If Baptism Removes Original Sin, Why Do We Still Sin?

[Jacqueline1966]

Why do we still sin when Baptism has cleansed us of original sin?

Also, what sin exactly did Christ take away by His death and resurrection?

If all these sins are taken away, again why does sin still exist in the world?

Please respond to me like I am 13 years old!

 

[marty1818]

From the Catechism:

405 Although it is proper to each individual, original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam’s descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is called “concupiscence”. Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle.

In short, our original sin as well as any other sin committed is removed by baptism. We still have the inclination to evil though and this is why Christ gave us confession for those times when we do sin. Christ’s death was a sacrifice offered in atonement for the sins of the world, however, he did not remove the existence of sin in the world.

 

[DJK100]

Why do we still sin when Baptism has cleansed us of original sin?

Because we have free will and can choose to sin.

Also, what sin exactly did Christ take away by His death and resurrection?

All sin. He offered the once for all perfect sacrifice for mankinds redemption.

If all these sins are taken away, again why does sin still exist in the world?

Again because you can choose to sin and go against the will of God.

 

[Rich_C]

From the Baltimore Catechism #3:

Q. 274. How is sin divided?

A. (1) Sin is divided into the sin we inherit called original sin, and the sin we commit ourselves, called actual sin. (2) Actual sin is sub-divided into greater sins, called mortal, and lesser sins, called venial.

Q. 275. In how many ways may actual sin be committed?

A. Actual sin may be committed in two ways: namely, by willfully doing things forbidden, or by willfully neglecting things commanded.

Q. 276. What is our sin called when we neglect things commanded?

A. When we neglect things commanded our sin is called a sin of omission. Such sins as willfully neglecting to hear Mass on Sundays, or neglecting to go to Confession at least once a year, are sins of omission.

Q. 277. Is original sin the only kind of sin?

A. Original sin is not the only kind of sin; there is another kind of sin, which we commit ourselves, called actual sin.

Q. 278. What is actual sin?

A. Actual sin is any willful thought, word, deed, or omission contrary to the law of God.

Q. 279. How many kinds of actual sin are there?

A. There are two kinds of actual sin – mortal and venial.

The rest of the lesson on sin may be found here: ourladyswarriors.org/faith/bc3-06.htm

 

[teachccd]

Why do we still sin when Baptism has cleansed us of original sin?

Also, what sin exactly did Christ take away by His death and resurrection?

If all these sins are taken away, again why does sin still exist in the world?

Please respond to me like I am 13 years old!

Baptism does remove original sin that was granted to us by our original set of parents. The consequences of that sin still remains however. That is why there is still suffering, death and the weakness of the human will. While baptism does remove original sin, the sacrament also infuses us with the Holy Spirit allowing us to receive sanctifying grace and become an adopted child of God. So after one is baptized he or she is in essence in the same state as Adam and Eve were before they sinned except with the consequences of sin remaining. The temporal punishment of sin is removed with baptism which would allow one to go straight to heaven (no purgatory) but, as I said, suffering, death and human inclination to sin still remain.

When Christ died on the cross He reconciled us back to His Father. Christian baptism is only possible because of Christ’s death on the cross. The original sin of Adam and Eve was so offensive that no one could enter paradise again without an infinite sacrifice for sin. All of the Old Testament sacrifices were a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do for all of humanity. Now, since the death of Jesus, when we seek reconciliation with a sincere heart we can be completely forgiven and enter the Kingdom of God. So, when we hear that Christ took away the sin of the world it does not mean that He took away our free will to reject Him. It means that when we do fall we can immediately seek forgiveness and that sin is no more. There is a difference between redemption and salvation. Christ redeemed the world back to the Father and we must cooperate with that redemption for our salvation. Saint Paul speaks of this throughout his letters. (cf. Phil 2)

Sin still exists in the world because free will still exists. God wants us to freely choose Him without any coercion on His part. Unfortunately, with that free will comes rejection and we choose the lesser pleasure in place of God. Once we enter the Kingdom of God there will be no more suffering, death or sin. What Jesus did for us was the ultimate gift of love in essence saying, " You can love me or you can hate me and I will always love you. If you reject Me to your dying day then I love you so much that I will allow you to remain separated from Me for all eternity". The Church calls that eternal separation hell.

