Post #5 The doctrine of Original sin: How Adam's sin led to inherited corruption.

Introduction: 

   In these series of posts, I've been unpacking the doctrine of original sin, and how it explains what took place in the fall of Adam and Eve. Hardly no theologian doubts there being some connection between the sin of our original parents in Eden and its devastating affects on creation and humanity. The debate comes about in defining what that relationship is and how sin got from the garden to us. I thought today before we continued, I would explain the positive value of studying what can be a challenging doctrine.

What good is there in knowing about original sin?

    Why devote so much time to this
doctrine? I'll admit when I preached on this subject, it did not make me feel good as a person. To be reminded again and again that I have resident evil on the inside of me, brought about by myself, and inherited from Adam and Eve does not sit well in my sinful flesh and mind. 

    Yet, as a Christian, such a study causes me to look outside of myself to the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. When we find our conception of ourselves governed by truth, rather than just feelings, such truth helps makes better sense of whom we are called to be upon saving faith in Jesus Christ. I have two-takeaways from studying the doctrine of original sin.

A. To grasp the greatness of God’s love in saving faith.

D. Martin Lloyd Jones noted that to understand the heights of God’s love, we must understand the depth of our disease – sin. Paul labors to parallel and contrast the first Adam to the last Adam, Jesus Christ. 

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 5:6-8 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

      B. To grasp Christ’s imputed righteousness in saving faith.

    As we go along in these posts, I'll repeat again this important word "imputation" or "accrediting" of the actions of one to the many. If we are to properly understand Paul's teaching of Christ's righteousness imputed to all born-again in saving faith, in Christ, we must also arrive at understanding how Adam's sin was imputed to all human beings born in him naturally. 

    Moreover, Adam's imputed guilt, inside of me, which explains why I knowingly and willingly commit actual sins, was imputed onto Christ, on the cross. We could say the Bible teaches a "triple imputation", namely Adam's sin and guilt onto me, my sin onto Christ, and then His righteousness imputed onto me at saving faith. 

    It is the guilt of sin, the offense, the curse, which Christ bore. Although He was never a debtor to God's moral law, He nonetheless came to be treated as such (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-25). Hence,

Romans 5:15-16 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

    That then explains the value of studying the doctrine of original sin. We have noted from our previous posts two propositions about original sin,

(1). Original sin initiated with Adam.

(2). Original sin imputed guilt.

    Today we want to look at a third component of original sin...original sin led to inherited corruption. What follows are notes from a series of messages I preached from Genesis 3 and Romans 5:12-21. In those sermons I lay out in full what I am writing here in these posts. 

Original sin led to inherited corruption. Romans 5:12-14.

This present post and the last one touches upon two questions we derive from the "Young Baptist’s Catechism" by Adam Murrell, the stimulus behind this series, as well as what the children are studying in our church on Wednesday nights.

Question 29: Did all mankind fall in Adam’s Sin? 

Answer: All mankind, descending from Adam, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression.

Question 30: Into what state did the fall bring mankind?

    Answer: The fall brought mankind into a state of sin and misery.

    Adam's guilt is legally imputed to all of the human race. As it pertains to the corruption of sin itself, we find there is an inheritance of the pattern of Adam's sin by us all. These questions touch upon this first reality of the inherited corruption which flows from original sin.

A. The representative head’s practice transferred the corruption. Romans 5:12

Why did human beings have imputed Adam’s guilt (the legal crisis before God), followed by the inheritance of his corruption (the moral crisis of man before God)? It all has to do with representative headship.

Romans 5:12 (best handled in the KJV) reads,

 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” 

Genesis 5:3 “When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.”

      The argument of Paul here involves how the corruptive sin of one man came to be passed down to every human being. The principle at work here is what we call “representative headship” or “covenant headship”. Louis Berkhof summarizes this in his systematic theology, pg 221,

“The tempter came from the spirit world with the suggestion that man by placing himself in opposition to God might become like God. Adam yielded to the temptation and committed the first sin by eating of the forbidden fruit. But the matter did not stop there for by that first sin Adam became the bond servant of sin. That sin carried permanent pollution with it and a pollution which because of the solidarity of the human race would affect not only Adam but all his descendants as well.

One thing we notice in the Bible, that I pointed out last week, is how sin and all its affects were “imputed” or “accredited” to the entire human race by this one man Adam. Why is that? It all has to do with his representative or covenant headship. 1 Cor 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”

B. The representative head’s pattern repeated the corruption. Romans 5:13-14

This concept of "representative headship" operates in Paul's exposition of Adam and Christ as representative heads of the respective groups of all humanity and redeemed humanity. Romans 5:13-14 “tells us for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

Think of a giant circle, labeled “Adam”.

Had Adam broken any laws or commands that would lead to his initial sin being imputed? He had. God had given him a handful of commands in Genesis 1:26-28 and Genesis 2:16-17, what theologians call the “Covenant of works”. 

He stood in our place, on a probationary time-frame to determine whether he would obey God and love God, or instead disobey God and love himself more than God. Adam failed. Romans 5:18a “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men…”.

When Paul states “death reigned from Adam until Moses”, he is speaking of God’s moral law (inscribed upon the conscience at Adam’s creation, inscribed upon tablets at Sinai for Moses and the people). 

