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The Origin of Hell-Fire in Christian Teaching
The concept of a soul within us that cannot die first became a ‘Christian’ doctrine at the end of the second century AD. Hell had been taught in Greek philosophy long before the time of Jesus, with Plato (427-347 BC) as the important leader in this thinking.
The teaching of an everlasting place of punishment for the wicked is the natural consequence of a belief in an immortal soul. By the year AD 187, it was understood that life, once we have it, is compulsory; there is no end to it, either now or in a world to come. We have no choice as to its continuance, even if we were to commit suicide to end it.
At the end of the 2nd century Christianity had begun to blend Greek philosophy —human speculative reasoning, with the teachings of God’s Word. Such words and phrases as ‘continuance of being’, ‘perpetual existence’, ‘incapable of dissolution’ and ‘incorruptible’ began to appear in so-called Christian writings. These had come straight from Plato, the Greek philosopher, all those years before Jesus. Other phrases used were ‘the soul to remain by itself immortal’, and ‘an immortal nature’. It was taught that this is how God made us. But this idea derives from philosophy, not divine inspiration. There are no such words in the Bible. It was Athenagorus, a Christian, but whose teachings, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, were strongly tinged with Platonism, who had introduced the teaching of an immortal soul into Christianity. In this way, he paved the way for the logical introduction of eternal torment for immortal, but sinful, souls. This was a hundred years and more after the time of the apostles, and came straight from popular philosophy. The apostles had consistently taught that death is a sleep, to be followed by resurrection. The early church leaders – Clement, Ignatius, Hermas, Polycarp, and others who also believed that death is a sleep, taught that the wicked are destroyed forever by fire – their punishment was to be annihilation. These leaders did not teach of an immortal soul to be tortured by fire in hell for eternity.
About AD 240 Tertullian of Carthage took up the teaching of an immortal soul. It was he who added the further, but logical dimension. He taught the endless torment of the immortal soul of the wicked was parallel to the eternal blessedness of the saved, with no sleep of death after this life.
This came at a time when many Christians were being burned for their faith and it was natural for them to accept that their persecutors would at death be consigned to an ever-burning hell for the persecution they had inflicted on others while they went straight to eternal bliss.
From the third century the darkness of the infiltration of man-made beliefs into Christianity deepened until the Dark Ages had smothered almost all the light of God’s Word. At the beginning of this time, the first attempts were made to create a systematic set of beliefs. It is not surprising that an ever-burning hell and the immortality of the soul were prominently included.
It is at this time that such beliefs, held by most Christians today, had their origin. An ever-burning hell has remained a commonly taught doctrine of the Christian religion to this day. It was not based on the Bible but on philosophy. Bible verses were later sought to uphold the ancient philosophies of the Greeks, and added to the teaching.
Eventually under the influence of Augustine, AD 430, the concept of endless conscious torment was brought into general acceptance by the Catholic Church in the Western world. He taught that all souls were deathless and consequently the lost would experience endless fires of punishment, immediately upon the end of this life.
Purgatory and places of purification.
Other pagan philosophers, along with some of the poets of the day, were repulsed by the immorality of this teaching, and developed the idea of a place where the fleshly body was purified by fire but, at the completion of purification, would find release. It was a middle way between heaven and hell. This concept had its origin in Persian teaching. From there it passed to certain Jewish groups, and later was taken into Christian thought and teaching.
It arose out of the Gnostic idea that the body, flesh and matter, is inherently evil and must be purified and purged by fire elsewhere. But we know bodies can be exhumed for examination, so it cannot be true that the flesh goes elsewhere.
A similar view was held in Egypt, with prayers and services for the dead and payments made to priests for them to intercede for the dead. The idea of a place like purgatory did not have its beginnings in the Christian church, but in ancient pagan religions. The foundations had been established by Augustine’s teaching of eternal hell. Purgatory was added, and later fully confirmed by Pope Gregory the Great, about 582. Purgatory could not be supported by the standard canon of the Bible and it was the books of the Apocrypha that were used to justify this new idea.
A similar teaching appeared in Moslem and Jewish belief. The inhabitants of the world were seen as good, bad and ‘middling’. It was believed that, if one died with curable offences, these would be purified by pain and torment as a preparation for heavenly bliss. By 1439 the teaching of purgatory, with services and prayers for the dead, to spare them years of this pain, was fully accepted in the Western Catholic world – Italy, Spain, England, France, and was ratified by Pope Eugenius IV. It was not known or taught in Eastern Christianity, which was not influenced by Rome.
