Final Notes Flashcards
Knowledge of the Origin of Sin
Sin is everywhere, everyone acknowledges this.
The origin of Sin and Evil can only be known by divine revelation.
The Moral and Penal Effects of the Fall
Duplex Malum (Latin, a double evil) of sin and death (or corruption/depravity/moral and guilt/penal).
Redemption is likewise understood in two senses, deliverance and freedom, the imputations of righteousness and regeneration.
Explanation: The category of original sin refers to our natural inclination toward sin, the category of death refers to the results of actual sin. In the same way, deliverance is the reversal of the results of sin from death with the righteousness of Christ resulting in eternal life. Freedom is the reversal of original sin’s corruption through regeneration to create a human that does not, and cannot by nature, sin.
Moral and Penal categories in detail
Moral - naughtiness (actual transgression, sin), depravity (lack of righteousness, sin nature), and corruption (affected the totality of your being, death)
Penal - fault (transgression), guilt (after transgression), and punishment (response to guilt)
Paul’s understanding of Gen 1-3 in Romans 5
Paul is giving a divinely inspired commentary on the problem of sin. Christians since Paul have been using Romans 5 as a divinely inspired lens to interpret the Fall. In this text, Paul uses a federal framework for interpreting Gen 2 and 3.
Federal Theology is a nickname for covenant theology based on foedus (Latin, Federal/Covenant) and a federal relationship is a relationship through representation. In Genesis 2 and 3 we see an account of the fall and that is interpreted for us in Romans 5. This draws a comparison between Adam and Christ. They serve as the federal representatives of humanity. Adam heads fallen humanity and Christ heads redeemed humanity.
The Two Pillars of Christ’s Work
By one man, Adam, sin entered in the world, as a result of sin came death. When we talk about Christ as the head of redeemed humanity, Christ has to provide a solution to Adam’s problem of sin and death.
Sin is a category for the moral effects of the fall. Death represents the penal consequences of the fall. When you talk of evil you have to categorize whether that evil consists of a moral problem or is tied to the penal consequence of that moral problem.
After Gen 3, the central problem of the Bible becomes the removal of the two fold consequences of the fall.
The Animating Principle of Scripture
Sin is rejecting God’s word at some level, and death is seen in terms of the loss of fellowship with God. How those things are overcome is the animating principle of Scripture.
As a result of these twin consequences, the work of the Messiah as the second head and Adam is founded on the deliverance of humanity from the moral and penal effects of the fall. Christ saves you from this.
What is Grace?
Grace is God’s solution to our sin. It is redemptive.
Relationship Between Cursing and Blessing
God is the first priest, blesses the fifth day (all creation), sixth day (all humanity), seventh day (Sabbath). That is a benediction or a word of blessing. A malediction is a word of cursing which undoes a blessing. A malediction represents a consequence for broken covenant. It is the execution of the stipulation of the covenant of works. It is the negative implication of the covenant of works.
The Effects of Adam’s Fall on Humanity
The dilemma caused is complicated because Adam was not the only person implicated. All in him fall too. His sin was imputed to all posterity. The sin of Adam is held to the account of his children. By one man, sin enters into the world and death by sin. There is the imputation of Adam’s sin to his posterity so that we must give an account.
The Two Paths Given Sin
The problem of sin drives the need for deliverance. We all long for relief. The quest for relief from the moral and penal effects of the fall is found in at least one of two paths.
- You can try to overcome your guilt by your own deeds and give an account.
- Somebody more qualified can overcome your moral and penal plight for you.
Who can do it?
The removal of the curse by a qualified substitute is the major solution. That which is under the curse cannot remove the curse unless the terms of the curse are fully satisfied. Moral purity must be obtained and penal judgement must be executed. In short, we cannot do it for each other.
Only someone who is not liable unto the penal and moral effects of sin can achieve deliverance. A sinless substitute is needed. This substitute needs to meet two criteria.
- This must be a sinless substitute uncorrupted by Adam’s Fall.
- This substitute must be able to act as a substitution for the benefit of those who have been found guilty.
The person who does this must be a perfect God to accomplish it and a perfect Man to be under the duty to do it such that it will be satisfied. Adam and his descendants need to look for a person who satisfied God and represents humanity.