As long as I am in that circle of the first Adam, I am indeed corrupt, bent from God, a sinner, and a lawbreaker. Unless I’m somehow rescued from that first circle, my condemnation hangs over me from the moment of my conception. Eph 2:2 “in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”

C. Proving how a representative head can corrupt.

      As one illustration of how a representative head of a bloodline can lead to the repeated corruption of that head onto the descendants, as well as imputed guilt, we only need to look at a particular King. I showed you in a previous post how King David functioned as a representative head of Israel. When he numbered the armies of Israel in 2 Samuel 24, his sin, its guilt, was credited to the whole nation, resulting in the deaths of 70,000 men. David interceded for the nation. Nevertheless, the deed was done, highlighting how the sin of a representative head of a people in the Bible to judgment on Israel. 

    There is another king, of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam, son of Nebat. You’ll recall in the nation of Israel’s history, there were three kings (Saul, David, Solomon). After Solomon’s death, Israel divided into two nations, the Northern confederacy of ten tribes, led by Jeroboam, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, centralized in Jerusalem, led by Rehoboam. The split occurred in 930 b.c., with Rehoboam, as I said, leading ten of the twelve tribes Northward in Israel.

As you read of exploits of Jeroboam, you find he was a wicked king, introducing idolatry into the Northern Kingdom. His sin, his pattern, would become replicated in his successors. His son Nadab took over in 1 Kings 16:25, described in 16:26 as “doing evil in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of his father and in his sin which made Israel sin”. 

The Northern Kingdom would persist for 209 years, with nearly 20 kings in succession. I count at least fifteen references to “the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat”, or some similar reference, ascribing the pattern and practices of Jeroboam to the wicked kings that ruled in the Northern Kingdom (1 Kings 11:26; 12:2,15; 15:1; 16:3,26,31; 21:22; 22:52; 2 Kings 3:3; 9:9; 10:29; 13:2,11; 14:24; 15:9,18,24,28; 17:21; 23:15).

Representative headship, in the case Jeroboam as the lead king, explains why his sin, his pattern, was imputed and replicated in the line of succession. Sadly, his sin pattern would come to be repeated also in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The Southern Kingdom would survive 136 years beyond the Northern Kingdom, yet you’ll read how the sins of one man polluted two Kingdoms, nearly forty kings, illustrating for us a small picture of original sin in the whole human race.  

Closing thought for today

So, we’ve seen so far how original sin initiated with Adam, how because of  original sin God imputed Adam's guilt to us all. In today's post, we've studied how Adam's original sin led to the contraction of internal corruption in us all. In our next post, we will examine how original sin contributes to our inward bent away from God.

Post #4 The Doctrine of Original Sin teaches Adam's guilt was imputed to the whole human race

Introduction:

    In the last post we began unpacking the doctrine of original sin. We noted that original sin teaches that the sin that affected affect all of humanity and the physical creation originated in Adam. To review, I am laying forth what will ultimately be four main propositions that define the doctrine of original sin:

(1). Adam initiated original sin.  

(2). Guilt was imputed by original sin. 

(3). Corruption is inherited from original sin.  

(4). Inward bent from God is a consequence of original sin. 

Today's post will again draw from a recent set of sermons I preached on this subject. In today's post we will unfold the second of the above points. 

Guilt was imputed by original sin. Job 31:33; Hosea 6:7

    To “impute” means “to credit” or “to reckon” or “to regard with another’s work”. As we shall see, this term is vital in not only understanding what took place when Adam's sin came to affect all humanity, but also what Christ's accomplished work would come to achieve in the lives of those who unite to Him in saving faith. 

    The doctrine of "imputation" involves God rendering a legal pronouncement, a judgment, upon an individual. In the sight of God's perfect justice, the imputation of guilt or innocence legally renders that person to be either of those, based upon the actions of someone outside the individual. When we read passages such as Romans 4:5; 5:12-18; and 2 Corinthians 5:21, we see what theologians call a "triple imputation". 

1. Adam's original sin and guilt is imputed onto the human race. This is the first imputation. 

2. As each human being participates in actual sins, in Adam, legally declared "guilty" of Adam's imputed sin, such a condition would come to be "imputed onto Christ". On the cross, Jesus was treated "as if" He had committed every sin, of every sinner, and ultimately Adam. This second imputation meant then that the perfect Second Adam, Jesus Christ, was viewed judicially as the first Adam, and was treated as if he had committed my actual sins, even though He never sinned once.

3. The third act of imputation from God involves what occurs at saving faith. The doctrine of justification by faith alone asserts that Christ's perfect life, substitutionary death, and resurrection are "credited", "imputed" unto me. As Christ had "imputed" to him my sin, my guilt, an alien unrighteousness for which He clearly was not; so it was that at saving faith, God the Father credited, imputed to me an alien righteousness not of my own (the Latin "alienus", meaning "outside of myself"). That imputed righteousness was Christ's. Hence, the Christian is regarded as righteous and pure as Jesus, since on the cross He was legally declared "sin". This then is why the doctrine, the idea of "imputation" is so central to our understanding of Biblical salvation and Christ's atonement.

Distinguishing imputed sin and actual sins

    In the last post I made a careful distinction between "actual sins" and of course original sin. When we speak of actual sins, we refer to our own guilt, brought about by our own sin. 

    Ezekiel 18:20 “The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.”  

    This, as we noted at the beginning, speaks of actual sins. The question is of course, "why do we sin"? Historically, three answers have been offered. 

