Our Text is Romans 5:12 which states: "Wherefore, as by one man sin
 entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon 
all men, for that all have sinned:". In Commenting on this Johnson says
, "all the race sinned in Adam, its representative, infants, idiots
and all". Generally this man is a very fine commentator but here he 
misses it. Let us notice this text carefully.
  1. Romans 5:12 states that sin entered the world by one man. This 
does not say sin was imputed to all men by one man. Sin being in the
world does not make the whole human race guilty of sin. Measles are 
in the world but all do not have the measles. Cancer is in the world 
but all do not have cancer. We have to be exposed to these diseases 
in order to have them. The same is so of sin. We are born into a 
sinful world and we might have certain weaknesses to  different kinds
of sins but we have to go through a wrong action to sin. "But every 
man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when 
it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:14, 15). 
  2. We all do not sin like Adam. Adam's violation was violation of a 
positive law. Ours is often violation of moral laws. Adam could not
have committed adultery because there was only one woman in the world
and that was his wife. Adam could not have stolen  anything from 
another because there was no one else to steal from. Adam could not
have borne false witness against his neighbor because there was no 
neighbor to bear false witness against. "Nevertheless death reigned
from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the 
similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was
to come." (Rom. 5:14). There were different sins committed by different
individuals. We cannot commit the sin Adam committed so we can't be 
guilty of the sin of Adam.
  3. We do not inherit our spirits from Adam. Hebrews 12:9 states, 
"Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and 
we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto
the Father of spirits, and live?" Does this not prove that the fathers 
of our flesh are not the fathers of our spirits? Our bodies we inherit
from our fathers but our spirits come directly from God. "The burden
of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth 
forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth
the spirit of man within him." Here again it is stated that God is the
author of man's spirit. Then in Ecclesiastes 12:7 it is stated: "Then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall 
return unto God who gave it." The words "returns to God" clearly imply
that the spirit had to come from God  in order to return to Him in 
death. 
  4. Now notice James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is 
no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Since only good things 
come from God, and God gave us our spirits at birth, then the spirits 
of babies are without sin and wrong. They do not inherit Adam's sin 
because they did not come from Adam. We are born into a sinful and 
wicked world. We have weaknesses to certain sins and somewhere along 
the way we become responsible and are deceived by Satan just like Eve
was in the garden of Eden. 
  5.  What then is the meaning of  "and so death passed upon all men,
for that all have sinned" of Romans 5:12. If babies are not born 
sinners then how is it that some of them die? Babies sometimes suffer
the consequences of Adam's sin in physical death. That does not mean
that they inherit spiritual death. We know this is so because God gives
a sinless soul to everyone born in this world. If  death takes place 
in infancy or early childhood before the age of responsibility then
the soul is still without sin. 
  6. Then what is the meaning of "For that all have sinned"? This 
would be limited to responsible people who sin either by transgressing
God's law (I John 3:4) or omitting to do what they know to be good 
(James 4:17). Sin is an act of disobedience by one knowing right from
wrong. "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become 
unprofitable" (Rom. 3:12). Jesus came to save sinners (I Tim. 1:15). 

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