MAN IN HIS STATE OF SIN

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A. The Fall of Man.

Some may say that the fall of man is an old Babylonian fable, but we have only to look upon man and see him toil for his bread, weaken in his diseases, and die in his misery, to realize that he has had a fall. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12).

1. The Source of Sin.

“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3: 1). “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Cor. 11:3). God is not speaking about a beast when He mentions the serpent, but a person. Notice that the Scripture does not say, “more subtle than any other beast of the field,” but leaves out the word “other,” stating only that he is more subtle than any beast. This is merely a statement of what God thinks of the Devil. Nowhere in Scripture does it state that the Devil was in the serpent, but it does say that the serpent was the Devil. “He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years” (Rev. 20:2).

2. The Nature of Sin.

“The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Gen. 3:4-6). Now the fruit was all right; it was good fruit, with only the prohibition of God behind it. Some people may contend that it was a small thing to bring about man’s downfall, but we ask the question, “How many steps does it take to fall off a bluff?”

a. He Doubted God’s Love.

In doubting God’s love, man denied God’s goodness, and acted apart from God and became a sinner. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12). See also Isaiah 55:6.

b. He Doubted God’s Word.

In doubting God’s Word, man denied His Truth; denying His Truth, he acted in spite of God and became a criminal. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4).

c. He Doubted God’s Authority.

In doubting God’s authority, man denied God’s deity; denying His deity, he became contrary to God. Thus, he became God’s enemy and a rebel in God’s universe. “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7, 8). The testing was given to see if man would stay true to God. He failed because he wanted to be a god. The Devil himself fell (Is. 14), because he wanted to be like the Most High God. This brought about his downfall, so he planted the same seed of false ambition in Adam and Eve to see if it would bring about their downfall, and it did. Some may ask, “Was this fair to them?” They were warned and placed on guard against Satan. There was only one prohibition in the garden. They did not need the fruit; they lacked nothing.

(1) Shame.

“They both were naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Gen. 2:25; 3:7). God himself is clothed with a garment of light (Ps. 104:2); and when He made man, he made him in His own image and likeness. Thus, we believe that man also was clothed with a garment of light. When man sinned, that clothing of light was lost, and he made himself a fig leaf covering to take the place of that which was lost. Ever since, man has tried to put on what God once gave him, but he has nothing but filthy rags.

(2) Fear.

“He said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Gen. 3:10). Man still tries to hide from God.

(3) Separation from God.

There is no doubt that man lost his perfect nature and ended his fellowship with God. There is no such thing as the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man of the natural man, the unsaved man.

(4) Expulsion from the Garden.

“The LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the end of the garden of Eden cherubims, and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life” (Gen. 3:23, 24). Man was driven out.

(5) Lost Lordship Over Creation.

In the beginning Adam was indeed the ruler of all earthly creatures: “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beast of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea” (Ps. 8:6-8). This is not true of man today. He has lost that lordship. Christ will return it to man when He comes again (Heb. 2 and Is. 11).

b. Remote Effects Upon Adam’s Posterity.

(1) The Spirit is Darkened.

“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart” (Eph. 4:17, 18). The darkened room of understanding will remain darkened until the Holy Spirit comes in to illuminate.

(2) The Soul Is Debased arid Corrupt.

Unbelievers, “being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness” (Eph. 4:19). See also Jeremiah 17:9.

(3) The Body Is Subjected to Disease and Death.

“The creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21).

4. The Effects on Sin.

(1) On the Serpent.

“The LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:14, 15). Satan, in all of his majesty, is considered nothing but a serpent. This is a figure of speech, for we know that snakes do not eat dust. God’s decree unto the serpent that he should eat dust all the days of his life, showed the contempt in which He held the Devil.

(2) On the Woman.

“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” (Gen. 3:16).

(3) On Creation.

“Unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: 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 the herb of the field” (Gen. 3:17, 18).

(4) On Man.

“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” (Gen. 3:19). See also Genesis 5:29.

b. The Future Expression of God’s Judgement.

“The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).

5. The Provision for the Sinner.

“I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). In the hour that man sinned, God promised a Redeemer. The Seed of the woman is no one else but Jesus Christ. “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skin, and clothe them” (Gen. 3:21). When they realized their nakedness, they covered themselves with aprons of fig leaves. God clothed them with animal skins instead. As far as covering their nakedness was concerned, fig leaves were as good as animal skins; however, blood had to be spilt — “For without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.” They had to be covered with that which was slain for their sins. Likewise, the sinner today has to be clothed with the righteousness of Him who died for them.

1. Their Standing.

a. In Adam.

"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” (I Cor. 15:21, 22). See also I Corinthians 15:45, 47; Romans 5:12-21. There are only two representative men in the world: the first man and the second man; the first Adam and the last Adam. All men are born in Adam; all born-again men are in Christ.

b. Of Sin and Guilt.

“What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin, as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:9, 10). See also Romans 3:19.

2. Their State.

By their state we mean their spiritual condition; that is, the absence of righteousness in their spiritual life.

a. Sinful in Nature.

“Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps. 51:5). See also Ephesians 2:3; Genesis 6:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 8:7; Galatians 5:19-21.

b. Sinful in Practice.

“We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another” (Titus 3:3). See also Romans 3:23; Colossians 1:21; Psalm 14:1-3.

c. Lost in Sin.

“The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). See also Isaiah 53:6; II Corinthians 4:3, 4.

d. Spiritually Dead.

“You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins...Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace are ye saved” (Eph. 2: 1, 5). God’s picture of a sinner is a dead man, a man with all of the organs of movement, but no motion. Likewise, the sinner cannot move in the things of God.

e. Under God’s Wrath.

“The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18). See also John 3:36.

f. Waits for Death.

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27).

g. Sure of Hell.

“Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). See also Revelation 21:8.

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