A. The first suggests we sin by imitation of others. This first option has of course a grain of truth, since the influence of others can exacerbate our sinning. Yet, it does not get to the heart of the matter "why do I sin?" It doesn't take seriously how much our moral self-determination (i.e. the human will) was affected by our internal sinfulness inherited from Adam. Historically, thinkers such as Pelagius of the 5th century and Socinus of the 17th century tried to make this "moral influence" theory of sin tenable. Both thinkers were regarded as heretics, since in severing the link between Adam's sin and my own, they taught it was technically possible to achieve sinless perfection in this life.

B. The second historical answer in relating to the question of "why we sin" has to do with the effects of the fallen world. Certainly, Scripture teaches how the fallen world, its decay, its "groaning", came forth as a result of Adam and Eve's disobedience (Romans 8:21-25). No doubt this too contributes to each person's individual sin. Afterall, no sin is committed in a vacuum. Most evangelical, Bible believing Christians will opt for this second explanation. 

    As much as I agree this is a necessary component to explain why I sin, it does not sufficiently, by itself, explain. It is a necessary condition, but not sufficient in unpacking why sinners sin. In other words, do I sin because I see other people sin (option #1)? Do I sin due to my environment (option #2)? Or is there more that can be stated? 

C. The third historical answer in the history of Biblical interpretation has offered that the reason why I sin is because of the vile, putrid, sinful fountain of original sin, contracted from Adam and Eve's rebellion, with its guilt imputed or credited to me as a member of the human race. We sin, because we are sinners. 

    This third option helps give Biblical clarity to the other two options. As unpopular as the teaching of original sin is in so many theological circles today, it is no mystery. To say the source of those sins inside of us is a putrid fountain, original sin, from which I sin, and in which I gladly cooperate, does not bode well with the popular notion that "deep down inside, we have an island of goodness". 

In other words, the guilt with which we are born as transgressors of the God's Law isn’t just the personal guilt that stems from my actual sins. I am responsible for the sins I commit as it pertains to my own personal sinning. The issue remains as to why I do those things, and why the pattern of sinning is so universal among the human species. 

    The answer lies in the fact that guilt was transferred onto us from Adam. We know this to be the case because even before we consciously sin, the Bible uniformly declares we are sinners from conception (Psalm 51); that when we're born we're predisposed to lie (Psalm 58:3); and that God judicially has imputed the sentence of condemnation on us as a human race (John 3:36). This spiritual condition is why human beings so readily reject the Gospel (see 1 Corinthians 1:14).

A Biblical illustration of imputed guilt.

To prove that imputation of sin isn't some invention of Augustine or the later Roman Catholic Church, an examination of the Biblical text shows the truth of this doctrine. We see examples of imputed guilt in the Bible. 2 Samuel 24, King David takes a census of his armies. David represented the people before the LORD as their King. He was a covenant head of the people. As a consequence of his actions, 70,000 men died from a plague of judgment from God. God had imputed guilt on the whole nation due to the actions of one man.

Job asked in Job 31:33,

 “Have I covered my transgressions like Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom.” 

Israel’s history of treachery against Yahweh bears the marks of Adam’s transferrable sin and guilt. Hosea the prophet wrote in Hosea 6:7,

 “But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.”  

How original sin affects the Christian

This is what original sin does even to the Christian. Thankfully in Jesus we are declared righteous. We get a new nature, a new heart, and thus a new way of thinking (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Christians inner-most being is restamped in the image of Christ from salvation. Nevertheless, we still have this physical body, this flesh, which still contains the seeds of our corruption from Adam. 

The reader may refer back to one of my original illustrations of my grandfather's septic tank. Although the inside pipes in his home were cleaned out by the plumber, thus rendering the home habitable once again, it still remained that my grandfather had a septic tank that was cracked and seeping into the ground. 

For the Christian, the inside of the heart is cleansed and made new by the work of regeneration or the new birth (2 Corinthians 5:17). For the Christian, God the Father has the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the second Adam, imputed, transferred, credited to their account in justification by faith (Romans 3:24-26; Romans 4:1-6; Romans 5:1-5; Galatians 3:26). But the fact of original sin, as to its left-over effects, remain in my physical being, my flesh, resulting in the internal struggle between the new nature in Christ and my old, unredeemed flesh (see Romans 7:14-25).

 In other words, original sin, though capped in regeneration, can still seep through into our thoughts, our flesh. This is why we need the Spirit and the Word to keep it at bay.

      So, original sin in Adam’s Fall initiated with Adam and imputed or credited to us guilt. In the next post, we will pick up on the last two of our four points pertaining to our definition of original sin (Original sin led to inherited corruption, Inward bent away from God.)

Post #3 The Doctrine of Original Sin teaches Adam originated original sin

 

Introduction:

    In the last post here Growing Christian Resources: Post #2 The Doctrine of Original Sin defined and illustrated, we defined and illustrated the doctrine of original sin. What follows are mainly notes from a couple of message I preached on this topic. In today's post we will look at our first truth about original sin, namely, Adam's sin resulted in his fallen nature and guilt being replicated in every human being in history (with the exception being Jesus, who was incarnated as a man without any sin).  

Adam initiated original sin.  

Genesis 3.

