Chapter Seven - The Fall and Present Conditions of Man

1. THE BACKGROUND OF THE FALL OF MAN

As has been shown, Adam is the father of the whole human race. We all descended from him through natural generation. It is on the basis of this that all men have been born with inherited sinful nature or a tendency to sin, for Adam had already sinned when his first son was conceived. It now remains to be seen how Adam became a sinner, and what God's relation was to Adam's first sin. The background of the fall and some of the problems connected with it come to our attention.

Before one can understand the fall of man, two other subjects:

  1. the law of God;
  2. the nature of sin; and
  3. the essential meaning of sin.

must be considered. We need to know about the law of God in order to understand the transgression of it, which was sin; and we need to know about the nature of sin in order to understand its origin in Adam and Eve.

1.1 The Law of God

Law is an expression of will enforced by power; it implies a lawgiver, a subject, an expression of will, and power enforcing that will. Let's consider the following aspects of the law of God:

  1. the meaning of the law of God;
  2. the purpose of the law of God; and
  3. the believer's relation to the law of God.

1.1.1 The meaning of the law of God

The law of God is the expression of His will enforced by His power. It has two forms:

  1. elemental law; and
  2. positive enactment.

1.1.1.1 Elemental law

Elemental law is law inwrought into elements, substances, and forces of rational and irrational creatures. It is of two types:

  1. natural or physical; and
  2. moral.

Natural law relates to the material universe. The physical order has only a relative constancy; God sometimes supplements it by miracles. Moral law relates to the constitution of rational and free beings. This law is an expression of God's moral nature and intimates that complete conformity to that holy nature is the normal condition of man (Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 1:16). The law of God is not:

  1. something arbitrary since it springs from His nature;
  2. temporary devised to meet an exigency;
  3. partial addressed to one part of man's being, but both body and soul;
  4. limited to consciousness of it, but exists whether we recognize it or not; and
  5. confined to any locality or class of people, but includes all moral creatures.

1.1.1.2 Positive enactment

Positive enactment is the expression of God's will in published ordinances. These consists of His definitely moral precepts, such as the Decalogue or known as the Ten Commandments of Moses (Exodus 20:1-7). Some ordinances are temporary. Some ordinances are rooted in God's essential nature, and they are eternal (Matthew 22:37-40; 1 John 5:21). Others are founded upon the permanent relations of men to each other in their present state of existence (Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14). Others have their foundation in certain temporal relations of men (Ephesians 6:1) or conditions of society (Ephesians 6:5).

1.1.2 The purpose of the law of God

Negatively, the law was not given as a means whereby man might be saved. Paul observes, "If a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law" (Galatians 3:21). It could not make alive because it was weak "through the flesh" (Romans 8:3). The Scriptures that promise life for keeping the law (Leviticus 18:5; Nehemiah 9:29; Ezekiel 18:5-9; Matthew 19:17; Romans 7:10; 10:5; Galatians 3:12) speak ideally and hypothetically, as if man had no carnal nature and so were able to do God's whole will. Since, however, man is hopelessly enslaved to self, he cannot keep God's law (Romans 8:7), and, consequently, neither life nor righteousness is possible by the law.

Positively, it was given to intensify man's knowledge of sin, to reveal the holiness of God, and to lead the sinner to Christ. Man knows that he is a sinner by the testimony of conscience, but by the published law of God he has an intensified "knowldge of sin" (Romans 3:19f; 7:7). Sin now takes on the form of transgression (Romans 5:13; 7:13). Paul says, "I would not have come to know sin except through the Law" (Romans 7:7). He does not mean that he had not known sin in any sense, but that he had not known it as exceedingly sinful. The law was also given to reveal the holiness of God (Romans 7:12). The ceremonial law sets forth visibly the holiness of God. And, finally, the law was given to lead men to Christ. Christ was the end of the law for righteousness (Romans 10:4), but he is also its aim. Paul calls the law "our tutor to lead us to Christ" (Galatians 3:24). The law serves to prepare those under it for the reception of Christ. This is did by revealing God's holiness and man's sinfulness, and by pointing to the cross of Christ, through its offerings, priesthood, and tabernacle, as the only way of Salvation and access to God.

1.1.3 The believer's relation to the law of God

There seems to be a distinct difference in the believer's relation to the law during the present age as compared with the past. The Scriptures teach that in the death of Christ the believer is delivered not only from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), that is, the penalty imposed upon him by the law, but from the law itself (Romans 7:4; Ephesians 2:14f; Colossians 2:14). It was at Calvary that Christ became the end of the law for righteousness (Romans 10:4). That this includes the moral law as well as the ceremonial law is evident from 2 Corinthians 3:7-11. As a result, we are told that the believer is not "under law, but under grace" (Romans 6:14; 7:6; Galatians 4:30; 5:18), and he is exhorted, "Keeping standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1).

The believer has been made free from the law, but liberty does not mean license. We are not "without the law of God but under the law of Christ" (1 Corinthians 9:21; cf. Galatians 6:2). Freedom from law should result in love (Galatians 5:13; cf. 1 Peter 2:16). The believer is to keep his eyes on Christ as his example and teacher, and by the Holy Spirit to fulfill his law (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:18). This does not mean that the precepts of the Decalogue which are grounded in the character of God have no authority today. Careful investigation reveals that every commandment of the Decalogue, except the fourth, is reaffirmed in the New Testament. They are repeated for our instruction as to what the will of the Lord is, but not as precepts that we are to endeavor to keep in order to become righteous. This would be useless, for, Paul says, "By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight" (Romans 3:20). By him we have been delivered from the carnal nature (Romans 8:2), by him we are to keep putting to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13), and by him we shall produce the "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22f; cf. Ephesians 5:9).

1.2 The Nature of Sin

Some theologians understand sin as:

  1. "lack of conformity to the moral law of God" (Berkhof, Systematic Theolgoy, p. 233) or
  2. "anything in the creature which is contrary to the holy character of the Creator." (Buswell, A Systematic Theology of the Christian Religion, I, p. 264)

Both of these are correct, for moral law is a reflection of God's character. Sin is transgression of law is clear in Scripture (Romans 7:7-13; Galatians 3:10, 12; James 2:8-12; 1 John 3:4), and that it relates to God's character is also evident. When Isaiah saw God in his holiness, he recognized his own sinfulness (Isaiah 6:1-6; cf. Job 42:5f; Luke 5:8; Revelation 1:17). God is holy and we are to conform to his holiness; anything short of this is sin (Leviticus 19:2; 1 Peter 1:15f). In the definition of sin several ideas are involved.