The Active and Passive Obedience of Christ
What is the Active obedience of Christ? He laid down his life of his own initiative, fulfilling all righteousness (actively living a sinless life).
What is the Passive obedience of Christ? He does not possess original sin. He allowed himself to be killed and endured punishment on the cross. Took on the wrath of God and took on our sin.
Formally, we typically think linearly with this. It is everything up to the cross (active) and passive is what happens on the cross. There is some merit to that, but this is not why the terms were initially used. The active obedience of cross answers the problem of moral corruption. The passive obedience answers the problem of our penal crisis.
The Necessity of Imputation
The active answers our lack of righteousness morally which gives us a righteousness that we do not possess. On the passive side he takes the curse of our lack of righteousness so he endures death in our stead, satisfying the penal consequence of the fall. If Jesus only atoned for sin, and did not give us a righteousness we are just going back to Eden. But because of his imputation of righteousness, we have an eternal standing before God superior to Adam and Eve. This explains how our substitute as the God-man addresses the moral and passive consequences of the fall.
John Owen Quote and Principles
““There is an intimation of the manner how this work shall be performed. This, first, God takes upon himself: ‘I will do it; “I will put enmity.”’ It is an issue of his sovereign wisdom and grace. But secondly, he will do it in and by the nature of man, “the Seed of the woman.” And two things must concur to the effecting of it;—first, That this Seed of the woman must conquer Satan, bruise his head, destroy his works, and procure deliverance for mankind thereby; secondly, That he must suffer from, and by the means of, Satan in his so doing,––the serpent must “bruise his heal.” This is the remedy and relief that God hath provided from mankind. And this is the Messiah, or God joining with the nature of man to deliver mankind from sin and eternal misery” (Owen, Hebrews)”
- Evil is universally experienced, but only scripture lets us know that it came from our first parents.
- Humanity is powerless to overcome the penalty or recover our morality. Only the Grace of God can rescue us from his judgment.
- God’s words to the serpent provide the first hint at how he will ultimately provide relief from the moral corruption of the fall and the penal result of sin. God will provide redemption through the seed of the woman.
- Gen 3:15 provides the foundation of redemption. It is the point in redemptive history when God gave the first promise of deliverance. All subsequent promises of Grace are built on this promise.
The greatest divvied in the Bible is not be Malachi and Matt or Israel and the Church. The biggest chasm is between Gen 2 and 3.
The Covenant of Works Ongoing Effects
The covenant of works has not been kept; the obligations remain. This is because God has not changed. Therefore, the covenant of works formulates the basis for the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. The Messiah comes to do deal with the broken covenant of works. God demands perfect obedience from Adam to maintain communion with him. Perfection became an impossibility for humans. The overcoming this impossibility by God is the heart and essence of Grace.
History of TULIP
This was a response to the Five Articles of Remonstrance. Calvin, Besa, and company are in Geneva. One of Besa’s students was Jacob Arminius. Arminius dies in 1609, the year following in 1610 his followers put out an official protest against the Reformation trying to reform it. They have criticisms against Calvin’s teachings against election and human freedom. They came out with five points of criticism.
Hence the Synod of Dort setup their five point response we call TULIP. The Five points of TULIP are not a comprehensive statement of Reformed Theology. They are a polemical statement correcting the Five Articles of Remonstrance. This is a common attack others make against us is to assume this is all of Calvinism.
As such, the Synod should be read within this context along with the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dort and the Belgic Confession (the three forms of unity).
The Origin of the TULIP Acronym
The Synod of Dort did not come up with the acronym. Tulip is only about 100 years old. The acronym appears to have appeared in the early 20th century in 1905 and appears to come from a Pastor Cleland where he introduced the five points of Tulip. McAffee’s five points were tweaked further and his lection was popularized in 1932 when a lay theologian named Lorain Bettener published a book called “The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination”. This was based on his masters thesis at Westminster Theological seminary. He took McAffee’s acronym and popularized the five points of Calvinism.
In short: Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (1932)
The Co-Authors of the Five Articles of Remonstrance (1610)
Arminius’ successor was Simon Episcopius. He was the co-author for Remonstance along with Janus Uytenbogaert. They wanted the Belgic Confession and Heidelberg Catechism revised.
