The Belgic Confession Week 9.

Review:

Article 1.

THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD.

Article 2.

BY WHAT MEANS GOD IS MADE KNOWN UNTO US.

Article 3.

THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD.

Article 4.

CANONICAL BOOKS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURE.

Article 5.

WHENCE THE HOLY SCRIPTURES DERIVE THEIR DIGNITY AND AUTHORITY.

Article 6.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CANONICAL AND APOCRYPHAL BOOKS.

Article 7.

THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES TO BE THE ONLY RULE OF FAITH.

Article 8.

GOD IS ONE IN ESSENCE, YET DISTINGUISHED  IN THREE PERSONS

Article 9.

THE PROOF OF THE FOREGOING ARTICLE OF THE TRINITY  OF PERSONS IN ONE GOD

ARTICLE 10.

JESUS CHRIST IS TRUE AND ETERNAL GOD

ARTICLE 11.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS TRUE AND ETERNAL GOD

ARTICLE 12.

THE CREATION OF ALL THINGS, ESPECIALLY THE ANGELS

ARTICLE 13.

THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD AND HIS GOVERNMENT OF ALL THINGS

ARTICLE 14.

THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN, AND HIS INCAPACITY TO PERFORM WHAT IS TRULY GOOD

We believe that God created man out of the dust of the earth, and made and formed him after His own image and likeness, good, righteous, and holy, capable in all things to will agreeably to the will of God. But being in honor, he understood it not, neither knew his excellency, but willfully subjected himself to sin and consequently to death and the curse, giving ear to the words of the devil. For the commandment of life, which he had received, he transgressed; and by sin separated himself from God, who was his true life; having corrupted his whole nature; whereby he made himself liable to corporal and spiritual death. And being thus become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all his ways, he has lost all his excellent gifts which he had received from God, and retained only small remains thereof, which, however, are sufficient to leave man without excuse; for all the light which is in us is changed into darkness, as the Scriptures teach us, saying: The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (Jn. 1:5); where the Apostle John calls men darkness. Therefore we reject all that is taught repugnant to this concerning the free will of man, since man is but a slave to sin, and can receive nothing,  unless it has been given to him from heaven (Jn. 3:27). For who may presume to boast that he of himself can do any good, since Christ says: No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him (Jn. 6:44)? Who will glory in his own will, who understands that the carnal mind is enmity against God (Rom. 8:7)? Who can speak of his knowledge, since the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14)? In short, who dares suggest any thought, since he knows that we are not sufficient of ourselves to think of anything  as being from ourselves, but that our sufficiency is from  God (2 Cor. 3:5)? And therefore what the apostle says ought justly to be held sure and firm, that God works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). For there is no understanding nor will conformable to the divine understanding and will but what Christ has wrought in man; which He teaches us, when He says: Without Me you can do nothing (Jn. 15:5).

Summary: The creation and fall of man along with the consequences of the fall.

God created man out of the dust of the earth in His own image. Man however, fell into sin bringing upon himself and all mankind the curse. All creation was cursed, but specifically all mankind was now subject to physical and spiritual death.

The fall also radically corrupted man making him sinful in every aspect. Man, while corrupted retained enough of the truth to still stand condemned. The fall also corrupted the will of man enslaving him to sin and making it impossible to come to God.

Man is created in God’s image.

Genesis 1:26–27“26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

What is the image of God? Man is not a god or a lesser god. It means that man is set apart with an eternal soul and being. Man is physical but yet also a spiritual being made to be in eternal fellowship with God.

Implications: Man is made with intrinsic value because of the image of God. Man is also given lordship and dominion over all creation because he was made in the image of God. Man is the pinnacle of God’s creation.

At the fall the image of God was marred. It was not destroyed.

Genesis 9:6 “6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.”

In one sense the image of God is restored at salvation.

In another sense salvation begins the restoration.

Man was created good, righteous and able to obey God.

Genesis 1:31“31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Ecclesiastes 7:29“29 Truly, this only I have found: That God made man upright, But they have sought out many schemes.””

He did not understand his excellency.

Adam and Eve did not value the estate in which they were created. This is perhaps the greatest tragedy of mankind. They were created perfect with perfect fellowship with God and yet did not understand the excellency of their place.

Man listened to the Devil and sinned against God’s command, separating himself from God.

Genesis 3:1–7“1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”

Man’s entire nature became corrupt.

Genesis 6:5“5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Romans 3:10–20“10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” 13 “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

An important distinction: Man is fully corrupt. But man is not always as evil as it is possible to be. What the doctrine of total depravity teaches is that every aspect of man is fallen into corruption, not that man is constantly as evil as physically possible. We all are capable of murdering puppies in our basement but we do not all do this.

Man came under the curse and punishment of physical and spiritual death.