  1. Sin is a specific type of evil;
  2. Sin is a violation of the law of God;
  3. Sin is a principle or nature as well as an act;
  4. Sin includes pollution as well as guilt; and
  5. Sin is essentially selfishness.

1.2.1 Sin is a specific type of evil

Sin is a moral evil. Since man is a rational creature, he knows that when he does what he ought not to do, or omit to do what he ought to do, or is what he ought not to be, or is not what he ought to be, he is chargeable with sin. The evil of the mentally incompetent cannot be considered sin.

1.2.2 Sin is a violation of the law of God

Since we are moral and rational creatures, we are subject to the law of right. The law of God is summarized in the words of Jesus (Matthew 22:37-40):

  1. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.
  2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Both the Old and New Testaments use various terms for sin and sinning. Some of these are:

  1. sin (Genesis 18:20; Romans 3:23);
  2. disobedience (Romans 5:19);
  3. iniquity (Leviticus 26:40);
  4. lawlessness (Titus 2:14);
  5. transgression (Exodus 23:21; 1 Timothy 2:14);
  6. trespass (Ephesians 2:1);
  7. ignorance (Hebrews 9:7);
  8. godlessness (1 Peter 4:18);
  9. wickedness (Proverbs 11:31);
  10. unbelief (Romans 11:20);
  11. unrighteousness (1 John 1:9);
  12. unjustness (Deuteronomy 25:16); and
  13. unholiness (1 Timothy 1:9).

Several specific clarifications concerning the relation between the law and sin must be noted:

  1. Failure to do what the law enjoins is as much sin as doing what it forbids. There are sins of omission as well as of commission (James 4:17; cf. Romans 14:23).

  2. Fail in one point is to be guilty of the whole (Galatians 3:10; James 2:10). One needs to break but one of God's commandments to be guilty in his sight.

  3. Ignorance of a law does not excuse a man (Luke 12:47f). Ignorance of the law lessens the penalty as to degree, but not as to duration.

  4. Man's inability to fulfill the law is due to his own part in the sin of Adam, and is not an original condition. Since the law of God expresses the holiness of God as the only standard for the creature, ability to obey cannot be the measure of obligation or the rest of sin.

  5. The feeling of guilt is not necessary to the fact of sin. Man's moral standard may be so low and his conscience may have been so often sinned against, that he has practically no sense of sin left. This, however, does not remove the fact of sin.

1.2.3 Sin is a principle or nature as well as an act

Acts of sin spring from a principle or nature that is sinful. A corrupt tree can only bring forth evil fruit (Matthew 7:17f; 15:19; 5:21f, 27f; cf. James 1:14f). Scripture distinguishes between sin and sins, the one the nature, the other the expression of that nature. Sin is present in everyone as a nature before it expresses itself in deeds. Paul wrote, "Sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. And I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive, and I died" (Romans 7:8f). Paul also represented sin as reigning in the unsaved (Romans 6:12-14). John said, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). The opinion of mankind in general concurs with this view. Outward acts are condemned only when they are regarded as originating in evil dispositions. Criminal law is more concerned about the motive (i.e. the intention) than about the act in the crime.

1.2.4 Sin includes pollution as well as guilt

The Bible testifies to sin's pollution. "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint" (Isaiah 1:5); "the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9); "the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil" (Luke 6:45); "the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit" (Ephesians 4:22). These and other Scriptures form the basis for the teaching that we need to be cleansed:

  1. "wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin" (Psalm 51:2);
  2. "purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:7);
  3. "you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you" (John 15:3);
  4. "that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word" (Ephesians 5:26); and
  5. "and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).

This pollution shows itself in a:

  1. darkened understanding (Romans 1:31; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 4:18);
  2. evil and futile imaginations (Genesis 6:5; Romans 1:21);
  3. degrading passions (Romans 1:26f);
  4. unwholesome speech (Ephesians 4:29);
  5. defiled mind and conscience (Titus 1:15); and
  6. enslaved and perverted will (Romans 7:18f).

These are symptoms of which the corrupt nature is the source. This lack of ability to please God is also spoken of as "death" (Ephesians 2:1; cf. v. 5; Colossians 2:13); that is, they are totally destitute of spiritual life. That man is totally depraved does not mean that every man:

  1. is as thoroughly corrupt as he can become;
  2. has no conscience or innate ability to distinguish between good and evil;
  3. unregenerate man can have no admirable virtues of character such as kindness;
  4. is unable to see and appreciate virtue in others;
  5. indulges in every form of sinfulness.

It does mean that every person is born depraved, that depravity extends to every part of man, that unregenerate man has no spiritual good which would commend him to God, and that he is completely unable of his own strength to change his situation.

1.2.5 Sin is essentially selfishness

Scripture teaches that sin is essentially selfishness "Each of us has turned to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6). There is, we grant, a proper love of self. It constitutes the basis of self-respect, self-preservation, self-improvement, and of a proper regard for others. None of these is inherently sinful. What we do mean is such an exaggerated love of self as puts self-interests ahead of God's interests.

All the forms of sin can be traced to selfishness as their source. Thus man's natural appetites, his sensuality, selfish ambitions, and selfish affections are rooted in his selfishness. Even an idolatrous affection for others may be due to the feeling that they are in some sense a part of ourselves, and so regard for them may be only an indirect love of self. Jesus exemplified true unselfishness. He said, "I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 5:30). Paul represents people in the last days as being "lovers of self" (2 Timothy 3:2). These and other Scriptures represent selfishness as the essence of sin, the principle from which all else springs.

1.3 The Essential Meaning of Sin

The biblical words for sin mean variously and mainly:

  1. transgression;
  2. missing the mark;
  3. lack of integrity;
  4. deviation from the appointed path;
  5. revolt;
  6. departure from law;
  7. unfaithfulness; and
  8. perversion of nature.

in both the Old and New Testaments. Some of these ideas are derivative or secondary, others are basic.

But the sin in the Garden cuts through the complexity of sin and reveals its basic nature as a deliberate revolt against the will of God and an attempt to live independent of God. Note especially the words, "you will be like God" and, "the tree was desirable to make one wise." This proud revolt is the basic tendency of man and is the root of all forms of sin.

