Final Flashcards
What is the historical origin of sin?
Sin originates within the creature, not the Creator; while the Divine Decree allows for sin, God is not its Author
What biblical passages teach the fall of man?
Genesis 2:16-17
Genesis 3:1-8
Romans 5:12-21
Why is it important that the Fall was historical?
If the Fall did not actually occur, then God created an imperfect creation, making Him a liar when He said that “it was good,” therefore making God a sinner by bearing false witness.
Sin is not natural
How can the temptation of Adam and Eve be paralleled to that of Christ?
Christ, the New Adam, is tempted by “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16) much like Adam and Eve were, “yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15)
What does the Fall teach about sin in general?
Sin is unnatural
Sin is a transgression of God’s goodness
Covetousness and idolatry are at the heart of every sin
The Fall demonstrates the manner of temptation (James 1:13-15)
The Fall demonstrates that sin brings death
What are the two aspects of corruption in human beings?
Total Depravity
The Imputation of Adam’s sin
What Biblical texts teach Total Depravity?
Psalm 51
Romans 1-3; 5:12-21
Ephesians 2:1-3
What is Original Sin?
Original Sin is the inherited corruption that we receive from Adam
That by which we received a nature contrary to God and carry out further sins
Habit of corruption
Does Total Depravity teach that man’s faculties are destroyed?
By no means; man is still made in the image of God and retains his multifaceted nature of reflecting God’s character in body, soul/intellect, dominion, relationality, and original holiness
Does Total Depravity mean that every person is as bad as he can possibly be?
By no means; Total Depravity speaks to the extent of man’s corruption, not the degree. This is due to God’s restraining grace
What does the imputation of Adam’s sin mean? How would you define it?
The guilt of Adam and Eve’s sin is imputed to the rest of the human race; we are all reckoned legally guilty by birth
Adam is our Covenant/Federal Head by nature; what he does he does as our legal representative
What is the twofold response of God in salvation to Original Sin and the Imputation of Adam’s sin? (i.e., in salvation, what two blessings are given by God as the solution to Original Sin and the Imputation of Adam’s sin?)
God responds with a twofold grace:
Our Internal State and Legal Stance is met with Perfect Imputed Righteousness and Legal Justification
What are the four states in which man exists from creation until the consummation?
- Innocence
- Sinfulness
- Grace
- Eternity
What is man’s relationship with God in the state of innocence?
Full communion and fellowship unburdened by sin
What is man’s relationship with sin in the state of innocence?
The entirety of man’s faculties are oriented towards the glory of God; man is a stranger to sin and opposes sin along with God
What is man’s relationship with God and sin in the state of sinful nature/corruption?
Man is now against God and allied with sin; man incurs judgement upon himself and is in a state of misery
What happens in the states of grace and eternity?
Man moves from a state of sin to a state of forgiveness; he is regenerated by God, united with Christ in a mystical way with faculties reoriented to God; he is justified and adopted; he still goes on sinning until glory, but he is now against it and counted righteous
What marks the change from each of man’s four states to the next?
Each of the four states is marked by a correlating event in redemptive history:
Innocence/Creation
Sinfulness/The Fall
Grace/Redemption
Eternity/Restoration
How would you define the law of God?
God’s eternal purposes and will for all creation based upon His holy character
What is the difference between natural law and positive law?
Natural Law is consistent with God’s character in its very essence; the Law of God imprinted upon man in his creation, revealed to all men (Romans 2:14-15)
Positive Law is consistent with God’s character in its use by Him
(neither of these are ever bare command with no relation to God’s nature and character)
What is the threefold division of the law?
Civil Law
Ceremonial Law
Moral Law
What is the difference between the civil, ceremonial, and moral aspects of the law?
Civil Law: concerned day to day affairs for the people of God from Moses to Christ
Ceremonial Law: concerned the sacrificial system and pointed to Christ (Christ fulfilled the Ceremonial Law on the cross and today by being our High Priest)
Moral Law: concerns the love of God and the love of neighbour; this is the bedrock for the Civil and Ceremonial Law as well
What remains for Christians to follow today?
Since the Civil Law concerned Israel in their unique circumstance and the Ceremonial Law was/is fulfilled in Christ, the Moral Law is the only law that is still binding upon Christians today
The Ten Commandments correspond to which of the three divisions of the law?
Moral Law
