The AG teaches that Adam and Eve's disobedience in the Garden of Eden introduced sin and spiritual death into the human race. All humans are born in a state of spiritual separation from God and are naturally inclined toward sin. This universal human sinfulness is the condition from which Christ's salvation liberates people.

The AG's Arminian framework means it holds that sin has corrupted but not completely destroyed human freedom. Unlike strict Calvinist total depravity (which sometimes implies that fallen humans cannot even seek God without prior regeneration), the AG holds that sufficient grace enables humans to respond to the gospel. This 'prevenient grace' — grace that goes before and enables response — is a classic Wesleyan-Arminian concept compatible with AG theology, though not always explicitly named as such.

The AG affirms universal sinfulness, the need for atonement, and the necessity of the new birth. The SFT describes man as having 'lost his supremacy' through the Fall and as being in need of redemption. The doctrine of original sin provides the backdrop for the AG's emphasis on conversion, sanctification, and Spirit baptism as transformations of the whole person.