We distinguish “original sin” from “actual sin”, with the former referring to the source of our sin resulting in our personal corruption and the latter referring to the acts of sin spawning from that polluted fountain. (i.e. “origin of sin” = “original sin”). Sin in its moral opposition to God's righteousness revealed in the moral law of the conscience (Romans 2:14-15) and in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Sin, in its spiritual dimension, refers to falling short or missing the mark with God (Romans 3:23). Certain consequences followed when Adam and his wife, our original representatives, fell.

A. Disobedience in subduing the Serpent. Gen 3:1-2,6.

       Adam’s sin of omission (James 4:17) was a sign of the Serpent’s deception already affecting him. Sins of omission refer to "knowing to do right, and yet not doing it". God had told the man and the woman to take dominion over all of the creation (Genesis 1:26-31). Adam, as the representative head of humanity and God's co-regent on earth, did not stop the Serpent from his deception of his wife. 

    Adam was present when the Serpent was tempting Eve, as seen in Genesis 3:6 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”  As one writer has noted, it was Adam’s unfaithfulness that was the source of the Fall, spawning pride, fear, and anger.

B. Deception of changing God’s Word. Gen 3:2-4.

       Moses wrote in Genesis 3:1-3,

 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 

    Eve added to God’s Word. We already saw that Adam ignored the Word of God. You’ll notice the Serpent changes the “you’ll surely die” of Gen 2:17 to “you will not surely die” in Genesis 3:4. Note: ignorance plus adding plus altering God’s Word = disobeying God’s Words.

       C. Deliberate choice to do what was forbidden. Gen 3:5-7.

       This is Adam and his wife’s sin of commission. We saw already what are called "sins of omission", that is, neglecting to do what I ought to do. A sin of commission is doing the opposite of what I know I ought to do. What Adam and Eve did was an overt breach of God’s command to them (cf 1 John 3:4). All are related to God’s Word. Satan questioned it. Eve added to it. Satan reversed it. Adam ignored it.

    Now I won't expound in detail the next two points of our overall thought that original sin began with Adam. We've laid out so far how what he did sprang forth from his inward departure and neglect of God's covenant dealings with him. Adam and Eve were immediately impacted. The origin of all the sinful acts that would follow came forth from the origination of sin that began as they listened to the voice of the serpent (see Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 1 Timothy 2:11-15). 

    This is the first major point of original sin - Adam and his wife (with Adam being our representative head of the whole human race) sinned, spawning forth the curse and consequences that would lead to the sinning of every member of the human race. Thus, when we consider the remainder of Genesis 3, we can spell out two other consequences in short order.

 D. Darkness of separation from God. Gen 3:8-1

 E. Devastation of the curse. Gen 3:11-14, 16-19.

      So, remember: Original sin is that willful act of Adam that transferred to the human race imputed guilt, inherited corruption, and an inward bent away from God. We've noted in today's post that original sin originated in Adam. In our next post, we shall see how the guilt of what Adam did was imputed to us by original sin.

Post #2 The Doctrine of Original Sin defined and illustrated

Introduction:

    In our last post I laid forth an introduction to the Fall of Adam and Eve in comparison to what are the four main fall-like events spoken of in the Bible. I also set forth how studying Adam and Eve's Fall aids us in grasping the importance of the need for salvation in Jesus Christ. In today's post we begin to expound the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 

    What follows today and for the next several posts are notes from a couple of sermons I recently preached. What follows is a proposal that the doctrine of original sin explains what took place in the Garden of Eden. Some readers may have heard of this doctrine. Other readers may not be so familiar with his historic teaching. Still others may find it problematic. Whatever one's opinion, it is vital we subject any doctrine to the bar of sacred Scripture to discern its truth or falsity. Also, it is hoped that in defining what the doctrine of original sin teaches, we can then properly evaluate its Biblical fidelity. The objective of today's post is to set forth a definition of original sin, and then clarify it by way of illustration.

1. Defining and illustrating original sin.  1 Cor 15:22; Rom 5:18-19.

     A. Original sin defined.

    What is original sin? I define original sin is that willful act of Adam that transferred to the human race imputed guilt, inherited corruption, and an inward bent away from God. What this definition does is explain what relationship there is between Adam and his human posterity respecting sin. As for the term "imputed", the guilt Adam acquired in having violated God's covenant and commands about not partaking the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is credited onto the whole human race as a consequence of he being their representative head. As for "inherited corruption", we find that the sin we all have is passed down from generation to generation, going all the way back to Adam. Then lastly, the natural moral bent all people have to reject God is a consequence of the original sin or polluted fountain of sin residing within each person. Put another way, the doctrine of original sin states that our spiritual default position toward God is that of rejection, rather than neutrality or native ability to choose Him apart from the Holy Spirit's gracious working. 

    If we were to identify verses that alerts us to what original sin is, it would be these. 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” Romans 5:18-19 “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.”

Let me first set forth four main ideas that will show and defend this truth of original sin.  

(1). Adam initiated original sin. (Almost all agree on this first proposition, with some preferring not to call it “original sin”).

 

(2). Guilt was imputed by original sin. (Most debatable point).

 

(3). Corruption is inherited from original sin. (Some will dispute this, blaming our corruption on environment or our imitation of others).

 

(4). Inward bent from God is a consequence of original sin. (Many will dispute this point, arguing that mankind is neutral toward God or just needs grace to help Him choose God).

