04. The Results Of God's Judgement...
CHAPTER IV The Result of God’s Judgment Upon Adam’s Original Sin
It is clearly revealed in the Scriptures that God came down in judgment and pronounced His righteous sentence upon Adam. We read, "For the judgment was by one to condemnation" (Romans 5:16). Since this has to do with Adam’s first sin, we are not concerned with the sins he committed after he became a sinner.
Some contend against this aspect of truth, and say that God came down only in love, seeking for Adam, just as He today seeks the lost. Yes, God is love, but do not forget that He also is a "consuming fire," and that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God." Remember, too, that every judgment results in either the condemnation or the acquittal of the accused one. The extent of the penalty indicates the proportion of guilt. So, in the divine judgment upon Adam because of his sin, the proportion of his guilt is revealed in the following results:
1. Total Depravity
"Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereto" (Westminster Confession). The doctrine of total depravity, which declares that all men are dead in sin, with no ability whatsoever with reference to that which is good, is not to the liking of the natural man, and especially not to the moralists. It does not mean that all men are equally bad, nor as bad as they could be, But it does mean that since the Fall, man rests under the curse of sin, that he is prompted by wrong principles, and that he is wholly unable to love God or to do anything that merits salvation. Concerning this Paul writes, "What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:9-18). This is God’s photograph of the unregenerate, and it is by no means a flattering one; but it is the one that is absolutely true.
Since the Fall, man has been utterly indisposed to that which is good, and wholly inclined to that which is evil. His will is biased against God, and instinctively and willingly he turns to that which is evil. His will is controlled by his sinful nature. There is much talk about the free-will of man, and the placing of man’s will over against God’s sovereign will. Man is a free agent, but when he possesses no will with reference to that which is holy, but only to that which is evil, it is manifest that the natural man possesses no ability to be willing to exercise holy volitions. On this subject, Luther, in his "Bondage of the Will," declares, "Free-will is an empty term, whose reality is lost. And a lost liberty, according to my grammar, is no liberty at all." The natural man can, through what is termed "common grace," be kind; he can love his family and his fellow men and so be a model citizen. He may give all his possessions for the benefit of his fellow men, and many other noble deeds may be credited to him; but they are all worthless, and in no way merit salvation, because these deeds are not of faith. The unregenerate are in a state of rebellion against God. They must give up their rebellion and turn to God from their sins--the result of trusting in Christ for salvation. Saving faith is produced (by the Holy Spirit) in the individual, and is therefore to be classed as a gift of God. "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5). Our Lord said, "For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes" (Luke 6:43-44).
Before the tree can bring forth good fruit it must be made good. So also, before a lost and guilty sinner can do any good deed that is acceptable in God’s sight, he must be created anew in Christ Jesus. But, even then, it is not possible for him to produce any righteousness through his own efforts. If anything of value, in the sight of God, is to be produced, it must be wrought in him and not by him. We read, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:3-4). To the Philippians Paul writes, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Php 2:12-13). "But I labored more abundantly than they all; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10).
2. Enslavement to Sin and to Satan On this subject there is much said in the Word. Our Lord says, "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant (bondslave) of sin" (John 8:34). Paul writes, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves as servants (bondmen) to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey." "Ye were the servants of sin" (Romans 6:16-17). "But I am carnal, sold under sin" (Romans 7:14). "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world (age), according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath even as others" (Ephesians 2:1-3). "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners" (Isaiah 14:16-17). "And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will" (2 Timothy 2:26). "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15). "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants (bondmen) of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought into bondage" (2 Peter 2:19). "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil" (Jeremiah 13:23). "For when ye were the servants (bondmen) of sin, ye were free from righteousness" (Romans 6:20).
Redemption implies bondage. The words employed in the original text reveal this very definitely. If you are fortunate enough to possess a Scofield Reference Bible you will find a most helpful explanation of this truth in Dr. Scofield’s comment on Romans 3:24.
