This is the third article in a series called Fundamentals of the Faith
Adam’s Original Sin (AOS)
In the last article “God’s Grace”, we discussed how God had created Adam and Eve perfect and righteous. They were created perfect humanity and nothing about their person or behavior violated God’s perfect standard of righteousness (+R). This state of perfection changed completely when Adam sinned. Adam’s original sin (AOS) caused the whole human race who were to follow, to be born unrighteous (-R) and under the condemnation of God’s +R. Eve was deceived into committing her sin but Adam, knowing what he was doing, chose to disobey God by eating the fruit. The consequences of Adam’s sin for the entire human race is the subject of this article.
The Barrier
Adam, as the federal head of mankind chose to abandon his +R standing when he sinned. His sin created a barrier between God and the whole human race. This barrier is made up of all the consequences of Adam’s sin as viewed by God’s +R and Justice. As we discussed in the last article, when Adam sinned, God had no choice but to condemn them because of His perfect +R standard. If God ignored their sin and swept it under the rug, he would compromise His perfect integrity and cease to be God. He will never allow that to happen. The consequences of Adam’s sin created a barrier between God and man that man cannot cross. It is too high, wide and long for man to ever find a way to cross it to be with God. It is this barrier that must be overcome for us to qualify to live with God forever. It is the crossing of this barrier that God had in mind when He sent Jesus to pay for the sins of the world.
13 Aspects of the Barrier
The core issue in the barrier is the +R of God and the –R of man. God can’t bless anyone who is –R. He can only condemn everyone who is –R. While Adam’s sin caused him and therefore all of his descendants to be –R, it also caused many other problems as well. These other issues are discussed in the bible in at least 13 different ways or to put it another way, our –R status is described in 13 different ways. It is these 13 aspects of the barrier that Christ overcame through His death, burial and resurrection. It is these same 13 things that are removed from us the moment we believe in His death, burial and resurrection for our salvation. The following gives a brief discussion of these 13 aspects of the barrier that were overcome by Christ and removed at salvation.
1. Unrighteousness – Rom 1:18,29; 3:5,10; 3:22-24; 1Cor 6:9; 2Cor 6:14. As we have explained, our –R status, inherited from Adam, brought God’s condemnation on us all. Unrighteousness (-R) is defined as any state or activity that doesn’t meet God’s perfect standard of +R. Our –R status is changed through the imputation of divine +R at salvation (2Cor 5:21). When we trust in Christ, God credits our account with His own +R, making us worthy to receive His eternal blessing.
2. Spiritual death – Rom 5:12,14,17,21; 6:23; 2Cor 3:7; Jn 5:24. Spiritual death is defined as the inability to function spiritually or process spiritual ideas. Adam’s sin destroyed the spiritual aspect of man’s soul. Some believe that Adam’s human spirit died within him causing him to lose all spiritual capacities. Others believe that his human spirit still lived but simply lost its spiritual capacity because he was separated from God. I will let others argue what really happened. What I do know is that Adam’s sin caused all of us to be born without the ability to process spiritual truth. The other aspect of spiritual death is separation from God. We are all born separated from God and unable to communicate with God. At salvation, God removed spiritual death and replaced it with spiritual life.
The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus (Rom 6:23). We were born dead in Adam, but when we trusted Christ for salvation, spiritual death was removed and we were given spiritual life in Christ.
3. Condemnation – Dt 25:1; Prov 12:2; Mt 12:41-42; Jn 3:18-19; Rom 5:16-18; Rom 8:1-3,34; Heb 11:7; 1Tim 3:6. Adam’s –R status and spiritual death forced God to condemn him and all mankind. The result of condemnation is to be placed in the Lake of Fire for eternity. At salvation, God cancelled our condemnation permanently, never to be condemned again.
Rom 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Those who trust in Christ are freed forever from condemnation. As God’s children, He does discipline us, but He will never judge us in the courtroom of heaven again. Salvation cannot be lost, forsaken or returned.
4. Wrath of God – 2Chr 30:8; Ezra 8:22; Nahum 1:2; Psm 59:13; Jer 10:10; Jn 3:36; Rom 1:18, 5:9; Eph 2:3, 5:6; 1Thess 5:9; Rev 14:10,19. God’s wrath refers to the eternal punishment reserved those who reject Christ. His wrath will see its final and fullest expression in the Lake of Fire. We begin our lives under His wrath but are freed from wrath when we trust in Christ.
John 3:36 He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God remains on him.
5. Curse of the Law – Dan 9:11; Gal 3:10,13, 21-24; Col 2:14; Rom 7:9-11. The
Mosaic Law was given to Israel to reveal man’s sinfulness and need for a savior (Gal 3:21-24). The law revealed to man that he was spiritually dead (Rom 7:9-11). Those who depend on the law for salvation are under a curse because sinful man cannot keep the law (Gal 3:10). The law is unable to save or give +R (Gal 2:16). Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law (Col 2:14). Many in Israel, like many today, turned the law into a way of salvation, which it was never intended to provide. All who trust in Christ are under grace through Christ, not under law (Rom 6:14).
