Chapter 6 The Westminster Confession of Faith
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Pray- Gracious Heavenly Father we ask for your guidance as we approach this topic of the fall and sin. Give us insights and humility as we explore our natural inclination to rebel against you, and open our eyes to the wonders of your grace. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
The WCF was commissioned by the Long Parliament in the midst of the English civil war in the 1640s. Turbulent time.
Around 120 religious leaders convened over the course of 5 years to reform the reformation by creating a biblically based confessional for the English & Scottish Churches.
The WCF is considered the pinnacle of Reformed Confessions with its detail and scripture references.
An overview of the confession up to this point- Purposeful ordering of Chapters.
Chapter 1 begins with the first Sola, Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone). God’s special revelation, the Word of God.
God’s special revelation contains the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life,
Chapter 2is about God who is infinite, eternal and unchangeable.
Hear, O Israel: YHWH our God, YHWH is one. Deut 6:4
One in essence and three in persons.
The confession then transitions to in Chapter 3 - God’s Eternal Decrees.
The decrees of God are his eternal purpose for his own glory that he has foreordained everything that comes to pass.
God executes his decrees in the worksof creation and providence.
Thus, Chapter 4 discusses God’s Creation (Genesis 1-2). Making all things out of nothing by the word of his power in the space of 6 days. and
Chapter 5 describes his Providence. Not a watch maker. He is actively involved in preserving and governing all his creatures.
An important section in Chapter 5 regarding God’s providence that is pertinent to Chapter 6, is section IV
OPC- Updated modern version
4. The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God manifest themselves so completely in his providence that it extends even to the first fall and all other sins of angels and men—not by a bare permission, but by a permission which has joined with it a most wise and powerful limiting, and otherwise ordering and governing of them in a varied administration, for his own holy purposes. However, the sinfulness comes from the creatures alone and not from God, who, because he is most holy and righteous, neither is nor can be the author or approver of sin.
The Gospel is the Good New that is a response to the bad news.
Chapter 6 (Genesis 3) discusses the fall, sin and its punishment.
There is a reality of evil and sin in this world that is filled with violence and mankind’s inhumanity to others.
Why is the world is so broken and dysfunctional? Many world religions attempted to deny or explain away the existence of evil. Buddhism, Christian scientists, Open theism.
The New Atheism has resurfaced as a major world view- The universe is an accident formed from matter, motion, time and chance.
Without objective truth regarding evil, how can one declare something a right or a wrong?
Why is it wrong to criticize other’s beliefs about themselves?
Why are so many judgmental about historical figures, or of other cultures as being in the wrong?
Christianity is different from every other world view in that the existence of God and our rejection of him is the only viable explanation for the condition of the world.
According to scriptures, that is apparent in reality, evil is not just found outside of us, but is imbedded inside of our very being.
This is why God in his providence created a plan of redemption to save mankind and he did this through the incarnational birth, life, death and resurrection of His sinless son, Jesus Christ.
Now, The world did start off perfect.
Genesis 1:31 (ESV
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good…
But that all changed in Genesis 3.
We are going to divide Chapter 6 into four parts. The first sin, Original sin, Continuing sin in the believer, & the Consequences of Sin in the unbeliever
Part 1. The First Sin-
1. Our first parents, being seduced by the subtlety and temptation of Satan, sinned, in eating the forbidden fruit. This their sin, God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to His own glory.
2. By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion, with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and body.
Gen 3 is historical. These were our first parents.
a. Where did sin come from in a world created by God who is a perfect, holy being?
The Bible tells us in
Genesis 3:1–3
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Eve did add the phrase “neither shall you touch it,” but she understood clearly that they could eat of all of the trees of the Garden except for just this one.
God set this one tree apart for himself.
Genesis 3:4–5
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Satan seduces Eve and Adam to ignore God’s Word and states God is denying them their freedom to be like God. (LDS- Who God is, we will become)
Genesis 3:6–7 (ESV)
So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Adam and Eve believed God’s Word to be untrustworthy. and transgressed God’s one and only command. Do not eat from this one tree.
