Word of Salvation – Vol. 29 No. 31 – August 1984

 

Original Sin

 

Sermon by Rev. S. Voorwinde v.d.m. on Psalm 51:5 & Romans 5:12-18

(Belgic Confession Art.15)

Scriptures: Psalm 51; Romans 5:12-21.

Suggested Hymns: 94; 273; 430; BoW.302:1,5,6; 355:3,4

 

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

There’s one great advantage in preaching a series of sermons on the Belgic Confession, or on the Heidelberg Catechism for that matter; and that is that we don’t just cover doctrines that are pleasant and easy and that people like to hear.  As preachers we are forced to deal with subjects that may be unpleasant or difficult or unpopular; and one such doctrine is this whole matter of original sin that is before us today.  This is how the Belgic Confession defines original sin: “It is a corruption of our whole nature and a hereditary disease, with which even infants in their mother’s womb are infected..!”

This is the kind of thing that I am not naturally inclined to preach about, and I’m sure there are other subjects you’d much rather listen to.  Yet, if I never preached on this at all I would be failing to proclaim the whole counsel of God.  This is also the teaching of Scripture and it’s a doctrine that helps us to better understand human nature and gives us deeper insight into ourselves.

But before we go on I want to impress upon you just how difficult is this doctrine of original sin.  Imagine that you are visiting the maternity ward of a hospital.  As a minister I do it quite often and in the midst of our present baby boom I’m sure many of you will be doing it as well.  Anyway, you’re there as a friend or a relative, you offer your congratulations, and then the mother will proudly display her pride and joy: a newborn son or daughter.  Now ask yourself about this helpless, cute, little baby: Was he born good?  Can you honestly use the expression, “as innocent as a newborn babe”?  Or was this child perhaps born neutral, and the only reason he does wrong in later life is because of his polluted moral environment?

Well, if we are Christians who take the Bible seriously, we must rule out both of these possibilities.  That helpless little infant was not born good and innocent, and he wasn’t born neutral, he was born sinful.

When I was a theological student we dealt with this doctrine in second year.  And one of my fellow students really had to struggle with this truth.  If I remember correctly he was a new father at the time, and he said: “It’s a hard pill to swallow, isn’t it, to think that newborn babies are guilty in the sight of God?”

Maybe you feel much the same way.  Then here’s a doctrine you’ve got to come to terms with.  The Bible teaches it, and so as Christians we must grapple with it; and as we do we will more fully appreciate the greatness of our salvation.

Firstly, let us remember how clearly the Bible teaches the doctrine of original sin.  David states it so clearly in his great psalm of confession, Psalm 51: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  In other words, David was sinful right from the beginning of his life; from birth, no, even from conception.  David inherited his parents’ sinful nature even before the time he was born.  Sin is like a hereditary disease that is passed down from one generation to another.  We are infected with it even in the womb.

Surely David could not have spoken more clearly: “I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me”.  And this is hardly an isolated verse.  Other texts and other passages convey the same message.  Again from the pen of David in Psalm 58:3 we read: “The wicked go astray from the womb, they err from their birth, speaking lies.”  Already at the time of Noah God declared: “The imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” (Gen.8:3).  And Paul could write to the Ephesian Christians: “….we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, following the desires of body and mind, and so we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind,” (Eph.2:3).  So the Bible consistently teaches that sin is lodged very deep within our hearts and that it’s already there right at the beginning of our lives.

That’s sad, but unfortunately it’s true.  Experience furnishes new evidence every day.  That adorable cooing little baby soon becomes a defiant toddler who throws temper tantrums.  Any parents will know that you patiently have to teach your children the good, while the bad comes all too naturally.  The wise man made the observation long ago, in the Book of Proverbs, that “foolishness (meaning love of sin) is bound up in the heart of the child; the rod or correction will drive it far from him.”  Love of sin comes naturally because that sinful nature has been there from the start.

But then of course you could say: “what chance has the kid got?  It just isn’t fair.  How can you blame him for something he inherited from his parents?”  Someone said to me recently: “Look, it’s like a bowling ball.  It’s made with a particular slant to it, and of course when it moves it can’t possibly roll straight.  You can’t expect it to.” The point of the comparison is of course this: How can you expect a man to live sinlessly when he already comes into the world sinful?  Surely you can’t then blame him for his behaviour.

Is it fair?  If you are born sinful, can God blame you for that any more than He can blame you for being born white or black, for being male or female?  You had no say in these things and so He cannot hold you responsible.  So why does He hold you responsible for being born with a sinful nature?  How can you be born guilty in the sight of God?  Is it fair?

That’s the big question, and for the answer we turn to our text in Romans 5:12 “Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned…!”

