The hard questions

Scripture teaches that Adam's sin brought death and a broken condition to all humanity (Romans 5:12–19), and David speaks of sin from his conception (Psalm 51:5). Yet Ezekiel 18:20 insists each person bears responsibility for his own sins. Christians agree we are born into a fallen condition; they describe what is inherited differently.

Paul's point in Romans 5 is that humanity shares a story: what Adam did affected everyone, and what Christ did can affect everyone too. Ezekiel 18 keeps us from using that as an excuse: each person still answers for their own choices. All traditions baptize infants or dedicate children partly because they see this shared condition as real from birth.

No. Jesus "faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin." Temptation becomes sin when the desire is welcomed and acted on (James 1:14–15). God also promises a way of escape.

Hebrews 4:15 is the key: Jesus was tempted in every way, yet without sin. So temptation itself cannot be sin. The question is what we do next. Paul adds that God provides a way out, so no temptation is irresistible.

Every sin separates us from God and needs grace (James 2:10). But Scripture also recognizes that some sins are graver than others (John 19:11) and speaks of "sin that leads to death" and sin that does not (1 John 5:16–17).

James 2:10 shows that the Law is one whole: breaking any part makes us a lawbreaker. But Jesus tells Pilate that the one who handed Him over had 'the greater sin', and the Law itself gave different penalties for different wrongs. So all sin needs grace, but not all sin does equal damage.

Yes. The Law provided sacrifices for unintentional sins, and David prays to be cleansed from "hidden faults." Growing in faith often means seeing sins we once missed.

Leviticus 4 sets out offerings for sins done 'unintentionally', which means Israel knew people can do wrong without realizing it. Psalm 19:12 asks to be cleansed from hidden faults. Growing closer to God usually brings more awareness of sin, not less, the way more light shows more dust.

Scripture never gives a complete explanation, but it shows that God created beings truly free to love Him, that He is not the author of evil (James 1:13), and that He can bring good even out of evil (Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28), above all at the Cross.

Scripture gives no full answer, but some things are clear: God is not the author of evil, real love requires real freedom, and God works even through evil for good. Joseph's words to his brothers, and above all the Cross, show God bringing the greatest good out of the worst evil.

The Law is holy and good, but it reveals sin rather than curing it. Sin even uses the commandment to stir up rebellion. What the Law could not do, God did by sending His Son and giving the Spirit.

Paul defends the Law as holy, righteous and good (Rom 7:12). The problem is not the Law but Sin, which uses the commandment to provoke. The Law works like an X-ray: it shows the break but cannot set it. Christ and the Spirit do what the Law could not.

Paul warns believers not to offer themselves to sin again, because we become slaves of whatever we obey. Peter warns that returning to the old life can leave a person worse off. But freedom remains available in Christ.

Romans 6 warns believers not to let Sin reign again. Galatians 5:1 urges them to stand firm in freedom. The traditions answer differently whether salvation can be lost, but all agree the remedy for falling is the same: return in repentance.

Jesus spoke of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit after religious leaders called the Spirit's work in Him the work of Satan (Mark 3:22–30). It is commonly understood as a hardened, final rejection of God's grace. Anyone worried that they have committed it shows by that very concern that their heart has not hardened.

The setting matters: Jesus' opponents saw Him cast out demons by the Spirit of God and called it Satan's work. It is a deliberate, hardened refusal of the very Spirit who brings people to repentance. That is why it 'cannot be forgiven': it refuses forgiveness itself.

Not necessarily. Paul describes ongoing struggle (Romans 7:15–25), and John says Christ is our advocate when we sin. But genuine repentance includes a real desire and effort to change, and Scripture warns against a settled pattern of sin.

Romans 7 describes a real struggle: wanting to do right and failing. Christians have long debated whether Paul describes life before or after faith, but either way, the honest struggle itself is a sign of life. 1 John 3 warns against a settled, unconcerned pattern of sin, not against stumbling.

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation, without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." Godly sorrow turns us toward God and hope; worldly sorrow and shame turn us inward, toward hiding and despair, like Adam and Eve in the garden, or Judas compared with Peter.

Godly sorrow looks at God and says 'I have wronged You; help me.' Worldly sorrow looks at self and says 'I am ruined.' The first leads to life, the second to hiding or despair. Peter shows the first, Judas the second.

The New Testament uses several images together: a sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 9–10), a ransom (Mark 10:45), reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18–21), victory over evil powers (Colossians 2:13–15), and Christ bearing our sins (1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53).

No single picture says everything, so the New Testament uses many: sacrifice, ransom, reconciliation, victory and substitution. They are like facets of one gem. The early church held them together without choosing one as the master theory.

Death, the last enemy, is destroyed. God wipes away every tear and nothing evil enters the new creation. The work begun in us now will be completed, and we will be like Christ.

Paul calls death 'the last enemy' to be destroyed. Revelation pictures a city where nothing unclean enters and God wipes away every tear. The work God begins in us now He promises to finish, and we will be like Christ when we see Him as He is.

Jesus Himself spoke most often about hell. He warned of 'eternal punishment' set against 'eternal life' (Matthew 25:46), of outer darkness, and of fire that is not quenched. Paul speaks of a day when God 'will judge everyone according to what they have done' (Romans 2:6) and of eternal separation from the Lord's presence (2 Thessalonians 1:9). The images differ, but the core is the same: to finally refuse God, the only source of life, is to lose life itself. God takes no pleasure in this (Ezekiel 33:11); He sent His Son so that whoever believes 'will not perish but have eternal life' (John 3:16).

Jesus speaks of the sheep and the goats, of 'eternal punishment' and 'eternal life' using the same Greek word (aiōnios), of the worm that does not die, and of a great chasm that cannot be crossed. He uses these warnings out of love, to turn people back before it is too late.

Paul says 'we must all stand before Christ to be judged'. For those who reject God, the result is 'eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord'. For those in Christ, judgment holds no condemnation (Romans 8:1).