Why do we sin? Most of us have the answer backwards - and getting it right is the difference between condemnation and freedom.

In this episode of Deeper in the Red, James, Gene and Caleb break down the doctrine of original sin. It starts in Genesis 3, in a garden where everything was good, with a serpent who never argued that God was wrong - he only asked whether God had really said it. Doubt, then denial, then the oldest offer of all: you will be like God.

James walks through the three tactics the enemy used on Eve and still uses on us, and why Adam's passivity - standing there, knowing better, saying nothing - is the part men tend to skip over. Gene pulls the thread nobody wants to pull: God did not have to plant that tree. He knew what would happen. And He already had the solution before the problem existed.

Then comes the statement that reframes everything: we are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. If that sounds like bad news, James argues it is the opposite. If you doubt it, go babysit a two-year-old - nobody teaches a baby to be angry. Getting the order right kills condemnation, produces humility, and puts you in the only posture that can receive a savior.

The back half is the war after conversion: Romans 7, the chisel and the hammer, why struggling is a good sign, and why the most miserable man alive is not the lost one but the saved one out of fellowship with God.

In this episode:
00:00 - Welcome to the September edition
00:54 - Why we call it Operating in the Red
01:42 - This month: the doctrine of original sin
02:42 - Genesis 3: the man and the woman sin
05:11 - Doubt, deny, desire: how the enemy works
08:03 - God did not have to plant the tree
10:16 - Free will, and why God wanted us to choose
13:38 - Adam was passive, and what that costs men
14:24 - The enemy corrupts good things: authority, money, hobbies
18:06 - Who the serpent actually was
19:27 - Shame, fear, blame, broken relationships
20:09 - Romans 5: why Adam's sin became our problem
22:01 - We sin because we are sinners
22:45 - If you doubt it, go babysit a two-year-old
23:18 - Why that is freedom, not a life sentence
25:09 - It is not your fault, but it is your problem
27:47 - Condemnation vs conviction
29:46 - The most dangerous words: I've got this
30:55 - The war within: Romans 7
35:09 - Sanctification: the chisel, the hammer, the refining of gold
38:02 - Dead men don't fight
39:32 - How to war against sin: pray, confess, repent
42:19 - The most miserable man alive
44:33 - David: restore the joy of my salvation
50:03 - The second Adam: 1 Corinthians 15
55:10 - He never sinned - and we cannot last a morning
58:03 - Revelation 19: the King you are actually following
60:07 - Closing: conviction or condemnation

Scripture in this episode: Genesis 3, Romans 5:12-19, Psalm 51:5, Romans 7:18-25, 1 John 1:8, Psalm 32:3-4, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 45, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Revelation 19:12

Deeper in the Red is the podcast side of Operating in the Red, a men's Bible study held the first Wednesday of every month.