Why are people sinners—because they break the law or because of Adam?
People are sinners because they are sons of Adam, having inherited his sin nature through his disobedience. Breaking the law is not the cause of sin; rather, people break the law because they are already sinners. Adam became sin-natured in the garden, and every human being has inherited that condition.
Les explains that this runs contrary to what most religions teach and what nine out of ten church members think—that people are sinners because they are always breaking the law. He says that is not the problem; the problem is something within us that wants to break the law, and when we do, we become guilty. To understand sin, Les says we must go back to Adam, where it all began. Adam was created perfect, without a sinful thought, pure like Christ in His earthly advent, but he soon disobeyed in the garden by eating the forbidden fruit. Immediately he became a sin-natured individual, constantly thinking contrary to God's laws, and every human being has inherited that ever since. So we are not sinners because we break the law, but we break the law because we are sinners, and we are sinners because we are sons of Adam.