It is sometimes taught that even the righteous go to such a place for a lesser time so that the stains of sin can be burned from them, and this can be greatly hastened if certain exercises are undertaken. At the end of this time any that are incorrigible are sent to hell forever and the righteous go to a place of eternal blessedness.
Heaven and hell are seen to be existing together side by side forever and ever. This means that Jesus the Saviour can never see an end of the sin and misery He came to die for. Any teaching of the eternal co-existence of evil and good is not in the Bible, but is a teaching from Greek philosophy.
The Waldenses who had fled to the mountains to remain free from the heresies that were developing in the Catholic Church and also to escape persecution, taught the sleep of death and instant destruction by fire at the resurrection of the wicked. Their persecuting inquisitors reported that they entirely rejected the teaching of purgatory. The Cathari and the Hussites also rejected hell, thus leading the way for the teachings of the later Reformers.
The Reformers
The Reformers strongly rejected hell and purgatory, because by this time the teaching had become heavily corrupted by the sale of indulgences. These were the payments made to the priests to reduce the years of purification spent in purgatory.
Wycliffe taught that death was an unconscious sleep, as did Tyndale and Luther, (although it has to be said that Luther was not always consistent in his beliefs.) They taught neither hell or purgatory. They taught that ‘men are breath in bodies’ and not ‘souls in bodies‘.
Calvin, however, taught that those who were sinners went to the eternal pains of hell at the time of their death and even denied a middle place or purgatory. The Reformed churches, like Calvin, have generally maintained a belief in an immortal soul and hell-fire, but do not teach purgatory
The Resurrection and Hell.
How do the concept of an ever-burning hell and the Bible teaching of resurrection fit together? Over the centuries there has been a blending of Bible teachings with the teachings of men. It was known that the Bible speaks of resurrection, and also of death by fire. The compromise view sees the body being resurrected and rejoining its soul again and then both being tormented together by fire.
Athenagorus taught that a person can never die or come to an end; life is ours for always. He taught that we have been made intelligent just for the purpose of continuing life - even if it be in Hell. He also taught that a body is given to the soul, and we are born into this world to pass through this life as two entities. These two are separated at death but, at the resurrection, the body rejoins the soul. He taught that punishment must be given for sins committed in this body and so the body needs to suffer punishment also. During the period of separation from its soul it is said, the body is in the grave. He argued consistently that God made us to live, and therefore we live eternally even though it is a living death in torment.
What is the fate of the wicked?
The theologian Origen of Alexandria developed another, different view of the fate of the wicked. He postulated that the wicked would be forgiven and restored by God and so in the end all would be saved. There would be universal salvation. Some of his followers believe that even Satan will be saved.
But there was yet another view, that of Irenaeus, who taught that the wicked would be destroyed. All trace of wickedness would be removed from the earth by a devouring fire.
No second chance.
The Bible is clear that our choice, for Him or against Him, is made in this world, here and now. There is no mention of a second chance in the Bible, or a time when all people will be changed and restored to the Lord. This view of universal salvation is also mythology that has crept into the Christian world. It gives a more comfortable picture than judgement and death, but a second chance is false hope. Its origin is in the thinking of Greek philosophy.
In Summary
* There is no ever-burning hell with an eternity of torture.
* There is no such place as purgatory.
* There is no universal restoration of all sinners.
Comments
(1 Timothy 4:10)
From 1 Cor 15:28 we also know, that "God will be All in all". Do you suggest, that after annihilation of the wicked God will be partially in some?
"But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8). Scripture makes clear that the Lake of Fire is the second death not the second chance. To say, "If the work on the cross didn't redeem all mankind then it was a failure and Jesus isn't the Savior of the World" is to use carnal reason to interpret Scripture. By that reasoning God is already a failure in that Adam fell or that only Noah and his family were saved in the flood or that Christ had to die on the cross in the first place. The term "savior of the world" does not have the same meaning as "all the world will be saved." In John 8:12 Jesus said He was "the light of the world." But then says "He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness." In other words being the light of the world does not mean that all the world will walk in the light. If we choose to not walk in the light it is not a failure on God's part but our own. Only an omniscient God can define victory or failure. To say that all men will be saved from death is to propagate the same lie that caused the fall in the beginning, "Thou shalt not surely die." The same lie in this day is "death is not really death" "perish does not really mean perish" "destroy does not really mean destroy" "destruction does not really mean destruction." Dr. Weymouth, one of the finest Greek scholars, says that his "mind fails to conceive a grosser misinterpretation of language than when the five or six strongest words which the Greek tongue possesses, signifying 'destroy,' or 'destruction,' are explained to mean maintaining an everlasting but wretched existence." To say that all these words ultimately mean redemption is an even grosser misinterpretation of language.