2. PROBLEMS CONNECTED WITH THE FALL

2.1 The Original State of Man

It is clear from the account in Genesis that man was created without sin (Genesis 1:31), and that by his own choice sin and death entered the world (Romans 5:12). Since holiness is necessary for man to fellowship with God (Hebrews 12:10, 14), and Adam had fellowship with God (Genesis 2), it follows that Adam had a form of "holiness."

Holiness as applied to God means that God is not able to sin, while Adam was obviously able to sin. Since the Bible does not explicitly state what kind of holiness Adam had, any attempt to do so is speculation. Some theologians use the term innocent to describe Adam's condition, but this might not be strong enough in light of Genesis 1:31, where God declares Adam, his creation, to be "very good."

There are some difficulties connected with the account of man's fall. We shall consider the three principal ones:

  1. How Could A Holy Being Fall?
  2. How Could A Just God Justly Permit Man to Be Tempted?
  3. How Could So Great A Penalty Be Attached to Disobedience to So Slight A Command?

2.2 How Could A Holy Being Fall?

Several things can be noted:

  1. Adam and Eve were created morally free, sinless beings, with the ability to sin or not to sin.

  2. The temptation to our first parents was different from that of Satan in that their temptation came from without; Satan tempted them to sin.

  3. Adam made a personal decision to disobey God, and he was held responsible for his sin (1 Timothy 2:14).

  4. How an unholy impulse arose in the soul of a holy, sinless being is beyond our understanding. The only satisfactory explanation is that man fell by a free act of revolt against God. Satan acted on man's God-given desire for beauty, knowledge and food (Genesis 3:6). These desires are inherently good and not evil, when they are used properly (1 Timothy 4:4f; cf. 1 John 2:16). Satan called for the misuse of these drives against the direct command of God not to eat of the tree. Man freely chose to disobey God and to obey the deception of the evil one.The God-given desire for beauty, knowledge and food became an instrument Satan used in causing man to rebel.

  5. Underlying all of this was the ambition to extend his relative sovereignty to become equal with God and not submit to the absolute sovereignty of God.

In an effort to explain adequately how Adam, though "holy," could sin, I offer the following theory. Assuming "sin" means desire to disobey God, and "good" means desire to please God, we know that fallen man has an inclination of will toward sin. Regenerated man, on the other hand, is described as having an inclination to do good, though the "flesh" often influences him to sin. Since righteousness is a product of Salvation, we reason that Adam was essentially "neutral" in his inclination, with neither an inclination toward good or evil (see Thiessen, Chapter XVII, Part II).

2.3 How Could A Just God Justly Permit Man to Be Tempted?

We reply that we see in this permission not so much an act of justice as one of benevolence, and this for several reasons:

  1. The need for probation. God endowed man with the power of choice which enabled him to choose contrary to the known will of God, and the possession of this power seems to be the necessary condition of probation and moral development. Man was not made an automatic robot who would live for the glory of God without any choice in the matter. His inclination was toward God, but since he had the power of contrary choice, he could be confirmed in this inclination only by deliberate choice in the presence of the possibility of choosing the opposite. A period of probation was essential in order to test their loyalty to God by obedience or disobedience to His command. Probation was necessary even though God foreknew it would result in the fall, and it revealed his benevolence in the promise of redemption immediately after the fall.

  2. The need for a tempter. Satan fell without any external temptation. He sinned deliberately, spurred on by undue ambition, and, as a result, has become what he is. Had man fallen without a tempter, he would have originated his own sin and would have himself become a Satan. This only reveals God's benevolence in leaving a possibility for man's redemption.

  3. The possibility of resisting temptation. In the temptation itself there was no power to make man sin. He had as much power to choose to obey God as to choose to disobey Him. The mere possibility of sinning alone has never made any man commit sin. No doubt, deliberate resistance would have caused Satan to flee then as well as now (James 4:7). It is this possibility that shows God's benevolence. By resisting temptation, man's holy nature could have been confirmed in holy character; it could have been confirmed in virtue.

2.4 How Could So Great A Penalty Be Attached to Disobedience to So Slight A Command?

It does not necessarily require some great act to prove or to disprove one's loyalty to another. A slight command involving a very small and simple act is the best test of the spirit of obedience. By means of the forbidden tree, God taught Adam that he had the right to make demands of him and expect to be obeyed. Man's obedience was to be tested in the matter of property, which was an outward and sensible sign of a right state of heart toward God. The command was significant from God's point of view is disclosed by the severity of the penalty announced for its disobedience. How else was Adam to interpret the declaration that if he disobeyed he would surely die? God made clear that it was an issue of life and death. Disobedience would be considered a deadly sin. It was a choice between life and death, between God and self.

3. THE ORIGIN OF SIN IN THE PERSONAL ACT OF ADAM

The most significant lesson to be learned about the Fall of man, beyond the fact that sin entered the world through man and not God, is that it enables us to perceive the nature of sin.

Scripture declares that man fell into sin through Adam's transgression. We ask, how did this happen and what were the immediate consequences for our first parents? Sin is a fact; but how did it originate among men? There are various views as to this subject. The false views must be evaluated, then the true position presented:

  1. sin is eternal (false view);
  2. sin originates in man's finiteness (false view);
  3. sin originates in sensuousness (false view); and
  4. sin originated in the free act of Adam (correct view).

3.1 Sin Is Eternal

Cosmic dualism holds that there are two self-existent and eternal principles:

  1. good; and
  2. evil.

Persian speculation conceived of these two principles under the figures of light and darkness. Matter was considered inherently evil. According to this view, sin has always existed. The good and the evil have been in conflict with each other for all eternity, and they will continue to be in conflict. They limit each other and neither is ever finally triumphant over the other. This theory has the following weaknesses:

  1. It makes God a finite and dependent being. There cannot be two infinite things in the same category, and God cannot be both sovereign and limited by a thing which He neither created nor could prevent.

  2. This view also destroys the conception of sin as a moral evil. If sin is an inseparable part of our nature, it cannot be moral evil.

  3. And then it directly destroys human responsibility. If sin is necessary from the very constitution of man, man cannot be charged with responsibility for being sinful.

