The CRCNA teaches that Adam's sin brought universal guilt and corruption to all humanity. The Canons of Dort (Third and Fourth Heads) affirm that through Adam's transgression, all people incurred both guilt and a corrupted nature. This is not merely a negative influence or bad example but an actual transmission of sinful condition. Humanity is born in a state of spiritual death, unable and unwilling to turn to God without the enabling grace of the Spirit.

Total depravity is a central doctrine: every aspect of human nature — intellect, will, emotions — is affected by sin. Humans are not merely weak or inclined toward sin but are enslaved to sin, having lost the ability to choose good in relation to God. The will is 'bound' — not in the sense of being coerced externally, but in the sense of being determined by the sinful nature. No one can turn to God, repent, or believe without the prior work of the Holy Spirit.

The CRCNA distinguishes between original guilt (being guilty for Adam's sin) and original corruption (inheriting a sinful nature). Both are affirmed: believers inherit both the guilt of Adam's transgression and the corrupted sinful nature that results from it. This inherited condition is the foundation for the doctrine of total depravity and explains why all humans are sinners from birth and in need of grace for salvation. Infants, while not personally guilty of actual sin, are born with sinful nature and stand under God's justice without the grace of Christ.