B. Original sin illustrated.

Think of original sin in each of us as a polluted, cracked, septic tank. To illustrate, my grandfather had a septic tank connected to his home. The plumbing got backed up. He had it cleaned out. This effort solved for a period of time the plumbing issues in the house. However, the tank itself would occasionally cause problems. Poor drainage was the issue, causing seepage up through the ground. Even when cleaned, the effects lingered. 

This is what original sin is like. It is a polluted fountain, begun when Adam, the representative of the human race in the Garden, transgressed God's original covenant commands to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-7; Hosea 6:7). Such a polluted fountain of sin spilled over to the ruination of Adam and all his descendants. This polluted fountain of sin is the source or origin of the actual sins each of us commit (hence the name "original sin".) The above four propositions I laid out earlier will aid us in unpacking this truth.  

David writes of what original sin does to all of us from birth in Psalm 58:3 “The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.” 

Solomon, David's son and the wisest man who ever lives, wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:29 “Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”

So far, we've seen that original sin is that willful act of Adam that transferred to the human race imputed guilt, inherited corruption, and an inward bent away from God. In the next post, we will take a closer look at the first point of our definition of original sin - namely how original sin originated in Adam. 

 

Post #1 The Doctrine of Original Sin - Four fall-like events in the Book of Genesis and an introduction to Adam's Fall

 

Introduction: Four Fall-like events in the Book of Genesis

    The Book of Genesis presents to us four fall-like events. 

1. The first is Satan’s Fall, wherein sin had its beginning. Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-16 each begin with God's judgment pronounced on certain kings, with the judgment speech switching to the primordial fall of Lucifer to become Satan. I take this first fall-like event to have occurred between the "white-space" of Genesis 2:25 and Genesis 3:1.      

    The seventeenth century theologian Thomas Watson in his "Body of Divinity" summarizes this initial cosmic fall:

 The origin of sin, from whence it comes. It fetches its pedigree from hell; sin is of the devil. 1 John 3:3 ‘He that committeth sin is of the devil.’ Satan was the first actor of sin, and the first tempter to sin. Sin is the devil’s first-born. 

2. The second fall-like event, which will be the focus of today's post and the next several, is the fall-like event most familiar to students of the Bible - namely the fall of Adam and his wife in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. 

    Sin was sourced in Satan, and then became distributed through our first parents. As we shall see in later posts, Adam and Eve were like gateways through which sin was distributed to the human race and onto the whole physical creation (1 Corinthians 15:20-22; Romans 5:12-21; Romans 8:21-25). 

3. The third fall-like event occurred in the events that led to God judging the world with the world-wide flood (Genesis 6-9). 

4. The fourth fall-like event we find in the book of Genesis is that of the Tower of Babel incident, recorded in Genesis 11:1-9. 

    All four of these fall-like events, with Adam's fall being most prominent, function together to explain what theologians call "the noetic effects of the fall", that is, the decay, moral ruin, spiritual darkness, and posture of judgment by God upon the fallen race of Adam. 

Why Adam's Fall is important to understanding the significance of Christ's accomplished work of salvation as the second Adam

    It is against such an otherwise bleak backdrop that God's redemptive plan of salvation, no doubt planned between the Father and Son before time began (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2), and worked forth through God's covenants with Eve (Genesis 3:15,20-21), Noah (Genesis 8-9), Abraham (Genesis 12; 17; 22), David (2 Samuel 7:13-16), the New Covenant itself (Jeremiah 31:31-34), would be revealed and worked out in history. 

    When a Jeweler wants to accentuate the beauty of a gem, they'll place it on a dark cloth. God's decree to permit sin to intrude into His creation was part of His plan. The 1689 2nd London Baptist Confession, in its sixth article, first paragraph, summarizes:

"which God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory."

    God permits what He hates to achieve the great good He intended (see Genesis 50:20; Acts 2:23-24; Romans 8:28). God is not the author of evil. The Westminster Confession of Faith, in its third article "Of God's Eternal Decree", paragraph one, summarizes with Scripture proofs:

"God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: (Eph. 1:11, Rom. 11:33, Heb. 6:17, Rom. 9:15,18) yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, (James 1:13,17, 1 John 1:5) nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established. (Acts 2:23, Matt. 17:12, Acts 4:27–28, John 19:11, Prov. 16:33)"

    As we understand how God had already foreknown of the intrusion of sin into our world, we come to realize that the Father, Son, and Spirit had planned the redemption needed to counteract the evils of sin and its effects on the human race and creation. The Son Himself came as the Father's appointed Redeemer, the Son of God incarnate, Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:21-23; John 1:14; Titus 2:11-13; 1 Peter 3:18). 

    Other New Testament passages bear-out that the incarnation of the Son of God to be a man. Jesus came as "the Second Adam" (Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 15:45-47). Christ's perfect life, substitutionary death on the cross, glorious resurrection, and ascension is contrasted with the failure of the first Adam. Christ came to undo what had been done by Adam, as well as to destroy the work of the Evil one who tempted our original parents (Hebrews 2:11-15; 1 John 3:8).  

The importance of studying the Fall of Adam 

      As we turn our attention to Adam's fall in Genesis 3, we cannot overemphasize the importance of that chapter in Genesis. One writer has noted, 

“Genesis 3 is unquestionably one of the most important chapters in God’s revealed Word. Without the historical record of the plight of man, and indeed all the trouble in the world caused by sin, would be an unfathomable riddle.”

