We can often feel a little bit cheated by the doctrine of original sin. We weren't even born when Adam sinned against God, neither is it even really possible for us to commit the same sin. How, then, is it fair for us to suffer for Adam's sin?
The first thing to note is that even if we did not, and could not understand the doctrine of original sin, it is vital for us to understand that God's justice is far above our ability to understand it. A child may not understand what his parents do, or why they do it, but it is wise for him to just accept it. The distance between God's wisdom and our wisdom is far greater than the distance between father and son, therefore it is far wiser to trust God than for a son to trust his father. But that doesn't mean we can't earnestly seek answers to questions that seem reasonable to ask. Why is it fair that we get punished for Adam's sin?
The honest answer is that, really, we don't. In a sense, we do. But the Bible makes it quite clear that, rather than children being punished for their parents' sins, or vice versa, we are all held accountable for our own sin (Deuteronomy 24:16). The problem is, we all sin. Whether we repeat the sins of our fathers, or commit entirely different ones, every single one of us sins. I'm not under God's judgement because Adam and Eve ate a fruit, I'm under God's judgement because I've lied, I've stolen, I've blasphemed, I've committed homosexual acts, I've looked at porn, I've cussed like it was nothing, I've dishonoured my parents. That's quite the rap sheet. And the thing is, it's a perfectly normal rap sheet. It's also extremely condensed. My sins extend far beyond what a short article could sum up. If God completely forgot that Adam ever existed and pretended I was the only man in the world, He would still have more than enough evidence to take me out of this world and condemn me eternally to Hell.
But the beautiful thing is that Adam is actually just a type. There is a contrast between Adam and Christ. On the one hand, you have Adam, who was immortal, but earned death through sin. On the other hand, you have Jesus, who took on mortal flesh, and earned life through righteousness. However, by dying, Jesus totally reversed the curse. We now have the choice between dying in Adam and living in Christ. The real question, then, isn't why is it fair that we die for Adam's sin, but why is it fair that we live for Christ's righteousness? If we die, we die because we deserve it. If we live, we live because Christ deserves it.
And so we live for God's glory. There is nothing so special about us that we should be saved, but there is something so incredibly special about God that He saves us anyway. God is good, so good that though we sin like Adam, and even sin differently than he did, He treats us as if we never sinned, because our sins were nailed to that cross. The doctrine of original sin may seem unfair, but the reality is that the Gospel is so unfair, it's actually beautiful. Can I get an amen?