Why do people die?  Because they have sinned.  And why do infants sometimes die?  Because in some way they too have sinned.  But how?

They sinned in Adam.  We all sinned in Adam.  When Adam sinned we all sinned, Listen again!  “Sin came into the world through one man (Adam) and death through sin: and death spread to all men because all men sinned.”  When Adam ate the forbidden fruit that was your sin and that was my sin.  That sin of Adam’s was charged to our account.

But why?  Because at that moment Adam was our representative.  He represented the entire human race.  Now I think we all understand the idea of representation:

(i)  We know it in politics.  The man who represents us makes decisions and votes on our behalf in Federal Parliament, the House of Representatives.

(ii)  We know it in the world of sport.  In the Olympics a man runs well and others swim well, and they win gold medals not just for themselves but for all Australia, for all Australians.  We are happy they are our representatives, because what they do we do.  Or think of cricket.  When Australia defeats England, it is not just that handful of men but the whole country they represent.

(iii)  Even in church life we have the concept of representation.  At a Classis Meeting or at a Synod we don’t have all the church members present.  We send delegates who make decisions on our behalf.  What this small number of men decides, the whole church decides.  Their decisions are our decisions.

So the idea of representation is something we all understand.  The outcome depends on the performance of one or a few, and the many are affected for good or ill by that performance.

Now that’s exactly what happened at the dawn of human history.  Adam was the representative of the whole human race, of all his descendants.  He was the federal head of all humanity.  Therefore when he sinned, we sinned.  When he fell, we fell.  Because of his position we were fully involved in what he did.

In a similar way our political representatives not only make right decisions, they sometimes also make wrong decisions, and we still have to live with the results.  And our sportsmen who represent us in the international arena not only win gold medals; they suffer defeat as well.  We are not always as well represented as we would like to be.

And so it was with Adam.  His performance affected us all for ill.  As his offspring we are all born sinners.  And yet we can’t blame him because if we had been in his shoes we would have fared no better.  We too would have sinned.  You would have disobeyed and so would I.  We are no better than Adam.  Therefore his sin is our sin, his guilt our guilt.

So far we have heard one part of the story, but there is a bright side as well.  Adam is not the only representative there is.  Adam represents the old humanity, Christ represents the new humanity.  Humanity has two representatives.  Romans 5:18 & 19 read like this: “Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men.  For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteousness.  In other words, when Adam ate the forbidden fruit many were condemned, by this one single act of disobedience.  When Christ died on the cross many were justified, by this one single act of obedience.  All those whom Adam represented became sinners.  All those whom Christ represented became righteous.

Later on another occasion Paul presses this thought even further, in 1Cor.15:21 & 22: “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Adam and Christ are the two representatives of mankind.  The Puritan scholar Thomas Goodwin put it rather picturesquely: “In God’s sight there are two men: Adam and Christ, and these two men have all other men hanging on their girdle strings.”

If you are hanging on the girdle string of Adam, you are involved in sin, condemnation and death.  If you are hanging on the girdle string of Christ, you are involved in righteousness, justification and life.

Christ is the perfect representative.  Our political leaders may blunder; our sports heroes may let us down; our delegates to church assemblies may disappoint us.  But when Christ Jesus represents us, we have nothing to fear.

He was supremely our representative on the cross.  In the Garden of Eden when Adam sinned we sinned.  But on Calvary when Christ suffered we suffered, when Christ died, we died; and when he rose, we rose.  When He did those things He represented us and therefore in God’s sight we did those things.  Just as we were in Adam at the fall, we were in Christ at the cross.  Adam’s debt was reckoned to our account and we were made sinners, but now in Christ we have more than enough credit and therefore we will be made righteous.

But these benefits are not for all.  They are for all who are in Christ; not for all men universally.  So let me ask you: Are you in Christ?  Are you represented by Christ or are you still represented by Adam?  Do you belong to Christ’s new humanity or do you still belong to the old humanity in Adam?  Whose girdle strings are you hanging on in God’s sight: Adam’s or Christ’s?

If you’re still on Adams’s side, how can you change over?  In simple faith you approach Jesus in prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I realize that when you suffered and died you did it for my sins; when you rose it was that I might be forgiven.  Accept me, Lord, as one of your people.  Make me one of the members of your new humanity.”

For a moment now let’s come back to our earlier question: Is it fair?  Is it fair that because of Adam’s sin you and I were born sinners?  That question can only be answered by another question: Was it fair that the innocent and perfect Son of God should suffer and die for sinners like you and me?  The blood, the nails, the thorns, were they fair?  The mockery, the darkness, the grave, were they fair?

Jesus had to go through all of that so that even the most innocent looking human beings could be saved.

Amen.