[1] Man: Original Sin

[10] Man: Original Sin

35. How did Adam sin? What are the consequences of Adam’s sin?

a. It is apparent that Adam’s Fall was the transgression of a covenant (Hos 6:7). Paul also draws a parallel between Adam and Christ in Ro 5:12-21. In Adam all men died, but in Christ all those who are His are made alive. This means that Adam was the representative head of the human race, just as Christ is now the representative head of all believers who belong to Christ. Theologians call this the covenant of works. It has the following elements:
(1) The parties: A covenant is always a contract between two parties. In this case, they are God and Adam as the representative of the human race. (2) The promise: The promise of the covenant was the promise of life without death.

(3) The condition: The condition was that of absolute obedience (Gen 2:16-17). The explicit test of pure obedience positive was the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

(4) The penalty: death in the widest sense of the word, including physical, spiritual, and eternal death. It consists not only in the separation of body and soul, but more fundamentally in the separation of the soul from God.

(5) The sacrament: the tree of life appointed as a symbol and seal of life.
b. Adam’s sin was the result of temptation by Satan who appeared in the form of a serpent. Adam was free to obey or disobey. He chose disobedience by choice. c. Aspects of Adam’s sin (Gen 3:1-6)

intellectually: unbelief (doubting God’s command) and pride
will: desire to be like God
affections: unholy satisfaction of eating the forbidden fruit

d. Consequences:

forfeit the original righteousness, conscious of guilt, feeling of shame
forfeit the right of free communion with God
physical death of the body
spiritual death of the soul (eternal separation from God)
total depravity of humanity (original sin)
driven from Paradise

e. All men are guilty in Adam, and are therefore born with original sin.

36. What is the meaning of "original sin"? How did we get original sin?

a. Original sin: all men are born in a sinful state and condition which is the root of all the actual sins committed. (Jer 17:9; Jn 15:4-5; Ro 7:18,23-24; 8:7-8; 1Co 2:14; Eph 2:1-3; 4:18; 2Ti 3:2-4; Titus 1:15; Heb 11:6)

b. Elements of original sin:

hereditary tendency or positive disposition toward sin (Gen 8:21; Ps 51:5)
total depravity of man: irreversible, sin and corruption invaded every part of humanity (including body, thoughts, moral consciousness) so that man cannot save himself
resulted from Adam’s sin (1Co 15:22; Ro 5:12,18)
transmitted at birth (Job 14:1,4)
root of all actual sins
sense of guilt, feeling responsible for the sinful tendency and the actual sins

c. Actual sin: These include outward acts of sin (ranging from minor acts that hurt others to criminal acts) and inward acts of sin (such as conscious thoughts, desires, and sinful decisions). d. Universality of sin: (1Ki 8:46; Ps 143:2; Pr 20:9; Ecc 7:20; Ro 3:1-12,19,23; Gal 3:22; Jas 3:2; 1Jn 1:8,10)

No one can avoid being born in sin.
Man is sinful from birth; it is not the result of imitation (Job 14:4; Ps 51:5).
Even children are sinful and need redemption in Jesus Christ (Ro 5:12-14; Eph 2:3).

e. Every person is born with original sin because each individual is related to Adam. When Adam sinned, the result is that every person becomes a sinner (Ro 5:19). f. There are two different views that explain how Adam’s sin is passed onto us.
(1) Representative Theory or Federal Headship Theory: Adam stood in a twofold relation to his descendant: he was their natural head, and he was their representative as the head of the covenant. When he sinned as their representative, this sin was also imputed to them, and as a result they are all born in a corrupt state. (What Adam did is charged to his descendants.) (2) Substantive Theory or Natural Headship Theory: Adam was the organic whole of humanity. The whole human race is derived from natural generation. Natural generation is the process which passes human nature from the ancestor to the descendants. At the time of the Fall, the human nature of Adam was polluted with sin. This fallen human nature with guilt and pollution is passed from Adam to every person who comes from Adam. (What Adam was is transmitted to his descendants.) 37. How did God provide a way of salvation from the consequences of original sin? a. Because of the failure of the covenant of works and the entry of original sin into the world, man is destined to suffer the consequences of sin: eternal death. b. God provided a way of avoiding eternal death with a new covenant of grace (Jer 31:33; Heb 8:10) -- salvation through faith. This covenant was provided after the Fall.
(1) The parties: God and sinner who has faith in Christ (2) The promise: to become God’s children (Jer 31:33; 32:38-40; Eze 34:23-25,30-31; 36:25-28; Heb 8:10; 2Co 6:16-18) including promise of temporal blessings, of justification, of the Spirit of God, and of final glorification in an eternal life (Job 19:25-27; Ps 16:11; Isa 43:25; Jer 31:33-34; Eze 36:27; Dan 12:2-3; Gal 4:4-6; Titus 3:7; Heb 11:7; Jas 2:5) (3) The requirement:
(a) the sinner is to accept the covenant and the related promises by faith, (Heb 11:6) (b) from the principle of the new life born within him/her, the sinner consecrates the life to God in a new obedience (Dt 7:9; 2Ch 6:14; Ps 25:10,14; 103:17-18).
(4) Characteristics: similar for all times and for all human

same principle: not based on any work or merits of man but on the grace of God
same basis of salvation: death of Christ (Jn 6:44) who acts as the Mediator (Heb 9:15)
same promise (Gen 17:7; Heb 8:10)
same gospel (Gal 3:8)
same requirement: faith in God (Gal 3:6-7), response in accordance with the revelation of God

(5) Content of faith different in various dispensations (periods of time in salvation history):

revelation to Adam (Gen 3:15)
covenant with Noah (Gen 9:1-17; see 6:8,22): requiring faith in God
covenant with Abraham (Gen 15; see 15:6): requiring faith in God; circumcision as the seal
covenant with Israel at Sinai (Gen 24): requiring faith in God and keeping the law and sacrifices; Passover as the sacrament
new covenant (Jer 31:31; Heb 8:8,13): universal – for everyone, requiring faith in Jesus; baptism and eucharist (the Lord’s Supper) as the sacraments (these correspond to the circumcision and the Passover meal practised by Israel in the OT)