We are naturally born into this world without true fear of God and without true faith in God. Why is that so important in our understanding of Christ's redemption?  

It would certainly be a baptism to remember if the tiny infant at the font asked the pastor for permission to say a few words to the congregation. Quite likely it would cause a similar stir if the little boy or girl would say to the startled assembly: "It took a lot of hard work, but by the grace of God, I convinced my parents that it would be a good thing to have a baby. So here I am!" No person of any age can rightfully claim that he or she is responsible for being brought to life.

BORN SPIRITUALLY DEAD

Yet all people throughout the ages have been born with an inherent belief that they can take at least some of the credit for coming to life spiritually. That is why until someone is brought to faith in Jesus, that person recoils at the words spoken in the rite of Holy Baptism, "From our parents we inherit a sinful nature; we are without true fear of God and true faith in God and are condemned to eternal death" (Christian Worship, p. 12). Our sinful natures rebel at the thought that we were born so spiritually poor that we cannot possess any proper respect for the Lord or any trust in him. Our sinful natures resist when the Bible says that we were born "dead in [our] transgressions and sins" (Ephesians 2:1).

But believing that we are not so bad by nature only shows exactly how badly sin has corrupted our thinking. Sinful from the time we were conceived by our mothers (Psalm 51:5), we have inherited from our parents what they inherited from theirs—the sin we call original sin. The Augsburg Confession of our Lutheran church gives this succinct description of original sin: "Since the fall of Adam all men who are born according to the course of nature are conceived and born in sin. That is, all men are full of evil lust and inclinations from their mothers' wombs and are unable by nature to have true fear of God and true faith in God" (Formula of Concord, Augsburg Confession, Article II, Tappert, p. 29). What our rite of Holy Baptism says is what our Lutheran Confessions say. What our Lutheran Confessions say is what God's Word declares.

What God's Word declares about original sin has a profound impact on all the teachings of Scripture. What God says about original sin is essential if we are to understand what God did to save us from our sins (redemption) and to appreciate what God did to give us the faith to believe in what God did to save us from our sins (conversion).

RECREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE THROUGH JESUS

That little baby at the baptismal font needs to be taught what all people on earth need to know: We cannot save ourselves from our sins.