‘For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.’ Psalms 51:5(NLT)
‘When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.’ Romans 5:12-21(NLT)
‘Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. ‘ Romans 10:1(NLT)
It must be kept in mind that no matter how cute and adorable a newborn boy might be, he enters our world with a serious and far-reaching problem. Contrary to what many assume, human beings are not born into the world as blank slates or morally neutral beings. We are all “conceived in sin” (Ps. 51:5), as descendants of fallen ancestors (Gen. 3:20), sharing the same sinful nature as the rest of fallen humanity (Rom. 5:12–21).
The residual effects of our first parents’ rebellion against God are present in every child. Consider the biological effects of sin’s impact on our infants in something as common as a viral infection, or as serious as a life-threatening and debilitating birth defect, as was the case in the birth of my daughter. Every person’s vulnerability to the power of death, regardless of age, is convincing evidence that all humans share in the wages of Adam’s disobedience.
Thinking beyond the physical consequences of humanity’s fundamental problem, consider the far more serious manifestations, namely the propensity to continue the pattern of sin and rebellion against God’s righteous laws. Our boys don’t enter the world with a bent to do what is righteous (as charming as they may at times be to their mothers and grandmothers); they are predisposed to do what the Bible defines as sin. They fall short of God’s glorious standards and exist as young fallen humans, relationally alienated from the life of God. In other words, our boys need to be reconciled to their Maker, they need to be redeemed by Christ’s death on their behalf, and they need to be declared righteous by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
This life-changing conversion of sinners should be the ardent hope and prayer of every Christian parent. We should want more than anything for our sons to come to a place of rightly understanding their need for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We ought to be praying that they will experience a profound sense of conviction over their own sins, and see the incomparable value of Christ’s suffering on their behalf. None of this is possible without the work of God’s Spirit in their lives. I trust we can say with the apostle Paul, “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved” (Rom. 10:1).
from Raising Men Not Boys