(June 11, 2016 at 7:02 pm)KevinM1 Wrote:(June 11, 2016 at 6:49 pm)SteveII Wrote: You are still confusing inheriting a sin nature with what you are going to be punished for.
To be more precise you have to understand the before and after. Before Adam's sin he was righteous and could stand before God (in his presence) "as-is" blameless, without fault, a perfect being, made in the image of God, higher than the angels. After sin, approaching God is no longer possible--he was tainted. The fall was significant because of how high his status was to start. Adam could not help but pass on that tainted state to his offspring. Therefore we inherit a sin nature--a state that requires some kind of repair if we are to get back to the original state.
So, if someone who inherits a sin nature never actually commits a sin, what then? What's the penalty for not getting the state-of-being repaired?
Is it possible that someone never commits a sin? Most mainline protestant doctrine of sin holds that a child will not be judged for their sins (covered by grace) until they reach the age of accountability. That is the time (difference for everyone) at which they can comprehend their sin and become accountable for their response to God. Cognitively impaired people would also fall into this category. Now the question is whether a person, who has reached the age of accountability, could have led a sinless life up to that point. I don't think that is a possibility (I have 5 children and know it was not true for them), the Bible teaches that it is not possible, and I don't think there is any evidence that is the case.
