Leviticus 24 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Commentaries (Henry, Gill)Psalm 31 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Ecclesiastes 7 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
2Timothy 3 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Day 110
Of the fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof.
Chapter 6, Paragraph 3.
“...being now conceived in Sin,…“
Scripture Lookup
Psalm 51:5
Job 14:4
Reflection
Philosophers throughout the ages have pondered the moral state of humans. Are we created as blank slates, which our environment then writes on to our benefit or detriment? Are we naturally good people, who just need a little help to keep from doing wrong? Or are we slaves to our biology, able to act only in accordance with our DNA?
When Adam and Eve transgressed God’s covenant, they plunged humanity into sin and misery. Their human nature, originally upright and able to keep God’s law, was now corrupted. This corruption has been our inheritance ever since. It is there at the moment of our conception, and our nature remains so throughout our time on earth.
Our fallen nature is one reason why the life of Jesus is so amazing. Because we all are now conceived in sin, we had no knowledge of what a human nature free from the effects of the Fall was like – until He came. Jesus was not born by ordinary generation, so He did not have a corrupted nature. His life was perfectly holy, without any sin whatsoever. When you contrast that with ourselves, you are left marveling at His beauty and majesty.
Questions to Consider
Leviticus 23 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Commentaries (Henry, Gill)Psalm 30 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Ecclesiastes 6 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
2Timothy 2 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Day 109
Of the fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof.
Chapter 6, Paragraph 3.
“They being the root, and by God’s appointment, standing in the room, and stead of all mankind; the guilt of the sin was imputed, and corrupted nature conveyed, to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation,...“
Scripture Lookup
Romans 5:12-19
1 Corinthians 15:21,22,45,49
Reflection
“Legacy” is a popular term nowadays. People are concerned about what kind of legacy they will leave after they are gone. What deeds will they be remembered for? What family life did they establish? Adam and Eve did leave a legacy behind them, but it is safe to say that what they left, imputation of guilt and a corrupted nature, is not something anyone would desire to have. Yet our first parents definitely had a profound impact on all the generations that have come after them.
Adam represented the human race when he disobeyed God’s command to not eat of the fruit. This standing in our stead is sometimes referred to as Adam being our “federal head”. He was in covenant with God, and failed to keep that covenant. As our representative, when he fell, we fell with him. His guilt is imputed to us. We are declared guilty due to his transgression, much like how when a leader of a nation declares war, the residents of that country are now considered at war with the opposing nation as well.
Not only are we declared guilty because of Adam and Eve’s sin, the corrupted nature they possessed after they sinned has been transmitted down to us. Every child conceived normally with human parents has this corrupted nature. Notice, though, that the Confession makes note that it is all of Adam and Eve’s posterity who descend from them by ordinary generation that receive this fallen nature. Was there anyone who was a descendant of Adam and was not born by ordinary means? Yes – Jesus! As a descendant of Adam, yet conceived miraculously, Jesus did not have the corrupted nature conveyed to Him.
Questions to Consider
Leviticus 22 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Psalm 28-29 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Ecclesiastes 5 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
2Timothy 1 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Day 108
Of the fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof.
Chapter 6, Paragraph 2.
“…and wholly defiled, in all the faculties, and parts, of soul, and body.“
Scripture Lookup
Titus 1:15
Genesis 6:5
Jeremiah 17:9
Romans 3:10-19
Reflection
When Adam and Eve sinned, their transgression caused death to come upon all of us. There is not one part of our selves that is not affected by the Fall. All parts of our soul and body are defiled by sin.
The world we live in does not want to admit this. “Sure, some people are bad, and nobody’s perfect, but there’s still some good in them too!” they say. We cling desperately to the idea that we can fix ourselves. Self-help gurus sell thousands of books to their devotees based upon the idea that there is some good in the self. We can make ourselves better; we can overcome on our own strength. If I just think positively enough, if I just do enough good deeds, if I just…
Scripture is clear that no part of the sinner is clean unless covered by the blood of Christ. This is why it is vital to depend wholly on God for salvation. Our very beings are defiled, and are unable to perform any act of righteousness. We are helpless to overcome the sin that infests our whole being. We must look to Christ:
Not the labors of my hands
Can fulfil thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears for ever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and thou alone.-Augustus M. Toplady
Questions to Consider
Leviticus 21 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Psalm 26-27 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Ecclesiastes 4 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
1Timothy 6 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Day 107
Of the fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof.
Chapter 6, Paragraph 2.
“…all becoming dead in Sin,…“
Scripture Lookup
Romans 5:12 etc.
Reflection
Why do people die? Death is one of the realities of this world that early on we realize, but why it exists is not a subject on which much conversation is spent. We waver between realizing the horror of death, to numbly skimming over news of it. But why is death so universal, so horrible? The Bible explains how death entered the world.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden, they created a rift that death rushed in to fill. Physically, their bodies would no longer keep going. They would die. But there was another aspect to death that Adam and Eve brought into the world through their transgression. Sin brought spiritual death. Without communion with God, who “is the alone fountain of all Being” (LBCF 2.2), there can be no spiritual life. We breathe, and eat, and move throughout the day, but our bodies are counting down until they finally stop. Our souls, however, are stillborn until regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
Every death is a reminder that we need Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life,…” (John 14:6) “I am the resurrection and the life;…” (John 11:25) “…Christ, who is our life,…” (Colossians 3:4) Let us not shy away from the reality of death, but use it to point sinners to the One who gives life abundantly.
Questions to Consider
Leviticus 20 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Commentaries (Henry, Gill)Psalm 25 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Ecclesiastes 3 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
1Timothy 5 (NASB, ESV, KJV, HCSB)
Day 106
Of the fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof.
Chapter 6, Paragraph 2.
“Our first Parents by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them, whereby death came upon all;…“
Scripture Lookup
Romans 3:23
Reflection
We have a personal stake in what happened in the Garden of Eden. More than just a story of origins, the events recorded in Genesis 2 and 3 relate an essential truth: you are not good. No one is. Because Adam sinned, we have inherited death.
You see, Adam and Eve were not just the first human beings who also happened to sin. Adam had a particular role as the representative of humanity. God’s command to not eat of the tree was not in the same vein as a parent telling their child to not take a cookie. It was a covenant. Adam was promised life if he obeyed; death if he did not. As humanity’s representative, Adam’s action in disobeying meant that all of the human race suffered the consequences.
When Adam and Eve sinned, human nature was scared, marred, shattered, twisted, distorted, mangled, and made unfit to be what it was made to be.
-Richard C. Barcellos, Better Than The Beginning
This is the fundamental reason why we sin. Our nature is corrupt – it no longer has the righteousness that our first parents originally had. We all fall short of the glory of God, and without intervention are unable to have communion with Him. The effects of the Fall affect us universally and personally.
Questions to Consider
CredoCovenant 