"Why didn't Paul warn the gentiles of the horrors of hell, he doesn't even mention such a place in any of his writings?"
Because Paul says that the "wages of sin is death" not eternal horror and torments. The punishment is death, and that death is eternal, i.e. eternal punishment.
"If God knew that even before he put man on earth that he would fall bringing all mankind to the darkness of hell, sin, and death then why would a loving God do such a thing, knowing that most of mankind would end up suffering in the torments of fire."
I think this would be a difficult question indeed if death actually meant the horrors of torment in fire for trillions and trillions of years which of course would only be the first second of eternity. However, if we interpret death by its plain meaning I believe the difficulty disappears.
"If God has the power to reverse this condemnation and doesn't then what kind of God do we worship?"
A just and holy God.
"If you think (Christains) that you don't have to experience the Lake of Fire then think again cause even the overcomer goes thru the Fire. Rev 2:11."
I believe you are misinterpreting Rev 2:11. To not be hurt by the second death means we will not experience it. The word hurt here means do harm or wrong to one (Robertsons). Christ will save all his faithful servants from this hurtful and destructive death. The second death shall have no power over them (Rev. 20:6).
"Why doesn't Christ do this for all mankind, for surely if he did, everyone would do as Paul did and say 'what wilt thou have me to do Lord'"?
God "has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. You will say to me then, 'Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?' But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?' Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?" (Rom. 9:18-21)
God is under no obligation to save those who have rebelled against Him. He is perfectly just in condemning whomever he wills to condemn because all are deserving of death. Rather than ask why God doesn't save everyone, I think it more appropriate to ask why would God save anyone?
Now back to the question; Yes or No, Is Adam's work to condemn all mankind greater than Christ's work to save it?
This is a very important question that people should take some time to find the answer. When you do find it will bring blessings to your soul.
I see that you don't believe in a hell or lake of fire where humans are tortured for eternity and I don't believe that either, so the difference we have is parish or salvation for all. So I will not reply to statements about hell and suffering.
To respond to the question "If God has the power to reverse this condemnation and doesn't then what kind of God do we worship?" Well I'll let the people decide for themselves.
I would like to respond to what you said about Rev 2:11, I believe you are misinterpreting Rev 2:11. To not be hurt by the second death means we will not experience it. The word hurt here means do harm or wrong to one (Robertsons). Christ will save all his faithful servants from this hurtful and destructive death. The second death shall have no power over them (Rev. 20:6).
If you take a bible concordance and look up the word hurt you will see that this word is used the way it is in only 11 places in the new testament and 10 are in the book of Rev. and if you study all these 11 verses where the word is used, you do not come up with "do no harm or wrong".
Now to reply to the last statement you made when I wrote "Why doesn't Christ do this for all mankind, for surely if he did, everyone would do as Paul did and say 'what wilt thou have me to do Lord'"?
I have a real problem with putting the blame on our condition as if we chose to be in sin, Adam made that choice for us, any person who reads Romans chapter 5 verses 12-21 will see that thru Adam all were made sinners but thru Christ all were made righteous. Replace the word "many" with "all" because if "many" were made sinners (we know that all were made sinners) then the "many" which were made righteous is the same word used in this verse and the other verses in Rom 5:12-21.
I must close for now but will write some more later about the wonderful things God has done for his creation.
The word hurt in Rev. 2:11 is the Greek word adikeo (strongs 91). Englishman's Greek concordance lists it as being used 28 times.
Vincent's Word Studies
Revelation 2:11, Be hurt "adikeethee". Strictly, "wronged."
Robertson's Word Pictures
Revelation 2:11, Shall not be hurt ou mee adikeethee. Strong double negative with first aorist passive subjunctive of "adikeoo", an old verb, to act unjustly (from adikos), here to do harm or wrong to one, old usage as in Rev 6:6; 7:2f; 9:4,10; 11:5.
The The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology gives these definitions: to do wrong, to do hurt, to wrong someone, act wickedly towards him, to hurt, damage, harm.
"Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world."
It seems to me that this verse is saying that little Johnny as a Jew prior to Christ is very much like the little Johnny who grew up in a Christian home in your analogy and your Timmy of Harlem much like the description of the gentiles in the above verse. As I said previously God says In Romans 9, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." And in Exodus 33:19 "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." God is under no obligation to save anyone. The Lord gives life and He has every right to take that life. As Job says, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:20)
It says in Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned."
According to this verse sin entered through Adam, and in Adam all die. The verse says all die because all sinned in Adam. However, we will not be able to stand before God in Judgment, point to Adam and say "I am innocent, it's all Adam's fault" but rather "Because of Adam's fault I am just as guilty." It is true that we are born with a sin nature, but I see nowhere in Scripture that we will not be held personally responsible for our own choice to sin. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Wages are earned according to one's own labor and not the labor of another.
Notice in each of the following judgment passages that we are judged, not according to Adam's deeds, but according to what we have done whether good or evil. There is nothing implied in these passages that a man can blame anyone but himself for his evil deeds.
Eccl 12:13-14
The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
Matt 13:49-50
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace.
Matt 16:27
For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.
Matt 25:32-46
All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 'When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' "The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' "Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not 1 take care of You?' "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
John 5:28-29
Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Rom 2:5-11
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.
2 Cor 5:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Rev 20:11-13
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
Rev 20:12-15
And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
* If hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, and is redemptive, does that mean the devil and his angels are included in God reconciling ALL things to himself through Christ?
– is hell redemptive for them too?
* If by being IN Adam (ie he was the first of all humans and therefore we are BORN IN Adam) meant death to all, then doesn’t it mean that for someone to appropriate the universal redemption of Christ they need to be BORN again, BORN INTO Jesus (a new racial head if you will)?
* What would happen to someone who, either in this life or next, still chooses not to believe in Jesus?
Thanks guys.
We do not believe that hell is redemptive. Hell is the punishment of eternal death.
Question: If by being IN Adam meant death to all, then doesn't it mean that for someone to appropriate the universal redemption of Christ they need to be BORN again, BORN INTO Jesus (a new racial head if you will)?
There is no universal redemption. Only those who repent and submit to the Lordship of Christ will receive eternal life. All others will perish.
Question: What would happen to someone who, either in this life or next, still chooses not to believe in Jesus?
There are no second chances. Those who reject Christ in this life (the unforgivable sin)will receive the wages of their sin which is the eternal punishment of death (i.e eternal death).
I can not fathom God the Father torturing people forever with burning flames. I have been taught that this is what we all deserve. Can you imagine billions of people screaming for eternity? How does this teaching co-exist with the love of God? And believe me conservative Christian theologians are so entrenched in this doctrine, that if you come against it, you are treated in the same manner that evolutionist treat you if you believe in intelligent design. There are huge gaps in evolution and there are huge gaps in the teaching of eternal hell fire. Paul the apostle never mentions hell fire once!. He only talks about life and death. I would have that Paul would have at least once warned us about something as unimaginable as the pain of burning flames for eternity. I remember on 9/11 those people who jump out the burning building and plunged to their death rather than facing being burned alive. Thank you for your insight on the early church fathers and their beliefs.
Dr. David Tacha
Eccl. 9:5 - "The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all...."
But also, people who have died have a hope of resurrection...
Acts 24:15 - "and I have hope toward God, which hope these men themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous."
Unrighteous people will also be resurrected because perhaps they have never heard the truth about God. A loving, God of justice would make sure they had that opportunity. . .it would only be fair.
If Hell is real, why wasn't Cain warned about it, or Sodom and Gomorrah, or any of those who committed the earliest recorded "sins?"
If Hell is real why didn't Moses warn about this fate in the Ten Commandments or the Mosaic Covenant consisting of over 600 laws, ordinances, and warnings? The Mosaic Law simply stated blessings and cursings in this lifetime.
If Hell is real, why did God tell the Jews that burning their children alive in the fire to the false god Molech, (in the valley of Gehenna) was so detestable to Him? God said that such a thing "never even entered His mind" (Jer. 32:35). How could God say such a thing to Israel, if He has plans to burn alive a good majority of His own creation in everlasting fires?
The King James Bible erroneously translates the word "Sheol" as Hell a total of 31 times in the Old Testament, thus setting a foundation for that doctrine in the New Testament as well as the majority of Bible translations to follow the KJV.
