wondering,
It's good to see you joining the discussion.
I'd like to see your biblical basis for those with 'inherited sin' needing to be baptised as soon as possible so they can enter heaven.
Matt 19:14 (NLT) reads: 'But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children"'.
I don't read any statement that says 'Let the children come to me.... The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like these children and have been baptized before going to heaven'.
I support the teaching on all human beings born with 'inherited sin'. Paul explained it in Rom 5:12 (NIV): 'Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned'.
In context of this verse, Paul taught about actual sins committed every day and explained this teaching in the whole paragraph of 5:12-21). He compares Adam and Christ. He states that all people sinned through the sin of one man, Adam.
In Rom 5:13-14, Paul's teaching is that from the time of Adam to Moses people didn't have God's written laws, so their sins were not regarded as breaking any law. They were people and 'death ruled even over those who did not sin as Adam did' (Rom 5:14 NIV).
How come? Even though there was no written law for these people to break, they died, nevertheless. Why? The people were guilty on the basis of Adam's sin - inherited sin.
This teaching is further emphasised in Rom 5:18-19 (NIV):
So one man’s sin brought guilt to all people. In the same way, one right act made people right with God. That one right act gave life to all people. Many people were made sinners because one man did not obey. But one man did obey. That is why many people will be made right with God.
Here Paul states precisely that because 'one man (Adam) did not obey ... many people were made sinners'. 'Were made' is aorist tense of completed action. Even though you and I didn't exist at the time of the Fall, God regarded all future people as guilty - as well as Adam.
In theological circles a technical term is often used that as a result of Adam's sin, sin was
imputed to the entire human race. i.e. Impute = to think of it (sin) as belonging to someone and to cause it to belong to that person. Here the
imputation is to the whole human race.
Based on Romans 5, I conclude that Adam sinned and Adam's guilt belongs to all of humanity.
Some people regard the teaching on 'inherited sin' as 'original sin'. I prefer inherited sin as we all inherited it from Adam. There is no way to avoid it.
Oz