    In the church I pastor, our children have been studying through Adam Murrell's "Young Baptist Catechism". In that work, questions pertaining to Adam's fall are asked.

Question 29: Did all mankind fall in Adam’s Sin? 

Answer: All mankind, descending from Adam, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression. 

Question 30: Into what state did the fall bring mankind? 

Answer: The fall brought mankind into a state of sin and misery.

        These questions, and the foregoing introduction, serve to get our thoughts in gear a closer look at the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. In this post and the next, we are going to understand Adam’s Fall through what is called the doctrine of original sin.

Part Three: A Theology of Widowhood - 1 Timothy 5:1-16 As A Testing Ground

Introduction:

    Not too long ago I wrote two posts that dealt with the subject of what I call "a theology of widowhood". Roughly forty places in the Bible touch upon this subject. Beyond the personal evidence for the importance of widows in my life or the life of any local church, I find in my current preaching through 1 Timothy 5:1-16 this notion of "a theology of widowhood". 

    Such individuals are invaluable, since their prayers were used by God in the effectiveness of the church. How often I've observed this firsthand over the years. It is often that a minister will get tired in ministry. The prayers of a dear saint who is a widow can make all the difference, far beyond the cleverness of a church program or combined efforts of church members. 

    I wanted to follow-up from those two posts here Growing Christian Resources: Part One: A Theology of Widowhood - How God Used Widows In the Bible To Impart Truths About Himself and His People and here Growing Christian Resources: Part Two: A Theology of Widowhood - How God Used Widows In the Bible To Impart Truths About Himself and His People. 

    Being that those two posts had their origin in 1 Timothy 5, I thought I'd take what we learned in our study and flesh out what Paul is teaching about the importance of the local church taking care of widows in 1 Timothy 5:1-16.

What we learned from our study of "a theology of widows".

    In the two posts I referenced above, we drew the following conclusions.

1. Principles of truth concerning God and God's people. 

    When I say "a theology of widowhood", I mean particular truths we can glean about God or the spiritual principles of Godly living from the Bible's teaching about widows. Think of widows in the Bible as a "window" through which we may observe major theological truths. 

2. Proof of Genuine Faith. 

    How we treat widows says a lot about the genuineness of the faith we profess (see James 1:26-27). 

3. Providence of God. 

    As one surveys redemptive history in the Bible, certain key turning points in God's Providence involved widows. See Proverbs 15:25; Psalm 146:9.

4. Provision of God.

    Another truth we learn when studying widows in the Bible pertains to God's provision. What happens when a woman becomes a widow? Sources of income, scarcity of resources, and a sense of vulnerability can become painful realities. The sinful, selfish heart of human depravity can prey upon unsuspecting widows. Exodus 22:22-24; Deuteronomy 14:28; 16:11-12; 24:19; 1 Kings 17:8-16; 2 Kings 4:1-7; Luke 4:25-26; 1 Timothy 5:16. 

5. Protection of God. 

    This fifth theological truth gleaned from a study of widowhood in the Bible is among the more prominent themes. Moses wrote these words in Deuteronomy 10:18 "He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing."

    As I comb the Scriptures, the theme of God's justice and protection is found associated with the plight of widows (see Exodus 22:22-24; Deuteronomy 24:17; 27:19; Job 22:5,9; 24:3; 24:21; 31:16,22; Psalm 68:5; Psalm 146:0; Isaiah 1:17;1:23; Jeremiah 49:11; 1 Timothy 5:5).

6. Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    The sixth and final area we learned from our study of widowhood in the Bible was the insight we gained about Christ Himself. How did He regard widows? How did His interactions with them underscore the type of man He became in His incarnation? See Matthew 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47.

    I find it interesting that of the four women mentioned in Jesus' genealogy in Luke 3, three of them were widows (Tamar, a one-time widow, Genesis 38:15 and Matthew 1:3; Ruth in Matthew 1:5; Bathsheba, whose husband was killed by decree of King David during a battle, 2 Samuel 11:22-26; Matthew 1:6). The inclusion of widows in the bloodline of our Lord's humanity underscores the importance God assigned to widows in His overall purposes of redemption. Jesus often used widows to illustrate truths He taught in the course of His earthly ministry (Luke 7:11-17; Luke 18:1-8; Luke 21:1-3). 

Applying "a theology of widowhood" to our understanding of 1 Timothy 5:1-16

    We can take those six points and use them as spotlights to highlight the teaching of Paul about caring for widows in the church in 1 Timothy 5:1-16. 

1 Timothy 5:1-16 as a testing ground for a theology of widowhood

    Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:7 "Prescribe these things as well, so that they may be above reproach." Who are the "they" in the passage? The "they" has to do with the five sorts of people mentioned by Paul in 1 Timothy 5:1-16, "older men", "older women", "younger men", "younger women" - all in 1 Timothy 5:1-2 - with the fifth category being the pastoral care of widows (1 Timothy 5:3-16.) 

    As we zero-in on care for widows in particular, we find three types of widows mentioned by the Apostle. 

1. You have "widows indeed" or true widows that are alone with no living family (1 Timothy 5:3,5, 16b). 

2. Then there were widows that were younger, under sixty years of age, being marriageable, and prone to temptation (1 Timothy 5:3-4, 6-8,11-15). 

3. The third sort of widow were those widows that had relatives, whether children or grandchildren, who could support them (1 Timothy 5:4,5:8,9,16a).     

