So where does the elder son fit into this:
"....Lo, these many years do I serve thee, and I never transgressed a commandment of thine...."
Did he not die?
No, he did not die
SPIRITUALLY. Look at what Jesus said. That is important, Jesus knows doctrine perfectly.
Luk 15:25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee,
neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him,
Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
Note from the beginning that Jesus said the father had TWO sons. So, neither were lost.
Note that the elder son said that he never transgressed his father's commandment at any time.
Did the father correct the elder son and call him a self-righteous hypocrite? NO, the father actually verified that what he said was true. He called him "Son" a term never said of lost sinners, he said that he was "EVER WITH ME", that is, he was never separated by sin from his father, and ALL that he had was his. He also did not say that the elder son was ever dead or lost like his brother the prodigal.
This elder son was NEVER lost. He NEVER sinned EVER. How can this be?
If Original Sin were true, this would be impossible, but this is exactly what Jesus told us, and Jesus would not mislead us on doctrine.
The only person this could be is a child who died before the could commit sin. Is there scripture to support this? YES.
Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born,
neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; )
Had Jacob and Esau sinned while they were in their mother's womb? NO. If they had died, would they have died in sin? NO. They would be like this elder brother who never transgressed at any time his father's commandment.
The scriptures clearly say and show that little children have committed no sin. If they died, they would be like the elder brother described by Jesus in Luke 15.
In fact, look at the first two parables in this chapter. How many sheep did the shepherd originally have? ONE HUNDRED. One went out and became lost, the shepherd searched and recovered it. But originally it was not lost.
How about the woman, how many silver pieces did she have? TEN. One became lost, she searched and recovered it. But originally it was not lost.
Jesus did not teach Original Sin for those who simply read the scriptures without letting themselves be deceived by false doctrine.
Read and see for yourself. If you want to know the truth, you will.