This was the first sin.
Every other sin is a pattern from this temptation. I can not depend on God’s restrictive Law, so I need to disregard the Sabbath, dishonor my parents, kill, commit adultery, steal, and bear false witness.… And we lack contentment and now covet what others have.
The serpent provided a half truth. Their eyes were opened, but they did not become like God. Instead, the immediately had their eyes opened to guilt and hid themselves with fig leaves and disappeared into the shadows of the garden.
Sin is any want (lack) of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God.
Our greatest desire is to now please ourselves.
If our only desire was to honor and please God we would never sin.
So, will we obey God or do what is right in our own eyes?
Why was it a sin to eat from the fruit of this tree? It wasn’t a command similar to lying or murdering.
Was there something intrinsic within the fruit itself or was this just a moral imperative. Probably the latter.
Louis Berkoff comments that- “Adam and Eve had the moral law written in them. God came up with an arbitrary command to see if the creation would obey the creator.”
c. This their sin, God was pleased to permit
Why did God allow sin?
God does ordains everything that comes to pass for his own glory, to include sin.
The Westminster divines did not try to speculate on the secret things of God, but focused on the revealed Word of God.
Deuteronomy 29:29 (ESV)
29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
We do know that God is a redeemer and through the Fall he is able to demonstrate His grace.
Mystery- Conundrum, but not a Contradiction in the character of God.
Genesis 50:20 (ESV)
20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
The effects of this sin:
In this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion, with God
Adam and Eve had righteousness and perfect communion with God but this was lost with their fall.
They could still speak to him, but they lost the intimate communion with their Creator and the righteousness he had given them.
they became dead in sin,
Romans 7:24 (ESV)
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
f. and wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and body
Jeremiah 17:9
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
For this concept of “wholly defiled” we use the theological term, Total Depravity. The T of acronym T.U.L.I.P. (total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, and perseverance of the saints)
RC Sproul, “The doctrine of total depravity does not mean that all humankind is as evil as it possibly could be. Rather, it means that sin affects the whole person. We are born corrupted, poisoned, and polluted by sin. Our minds are darkened and we cannot see or understand the truth. Our hearts are defiled so that they do not love the truth. We love what we should hate, and we hate what we should love. Our wills are in bondage to sin, and we cannot believe the gospel in and of themselves. We sin because we are sinners and because we have a sin nature.”
Questions or comments?
Part 2. Original Sin- Not Adam and Eve’s first sin of eating the fruit, but that sinful nature that originates within us as a result of the fall.
3. They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed; and the same death in sin, and corrupted nature, conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation.
4. From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.
Adam and Eve were the root of mankind and their sinful nature is passed on to us.
Psalm 51:5 (ESV)
5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
The guilt of this sin has been imputed to us.
This is Covenantal language.
Adam was the head of God’s first covenant- Covenant of Grace.
He was the federal head of the entire human race.
Q#16
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.
Romans 5:12 (ESV)
12 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
We were in our ancestor Adam and therefore share his guilt and corruption
And since birth we have continued actual transgressions that proceed from original sin.
This may seem unfair, but that is how covenants work. The federal head represents all of those who are in him.
God selected the our best representative. Had we been in the garden we would have committed the same sin.
But for believers this works out to our advantage in Christ, who is described as the Second Adam
Christ bears our guilt and imputes his righteousness to us
2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
In Christ, we received his righteousness and he received our sin.
We are given a new nature (born again) that is the result of the resurrection power being communicated to us by the Spirit A new humanity that does not die a second death.
We are born with the desire to sin.
Luther, Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards all agreed that man is free in that he can and does choose what he desires or is inclined to choose.
But man lacks the desire for Christ and the things of God until God creates in his soul a positive inclination for these things.
Our Culture says we are not responsible for our desires- We were born that way.
Being born with a certain inclination is used as an excuse for engaging in that activity. We may have the inclination to steal, be prideful, be involved in sexual immorality.