    By categorizing the various needs and groups, Paul states why he wrote this section in 1 Timothy 5:16 "If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, she must assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are widows indeed." Paul indicates that proper care of all the groups concerned will ensure a greater level of Christ-likeness - i.e. "being above reproach".

How God uses widows to help a church evaluate how well it is shepherding His people. 

    As you outline 1 Timothy 5:1-16 and then plug-in the insights we gleaned from our study of widowhood in the Bible, one finds how the priority of ministry to widows for the local church teaches much about shepherding.

1. 1 Timothy 5:1-4 shows us what it means to have a personal knowledge of the people in the church. 

2. 1 Timothy 5:5-5-8 shows us the place of accountability in the church. 

3. Then, 1 Timothy 5:9-16 gives us a plan for meeting needs in the church. 

    When I look at that first point, personal knowledge of people in the church, we see from our prior studies how intimately acquainted God was with widows in the Old and New Testaments. Jesus' personal dealings with them, God's providential inclusion of them, and protections of them all served to underscore this point. 

    How we care for widows gives a quick snapshot of how warm we are as a local church. Do I give a second thought about those in the church body who have no one else? Do I pray for them? Do I call or text? Might I visit widows? All such questions underscore Paul's point. 

    The second point of the place of accountability in the church reminds us that we have a responsibility to care for one another. The categorization of widows served to make sure church resources were getting to the right people. At times, certain widows were tempted to take advantage of church resources, or perhaps others in the church saw an opportunity to take advantage of a widow who could otherwise not protect herself. 

    When I look at the situation in Acts 6 between the Jewish and Grecian widows, and how the Greek widows were complaining of the Jewish widows being treated better than they, the church had to remedy that situation lest it split the church in Jerusalem. Acts 6:1 "Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food." 

    This is where our study comes into play in reminding us how God protects widows and measures the proof of genuine faith by how well we take care of these precious people. 

    If we do not exercise true love, concern, and Christ-like care for each other, all the programs in the world and a full parking-lot on a Sunday morning will mean nothing. A well-preached sermon and the best sounding music will ring quite hollow if we do not hold one another accountable when it comes to looking out for each other. Widows are our litmus test for measuring the warmth and concern we have for each other in the church.

    Then note the final point Paul brings out in 1 Timothy 5:1-16, a plan for meeting needs. Paul lays out an action plan, a registry, of true widows versus those widows who have family or other means of caring for themselves (1 Timothy 5:9-16). As with any ministry, whether first-century or twenty-first century, how we handle God's resources will determine the level of ministry He gives to us. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 gives the following principle: 

"Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy."

    When we look at God's providence and protection from our study of widowhood in the Bible, God always had a plan and a provision for those ladies. Jesus' ministry to widows involved having a detailed plan for assessing the need, applying a solution, and pointing to the Father. 

    To refer back once more to Acts 6 and the crisis of the widows in the Jerusalem church, the Apostles called for the congregation to select seven men - no doubt forerunners of the office of Deacon. Those seven selected would handle the needs of the widows at that time. They identified the need, found a solution, and then pointed to the heavenly Father. Acts 6:7 gives us the result: "The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith."

Closing thoughts

    Today's post aimed to take our study of widowhood in the Bible and see how it worked in the context of 1 Timothy 5:1-16. 1 Timothy 5 is the most concentrated chapter in God's Word on the subject of widows. How we treat them and care for them can aid in evaluating where we are at in our spiritual sensitivity to the Lord and fellow Christians, whether individual Christians or on the local church level. 

The Jewish Feast Of Passover And How It Points To Jesus Christ The Lamb Of God

Introduction: 

    Not too long ago I wrote a post that introduced readers to the major Jewish Feasts in the Bible here Growing Christian Resources: Introducing the Jewish Feasts, their meaning, and significance. My goal in that post was to highlight how the Jewish Feasts detailed God's relationship with His Covenant people, Israel, as well as prepare for the prophetic events surrounding the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. In that last posting on the feasts, I noted four reasons why it benefits Christians to study the Feasts of Israel:

A. To know Jesus better. 

B. Insight into Prophecy

C. Divine intervention in our lives. 

D. God keeps His promises.

    The first four feasts, the Spring feasts, point us back to Jesus’ first coming and the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. For the O.T, they commemorated the Exodus, the beginnings of the Jewish nation, the giving of the Law (Pentecost), and new spiritual beginnings. 

    The latter three Fall feasts, for New Testament truths, detailed what will be the situation of the Jews at the end of the Tribulation period prior to Christ’s return to earth. In the Old Testament, they signal the latter parts of the religious calendar and the beginning of the civil calendar. In today's post, we shall look at the Feast of Passover. I shall present major headings with comments to guide us through our discussion.

1. The Passover pointed to a saving event.

    Four main lambs in O.T. First Lamb (likely) Genesis 4:4; Passover Lamb Exodus 12; Sacrificial Lamb Exodus 29:39; Prophetic Lamb Is 53:7; The Person of the Lamb (John 1:29). As for Passover Lamb, it undergirded the other Old Testament portrayals of lambs. God used lambs to communicate the truth of substitutionary atonement. Jesus would come to fulfill all of the major meanings conveyed by the Old Testament portrayals, including the Passover Lamb. Whenever we look at the Passover's initiation in Exodus 12, we note the following characteristics and meanings of the Passover lamb. 