3.2 Sin Originates in Man's Finiteness

Leibniz and Spinoza held that sin originated in our finiteness. God as the absolute substance is supremely good; but if other things than God are to exist, there must be in them a minimun of evil. That is, God Himself could not create anything without limitations. This is seen in man's physical limitations; it is to be expected also in his moral nature. Some writers maintain that moral evil is the necessary background and condition of moral good. We could not know moral good if there were not also moral evil. It is an element in human education and a means to progress. But this theory has the following weaknesses:

  1. It ignores the distinction between the physical and the moral. While man was created with physical limitations, it does not necessarily follow that he has created with moral limitations.

  2. Man was physically responsible only up to his ability to perform; he had no moral limitations and so was able to obey God perfectly. In other words, his sin did not originate in an imperfect moral nature.

  3. And again, moral evil is not necessary to the existence of moral good. Strong says, "What is necessary to goodness is not the actuality of evil, but only the possibility of evil." (Strong, Systematic Theology, p. 565)

3.3 Sin Originates in Sensuousness

Schleiermacher held that sin had its source in our sensuous nature, which would, therefore, itself be evil. More recent writers trace moral evil to man's inheritance from an animal ancestry. But this theory has the following weaknesses:

  1. But the senses are not in themselves sources of sin, though they frequently become the instruments of the carnal nature in the commission of sin.

  2. Furthermore, this doctrine leads to various absurd practices, as, for instance, asceticism, in which the power of sense is to be weakened.

  3. Instead of explaining the origin of sin, this theory really denies its existence; for if sin arises from the original constitution of human nature, we may regard it as a misfortune, but cannot consider it as guilt.

  4. And finally, the Scriptures teach that sin was not the original condition of man, but that it arose from man's deliberate, unconstrained choice.

3.4 Sin Originated in the Free Act of Adam

If sin is not eternal nor due to man's finiteness or sensuousness, how did it originate? The Scriptures teach that through one sin of one man, sin came into the world, and with it all the universal consequences of sin (Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21f). This one man was Adam and this one sin was the partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:13f).

4. THE FALL OF MAN

4.1 The Prohibition

Having created man a free moral agent, God placed him immediately under the test of a prohibition: do not eat the fruit of one tree in the Garden - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - lest you die (Genesis 2:16-17).

Remember that Adam and Eve had no corrupted moral nature at that point. Thus, the choice they made was unbiased by a disposition to sin, or more "free" than the choices you and I make today.

4.2 The account of the Fall Is Literal Historical Facts

That the account of the fall in Genesis 3:1-7 is historical is evident from the fact that it is related as history and is regarded by later Bible writers as historical. The names Adam and Eve are not symbolic. The garden, the rivers, the trees, and the animals are manifestly literal historical facts. Christ and the apostles treat the account as historical (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Revelation 12:9). Furthermore, the serpent is neither a figurative designation of Satan, nor is it Satan in the form of a serpent. The real serpent was the agent in Satan's hand. This is evident from the description of this reptile in Genesis 3:1 and the curse pronounced upon it in Genesis 3:14.

4.3 The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil Served to Test of Man's Obedience to the God's Will

The test consisted in the prohibition to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It seems as if there may have been a life-preserving quality in the fruit of the tree of life, for when God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden, he did this "lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" (Genesis 3:22).

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil had in it a mysterious quality which would effect the twofold result indicated by its name (read Genesis 3:7). It is also probable that this tree served the purpose of a test, for the partaking of it did not give Adam the ability to tell what was good and what was evil. He still had to consult the Word of God for that. Adam knew cognitively that it was wrong to disobey and good to obey, but he did not have this knowledge experientially. The tree of knowledge was itself good, and its fruit was good, for God made it; it was not the tree but the disobedience which had death in it. He forbade the partaking of one tree, not because it was bad, but because He wanted to make a simple test of man's obedience to His will.

4.4 Why the Prohibition?

Why did God make such a prohibition to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? This is the same type of question as Why did God permit evil? and the only reason the Bible suggests is that all that has resulted has been for the glory of God (Ephesians 1:9-12).

4.5 God Cannot Be Blamed for Man's Apostasy

There is nothing in this prohibition that suggests that God sought man's downfall. It is a fair and simple requirement of the creator. God created man without a sinful nature, placed him in an ideal environment, provided for all his temporal needs, endowed him with strong mental powers, gave him work to engage his hands and his mind, provided a life-partner for him, warned him of the consequences of disobedience, and entered into personal fellowship with him. Surely, God cannot be blamed for man's apostasy.

5. THE TEMPTATION

5.1 The Tempter

The serpent who tempts Eve is later identified as Satan himself (Revelation 12:9). The serpent was the agent in Satan's hand. Many Bible students believe that Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 describe how Satan himself experienced a "fall" in his aspirations as an "anointed cherub" to be like God (Ezekiel 28:14).

5.2 Satan's Temptation

Satan's temptation may be summed up as appealing to man in this way:

  1. it made man desire to have what God had forbidden;
  2. to know what God had not revealed; and
  3. to be what God had not intended for him to be.

Satan first sought to instill doubt of God's goodness in Eve's mind. He said, "Indeed, has God said, "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?" (Genesis 3:1).

When she replied that He had permitted them to eat of all the trees but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Satan denied the truthfulness of God's declaration that disobedience would result in death. "You surely shall not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4f).

Eve apparently began to believe both these things, and then speedily took the remaining steps that led to the overt act of sin. We read that "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" (Genesis 3:6). That is, through "the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life" (1 John 2:16), she fell.

5.3 Summary of the Satan's Tactic

In the deception of Eve several tactics by the serpent are significant to the every nature of temptation:

  1. the truthfulness of the Word of God is questioned (Genesis 3:1);
  2. the Word of God is flatly denied (Genesis 3:4); and
  3. the goodness of God is questioned - He is portrayed as though He were withholding something good (Genesis 3:5).

In addition, the temptation touches upon three aspects of human need, Eve saw that:

  1. "the tree was good for food," satisfying physical need;
  2. "it was a delight to the eyes," satisfying materials need; and
  3. "the tree was desirable to make one wise," satisfying the need for direction and authority (compare the threefold temptation of Jesus in Luke 4 for parallels).

5.4 Eve Fell by Deception; Adam Fell by Affection

The progress leading toward the first sin seems to be something like this:

  1. Eve distrusted the goodness of God;
  2. she believed the lie of Satan;
  3. she yielded to her physical appetite;
  4. she submitted to an inordinate desire for the beautiful; and
  5. she coveted wisdom that was not intended for her.

