Q20. DID ALL MANKIND FALL IN ADAM'S FIRST TRANSGRESSION?

Q. 20. DID ALL MANKIND FALL IN ADAM’S FIRST TRANSGRESSION?

A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself but for his posterity, all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression. (1 Cor. 15:21,22; Rom. 5:12,18,19)

I. INSTRUCTION

I) GOD ENTERED INTO A COVENANT OF WORKS WITH ADAM IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN (The covenant being made with Adam). See Question 16 in the Baptist Catechism.

II) GOD ENTERED INTO A COVENANT OF WORKS WITH ALL MANKIND THROUGH ADAM, WHO WAS OUR COVENANT HEAD (not only for himself but for his posterity, all mankind). 1 Corinthians 15:22: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” You are either in Adam or in Christ. “Adam had all his children in one ship to carry them to Immanuel's land; by his negligence he dashed the ship on a rock, and broke it all in pieces; and so he and his lay foundering in a sea of guilt; Jesus Christ lets out the second covenant as a rope to draw them to the shore” (Thomas Boston).

III) CHRIST JESUS HIMSELF IS THE ONLY EXCEPTION, HAVING BEEN BORN NOT SINFUL OF THE MAN’S SEED, BUT HOLY BY THE WORK OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT (descending from him by ordinary generation). Hebrews 7:26: “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.”

IV) YOU AND I SINNED IN ADAM WHEN HE SINNED, HIM BEING OUR REPRESENTATIVE IN THE COVENANT OF WORKS (sinned in him). Romans 5:12: “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” This is known as the Doctrine of Original Sin.

Wilhelmus Á Brakel offers three Proofs of this doctrine from Romans 5:

“Proof #1: (1) We do not read that all men are sinful, but that all men have sinned. The reference is not to propensity, but to the commission of an act. . . (2) It is clearly stated here that sin is the cause of death, also of [physical] death, and it is therefore not true that death is the result of man's sinful nature, even if no sinful act had been committed. . . (3) It is thus evident that little children prior to birth also must be guilty of sin, for they die. According to verse 14 they are not guilty of actual sin. They are therefore guilty of a sin which has been imputed to them, and no other sin is imputed to them than Adam's covenant breach. (4) [God says, through Paul,] all men have sinned "in him" [Adam]. . .

Proof #2: The imputation of Adam's covenant breach is also confirmed. . .It is clear that the references in Romans 5 are to one single sin, and thus to a deed rather than a propensity, and that sin was committed by only one man. By that one sin committed by one man, that is, Adam, judgment to condemnation has come upon all men. Since these are the very words of the text, this point needs no further proof. . .

Proof #3: It is clear beyond all controversy that in this chapter the apostle continually contrasts Adam to Christ. Adam is the cause of judgment to condemnation for all who are in him. Christ is the cause of redemption and salvation for all who are in Him. Since justification through Christ occurs by imputation (which we will prove at the appropriate moment), therefore, by virtue of the contrast, judgment to condemnation comes upon all men by imputation of Adam's breach of covenant. . .

All men were comprehended in Adam in the covenant [of works], and therefore when he sinned, all men sinned in him by consequence of being in him” (Wilhelmus Á Brakel, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, Volume 1).

Understand this: Adam’s sin was imputed to us because he represented us; it was not that we merely inherited a propensity to sin! His guilt is ours as much as if we had committed that first sin in the garden.

V) YOU AND I FELL WITH ADAM IN HIS FIRST TRANSGRESSION (and fell with him in his first transgression). Psalm 14:3: “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” “Not only is the guilt of Adam's sin imputed to us—but the depravity and corruption of his nature is transmitted to us, as poison is carried from the fountain to the cistern. . .Adam's leprosy cleaves to us, as Naaman's leprosy did to Gehazi in 2 Kings 5” (Thomas Watson). This why David sings in Psalm 51:5, “In sin did my mother conceive me.”

APPLICATION

I) SEE HOW EVIL AND DESTRUCTIVE SIN IS! Romans 5:19a “For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners.” “What a plague of plagues must this sin be, that has swept away not families, towns, and countries only, but the whole race of mankind” (Thomas Boston)! Believer, the next time you are tempted to sin, fight it partly with this thought: One little sin ruined in the whole race of men; what might this one sin ruin in my life and the lives of others? Do you think your sins are small or do you know sin has destructive power?

II) SEE THE FOOLISHNESS OF THOSE WHO SAY THEY HAVE NO SIN! 2 John 1:8: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” “They hold to sinless perfection; they show much pride and ignorance; but we see the seeds of original sin remain in the best. . .Though grace purifies nature, it does not (this side of glory) perfect it” (Thomas Boston). Do you say you have no sin?

III) SEE HOW HUMBLE WE SHOULD BE, BECAUSE EVEN WE WHO ARE ALIVE IN CHRIST STILL HAVE THE DEATH OF ORIGINAL SIN CLINGING TO OUR FLESH! Romans 7:22-23: “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” “You carry a hell about you, you can do nothing but you defile it; your heart, like muddy ground, defiles the purest water that runs through it. Nay, though you are regenerate, there is much of the old man in the new man. Oh how should original sin humble us” (Thomas Boston)! Do you humble yourself with this reality, that even though you may be a Christian, you still have much sin left in your flesh?

IV) SEE HOW YOU MUST LOOK TO CHRIST IN FAITH TO SAVE YOU, NOT ONLY FROM THE ACTUAL SINS YOU HAVE COMMITTED, BUT ALSO FROM THE ORIGINAL SIN THAT WAS IMPUTED TO YOU! Romans 5:17: “For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” Have you looked to Christ in faith, turning from your sin to Him, to save you from both your original sin and your actual sins?

V) PARENTS, SEE THAT YOUR CHILDREN DO NOT JUST NEED TO BE FREED FROM THE ACTUAL SINS THEY HAVE COMMITTED; OUR CHILDREN NEED TO BE FREED FROM THE ORIGINAL SIN THAT WAS IMPUTED TO THEM AND THE POLLUTION OF SIN THAT INFECTS THEM!

VI) SEE HOW THE PERFECT WORK OF CHRIST IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE TERRIBLE FAILURE OF ADAM! Romans 5:19: “For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.” Just as Adam’s sin was imputed to us by breaking the covenant of works, so Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us who believe by his purchasing the covenant of grace. Our sin and guilt was imputed to Christ on the cross so that, in paying our debt, his righteousness would then be imputed to us by faith.

VII) SEE HOW YOU SHOULD DAILY CRY OUT TO GOD FOR MERCY! Romans 7:24-25: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Ephesians 6:10: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” “Beg Christ's blood to wash away the guilt of sin, and his Spirit to mortify the power of it; beg further degrees of grace. Though grace [does not] make sin not to be—yet it makes it not to reign; though grace [does not] expel sin, it does repel it” (Thomas Watson). Romans 6:11-13: “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” Do you cry out to God for mercy for forgiveness and strength for holiness?

VIII) SEE HOW WE WHO ARE IN CHRIST SHOULD EARNESTLY LONG FOR THE DAY WHEN WE WILL BE TOTALLY FREE FROM ANY HINT OF ORIGINAL SIN! 1 Corinthians 15:54: “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” Do you long for the day when Christ will make you totally new with Him and like Him?

Are you in Adam or in Christ?