The question is, Does this desire conform to the law of God? If it does not, then it is a sin.
We believe Satan’s lie, that it is not fair that I have certain desires and in obeying God we are deprived of Joy and greater knowledge. But that joy is always fleeting.
God in not a joy-kill. His plan for us is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
Saint Augustin who lived hedonistically for most of his early life realized at his conversion praying, “Oh Lord, though hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee. “
But what about those unbelievers who manifest a genuine inclination or disposition to the good.
Paul quoting the psalmist says, “None is righteous, no not one… none does good, not even one.”
We can be good horizontally and not vertically.
Jesus explained this to the rich young ruler.
Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. Are you good? He declares, why yes, I am good as I have kept all the second table of the commandments. (Jesus probably thinking, “You missed my Sermon on the Mount Series didn’t you?).
Jesus does not immediately condemn him, but said that he lacked one thing. Give all you have to the poor and follow me. Is your priority your wealth or your God? He went away sorrowful. He thought he was good, but disobeyed the first commandment.
For those who are not believers and appear good, it is usually in their best interests to behave well around others, but to truly be good our actions must be motivated by a desire to please God.
So left to ourselves, our own inclinations and desires will never lead us to Christ.
This is why it is necessary that Christ came, because we are only saved by the other solas. The rest of the 5 solas- Community Baptist- Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Sola gratia, Sola fide, Soli gloria Deo
Part 3. Continuing sin in the believer
5. This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those that are regenerated; and although it be, through Christ, pardoned, and mortified; yet both itself, and all the motions thereof, are truly and properly sin.
Regeneration does not instantly eliminate the consequences of our fallen nature. We are justified in an instant, but sanctified over a lifetime until our death and glorification.
There remains corruption in our soul, but it is pardoned and deadened through Christ.
Sin remains, but it no longer reigns.
Some incorrectly teach that you can attain astate of sinlessness in this life. This is called perfectionism championed by John Wesley.
1 John 1:8 (ESV)
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
The problem of becoming perfect in this life is that it always leads to the mortal sin of Pride and self-righteousness. (I did it)
But, we are called to not continue sinning. The belief that I can say a prayer for salvation and can keep living my life of sin is untenable with what Scriptures teach. This is called antinomianism. (against the law)
Romans 6:6–8, 12-14. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.
12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 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. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
We are not free to sin, but by Grace freed from the bondage of sin.
For the believer, sin should feel unnatural.
In assisting us in this work of Sanctification we need the means of grace. word, worship, prayer, sacraments, preaching.
The recognition of residual sin in our life affects the content of our public worship services.
We sing not just happy songs, but songs that acknowledge our fallen nature.
We confess our sins. We seek to magnify the grace of God and rejoice in our salvation.
We look forward to our full redemption
In Christ we now have hope and the ability to enjoy and glorify God.
And when temptations come,
James 1:2–3 (ESV)
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Trials produce steadfastness.
When we do sin, we are call to
1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
It is not about suppressing desires, but our desires will from self-gratification to wanting to follow and obey Christ’s commands.
Questions?
D. Consequences of Sin in the unbeliever
6. Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, doth in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God, and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal.
Those who remain in Adam bear the guilt original sin that continues in the corruption of their nature.
They also bear the guilt of their own actual sins.
Therefore they are subject to all spiritual, temporal and eternal miseries, for God’s wrath will remain.
This is the end result that is due unto each of us unless we take refuge In Christ who will provide a way to escape the wrath to come.
Either you are In Christ or you remain in Adam.
If you do not know Christ and are lost in sin, is he calling you now?
Closing prayer. Heavenly father, we acknowledge our sin and understand that the consequences that leads to both physical and spiritual death. We thank you for the sacrifice of your son, Jesus Christ who declares believers righteous in your sight. We acknowledge that is never through our works, but only the finished work of Christ. Thank you for your gift of grace and faith unto salvation that enables us through the Holy Spirit to have communion with you. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
