Question on our Sinful Nature

Psalm 51:5 and our sinful nature

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I'm after expert opinion from people who understand Biblical Hebrew.

Psalm 51:5 used to trouble me when I used the NIV as it stated "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." And that troubled me - thinking that babies who had not yet been born were in fact guilty of sin.

However, the ESV states it differently: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." And that seems more acceptable as it seems to be talking about the mother's sin, not the baby's.

But which is closer to the original text? Do people know other verses talking about the same topic or our sinful nature? They way I think about it is we are born innocent but because of our nature it is absolutely inevitable that we will sin. But is this biblically accurate?

Signed ___________________

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Dear _______________


The scripture intentionally uses the words 'Sin' and of course 'sins'.

Sin is personified where as sins are action words.

The first time 'Sin' is used in scripture is Cain bringing a religious (man made) offering before the LORD and of course GOD only accepts the blood and fat. Cain doesn't agree and it ends in murder.

The LORD says to Cain

But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Genesis 4:6-7

this sin is crouching it has desires
it wants to master you, but you must master it!

This is the very first time we see 'Sin'.

Later we have scriptures like "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Psalm 51:5

Now, when JESUS enters the scene in the Gospels the first things said about HIM
are:

John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! john 1:29

Paul in Romans keeps up with the theme especially in Romans 7.

Once we realize that 'Sin' is a person and its not you - its sin living in you. If we don't realize this, then we are constantly fighting ourselves.

We are guilty, because we agree with 'sin' inside us tempting us, talking to us and we agree and do it - sins!

Sins are just manifistations of another person working through us - satan.

This sin nature or sin is the devil, we do what he wants producing 'sins'.
Paul said at different times things like this:

For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me.
(we know who the deceiver is).

As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it,
but it is sin living in me that does it.

Romans 6:12 Therefore don't let sin reign

This person (the devil) always wanted to be worshiped, wanted to be GOD.
He wants to reign in our lives to.

Paul also writes in Romans and Galatians this:
- so you don't do what you want.

The LORD JESUS, not only washed away our sins and cleansed us by HIS blood.
HE also put an axe to the root - the sin nature (Sin itself) so that we (us represented in HIM) were crucified - severing the control and union between us and sin.

So that it opens the way for us to start to live in the reality of
the command: 'don't let sin reign or rule over you'.

If I try to stop myself from sinning (thinking its just me alone) then
we know the results - there are a million religious acts done in Christianity
and other religions, of man trying to stop himself from acts of sin.

Its impossible!

Without HIM and knowing who the enemy is.

-Eric