3. A Blinded Mind
Knowing that man is a captive of his, and unable to do anything to merit salvation, and that it is the Gospel that is the power of God unto salvation, Satan has blinded the minds of the unsaved. We are told, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world (age) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
Herein is revealed one of the most fundamental truths in relation to all evangelistic efforts. Though Satan is not omniscient, he does know many things, and one of them is that the Gospel of Grace is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. He therefore does everything possible to keep lost sinners from hearing the Gospel. He has placed a veil over their minds so that they do not understand the good news of salvation. Note, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). They may be perfectly normal with reference to temporal things; but it is foolishness to them that there is salvation in believing in Another One and what He has done.
It is reasonable to believe that one is saved by good works. But God says, No, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Until this veil is removed, man cannot intelligently exercise saving faith. The only one that can remove this veil is the Holy Spirit. He uses the Gospel of Grace in his convicting ministry. Of this our Lord says, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11).
These verses contain the very core of the Gospel of Grace, which is the power of God unto salvation. The word translated "reprove" means to unveil or to bring to light the true facts regarding God’s plan of salvation.
Much harm has been done by forcing men to make decisions before this work of the Spirit has been accomplished. When it is accomplished there will be no need of employing the unscriptural high-pressure methods that have been resorted to in order to get some kind of results.
We can trust the Holy Spirit to do His work in this respect as in every ministry of His in relation to the salvation of lost sinners.
4. Corrupted Affections
"For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them up over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient" (Romans 1:26-28). This is evidently a summing up of the various incidents related in the Old Testament Scriptures. But we find many of these things spoken of in the New Testament, and about those "having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof."
5. The Penalty of Sin--Death
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). "Wherefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). When Adam sinned the seeds of mortality were sown in his constitution, and in the course of time he died. All of Adam’s children were born after he was expelled from the garden of Eden, after he became a sinner. We read, "Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and he begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth" (Genesis 5:3).
Man is born dead in trespasses and sins. He is dead spiritually; his body is mortal. He is subject to physical death as soon as he enters this world. He is also under the sentence of the second death, the lake of fire, which is eternal separation from God. "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murders, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8).
6. Creation Subjected to Vanity When He had finished His work in creation, "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). In the works of man, language has been strained to its limits to portray the beauty of creation, and especially the Garden of Eden. The Psalmist says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork" (Psalms 19:1). "All things were created by him, and for him" (Colossians 1:16). "God pronounced His work good, because sin had not entered to mar its beauty, and disturb its order. The heavens were resplendent with the glory of their Maker, and the earth was full of His praise. The trees and the herbs of the field displayed His wisdom and goodness; the inferior animals were perfect in their kind; and man placed at their head, was enlightened by reason, and adorned with every moral excellence. There never was so lovely a sight as our world bearing the recent impress of the hand which fashioned it. The memory of its original state conveyed down by tradition, suggested to the heathen poets their descriptions of the golden age, when earth spontaneously yielded its fruits, the manners of its inhabitants were simple and virtuous, and life flowed on smoothly in innocence and peace. The whole creation declared the glory of God; and man as the priest of nature, gave a voice to its silent homage, and offered up to the universal Parent, the pure sacrifices of adoration and thanksgiving." (Dick)
Surely, it must have been a most beautiful scene to behold! Even the animal life was beautiful within its realm. Many beautiful scenes have been produced by the ingenuity and skill of man, but none can ever approach the original creation in its pristine beauty. This wonderful creation which was made for the Son of God and the sons of God was plunged into darkness and ruin through the one act of disobedience of the first man, Adam. Because of this, his one sin, God said, "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat of the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Genesis 3:17-19).
Paul describes the present condition of the earth as "the bondage of corruption." He says also that creation groans under the pains of unavailing labor, pangs that bring forth nothing. The blight of sin rests upon the whole creation, and will continue to do so until the present order is by power redeemed and delivered "into the liberty of the glory of the children of God."
There are many Old Testament Scriptures that speak about the redeemed earth and the conditions that will then obtain. We read, "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God" (Isaiah 35:1-2). The whole chapter (Isa. 35) is descriptive of the redeemed earth, such as it will be during the Kingdom Age, when our Lord will occupy the throne of His father David, and rule over the house of Jacob.