If Hell is real, why were most of the warnings pertaining to punishment/Gehenna directed to Israel, particularly the Lord's own disciples as well as the Pharisees? The first great cluster of references to Gehenna, are found in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 5:22, 29, 30), Jesus' great sermon to His disciples in which He warned that one was in danger of Gehenna for the likes of calling someone a fool. This is a far cry from our modern Evangelical interpretation that says not accepting Jesus as your Savior is what sends someone to Hell.
Romans 6:23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is plain and simple that after death we have paid for our sins, this is when Psalm 103:8-9 would come into work. God will judge the living and the dead according to his will. that is why there is resurrection of the dead. Now, if we have paid our sins in death what is the need for hell fire? would you suffer twice for your sins?
2 tim 3:16 makes us understand that the bible is inspired of God.
Men penned down God's thoughts as they were borne along by the holy spirit.
If you look at it clearly the bible is harmonious in its teaching.
Sad to say, it is the translation of the bible original manuscripts into other languages like English and misunderstanding of what it says that brings about discord.
If what every one has written so far is anything to go by, we've all established a common ground which is:
'PUNISHMENT AWAITS ALL BAD PEOPLE.'
So why don't we focus on doing good?
If we do good just because we are afraid of hell fire, are we truly sincere?
Do not forget that God examines our heart and know our motives of serving him.
Some one asked if Adam's sin outweighs Jesus' sacrifice.
The answer is that Jesus' sacrifice equates Adam's sin.
On the basis of that sacrifice we can expect forgiveness of our sins if we have faith and are truly repentant.
It is true that we are prone to sin due to our imperfection but God knows that.
God sees beyond our actions. He sees who we are on the inside.
He knows why we do what we do.
So my dear friends let us serve God because we truly love him and love to do what is right.
That is the only way we will receive his eternal blessings.
All this i have been able to learn by studying MY BIBLE with Jehovah's Witnesses.
So take time to study your bible and not base your believes on hearsays or on few popular verses.
That way you will know the truth and it will set you free.
Daren, your creator would love you to know the truth about him says James 4:8.
Bible is clear that we are sinners by nature not by our deeds.
Bible is clear through Adam, we were all enslaved by sin itself.
Bible is clear you could not reject Adam's sinful nature by simply resisting it. To make it more simple to understand, you cannot say "I reject the nature of Adam in me."
Bible is clear that to the extent of how Adam screwed up, Christ made everything even better. Bible is not clear if that means universal salvation, though the Bible is clear that through Adam entered death to all men and through Christ entered life to all men.
Bible is clear that Christ died for all men.
Bible is also clear that those who reject the son are condemned already.
Bible is also clear that Christ has died for all men and all men has died with him.
Old t is clear that it does not teach "hell."
New t is clear it teaches "hell" or punishment.
Bible is clear there is a hell.
The bible is not clear if it is eternal or temporal.
Bible is clear hell is pretty darn horrible.
Bible is clear that the view of hell is not clear.
THE END!
" 'All sinned' (v. 12), even those who, unlike Adam (v. 14), had no direct law to disobey (v. 13). Paul is not, however, denying personal responsibility for sin on the part of Adam's descendants. Jewish writers claimed that Adam brought sin and death into the world (4 Ezra 7:118; *2 Baruch 54:15), but they also believed that each of his descendants made his or her own choice to follow in Adam's footsteps (4 Ezra 7:118-126; 2 Baruch 54:15), becoming each "our own Adam" (2 Baruch 54:19)."
The Pulpit Commentary states,
"We must guard against confusion between the idea of man's natural liability to condemnation on the ground of transmitted sinfulness, and that of God's actual dealing with him. It is nowhere said or implied that the natural infection which they could not help will be visited on individuals in the final judgment."
It says in Ezek. 18:1-4, 'The fathers eat the sour grapes, But the children's teeth are set on edge'? "As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "you are surely not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore. Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die."
Keil and Delitzsch write,
The meaning of the proverb is self-evident. The sour grapes which the fathers eat are the sins which they commit; the setting of the children's teeth on edge is the consequence thereof, i.e., the suffering which the children have to endure. The same proverb is quoted in Jer 31:29-30, and there also it is condemned as an error. The origin of such a proverb is easily to be accounted for from the inclination of the natural man to transfer to others the guilt which has brought suffering upon himself (Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament)
In verse 20 of Ezekiel 18 God sums up His meaning as, "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself."