Christianity and Judaism
In contrast to the Jewish view of being morally balanced, Original Sin refers to the idea that the sin of Adam and Eve's disobedience (sin "at the origin") has passed on a spiritual heritage, so to speak. Christians teach that human beings inherit a corrupted or damaged human nature in which the tendency to do bad is greater than it would have been otherwise, so much so that human nature would not be capable now of participating in the afterlife with God. This is not a matter of being "guilty" of anything; each person is only personally guilty of their own actual sins. However, this understanding of original sin is what lies behind the Christian emphasis on the need for spiritual salvation from a spiritual Saviour, who can forgive and set aside sin even though humans are not inherently pure and worthy of such salvation. Paul the Apostle in Romans and I Corinthians placed special emphasis on this doctrine, and stressed that belief in Jesus would allow Christians to overcome death and attain salvation in the hereafter.
Robert Thieme
Thieme believed contemporary Christianity has superimposed a number of false actions on the Gospel message. Consequently, at least every Sunday, he would emphasize what did not need to be done for salvation: 
Thieme held that these actions, while some of them might be commendable from the human viewpoint, are an intrusion on faith. Faith is the absence of merit, and no human good of any form is acceptable to God for salvation. God extends the invitation to salvation, not the other way around. The Greek verb "metanoeo", translated "repent" in the Bible, when used in connection with salvation, means to change one's mind about Christ and believe in him at the point of Gospel hearing. At that point, the grace of God does everything necessary to make faith effectual for salvation. The only personal sin that results in eternal condemnation is to die without having personally believed in Jesus Christ as Savior. God solved the sin problem, and made an issue of individual volition. God knows the thoughts of every individual, and is not constrained by geographical isolation or linguistic barrier in his dissemination of the salvation message to those who desire a relationship with him. Water baptism and legitimate church activities are post-salvation functions of the believer, not prerequisites for salvation. 
Thieme categorized the Christian's life into three phases: the moment of salvation, the post-salvation life of the believer on Earth, and the believer in eternity. These distinctions allow the proper interpretation of verses pertaining to salvation (e.g. Acts 16:31, Eph. 2:8-9, Gen. 15:6), and verses pertaining to the post-salvation function of the believer (e.g. Jas. 2:17), so as not to obscure the simplicity of faith alone in Christ alone for salvation.