The woman fell by deception; the man by affection (Genesis 3:13, 17; 1 Timothy 2:14). It is to be noted that Adam, not Eve, is regarded as the one through whom sin was introduced into the race (Romans 5:12, 14; 1 Corinthians 15:22). Christ, the second Adam, met similar temptations, but he came forth victoriously out of them all (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13).

Adam sinned because of his love for Eve and in the full light of the warning of God. But this does not trace sin to its roots. The first sin was the desire in the heart, the choosing of self-interests rather than God's interests. The overt act merely expressed the sin that had already been committed in the heart (cf. Matthew 5:21f; 27f).

To summarize, Paul infoms us in 1 Timothy 2:14 that only Eve was "deceived": Adam evidently disobeyed God with greater awareness of what he was doing. This is why the Fall is officially attributed to Adam in such places as Romans 5.

6. THE IMMEDIATE CONSEQUENCES OF ADAM'S SIN

The first sin had an effect on our first parents' relation to God, on their nature, on their bodies, and on their environment.

6.1 Its Effect on their Relation to God

Before the fall, God and Adam were in fellowship with each other; after the fall, that fellowship was broken. Our first parents now had the sense of God's displeasure with them; and they were guilty. So instead of seeking His fellowship, they now tried to flee from Him. Their guilty consciences did not permit them any rest, so they tried to shift the responsibility. Adam said that Eve, the woman whom God had given to him, had led him into sin (Genesis 3:12); Eve, in turn, accused the serpent (Genesis 3:13). Both were guilty, but both tried to shift the responsibility of their sin to others.

6.2 Its Effect on their Nature

When Adam and Eve came from the hand of the Creator, they had no sinful nature. Now they had a sense of shame, degradation, and pollution. They were naked and could not appear before God in their fallen condition. It was this sense of unfitness that led them to make for themselves aprons of fig leaves (Genesis 3:7). They were not only ashamed to appear before God in their new condition, but also to appear before one another. They were morally ruined. God had said to Adam regarding the forbidden tree, "In the day that you eat from it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:17). This death is first of all spiritual, a separation of the soul from God. It implies not only the inability to do anything well-pleasing to God, but also the possession of a corrupt nature. Thus, "through one man sin entered into the world" (Romans 5:12).

That sin entered the world through Adam means that sin commenced its course in the race and man began to commit sin, that human nature became corrupt, and that man became guilty. Man was constituted a sinner (Romans 5:19). Actual transgression proceeds from man's sinful nature.

6.3 Its Effect on their Bodies

When God said that for disobedience man would "surely die" (Genesis 2:17), he included the body. Immediately after the trespass, God said to Adam, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). The words of Paul, "As in Adam all die" (1 Corinthians 15:22), have reference primarily to physical death. Paul's subject is the physical resurrection, and he sets it over against the fact of physical death. When he wrote that "through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin" (Romans 5:12), he included the following full concept of death:

  1. physical;
  2. spiritual; and
  3. eternal.

Further, because the resurrection of the body is a part of redemption (Romans 8:23), we can infer that the death of the body is a consequence of Adam's sin. Yet those who reject the doctrine of the inherited sinful nature from Adam (also known as "original sin") hold that death is a natural evil, flowing from man's original constitution. However, the Scriptures teach that physical death is part of the penalty of sin (Genesis 3:19; Job 5:18f; 14:1-4; Romans 5:12; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21f., 56; 2 Corinthians 5:1f, 4; 2 Timothy 1:10).

Physical illness is also due to sin. The Hebrew of Genesis 2:17 may be translated, "dying you shall die." From the moment that man ate of the forbidden tree he became a dying creature. Corruption was introduced on that very occasion. The pains which both man and woman should suffer grew out of that one apostasy. The fact that man did not die instantaneously was due to God's gracious purpose of redemption (Genesis 3:15). The mental as well as the physical powers were weakened and began to decay. This is not to say that every sickness is a direct result of a personal act of sin (Job 1, 2; John 9:3; 2 Corinthians 12:7), but that ultimately and finally, physical and mental sickness are a result of Adam's sin. This element of the penalty of sin alone undermines the theory of evolution. Man has not developed greater strength of body and mind, but has degenerated from a primitive perfect condition to the present enfeebled and imperfect condition.

6.4 Its Effect on their Environment

We read that the serpent was cursed "more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field" (Genesis 3:14). It is evident that animal creation has suffered as a result of Adam's sin. In the future age this curse will be removed, and the wild beasts will lie down together with the domestic animals (Isaiah 11:6-9; 65:25; Hosea 2:18). God said, "Cursed is the ground because of you ... " (Read Genesis 3:17-19). Even inanimate nature is represented as suffering the curse of man's sin. In view of this, Scripture tells us elsewhere that the time is coming when "the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now" (Romans 8:21f). Isaiah 35 speaks of the restoration of nature to its original condition and beauty. Adam and Eve were expelled from the garden and forced to make their way in this fallen world. At first they were in the most beautiful and perfect environment; now they were obliged to get along in an imperfect and almost hostile one. Their environment was decidedly changed because of sin.

7. THE RESULTS OF THE FALL

7.1 Death

The immediate result of the Fall was "death," both spiritual (separation from fellowship with God) and physical (physical decline or aging process - a merciful withholding of physical death in order to give Adam and all his descendants time to repent).

7.2 Condemnation

Condemnation is another spiritual aspect of the Fall. The idea is found in Romans 5:12ff. This affected the whole human race through Adam, our representattive (his position is sometimes called "federal headship"). Into the state of condemnation all human beings are born. In Romans 5:12-14 Paul proves that all men have been affected judicially by Adam's sin (or condemned) by pointing to the fact that death existed before the law was given, when guilt would normally have been "imputed." Thus, sin must have been "imputed" or charged to the human race by virtue of what Adam did, not at the time of our personal or individual sins. In other words, I was under condemnation when I was conceived (Psalm 51:5). Please read in conjuction with the following section 9 of this chapter for further discussion.

7.3 Separation From God

To dramatize this broken relationship between Himself and man, God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:22-24). This separation from God is common to us all until by faith in Jesus Christ we are reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

8. THE UNIVERSALITY OF SIN

Sin is a universal problem. History testifies to this fact in its account of priesthoods and sacrifices among the cultures of the world. Any every man knows not only that he has come short of moral perfection, but also that every other man has done so as well. Christian experience uniformly testifies to the presence of sin in the heart of man, and the lack of such a consciousness in an unsaved person must be interpreted as a hardened condition.

