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Introduction

Last time we left off talking about sin. Namely, whether our first parents sinned, the definition of sin, and the nature of that sin our first parents committed. Now we begin to look into the effects of the preliminary sin committed by our first parents. This will take up a few articles, including this one.

At this point, perhaps the reader is wrestling with a common question: why not skip sin and get to the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ? Well, one reason is that the good news is best understood against the backdrop of the bad news. Another reason is that truth is good to know for its own sake, even hard truths. With that said, let’s consider two questions from the catechism: Questions 19 and 20.

Body

Question 19

Q. 19. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?

A. 19. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself but for his prosperity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in and fell with him in his first transgression (Genesis 2:16-17; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Exposition

1. Adam represented his physical offspring in the covenant of works.

Adam did not only represent himself and his wife in the covenant that God made with him in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:17-18; Isaiah 24:5-6; Hosea 6:7). He also represented all who would come from him by ordinary physical generation.

Adam’s function as a covenant head and representative is clearly implied by Paul in Romans 5:12-20. Verses 12 and 18-19 are most clear when Paul writes:

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned… Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 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.”

Sin and death came through Adam to all men because Adam represented all men. This logic is then applied to Christ who is the representative of a new humanity in the covenant of grace. Thus, scripture teaches that Adam represented his physical seed in the covenant of works.

2. When Adam sinned, his physical offspring sinned in him.

We know that Adam sinned by partaking of the forbidden fruit (Gen 2:17-18; 3:6). Did his offspring by ordinary generation sin in Him? Yes, Romans 5:12 teaches as much when Paul writes, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Now some try to say that Adam’s sin served merely as an example that was then followed by his physical offspring. That, however, is rather impossible given the context. Death came to all men through Adam because all sinned in Adam. Adam represented them in the Covenant of Works, which is why death comes to some before they even commit an actual transgression. An infant who dies before or shortly after being born is an example of this sad truth that death spread to all who are in Adam.

Another example of the actions of an ancestor representing a descendant is found in the case of Abraham giving a tithe to Melchizedek. The author of Hebrews in showing the superiority of Christ’s priesthood which is in the order of Melchizedek says, “One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him” (Hebrews 7:9-10). As Abraham represented Levi in his giving of the tithe to Melchizedek, so Adam represented his physical offspring in the Covenant of Works. When He sinned, they sinned in Him. For now, it is important that you understand that Adam represented you in the garden and that when he sinned, so did you.

3. When Adam sinned his physical offspring fell with him.

Not only did Adam’s offspring sin in him, but they also fell with him. The effects of Adam’s sin effect his offspring as they effected him. All of them stand condemned before God and suffer the consequences of that condemnation in death and judgement. Paul writes, “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). He also writes explicitly of how we are condemned in Adam when he says, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men” (Romans 5:18). All of Adam’s seed are not only condemned but also corrupted to the core of their being, making them inclined toward evil and unable to please God.

The corrupt state of man is laid out with great clarity by Paul in Ephesians 2 and Titus 3. In Ephesians he writes, “And you were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1-3). In Titus he writes, “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). More of this will be explored in a later article.

Uses

1. Sin is a malignant cancer. One sin brought damnation and corruption to the whole world.

2. God is wise in sending Christ in such a way that he became man not by ordinary generation from Adam, nor with the sin nature that all of Adam’s natural seed now have.

3. You need Christ if you are to be saved; for you can neither free yourself from condemnation, nor can you remove your corruption.

4. Everyone needs Christ.

5. You have no reason to boast.

Question 20

Q. 20. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?

A. 20. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery (Romans 5:12).

Exposition

1. The fall brought mankind into a state of sin.

All mankind is under the rule of, and condemnation that comes with, sin. Paul writes in Romans 3:9, “For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin.” Paul is referring to his discussion beginning in Romans 1:18 and coming all the way to this verse. He goes on to quote from several Old Testament texts that state how mankind universally is both condemned for, and corrupted by, sin (Romans 3:10-18; Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; 5:6; 140:3; 10:7; Proverbs 1:16; Isaiah 59:7-8; Psalm 36:1). Paul later in Romans, as we heard earlier, says that through the disobedience of Adam many were made sinners (Romans 5:19). Next time we will consider what is meant by man to be in a state of sin.

2. The fall brought mankind into a state of misery.

Following in the wake of sin is the cursed misery that includes all things horrible that we find ourselves subject to in this life. Both the first and second death are the culmination of the misery that has come upon man after the fall. Paul again says this came through Adam: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

Some of the miseries that came upon man are stated in the curses God issued immediately after the fall. To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3:16-19).

So man finds himself in a state of both sin and misery after the fall.

Uses

1. You cannot by your own power escape the state of sin and misery.

‌2. Sin in the end only brings more sin and pain.

3. Sin is not worth the temporary pleasures it may bring.

4. You should hate not only the misery that comes with sin, but sin itself.

Conclusion

We have pondered two questions:

Q. 19. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?

A. 19. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself but for his prosperity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in and fell with him in his first transgression (Genesis 2:16-17; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Q. 20. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?

A. 20. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery (Romans 5:12).

From these two questions, we have learned that the sin of our first parents had catastrophic effects on God’s good creation, and on all human beings. From all this, we learn that, at the very least, we desperately need a Savior who can deliver us from condemnation and purge us of corruption. Jesus alone can do this. Therefore, in light of the bad news of sin’s entry into the world and its awful effects, the best thing anyone can do is trust in Jesus and encourage others to do likewise.