Gen 3:8-19 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

13 And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,

You are cursed more than all cattle,

And more than every beast of the field;

On your belly you shall go,

And you shall eat dust

All the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.”

16 To the woman He said:

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;

In pain you shall bring forth children;

Your desire shall be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you.”

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake;

In toil you shall eat of it

All the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,

And you shall eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

Till you return to the ground,

For out of it you were taken;

For dust you are,

And to dust you shall return.”

Romans 5:12“12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—”

Yet, man retains enough to be without excuse.

While man is fully corrupt, man still retains reason and is therefore without excuse.

Romans 1:20–21“20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Paul then goes on to list all the various ways man has been darkened.

The light within man is changed to darkness.

Ephesians 4:17–18“17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;”

Ephesians 5:8“8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light”

Matthew 6:23 “23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

John 1:5 “5 And the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Transition:

One of the chief focuses of our confession is the fall of man’s will.

Therefore we reject all that is taught repugnant to this concerning the free will of man, since man is but a slave to sin, and can receive nothing,  unless it has been given to him from heaven

Man’s will is not free but is a slave to sin.

The idea of man being autonomous is a pagan concept. It is not found in Scripture. Man has a will, but man’s will was corrupted by the fall.

The lack of free will demonstrated:

Man has nothing unless it is given him by God.

James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

John 3:27“27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.”

Man cannot come to God unless God draws him.

John 6:44 “44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:65 “65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.””

John 8:34 “34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”

John 8:47 “47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.””

John 10:25–26“25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.”

The carnal will is at enmity with God.

Romans 8:7–8“7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

James 4:4 “4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Man’s knowledge is corrupted.

Genesis 6:5“5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Genesis 8:21“21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.”

Psalm 94:11“11 The Lord knows the thoughts of man, That they are futile.”

Ecclesiastes 9:3“3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.”

Jeremiah 17:9“9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”

Romans 3:11 “11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.”

1 Corinthians 2:14“14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Man is unable to do any good except by God.

2 Corinthians 3:5“5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,”

Romans 7:18–25“18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. 22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Philippians 2:13“13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

John 15:5 “5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

ARTICLE 15.

ORIGINAL SIN

We believe that through the disobedience of Adam original sin is extended to all mankind; which is a corruption of the whole nature and a hereditary disease, wherewith even infants in their mother’s womb are infected, an which produces in man all sorts of sin, being in him as a root thereof, and therefore is so vile and abominable in the sight of God that it is sufficient to condemn all mankind. Nor is it altogether abolished or wholly eradicated even by regeneration; since sin always issues forth from this woeful source, as water from a fountain; notwithstanding it is not imputed to the children of God unto condemnation, but by His grace and mercy is forgiven them. Not that they should rest securely in sin, but that a sense of this corruption should make believers often to sigh, desiring to be delivered from this body of death.

Wherefore we reject the error of the Pelagians, who assert that sin proceeds only from imitation.

Summary: Through Adam’s sin, all mankind is fallen into sin and damned.

Covenant vs Individualism.

We might be tempted to object to this at first. We live in a hyper individualized society. Why should one man’s actions at the beginning of time affect us? This was the objection of the Pelagians. They agreed that all men were sinful. But that man began morally good or at least morally neutral. Then each man plunged himself into sin by his own free will.

Our view today tends to be that we are all morally neutral or free individuals. We mistakenly think that only our choices ought to affect us. But this is not how God created the world. God created the world in a covenantal way. And we witness this all over reality. None of us are unaffected by those who went before us. We are all directly impacted in countless ways by others and especially those we descended from and those we are related to.

Original sin extends to all mankind.

Romans 5:12–13“12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”

1 Corinthians 15:22“22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”

Children are conceived and born in sin.

There is no magic age where children become sinful.

Psalm 51:5“5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.”

Psalm 58:3“3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.”

Isaiah 48:8 we are transgressors from the womb.

Original sin produces all sorts of sin.

Romans 1:21–32

21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

It brings condemnation and damnation to all men.

Romans 5:18“18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation...”

Summary of the bad news: We are all possessors of the sin nature. We are all guilty of original sin through Adam. We then, because of this sin nature add to our great debt. And we are all condemned.

By grace and mercy alone man’s sin is forgiven.

Romans 5:17–18“17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.”

Ephesians 2:4–9“4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Man may not rest contented but must desire to be delivered from the body of this death.

In Christ we are freed. But the sin nature is not utterly destroyed. We now posses the ability to defy it. And through sanctification we put to death the deeds of the flesh.

Romans 8:13“13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

Colossians 3:1–5“1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Romans 6:3“3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”

Romans 6:19“19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.”

Romans 7:18–19“18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

Now we must mortify (put to death, murder) our sin.