8.1 The Scriptures Teach the Universality of Sin

Certainly the Scriptures teach the universality of sin:

  1. "There is no man that does not sin" (1 Kings 8:46);
  2. "In Thy sight no man living is righteous" (Psalm 143:2);
  3. "There is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20);
  4. "There is none righteous, ... There is none who does good" (Romans 3:10, 12);
  5. "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8);
  6. Read also (Proverbs 20:9; Luke 11:13; Romans 3:19, 23; Galatians 3:22; James 3:2); and
  7. The universality of sin is shown also by the fact that condemnation rests upon all who have not accepted Christ (John 3:18, 36; 1 John 5:12, 19).

Because of this, atonement, regeneration, and repentance are universal needs (John 3:3, 5, 16; 6:50; 12:47; Acts 4:12; 17:30).

8.2 The Scriptures Refer the Sinful Acts to their Corrupt Nature

This universal sinfulness is not limited to acts of sin; it includes also the possession of a sinful nature. The Scriptures refer the sinful acts and inclinations to their source, the corrupt nature. "There is no good tree which produces bad fruit .... The evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil" (Luke 6:43-45); "How can you, being evil, speak what is good?" (Matthew 12:34). All men are declared to be by nature "children of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3); and death, the penalty of sin, is visited even upon those who have not personally and consciously sinned (Romans 5:12-14). It is concluded that the possession of a carnal nature is characteristic among men universally.

9. THE IMPUTATION OF SIN

The Scriptures teach that the sin of Adam was imputed to every member of the human race. Romans 5:19 reads, "Through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners." It is because of Adam's sin that we come into the world with a depraved nature and under God's condemnation (Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:3).

How can we be responsible for a depraved nature which we did not personally and consciously originate? How can God justly charge to our account the sin of Adam? There are various theories of the imputation of Adam's sin to his posterity.

9.1 The Pelagian Theory

Pelagius was a British monk who was born about AD 370. He propounded his doctrines at Rome in the year 409, but they were condemned by the Council of Carthage in 418. This theory holds that Adam's sin affected only himself; that every human soul is immediately created by God, and created innocent; free from depraved tendencies; and that the only effect of Adam's sin on his posterity is that of a bad example. Men can be saved by the law as well as by the Gospel. "Death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12), means that all incurred eternal death by sinning after the example of Adam. According to this view, man is well until he personally sins.

To this we reply that the theory has never been recognized as Scriptural. On the contrary, the Scriptures represent every human being as having inherited a sinful nature (Job 14:4, 15:14; Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:3); that men universally become guilty of acts of sin as soon as they come to moral consciousness (Psalm 58:3; Isaiah 48:8); that no man can be saved by works (Psalm 143:2; Acts 13:39; Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16); and that Scripture represents man's state of apostasy as the direct result of Adam's sin (Romans 5:15-19).

9.2 The Federal Theory

This view holds that Adam is the federal head of the human race. The federal or representative headship is the specific ground of the imputation of Adam's sin. When Adam sinned, he acted as a representative of the human race. God imputed the guilt of the first sin to all those whom Adam represented, the entire human race. As sin was imputed to us because of Adam's disobedience, so righteousness can be imputed to us because of Christ's obedience (Romans 5:19).

Several objections have been raised against this view. Can man be responsible for violating a covenant in which he had no part in ratifying? Can one be considered guilty of another's sin?

9.3 The Theory of Mediate Imputation

This theory recognizes that all men are born physically and morally depraved, and that this native depravity is the source of all actual sin, and is itself sin. The physical depravity has descended by natural propagation from Adam, and the soul is immediately created by God, but it becomes actively corrupt as soon as it is united to the body. This native depravity is the only thing which God imputes to man, but merely as the consequence, and not the penalty, of Adam's transgression. This theory makes depravity the cause of imputation, rather than imputation the cause of depravity. Romans 5:12 means that all sinned by having a sinful nature.

Several things must be said against this view. Scriptures teaches that the reason we are depraved is that we are partakers of Adam's sin. Depravity is a penal consequence of sin. Further, this view destroys the parallelism between Adam and Christ. Adam's sin was imputed to us, as is Christ's righteousness. It makes Salvation a subjective justification rather than the imputed righteousness of Christ. This position also does away with the representative idea that one can be justly punished for the sin of another.

9.4 The Realistic Theory

On this view the human race was naturally and substantially in Adam when Adam sinned. In this first sin, man became corrupt and guilty, and this state was transmitted to Adam's descendants. There was an impersonal and unconscious participation by all of Adam's progeny in this first sinful act. Thus, because man was numerically one, the common, unindividualized nature committed the first sin. All men are co-sinners with Adam. In this way sin can be justly imputed and man can be justly condemned because he participated in the sin.

Though this view comes closer to the biblical doctrine of imputation than the previous views, there are still some problems which can be raised. Can man be considered guilty for a sin which was not of conscious self-determination? And can a man act before he exists?

9.5 The Corporate Personality Theory

This view stresses the close association of the individual with the group to which he is attached. Any single individual can act as a representative of the group. There are Old Testament examples of this type of representation and association. A family could be destroyed because of the sin of one member (cf. Achan, Joshua 7:24-26). The child could dishonor the parent's name, and the name could be cast off (1 Samuel 24:21).

There are some problems with this view. It faces the same problems of arbitrary imputation as does the representative or federal theory, and of involuntary or unconscious co-sinning as does the realistic theory.

9.6 The Arminian Theory (The Best One)

Arminius (AD 1560 - 1609) was a professor in Holland. The Arminian theory is held by the Greek Church, the Methodist body, and other Arminian bodies. According to this theory:

  1. Man is sick. As the outcome of Adam's transgression, men are by nature destitute of original righteousness and, without divine aid, utterly unable to attain it.

  2. Since this inability is physical and intellectual, not voluntary, God, as a matter of justice, bestows upon each individual at the dawn of consciousness a special influence of the Holy Spirit, sufficient to counteract the effect of their inherited depravity and to make obedience possible, if they will cooperate with the Spirit. This they are able to do.

