If we contracted a serious disease, it would be important that three things happened:
1. We would need a proper diagnoses by an expert regarding the disease we have.
2. We need to understand the nature of the disease. We need to understand how we contracted it, what are the symptoms, what can we expect in terms of the damage it has done and will do into the future.
3. Most of all we need to understand what the treatment is.
Chapter 6 of the LBC1689 defines our spiritual disease, its source, and its cure.
Sin is any lack of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.
Thomas Watson has a section in A Body of Divinity which he entitles: “The aggravation of Adam’s sin.” In it he indicates that there were many sins committed in the one sin of eating of the forbidden fruit.
- Incredulity [disbelief]-Our first parents did not believe what God told them.
- Unthankfulness-Here God had put him in the middle of Paradise, yet he was ungrateful in wanting more.
- Discontent-
- Pride-in that he would be like God.
- Disobedience-
- Curiosity-He meddles with that which was out of his sphere.
- Wantonness-though he had access to all tree, he wanted this one tree.
- Sacrilege-he sacrilegiously robed God of what was His.
- Murder-He destroyed all his posterity.
- Presumption-Adam presumed on God’s mercy.
This event in the Garden of Eden is not to be underestimated and it was a serious crime against the Creator of the creation, and that God is completely just and right to bring the punishment he has upon Adam and Eve and through them upon the whole race of Adam. Mankind, by this fall, is justly under God’s wrath and curse, because they are sinners by nature, and lost their original righteousness. Now all mankind are sinners by nature and by actual sins proceeding from that sinful nature. The diagnosis is serious indeed, but thanks be to God for Christ our Redeemer!
The 1689 Confession states: which God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory. Here we have a clear reference point to the previous chapter dealing with God’s providence extending even to the fall. We read the Genesis narrative and we think, how could this happen? The answer is that ‘God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory.’ Now we accept this in faith, but at the consummation of the ages, it will be easier to see it in its fullness.
Can you explain the doctrine of “Original Sin” including “Federal Headship”? Consider Romans 5.
It was not just that the sin of Adam brought about a loss of original righteousness, but it brought a loss of communion with God. This loss of communion is indeed Adam and mankind’s greatest loss. Without this communion man is truly lost at every level.
Death came upon all mankind physically, and upon them spiritually. Let us remember that to be spiritually dead in sin means that we are unable even to reach out for the very medicine that would cure us. Dead men are not able to resurrect themselves, let alone reach for medicine lying next to them. It is too late for medicine. We must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of God. First we must be born from above or regenerated, then and only then are we able to repent for our sins and exercise faith in Christ. This deadness is important to understand. Chapter 10: Of Effectual Calling in the 1689 Confession addresses this work of regeneration in relation to our coming to Christ.
Can you explain the doctrine of “Total Depravity”?
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Jason Robertson is a husband and a father and a pastor. He is dedicated to leading and equipping his the Church with God’s word and biblical theology for life ministry, using a combination of pastoral, church planting and evangelism experience. He holds a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is experienced in church planting, evangelism, missions, and the training of pastors and Bible teachers.
Jason has been preaching the gospel since 1985, serving the first ten years of ministry as a Southern Baptist itinerant evangelist out of Milldale Baptist Church in Zachary, LA which ordained him in 1993. He has preached in hundreds of churches in over 30 States and 4 countries. He planted churches in Siberia, Russia in the summers of 1993 and 1994. He founded Murrieta Valley Church in California, which he planted in cooperation with the SBC NAMB in 2001. He also teaches ministry students at California Baptist University.
You can hear his sermons and read his manuscripts on sermonaudio.com. Just follow the link to "sermons" at the top of this page.
Jason,
Sorry I missed the discussion on this last Saturday. What I find interesting/challenging is the language chosen by the thelogians here. “Permit”. How can we refer to it as “permission” when God is the one who, without any reference to the choices to be made by Adam or the possible outcomes that could come (According to the chapter on God’s decrees), decreed to make Adam, decreed He would be our representative, and decreed he would sin. The wrod permission here seems to make things more confusing and difficult. Wouldn’t it be clearer if it it stated that God ordered/decreed thta Adam would sin, yet was not the author of the sin as He did not commit it? The confession (and i, Ibelieve the bible) says that God is the cause of all things, in the fact that He decrees them and makes them utterly necessary. What do you think? Thanks for your time.
Thanks for the question, Matt. I believe the answer is this: it cannot be said that God decreed Adam to sin. He decreed the Fall, but did not decree the act of sin — there is a difference. The Fall was accomplished by Adam’s immoral choice that was not coerced or forced by God. Therefore the word “permitted” is used. Any other word may have dangerously conveyed that they were forced to sin.
Concerning words that protect the doctrine of ordination, consider the rest of the sentence that the Reformers wrote, which I put in bold: God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory.
Notice that they make it clear that that which happened did so according to God’s ordained purposes.
That’s the best I can do, brother. In summary, I believe the Reformers wanted to not only protect God’s sovereignty but also man’s responsibility.