I hope that I helped a little. Maybe others here can make it clearer for you. I commend you for asking these questions as we all have questions in our faith journey. Peace be with you and God bless…teachccd

 

[bobhickman]

the bible talks about, if any man has the seed of God inside of him, then he can not sin, so that means, no matter what you do, you are not charged with sin. facebook.com/JESUSinsidebobhickman

 

[George_Stegmeir]

Why do we still sin when Baptism has cleansed us of original sin?

Also, what sin exactly did Christ take away by His death and resurrection?

If all these sins are taken away, again why does sin still exist in the world?

Please respond to me like I am 13 years old!

The answer is quite simple: Because G*d endowed human beings with Free Will.
As for what free will is, it is the ability of each and every human being to choose between what is right to do and what is wrong.
If you go to Catholic school and have a catechism class, or attend a religion class, you should ask your excellent question there. You will be very happy you did!

 

[Jacqueline1966]

From the Catechism:
In short, our original sin as well as any other sin committed is removed by baptism. We still have the inclination to evil though and this is why Christ gave us confession for those times when we do sin. Christ’s death was a sacrifice offered in atonement for the sins of the world, however, he did not remove the existence of sin in the world.

Thanks, so if I understand you or the catechism correctly, original sin wounded us, which is why, when the sin is taken away, the wound still remains? I.e., Baptism only takes away the original sin, but not the woundedness, so to speak?

 

[Jacqueline1966]

Baptism does remove original sin that was granted to us by our original set of parents. The consequences of that sin still remains however. That is why there is still suffering, death and the weakness of the human will. While baptism does remove original sin, the sacrament also infuses us with the Holy Spirit allowing us to receive sanctifying grace and become an adopted child of God. So after one is baptized he or she is in essence in the same state as Adam and Eve were before they sinned except with the consequences of sin remaining. The temporal punishment of sin is removed with baptism which would allow one to go straight to heaven (no purgatory) but, as I said, suffering, death and human inclination to sin still remain.

Great explanation, thanks, but one more question: Are the consequences of the original sin the same as the temporal punishment of original sin?

When Christ died on the cross He reconciled us back to His Father. Christian baptism is only possible because of Christ’s death on the cross. The original sin of Adam and Eve was so offensive that no one could enter paradise again without an infinite sacrifice for sin. All of the Old Testament sacrifices were a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do for all of humanity. Now, since the death of Jesus, when we seek reconciliation with a sincere heart we can be completely forgiven and enter the Kingdom of God. So, when we hear that Christ took away the sin of the world it does not mean that He took away our free will to reject Him. It means that when we do fall we can immediately seek forgiveness and that sin is no more. There is a difference between redemption and salvation. Christ redeemed the world back to the Father and we must cooperate with that redemption for our salvation. Saint Paul speaks of this throughout his letters. (cf. Phil 2)

Sin still exists in the world because free will still exists. God wants us to freely choose Him without any coercion on His part. Unfortunately, with that free will comes rejection and we choose the lesser pleasure in place of God. Once we enter the Kingdom of God there will be no more suffering, death or sin. What Jesus did for us was the ultimate gift of love in essence saying, " You can love me or you can hate me and I will always love you. If you reject Me to your dying day then I love you so much that I will allow you to remain separated from Me for all eternity". The Church calls that eternal separation hell.

I hope that I helped a little. Maybe others here can make it clearer for you. I commend you for asking these questions as we all have questions in our faith journey. Peace be with you and God bless…teachccd

 

[kmuestwin]

the bible talks about, if any man has the seed of God inside of him, then he can not sin, so that means, no matter what you do, you are not charged with sin. facebook.com/JESUSinsidebobhickman

This is not Catholic teaching.

 

[Godmachine]

Why do we still sin when Baptism has cleansed us of original sin?

Also, what sin exactly did Christ take away by His death and resurrection?

If all these sins are taken away, again why does sin still exist in the world?

Please respond to me like I am 13 years old!

At 13 years old are you really a Catholic, or are you the child of Catholic parents?

I think you are asking excellent questions. I would encourage you to keep asking them.

 

[Jacqueline1966]

At 13 years old are you really a Catholic, or are you the child of Catholic parents?

I think you are asking excellent questions. I would encourage you to keep asking them.

No, I am actually almost 46 years old, but I wanted a very basic explanation, so I could break it down to a group of teens whom I suspect will ask me those questions, sooner or later!

 

[teachccd]

There is no temporal punishment for original sin. I re-read my initial post and found that I did err in that respect. When one is baptized he or she is fully reconciled and if one died committing no further sins they would go directly to heaven. Temporal punishment is due for personal sins committed and confessed. I hope this helps… teachccd