Five Articles of Remonstrance - Article 1
Article 1: “That God, by an eternal, unchangeable purpose in Jesus Christ, his Son, before the foundation of the world, hath determined, out of the fallen, sinful race of men, to save in Christ, for Christ’s sake, and through Christ, those who, through the grace of the Holy Ghost, shall believe on this his Son Jesus, and shall persevere in this faith and obedience of faith, through his grace, even to the end; and on the other hand, to leave the incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under wrath, and to condemn them as alienate from Christ, according to the word of God in John 3:16 and other passages.”
What is positive about this statement is that it upholds God’s unchangeable purpose in Jesus, it is Trinitarian, focuses on perseverance, and immanently Christ centered. These are Arminians who want to affirm God’s eternal plan, encourage perseverance, and have a focus on Jesus Christ.
What is unhelpful about this paragraph? “Persevere” is being used as the Christian persevering not being preserved by God. God is looking down the “proverbial corridor of time” to make a judgment call about a human. This creates conditional predestination.
Five Articles of Remonstrance - Article 2
Article 2: “… Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, died for all men and for every man, so that he has obtained for them all, by his death on the cross, redemption, and the forgiveness of sins; yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins, except the believer.”
This is the most remarkable of all the articles and the biggest pill to swallow. It is impossible to believe that Christ could die for all and yet they still die. Christ’s death her then becomes ineffectual and does not produce forgiveness. Universalism is a more consistent position. Everything is contingent on human choice in these articles.
Five Articles of Remonstrance - Article 3
Article 3: “That man has not saving grace of himself, nor of the energy of his free-will, inasmuch as he, in the state of apostasy and sin, can of and by himself neither think, will, nor do anything that is truly good (such as having faith eminently is); but that it is needful that he be born again of God in Christ, through his Holy Spirit, and renewed in understanding, inclination, or will, and all his powers, in order that he may rightly understand, think, will, and effect what is truly good, according to the word of Christ, John xv. 5: ‘Without me ye can do nothing.’”
This acknowledges the reality of Sin. But it argues for the necessity of “Prevenient” grace. Some kind of non-redeeming Grace that enables us to choose or reject Christ.
Five Articles of Remonstrance - Article 4
Article 4: “That this grace of God is the beginning, continuance, and accomplishment of any good, even to this extent, that the regenerate man himself, without that prevenient or assisting; awakening, following, and co-operative grace, [can] neither think, will, nor do good, nor withstand any temptations to evil; so that all good deeds or movements that can be conceived must be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ. But, as respects the mode of the operation of this grace, it is not irresistible, inasmuch as it is written concerning many that they have resisted the Holy Ghost,—Acts vii, and elsewhere in many places.”
Arminians and Calvinists are not talking about grace the same way. Grace is a thing obtained by the will and rejectable to the Arminian. To the Calvinist it cannot be resisted and is given by God alone. To the Arminian, grace keeps people from falling totally to sin and preps them for the gospel, if they want it. It does not enable them to respond to the gospel. Calvinistic grace accomplishes what it sets out to do.
Five Articles of Remonstrance - Article 5
Article 5: “…But whether they are capable, through negligence, of forsaking again the first beginnings of their life in Christ, of again returning to this present evil world, of turning away from the holy doctrine which was delivered them, of losing a good conscience, of becoming devoid of grace, that must be more particularly determined out of the Holy Scriptures before we ourselves can teach it with the full persuasion of our minds.”
This puts forth a doctrine of perseverance where it questions whether or not it is possible to fall from grace. Arminianism was trying to reform Christianity from the scriptures. Arminianism would later teach you can lose your salvation here, but at this point in History they are leaning in that direction.
The Four Types of God’s Will
o Permissive will
Allowing for something contrary to his law.
o Decretive will
Context for his permissive will. It is the perfect wise will of God in decreeing whatever comes to pass.
o Prescriptive will
Represents the moral standard that God requires of all people. This tells us what God demands of us as his image bearers. It broadcasts what we should do regardless of whether we obey. It sets the standard for all ethics and morality.
o Dispositional will
Refers to God’s will of good pleasure. It has two parts, 1. It pleases God to elect (decree) his people in Christ. He does not do it begrudgingly. Ephesians 1:9. 2. The delight of God when we do what his prescriptive will requires. He is displeased when we disobey.