  3. The evil tendency in man may be called sin, but it does not involve guilt or punishment. Although I was under condemnation when I was conceived (Psalm 51:5), we are not guilty unless we have actually peformed any sinful acts in a conscious state. Certainly, mankind is not accounted guilty of Adam's sin. Only when men consciously and voluntarily appropriate these evil tendencies does God impute them to them as sin.

  4. "Death spread to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12), means that all suffer the consequences of Adam's sin and that all personally consent to their inborn sinfulness by acts of transgression.

The so-called New School theory is much like the Arminian theory. It, too, holds that men are responsible only for their personal acts; that though all men inherit a constitution which predisposes them to sin, and all men do actually sin as soon as they come to moral consciousness, this inability is not itself sin.

Some Bible scholars criticized this view in the following ways:

  1. According to the Scriptures, man sinned in Adam and is, therefore, guilty before he commits personal sin; that man's sinful nature is due to his sin in Adam. We reply that the God is just and fair. Can man be considered guilty for a sin which was not of conscious self-determination? Although all men sinned in Adam, the God will not consider a man is guilty unless the man has actually performed sinful acts in a conscious state.

  2. God is not under obligation to bestow special influence of His Holy Spirit upon man, enabling him to co-operate in his Salvation. We reply that the God is love. We admit that the God is not under obligation to do anything to save sinful men. However, it is by the grace of God to bestow special influence of His Spirit upon man instead of any obligation. The God love sinners and He wants to save every human beings.

In my opinions, this theory is the best to explain the imputation of sin due to the following reasons:

  1. It shows that the judgement of the God is just and fair. The God will not consider a man is guilty unless the man has actually performed sinful acts in a conscious state.

  2. It shows the grace and love of God by bestowing special influence of His Holy Spirit upon man.

  3. It helps to explain the situations of the babies, children and unsound mind people. As these people are unconscious of their wrongful acts, the God will not punish them. These people can definitely have eternal Salvation even though they haven't accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour in a conscious state. The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)

  4. It has no contradiction to the teachings of the Bible.

10. DEPRAVITY

10.1 Definition of Depravity

A common term used to describe the effect of sin on mankind's moral being is "depravity." Man's want of original righteousness of holy affections toward God, and the corruption of his moral nature and his bias toward evil is called depravity. Depravity is also called, especially by those of Calvinistic persuasion, "total" depravity; that is, man has been totally affected in his spiritual and moral being by sin so that he will not do what truly pleases God. Its existence is witnessed to by both Scripture and human experience. The teaching of Scripture that all men must be born again shows the universality of its existence.

10.2 The Extent of Depravity

The Scripture speak of human nature as wholly depraved. However, the doctrine of "total depravity" is easily misunderstood and misinterpreted. It is important to know what it does mean. From the negative standpoint, it does not mean that every sinner is:

  1. devoid of all qualities pleasing to men; that he commits, or is prone to, every form of sin; or
  2. as bitterly opposed to God as it is possible for him to be.

Jesus recognized the existence of pleasing qualities in some individuals (Mark 10:21); He said that the Scribes and Pharisees did some things God demanded (Matthew 23:23); Paul asserted that some Gentiles "do instinctively the things of the Law" (Romans 2:14). From the positive standpoint, it does mean that every sinner is:

  1. totally destitute of that love to God which is the fundamental requirement of the law (Deuteronomy 6:4f; Matthew 22:37);
  2. supremely given to a preference of himself to God (2 Timothy 3:2-4);
  3. that he has an aversion to God which on occasion becomes active enmity to him (Romans 8:7);
  4. that his every faculty is disordered and corrupted (Ephesians 4:18);
  5. that he has no thought, feeling, or deed of which God can fully approve (Romans 7:18); and
  6. that he has entered upon a line of constant progress in depravity from which he can in no wise turn away in his own strength (Romans 7:18).

Depravity has infected the whole man:

  1. mind;
  2. emotions; and
  3. will.

Depravity has produced a total spiritual inability in the sinner in the sense that he cannot by his own volition change his character and life so as to make them conformable to the law of God, nor change his fundamental preference of self and sin to supreme love for God, yet he has a certain amount of freedom left. He can, for instance:

  1. choose not to sin against the Holy Spirit;
  2. decide to commit the lesser sin rather than the greater;
  3. resist certain forms of temptation altogether;
  4. do certain outwardly good acts, though with improper and unspiritual motives, and
  5. even seek God from entirely selfish motives.

However, he cannot of his free will:

  1. regenerate himself;
  2. repent; and
  3. exercise saving faith (John 1:12f).

But the grace and Spirit of God are ready to enable him to repent and believe unto Salvation.

10.3 Progressive Decline

Romans 1-3 probably most completely describes the effects sin has had on mankind. Sin had, from the beginning, a progressive effect on the human race. Romans 1:21-32 charts the course of sin as man departs from his knowledge of God and declines in stages:

  1. Man's decline begins first with a failure to honour or worship God (Romans 1:21). This creates a vacuum which is filled with various forms of man-made religion (Romans 1:22-23).

  2. Having reached the low end of a scale of idolatry ("crawling creatures"), man is "given over" by God - He removes certain restraints - to immorality (Romans 1:24-25).

  3. If man chooses to continue his rebellion, God gives him over to perversion or homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27).

  4. Finally, God gives man over the third time to a "depraved" mind. This word depraved means "useless" and implies an inability to make moral judgments and decisions.

Romans 1:29-31 contains a catalog of vices that describes man at his potential worst.

10.4 Potential for Corruption

Although man has a potential for corruption, he is not always as bad as his potential. Paul states in Romans 2:14-15 that men can do virtuous things ("things of the Law"). Apparently, the condition described in Romans 1:29-32 is either limited to some or represents a stage in history that has been to some extent improved. I believe Romans 1:21-32 is a moral history from Adam to Noah (Genesis 6), when "the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and ... every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Genesis 6:5).

10.5 Rebellious Attitude Toward God

Although all men are not as morally bad as they could be, the potential is present in every one of us. Apart from the gracious work of God, however, some startling things are said by Paul about unregenerate man's basic attitude toward God:

  1. man tends to "suppress truth" (Romans 1:18). He prevents it from having its effect by twisting it, perverting it, or ignoring it. This is true of both pagan moralist (Romans 2:1-16) and religious Jew (Romans 2:17-29).

  2. man has no righteousness, but instead strays from the law of God, whether written on his conscience (Romans 2:15), or part of the Holy Scriptures (Romans 2:17).

