able to show, not only the universality of sin, but also the individual culpability of each man for his own sin, and that he is therefore justly condemned on his own account. Only thus can we be honestly evangelistic.These questions will be addressed, seeking to establish in particular, the individual culpability and responsibility of each man in the process of becoming a sinner (the causative sin), and his personal culpability in his life as a sinner. Subsequently, in volume two, after a person becomes a Christian, we will address his personal culpability in his Christian walk. Simultaneously in each of these scenarios, the justice and righteousness of God will be demonstrated, both in His condemnation of all mankind for original sin (the causative sin), and also in His calling of each Christian to full personal accountability for his actions and thoughts. Finally, in this volume, we will see that the one death of Christ on the cross is sufficient for the one sin of all men.
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