“Original Sin”

The Appomattox Court House Presbyterian Church Pulpit
Rev. Cameron S. Smith
The Lord's Day, January 29, 2006
Isaiah 59:1-21
Romans 5:12, 18-19

Question 6
Q. Did God create man evil and perverse like this?
 A. No. On the contrary, God created man good and in his image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might rightly know God his Creator, love him with his whole heart, and live with him in eternal blessedness, praising and glorifying him.

Question 7
Q. Where, then, does this corruption of human nature come from?
 A. From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden; whereby our human life is so poisoned that we are all conceived and born in the state of sin.

Question 8
Q. But are we so perverted that we are altogether unable to do good
and prone to do evil?
 A. Yes, unless we are born again through the Spirit of God.

     Today, we continue with the Heidelberg Catechism and the theme of misery in this opening section of the Catechism. But, as I've noted many times and in many ways, this is not about misery for the sake of misery; it is about misery that leads to the foot of the cross and the joys of peace with God through Christ.

The Imago Dei
     The first question from today's Catechism lesson follows naturally from last week's message: (#6) "Did God create man [and woman] evil and perverse….?" Last week, I told you that although we know what God requires of us -- to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength; and our neighbor as we dearly love our own selves - yet we are unable to do so in our own strength; in fact doing just the opposite, hating God and our neighbor! Did God do this to us? Are we just puppets for God's pleasure in the drama of life?
     The answer is a resounding "No!" The answer is rather that we were created in the image of God (imago dei). All people, regardless of what they profess to be, be it Christian or something else; bear the image of their Creator. His footprints are still visible on the fabric of every soul.
     I must tell you; this was an incredibly special gift from God to humanity. Here's why I say this, and bear in mind that I speak of the gift as it was originally given by God in Eden!:
     1) To bear the image of God means having a soul -- we are spiritual beings. The soul never dies, but lives on regardless of the status of the physical body. This differentiates us from the rest of creation. Psalm 8 is a good place to start for meditating on this amazing gift!
     2) To bear the image of God means having a saving knowledge of God as creator and sustainer of all creation. In our original created state, we possessed a clear, unified and unambiguous knowledge of God
     3) To bear the image of God means a natural disposition of righteousness and holiness of the will, heart and actions. The ability to please God was inherent in our creation
     4) To bear the image of God means happiness and delighting in God in all things.
     5) To bear the image of God means righteous dominion over all creation. This did not mean that Adam & Eve were given free reign of exploitation. The idea is one of caretaking!
     As God's image bearers, I must tell you further that the witness of Scripture is that we were created for a special relationship with God. This relationship encompasses a deep, rich and abiding love, joy and peace. And so, the original and abiding purpose for humanity, far from misery, was for the good, not ill.

Original Sin
     And so, the Catechism follows up by asking, (#7) "Where, then, does this corruption of human nature come from?" The answer comes back, "From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the Garden…." From Eden, a singular, defining encounter with temptation in the garden and our first parents passed on to their posterity, from conception to the grave, a "poison" known as a sin nature. The spread of this first sin is known as the doctrine of original sin.
     However, many think -- even within our own Presbyterian USA Church -- this verdict far too severe for the "crime" committed. Instead of original sin, they prefer instead a view that all people are born innocent (an amazing assertion for anyone who has raised a child from the womb!), only falling into sin as they see and learn bad behavior, thus becoming guilty in their own right before God quite apart from inheriting a sin nature from Adam and Eve. After all, they reason 1 Corinthians 15:33 says that "bad company ruins good morals."
     But, in response to that view, which I strongly disagree with, I'd have to say that two things stand in the way of accepting it:
(1) The Old Testament witness in Genesis to the gravity of the so-called oops in the Garden.
And further, (2) there's the consistent teaching of the New Testament on the matter.

The Old Testament Perspective on Original Sin
     Turning to Genesis 3 where the story of the Fall is told, the gravity of original sin is surely more than an oops. (1) It was in the first place, a display of unrestrained pride and ambition. Adam and Eve, at the prompting of the serpent, wanted to be just like God; (cf. Gen. 3:5). (2) They demonstrated a bedrock of unbelief when they took the serpent's word over God, believing instead that God mislead them; (Gen 2:17). (3) And then, quite obviously, they displayed a strong-willed disobedience to God's expressed will in the eating the fruit, thinking that it couldn't lead to their own eventual deaths; (Gen. 3:6, 11). (4) On top of all of that, our first parents exhibited a shameless degree of ingratitude in that they were given all things for their joy and edification by God; (Gen. 2:15-25). They were given the delights of the Garden and a close, face to face relationship with God. (5) And finally, note the selfishness involved in the affair, the couple lacking entirely in love towards their own posterity; (Gen. 3:12-13). It's comparable to a pregnant woman persisting in a behavior that she knows full well will be harmful to the child that she is carrying. Increasingly, courts of law are recognizing the crime in such behavior.
     You see, from an Old Testament point of view, the doctrine of original sin understands that the sin in the garden was grave enough to have polluted and altered the entire course of human history.

