What does the Bible say about being born in to sin?

Bible Topic · WEB

The Bible teaches that all people enter the world with a sinful nature and share in Adam's fall, so sin and death mark humanity from birth. David confesses in Psalm 51:5 that he was conceived in sin, and Psalm 58:3 describes the wicked as going astray from the womb. Romans 5:12-14 explains that sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and death spread to all because all sinned. Yet this doctrine magnifies God's grace: as all die in Adam, so those united to Christ are made alive in him (1 Corinthians 15:22). Salvation is therefore God's merciful work, not human achievement.

Top passages, ranked by readers

Rankings: OpenBible.info Topical Bible (CC BY) · Scripture: World English Bible

  • Psalms 51:5 39 votes

    Behold, I was born in iniquity. My mother conceived me in sin.

  • Romans 5:12-14 28 votes

    Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death passed to all men because all sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world; but sin is not charged when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those whose sins weren’t like Adam’s disobedience, who is a foreshadowing of him who was to come.

  • Psalms 58:3 23 votes

    The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

  • 1 Corinthians 15:22 11 votes

    For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

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