  3. man does not seek, if left to his own inclinations, to know God (Romans 3:11). Men may be religious, but their religion is a willful substitute for the truth about God. Men may be devoted to religious, but they are not "sincere," for they deliberately, at some point in their lives, turn away from the truth they have, whatever it may be (Romans 1:19-20).

What does this add up to? It simply means that God must do a work of grace in a person's life before he will seek for God. Jesus expressed it this way: "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him" (John 6:44). When we see anyone genuinely seeking the truth, we see one in whom God is working, breaking down the barriers and hardness of heart that would ordinarily keep that one indifferent to Jesus Christ.

11. GUILT

Depravity and guilt come upon man simultaneously as a result of the fall. In a discussion of guilt, its meaning and the degrees of guilt must be considered.

11.1 The Meaning of Guilt

Guilt means the desert of punishment, or obligation to satisfy God. But guilt is incurred only through self-chosen transgression on the part of the individual person.

11.2 The Degrees of Guilt

The Scriptures recognize different degrees of guilt growing out of different kinds of sin. The prinicple is recognized in the Old Testament in a variety of sacrifices required for different transgressions under the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 4-7). It is also indicated in the variety of judgments in the New Testament (Luke 12:47f; John 19:11; Romans 2:6; Hebrews 2:2f; 10:28f). There are at least four sets of contrasting sins:

  1. Sin of nature, and personal transgression. There is a great guilt when the sinful nature causes man to commit acts of personal transgression. The words of Christ, "the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14), speak of the relative innocence of childhood, while His words to the Scribes and Pharisees, "fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers" (Matthew 23:32), refer to personal transgression added to inherited depravity.

  2. Sin of ignorance, and sins of knowledge. Here guilt is determined according to the amount of information the individual possesses. The greater the degree of knowledge, the greater the guilt (Matthew 10:15; Luke 12:47f; 23:34; Romans 1:32; 2:12; 1 Timothy 1:13-16).

  3. Sins of weakness, and sins of presumption. The amount of the strength of will involved here indicates the degree of guilt. The Psalmist prayed to be kept from presumptuous sins (Psalm 19:13), and Isaiah speaks of those who "drag iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as if with cart ropes" (Isaiah 5:18). These are they who knowingly and determinately indulge in sin. On the other hand, Peter in his denial of Christ illustrates the sin of infirmity. He was overcome in spite of his determination to stand (Luke 22:31-34, 54-62). It is interesting to note that there was no sacrifice for willful sinning (Numbers 15:30; cf. Hebrews 10:26).

  4. Sins of incomplete, and sins of complete hardheartedness. The degree to which the soul has hardened itself and become unreceptive to multiplied offers of the grace of God here determines the degree of guilt. A soul may turn from the love of the truth and become completely insensitive to the Spirit's promptings (1 Timothy 4:2; Hebrews 6:4-6; 10:26; 2 Peter 2:20-22; 1 John 2:19; 5:16f).

12. PENALTY

While it is true that to a certain extent the natural consequences of sin are a part of the penalty of sin, we must remember that the full penalty is of a different nature. Depravity and guilt, as consequences of sin, rest upon mankind now, but penalty in its fullness awaits a future day.

12.1 The Meaning of Penalty

Penalty is that pain or loss which is directly inflicted by the lawgiver in vindication of his justice, which has been outraged by the violation of law. This implies and includes the natural consequences of sin, but these by no means exhaust that penalty. Penalty is not essentially intended to bring about the reformation of the offender. There is a difference between discipline and punishment.

Discipline proceeds from love and is intended to be corrective (Jeremiah 10:24; 2 Corinthians 2:6-8; 1 Timothy 1:20; Hebrews 12:6); but punishment proceeds from justice and so is not intended to reform the offender (Ezekiel 28:22; 36:21f; Revelation 16:5; 19:2).

Punishment inflicted by law is not discipline nor remedy, but just retribution. It is not a means, but an end. A murderer is not corrected by being put to death; he is receiving a just retribution for his deed. Capital punishment is a divine mandate (Genesis 9:5f).

12.2 The Character of Penalty

According to the Scriptures, the penalty of sin is death. It is a threefold death: physical, spiritual and eternal.

  1. Physical death. Physical death is the separation of soul and body. This is the most natural meaning of Genesis 2:17; 3:19; Numbers 16:29; 27:3. The prayer of Moses (Psalm 90:7-11) and the prayer of Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:17f) recognize the penal character of death. The same thing is true in the New Testament (John 8:44; Romans 4:24f; 5:12-17; 6:9f; 8:3, 10f; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 4:6). For the Christian, however, death is no longer a penalty, since Christ has endured death as the penalty of sin (Psalm 17:15; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13f). For him the body sleeps, awaiting the glories of the resurrection, and the soul, absent from the body, enters consciously into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

  2. Spiritual death. Spiritual death is the separation of the soul from God. The penalty proclaimed in Eden which has fallen upon the race is primarily this death of the soul (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:21; Ephesians 2:1, 5). By it man lost the presence and favour of God as well as the knowledge of and desire for God. Because of this, he needs to be made alive from death (Luke 15:32; John 5:24; 8:51; Ephesians 2:5).

  3. Eternal death. Eternal death is simply the culmination and completion of spiritual death. It is the eternal separation of the soul from God, together with the accompanying remorse and outward punishment (Matthew 10:28; 25:41; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Hebrews 10:31; Revelation 14:11). This matter will be examined more fully in our study of future things (Eschatology). Please read chapters 8 to 10 of this course for further information.

13. SUMMARY

What we have learned so far may be summarized in the following ways and illustrated in the below chart:

  1. Man was created in a state of untested holiness with no inclination toward sin.
  2. He was tempted, and freely and deliberately chose to disobey God.
  3. This corrupted his whole moral being, brought him into condemnation, and introduced physical death into the world.
  4. The only remedy is a work of God's grace by which man believes the Gospel, is regenerated and justified and set upon a pathway of growing righteous behaviour.

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I view his condition in Salvation as superior to his original creation, in spite of lingering tendencies to rebel, because, through regeneration, he has a basic inclination to do good (Romans 7:15-24).

14. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDATION FOR FURTHER STUDY

  1. Survey of Theology II, Lesson 6, Moody Bible Institute, 1990, by William H. Baker.
  2. Lectures in Systematic Theology, Chapters XVII to XX, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1992 Edition, by Henry C. Thiessen.

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