Calvinism is the false doctrine that teaches, among other things, that we inherit Adam’s sin and are, therefore, born sinners. One of their proof texts is Psalm 51:5 which they say teaches clearly that David was born a sinner. The problem for them is the passage does not say that. Here is what the passage actually says:

Psalm 51:5 (ESV)
⁵Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.

If David was not saying that he was born a sinner, then what was he saying? By the statement, “I was brought forth in iniquity,” he could have simply meant that he was born into a world dominated by sin. Notice similar language regarding the discourse of the apostles on the day of Pentecost when they spoke in tongues, that is, in a foreign language that they had not been taught.

Acts 2:7–8 (NKJV)
⁷ Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? ⁸ And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?

What does it mean to be born in a language? It means to be born in a place where a particular language is dominant. Could it not mean the same thing to be brought forth or born in iniquity? No one inherits a language. When a baby is born, it learns the language that is being primarily spoken by its parents and the people that are around the most. Why is it that we have all sinned? Theologically, it is because God created us with free will, and in exercising that free will we choose to sin. However, from a practical standpoint, we all have sinned because of the influence of sin into which we were born.

What about the second half of the verse where David said, “in sin did my mother conceive me”? David was probably using figurative language, perhaps synecdoche, where a part is put for the whole. If such was the case, it would again have David saying that he was conceived at a time when the world was dominated by sin.

Another option would be that David was using hyperbole. In other words, he purposely set forth an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis. His point would then have been that he was guilty of such a horrific sin that it is as if he was a sinner when he was conceived. In favor of this position is the fact that David often used hyperbole in the Psalms. For example, in Psalm 58:3, David said about babies, “They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.” Did David mean this literally? Of course not. Babies cannot tell lies as soon as they are born. He was using hyperbole to emphasize the wickedness of the wicked. Man lies so much it is as if he comes out of the womb lying.

If the Calvinist insistently says that David was using literal language in Psalms 51:5 and not hyperbole, he is faced with the dilemma that if taken literally, these words still do not teach that David was a sinner at birth. Instead, they would be teaching that David’s mother was a sinner. It would be equivalent to saying, “In drunkenness did my father beat me.” Who is the sinner—the son who was beaten or the drunken father who beat the son? So then, who is the sinner in David’s statement if taken literally—The son who was conceived or the mother who conceived the son? The answer is self-evident.

When Psalm 51:5 is rightly divided, we might not be 100% sure of what he meant, but there is no reason to unscripturally conclude that David was born a sinner. The reason we know that was not what he meant is that it would contradict other teachings in the Bible. For example, Ecclesiastes 7:29 which teaches that man is created upright.

There is no need to conclude from Psalm 51 5 that we are born sinners, especially when the passage does not say that.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.