A. New beginning of new life. 

Exodus 12:1-2 "Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 'This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you."

B. Selection of the lamb. 

Exodus 12:3-4 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb."

(1). Spotless Lamb. 

Exodus 12:5 "Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats." 

(2). Slaughtered Lamb.

Exodus 12:6 "You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight."

(3). Sprinkled blood of the Lamb. 

Exodus 12:7 "Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it." 

(4). Sufficient Lamb

Exodus 12:8 "They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails."

(5). Satisfying Lamb

Exodus 12:10 "And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover." 

(6). Securing Lamb

Exodus 12:12 "For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."

2. The Passover pictures our salvation. 

    In having looked at the Passover Lamb featured in the initial pronouncement of the Passover Feast, we can turn to consideration of the details of the Feast we find in the Jewish observance. Various details of the Jewish Passover or "Seder" meal includes the following components.

A. Removal of Leaven – cf 1 Cor 5:6-8 = our sanctification.

B. Elijah’s Cup (between the testaments) = Second coming

    This tradition was developed at some point in the Jewish observance of the Passover meal. Dr. Walter Kaiser explains the rite's significance:

"To this day, Judaism continues to reserve for Elijah a distinguished place and loosely to relate it to their fading expectation of the coming of the Messiah. This can best be seen in the cup of Elijah and the seat reserved for him at every Passover meal. The hope and prayer of every Jew at the conclusion of the Passover—”next year in Jerusalem”—is one piece of a larger picture of the coming Messianic era. And at the heart of it remains the open door for the new Elijah."

C. Four cups (blessing, sanctification, redemption, kingdom)

    The periodical "Israel my Glory", 2013 article on Seder (“Order”), notes how the Jews utilized the following passage from Exodus, with exposition on the meaning of the four cups. 

Exodus 6:6-8 "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.’”

(1). The First Cup. This is the Cup of Sanctification. It is consumed early in the meal. Sanctification means “set apart.” Jewish people acknowledge, remember, and praise God that He selected, exalted, and set them apart by giving them His commandments. A prayer of praise is offered before the cup is drunk.

(2). The Second Cup. This is the Cup of Praise. After the story of the Exodus—the ultimate account of liberation from slavery—is read, the Cup of Praise is drunk with a prayer of praise to God for being the constant source of deliverance in every generation of Jewish history.

(3). The Third Cup. This is the Cup of Redemption. It is drunk after the meal and after the afikomen is found. (See “The Marvelous Afikomen.”) In the ancient world, redemption referred to slaves being purchased and liberated. Jewish people thank and praise God for freeing them from Egyptian bondage. Not only did God deliver them from the physical hardship of slavery but also from the constant exposure to Egypt’s false gods. No longer would the Israelites and their children be forcibly subjected to the worship practices of a pagan culture.

    The third cup also has particular significance for Christians. It is the same cup Jesus took “after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you’” (Lk. 22:20). The Cup of Redemption symbolizes what Jesus did for us: He shed His blood to redeem us from slavery to sin. That is why the apostle Paul, a highly trained Jewish scholar, wrote, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7).

(4). The Fourth Cup. Everyone partakes of this cup near the end of the dinner. It is called the Cup of Acceptance or the Cup of Anticipation and celebrates the relationship God desires with His Chosen People. This is the cup the Lord Jesus used to symbolize the ratification of the New Covenant and to institute communion. He did not drink it Himself, however, but said He will drink it when the Messianic Kingdom is established (Matt 26:26-29).

    Clearly the four cups in the Jewish Passover, observed when Jesus instituted the Passover to be transfigured into what we know today as the Lord's Table, only served to reinforce the connection between the Passover Lamb and Jesus Himself. We go on to note other features of the Passover meal.

D. Bitter herbs (horse radish usually, salt water), bitterness and tears in Egypt. 

E. Charoseth (apples, nuts, a claylike substance). 

F. Recounting of the Passover Narrative

G. Hiding of the Afikomen (which means “that which comes later”). Middle matzos bread (all three in a Matzah bag or linen covering. The tray is called an “echad” tray. Jews take it to mean “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). Once afikomen is found, the meal is done. 

    These features convey the extraordinary meaning of the Passover to Christians. As we round the corner of the homestretch of today's post, let me draw the reader to see how what I just mentioned about the Passover has explicit New Testament verses attached to its ultimate meaning.

3. Passover personified by the Savior. 

A. A new beginning = 2 Cor 5:17

B. Selection of a lamb. Rev 13:8; Is 42:7

C. Spotless lamb 1 Peter 1:18

D. Slaughtered lamb Revelation 5:6-8

E. Sprinkled blood of the Lamb. Eph 1:7

F. Sufficient Lamb John 1:29; 1 Peter 2:21-25

G. Satisfying Lamb 1 Peter 3:18

H. Securing Lamb. John 10:27-29

Closing thoughts:

    No doubt the Passover celebration pre-figured what Jesus would achieve as The Lamb of God. His commemoration of the Lord's Table in conjunction with the Passover bridges the continuation of its importance to Christians today. We learned the following today.

1. The Passover pointed to a saving event, the Exodus, which in turn would pre-figure the ultimate saving event, the crucifixion of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

2. The Passover pictures the Christian's salvation, as it did Jewish salvation in the Old Testament. 

3. The Passover is personified in the Savior Himself, since He is the "Lamb of God".