The Gospel is an individual promise with serious collective implications, not the other way around. Collective salvation is a quasi-religious concept reflected in liberation theology, the Social Gospel, and social justice. It’s not Christian theology. We are accountable for our own sins, not the sins of others (2 Cor. 5:10).
Salvation is “collective” only in the sense that Jesus’ atonement is sufficient to cover the sins of every human being. He died “for all.” But every person does not choose to accept his gift of salvation. This decision, which results in salvation, is personal.
If you reason that because we are all collectively condemned by the sin of Adam, we are also collectively redeemed in Christ, you would be forced to embrace universalism — that all men are saved. Otherwise, you would have to reject the efficacy of Christ’s atoning work. If all aren’t saved, it must mean that all don’t personally choose to be saved or that Christ’s work on the cross failed. The latter is simply not true. Hence, we have collective sin (as well as personal sins), but personal redemption.
All humanity is collectively responsible for the original sin of Adam. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. We collectively suffer the consequences of original sin by living in a fallen and turbulent world. We also collectively and individually suffer the guilt and therefore the punishment of that sin — spiritual and physical death.
This doctrine, however, does not extend to any “sin” beyond the original sin of Adam. In other words, we are punished collectively for that one sin, and we suffer because of that one sin. We are collectively condemned because of that one sin, and we are redeemed by Christ because of that one sin. But we are not accountable for the manifold of sins committed by Adam or any other ancestor down through the ages. There are no other “original sins.”
Note to Tim Keller: The Bible Does Not Support America’s Collective Guilt on Slavery
Salvation is “collective” only in the sense that Jesus’ atonement is sufficient to cover the sins of every human being. He died “for all.” But every person does not choose to accept his gift of salvation. This decision, which results in salvation, is personal.
If you reason that because we are all collectively condemned by the sin of Adam, we are also collectively redeemed in Christ, you would be forced to embrace universalism — that all men are saved. Otherwise, you would have to reject the efficacy of Christ’s atoning work. If all aren’t saved, it must mean that all don’t personally choose to be saved or that Christ’s work on the cross failed. The latter is simply not true. Hence, we have collective sin (as well as personal sins), but personal redemption.
All humanity is collectively responsible for the original sin of Adam. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. We collectively suffer the consequences of original sin by living in a fallen and turbulent world. We also collectively and individually suffer the guilt and therefore the punishment of that sin — spiritual and physical death.
This doctrine, however, does not extend to any “sin” beyond the original sin of Adam. In other words, we are punished collectively for that one sin, and we suffer because of that one sin. We are collectively condemned because of that one sin, and we are redeemed by Christ because of that one sin. But we are not accountable for the manifold of sins committed by Adam or any other ancestor down through the ages. There are no other “original sins.”
Note to Tim Keller: The Bible Does Not Support America’s Collective Guilt on Slavery