The Origin of Humans and Why God Permits Sin
God has made from one man every nation of mankind, as Paul put it. It is a biblical fact that all people come from Adam and Eve. Our future is not limited to the failures of our family. That is the nature of Grace. Romans 9-11, God permits our disobedience to display the brilliance of his mercy against the backdrop of his wrath. It demonstrates the full spectrum of his attributes.
The Drecretive will and Sovereignty
Ephesians 1:11. God’s decretive will underscores his sovereignty over all things, including the fall. God’s decretive will cannot be thwarted. God is not the author of sin, but he does permit sin to fulfill his will.
The Will of God and His Character
The will of God reflects his character, reveals his design for creation, and is manifest in declaring all that comes to pass for his glory, even our sin. Thomas Watson, “God works the best of things and the worst of things for his glory.” We understand the fall as God permitting something to occur, making him sovereign, all to his glory. We are trying to put the fall of mankind against the relief of God’s sovereignty. The fall is part of God’s permissive will. It is something he allows according to his standards.
The Definition of Death
- “By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the parts and faculties of soul and body.”
The confession here focuses on the sin of our first parents. Death is not defined simply as the loss of a pulse, but as a loss of original righteousness and communion with God
Highlights two things, loss of fellowship with God and the defilement of our beings, body and soul. Once something is spoiled, you can’t unspoil it.
The Fall of the Race
“They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed; and the same death in sin, and corrupted nature, conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation.” (WCF 6)
Focuses on the fall of Adam of Eve and next we’ll focus on the fall of the human race. We should focus on the fall of the human race and how it connects to Adam. If Adam and Eve are the root, then the entire family tree has been corrupted. A bad root produces bad fruit.
Sin is a hereditary disease, credited to our account. We stand condemned under the law of God. We are liable to the just punishment which Sin deserves. All of Adam’s natural descendants are condemned under the law.
It is conveyed by ordinary generation not because of ordinary generation.
Actual and Original Sin
“From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.” (WCF 6)
Here the confession distinguishes actual sin from original sin. Original sin refers to the sin of our first parents and the imputation of its guilt and corruption to us. Actual sins are the ones we actually commit.
I have a will that is free to choose, but it chooses according to its nature which is sinful.
Remaining Sin
“This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those that are regenerated; and although it be, through Christ, pardoned, and mortified; yet both itself, and all the motions thereof, are truly and properly sin.” (WCF 6)
Even though we are saved, corruption remains. We have to face the presence of sin even though we have been freed from the reign and tyranny of sin in many ways.
Summary of the Doctrine of SIn
“Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, doth, in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God, and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal.” (WCF 6)
This is a summary of the doctrine of sin. All sin is a transgression of the law of God. As a result, there is a moral and penal consequence, we are corrupt morally and as a result penally we must suffer all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal.
The Ways in which Depravity is Total
Is every man as possibly bad as they can be? No. In what way is depravity total? Depravity in total in four different ways.
- Depravity is total in that sin affects every aspect of our being, body and soul. Every faculty is corrupted by sin. Mind, heart, will and body is corrupted by sin.
- Depravity is total in that sin totally isolates me from communion and fellowship with God. Some will talk about hell as the absence of God. Not true entirely, it is the absence of fellowship with God, loss of communion with God, and the presence of God with no mediator. The sinner in hell only know the terror of his wrath.
- Total in that sin makes us entirely incapable of saving ourselves.
- Total in that sin deserves infinite punishment. Sin is total in that affects the totality of our being, isolates us from God, leaves us incapable of saving ourselves, and deserves eternal punishment.
Sin and the Fall
Romans 5:12. Sin not only refers to the transgression, but to the moral corruption of our minds hearts and wills.
Romans 3:23. The glory of God is the standard, it is reflected in his standard and in the law of God.
Psalm 51:5. We are born in a state of sin even before we actually commit a transgression.
Isaiah 53:6. Left to our own devices I will stray from God’s path.
1 Kings 8:46. Everyone sins.
1 John 1:8. If we say we have no sin, we lie.
Gen 6:5. All intentions of the heart are evil continually.
Therefore: Sin is both original and actual. It is inherited and we commit sins of omission and commission against the Lord. The wages of sin is death. Death represents the penal consequence of our moral corruption.
Note: These verses will be in the ID section.
