Are we all born sinners?

from the old testament

• God created Adam and Eve sinless, in His own image, (Genesis 1:26-27). However, they could make their own decisions, and they chose to disobey God (Genesis 3). They sinned and became sinful in nature. Their children and all of humanity inherited this sinful nature.
• Our sin nature is a part of us from birth (Psalm 58:3; Proverbs 22:15).
• Even before we are conscious of sin, it influences our bodies and our actions. King David wrote, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psalm 51:5). Children have a naturally selfish inclination and must be taught to share and put others first. In addition, our bodies are already imperfect at birth and easily broken—a result of living in a fallen world due to sin in a general sense.

from the new testament

• As Adam and Eve’s descendents, all humanity inherits a sinful nature. Romans 5:12 explains, "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned." First Corinthians 15:21-22 confirms that our sin nature is inherited from Adam.
• We are all born sinners. Due to this, we are all separated from God and deserving of His punishment (Romans 3:23; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-5).
• We cannot overcome our sin nature on our own. We can do good things, but we are not inherently good. We can never do enough good works to atone for our sin, nor can we stop sinning simply by our own will power. Writing to the church in Ephesus, Paul describes the state of humanity without Christ: "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind" (Ephesians 2:1-3).

implications for today

Although we are all born sinners, Jesus Christ has overcome sin. Jesus was fully human and fully God. As such, He was a perfect man, living a perfect life, without sinning. By sacrificing His life on the cross, He atoned for both our sinful nature and actions. All who put their trust in His death and resurrection can be forgiven and freed from bondage to sin. Just as Adam's sin spread sin throughout the world, Jesus' sacrifice defeated all sin (Romans 5:17).

In this life, we will always have a sinful nature. However, there are at least three promises for those who commit their lives to Jesus: First, their sin is not counted against them; in Christ we are completely forgiven (1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Second, they will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to withstand the temptation to sin, and Jesus will work to transform their hearts so that they will become more like Him in nature (1 Corinthians 10:13, 2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 1:6; 2:12-13). Finally, one day they will be reunited with God in heaven and will be forever free of sin (Revelation 21—22). In Jesus, we need no longer be separated from God. We are not bound to our birth as sinners but can become children of God: "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13).