The New Testament Perspective on Original Sin
     Following up on this in the New Testament, our lesson from Romans 5 drives this point home with relish. My understanding here is that this section in Romans serves as a summary for all of the teaching on original sin in the New Testament: (Rom 5:12, 18-19)
"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man [Adam], and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…." "One trespass [in Eden] led to condemnation for all men…." "By the one man's disobedience [Adam's] the many were made sinners…."

Life with Original Sin
     It was quite simply, paradise lost. You remember at the beginning where I told you about the image of God in us? Well, we still bear that image, though not in its original holiness that I described. But, all was not lost in the Fall, but the image is distorted and sick with sin. To use a modern analogy, the image has a computer virus; it's not functioning the way it did just out of the factory.
     We lost that true and perfect saving knowledge of God and the divine will. Our understandings of the works of God are clouded in ignorance, blindness and darkness. There's very little restraint of inclinations, desires, and actions, and sometimes we wear that as a badge of honor! Perfect and just dominion over creation has given way to exploitation and conflict between humanity and the environment, cf. Gen 3:17-18, "Cursed is the ground because of you [Adam]; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you…." But, perhaps even more significant is the alienation between humanity and the animal kingdom. I want you to note well the description in Isaiah 11:6-9 for what things are supposed to be like, (and will eventually be when Christ comes back!) "The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion…together….Also the cow and the bear will graze….The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra…They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea." And last of all, swept away in the current of sin is the original image's comfort and true happiness in this life and the future resurrection life. Now in exchange, we have physical and eternal death.
     As I said last week, we are living in a haze of perpetual amnesia! Even in the light of redemption in Jesus Christ, the image is not yet fully restored in us. Just look at how divided the Church of Jesus Christ is over so many issues. In our own denomination, if you had twenty Presbyterians in the room and put the same theological question to them, you might get twenty different answers! We seem to think this is healthy! Diversity! Dialogue! It's our birthright as thinking Christians to hold whatever views that seem right to us. That's not progress, folks; it's the legacy of original sin!

The "Cure"
     As we reflect on the legacy of original sin, that brings us to the final question of our catechism question this morning:
(#8) "But are we so perverted that we are altogether unable to do good and prone to do evil?" My personal preference here would be to say, "Well, of course not! We're not that bad." But, that's not the truth, the answer is: "Yes, unless we are born again through the Spirit of God." Now let me hasten to add, this is not nearly as bad as it sounds. It's not the death blow. It's an invitation to true life. The key is that you can't do it on your own. God must work on your behalf - unless you are born again through the Spirit of God through faith and repentance. Misery leads to the foot of the cross and grace is abundant there.
     Let me share with you the story of the Gospel in Old Testament words:
(Isaiah 59:1-2) "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear."
     Now, I counted 48 negative judgments against humanity. That's pretty heavy. I admit, I debated with myself before I asked our worship leader to read all 21 verses in their entirety this morning. As Joel read them this morning for us, I could see that he was getting kind of tired as he read them! Mission accomplished in my mind! The first part of the Gospel is, recognizing your misery apart from God. But, we can't dwell there, let's read on, it gets better, trust me!
(Isaiah 59:15-16) "The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man [who did well], and wondered that there was no one to intercede; [but] then his own arm brought him salvation…."
     You see, even though God was displeased with humanity; he wouldn't let things stand that way! With "his own arm," God gave us himself in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ satisfies God's justice and intercedes on our behalf. And, without too much hype, believe me, it gets even betterer (forgive my poor English grammar!)
(Isaiah 59:20-21) "'And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,' declares the Lord. 'And as for me, this is my covenant with them,' says the Lord: 'My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,' says the Lord, 'from this time forth and forevermore.'"
     This is our gift from God: Jesus Christ, as our redemption and the Holy Spirit to seal the deal. God's "fix" is permanent. God doesn't allow original sin to be the final answer. You dont have to remain in the grips of that original sin. I exhort you this morning to fleee to the foot of the cross where mercy and grace flow freely!

Amen.