LBCF 6.2-3_The Fall of Mankind
LBCF 6:2-3
The Effects of the Fall
By this sin our first parents fell from their original righteousness and communion with God
How exactly does this sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden affect all the human beings of all times who have descended from him? Read Romans 5:12,18,19
What happened to their communion with God?
By this sin man must have instantly been cut off from this loving communion of the divine Spirit. This must have been under any constitution the natural effect of sin. And under (see Chap. vii., § 2) that covenant relation into which man had been introduced in the gracious providence of God at his creation, it was specifically provided that the commission of the forbidden act should be followed by instant death; that is, instant penal exclusion from the source of all moral and spiritual life. Gen. 2:17.
What occurred regarding their righteousness?
Q. 21. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that state whereinto man fell?
A. The sinfulness of that state whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin, together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it.
Why isn’t it enough to believe that our sinful state is solely from actual transgressions?
According to Ps. 51:5; 58:3; Job 14:4, at what point do people receive their sinful natures?
Is any person born of a human father and mother exempt from this nature?
How was Christ exempt from original sin?
The Extent of the Fall
We fell in them, and through this, death came upon all.
Q. 22. What is the misery of that state whereinto man fell?
A. All mankind, by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell for ever.
According to Rom. 3:10–18; 8:6, 7; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 2:1–3 what are the practical effects of being born a sinner?
How is Adam’s sin made ours?
(1.) By imputation. The Pelagians of old held, that Adam’s transgression is hurtful to posterity by imitation only, not by imputation. But the text, ‘In whom all have sinned,’ confutes that.
(2.) Adam’s sin is ours by propagation. 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. This is that which we call original sin. ‘In sin did my mother conceive me.’ Psa 51:1. Adam’s leprosy cleaves to us, as Naaman’s leprosy did to Gehazi. 2 Kings 5:57.
The Ramifications of the Fall
In summary, describe the condition and need of every person born of a human father and mother.
How does the LBCF 6.4 guide you in your answer here?
Protestant theology thus teaches that the affect Adam’s first sin has on all his progeny is twofold: 1) it causes them from the moment of conception to be corrupt by nature; and 2) it causes them from the moment of conception to stand guilty before God as sinners.