6. Perishing – Mt 5:29; Lk 13:3,5; Jn 3:15-16; 10:28; Rom 2:12; 1Co 1:18; 2Co 2:15-16; 2Thess 2:10; 2Pt 2:12; 3:9. To perish, apollumi means to be ruined or to decompose. Perishing, which is the fate of those who reject Christ (Lk 13:3), refers to the destruction of residing in the Lake of Fire for eternity. Those who perish consider the gospel to be foolishness (1Co 1:18; 2Thes 2:10), because they are unable to understand it. God does not desire that any perish, but be saved and come to a full knowledge of the truth (2Pt 3:9). In contrast, those who accept Christ as Savior will never perish (Jn 3:15-16; 10:28). When we accept Christ as our savior, we are no longer perishing but have been preserved (Jude 1:1).
7. Enmity – Gen. 3:15; Rom 8:7; Eph 2:15-16; Jms 4:4. The Greek word echthros means hatred, animosity or to be enemies. Enmity is used to describe the antagonism between God and Satan (Gen. 3:15). This same enmity exists between God and the unbeliever (Rom 8:7) because the unbeliever is the enemy of God. Enmity was also used to describe the 1st century attitude of Jews toward the Gentile nations (Eph 2:15-6). Enmity with God is the attitude of the believer who is committed to the world instead of God (Jms 4:4). Jesus eliminated the enmity between Jew and Gentile and unites all races in the body of Christ.
Rom 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! God loves and will save even His enemies and adopt them as His children.
8. Alienation – Eph 4:18; Col 1:21. The Greek word apallotrioo means to be estranged and separated. Alienation is the result of being mentally disoriented to the mind of God. Alienation means to think and live as enemies of God. The alienated believe that happiness is found through independence from God and from gratifying desire. When we are saved, God transforms our allegiance by renewing our minds with His truth.
9. Kingdom of Darkness – Col 1:13; 1Pt 2:9; Mt 4:16, 6:23; Lk 1:79, 11:35, 22:53; Jn 1:5, 3:19, 12:35; Acts 26:18; Rom 13:12; 2Cor 6:14; Eph 5:8, 6:12; Rev 16:10. Adam and Eve were created as residents of the kingdom of God. Adam was the Federal Head of the earth and commanded to exercise dominion over the earth (Gen1:26,28). Adam’s sin caused him to lose his Headship of the earth and Satan became the ruler of the world (Mt 4:8; Jn 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). Their sin caused them to become the spoils of war (Angelic Conflict) and they became part of the kingdom of darkness. The kingdom of darkness is defined as the realm under the control of Satan and the forces of evil (Eph 6:12). All members of the human race are now born into the kingdom of darkness (Col 1:13; 1Pt 2:9). All believers are transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Christ at the moment of salvation (Col 1:13; 1Pt 2:9). At salvation, we become part of God’s kingdom forever.
10. Natural Man – Jude 19; 1Cor 2:12-14; 15:45-46. The natural man (psukikos) is mankind without the Holy Spirit. At salvation, we become spiritual (pneumatikos) man because we are indwelt by the Spirit. psukikos means soulish or that which is governed by the sensual apart from the Spirit. The natural man is man in his fallen state without the Spirit and he is unable to grasp spiritual phenomena (1Cor 2:12-14). The natural man is motivated and directed by his old man belief and behavior system. The indwelling of the Spirit transforms us from the natural man to the spiritual man. When we trust in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to indwell our bodies (1Cor 6:19).
11. Ungodly – Rom 1:18; 4:5; 5:6-8,12,19; 1Tim 1:9; 2Pt 2:5-6. The Greek word asebeia means to hold an irreverent attitude toward God and to act contrary to God’s standards of righteousness. Ungodliness is discussed in contrast to eusebeia which is Godliness, meaning to conform to God’s standards. God’s wrath is directed against the ungodly (Rom 1:18) and the law reveals man’s ungodliness (1Tim 1:9). God’s love and mercy sent Christ to die for the ungodly (Rom 5:6) and He justifies the ungodly who trust in Christ (Rom 4:5). When we trust in Christ our ungodly status is removed.
12. Slaves to Sin – Gal 4:7; 5:1,13; Rom 6:6-9,16-20; Jn 8:34-36. Adam’s sin caused the genetic corruption called the sin nature. Man was created with a nature to love and serve God. AOS corrupted our nature causing us to be devoted to serving self. Adam’s nature was passed down to the whole human race through the male (Rom 5:12). The virgin birth (no human father), allowed Christ to be born without a sin nature. The sin nature causes us to build our beliefs based on the idea of serving self rather than God. Without the power of the Spirit who enables us to serve God, man is a slave to his self-centered beliefs (Rom 6:6-9). Slavery to sin is often manifested by addictions and compulsive behavior. At salvation, Jesus frees us from our slavery to the sin nature (Jn 8:34-36) and the Spirit enables us to live free from sin by renewing our beliefs and behaviors to serve God (Gal 5:1).
13. Spiritual Blindness – Acts 26:18; 2Cor 4:3-4; 2Tim 1:8-10. The natural man is born without the capacity to process spiritual ideas. This inability to see the truth is called spiritual blindness (2Cor 4:3-4). Spiritual blindness renders man unable to understand the significance of rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ. Satan works to obscure the truth of the gospel to deceive the unbeliever (2Cor 4:3-4) The devil uses religion to veil the gospel by promoting many different roads to heaven. Christ brings light for us to see the truth of the gospel (2Tim 1:10) and the Holy Spirit empowers our human faculties to process spiritual ideas (1Cor 2:12-16).
Summary
The barrier between God and fallen man was caused by AOS. When Adam sinned, he lost his +R status, became –R and came under the condemnation of God. These 13 aspects of the barrier describe man’s status before God, man’s corrupted faculties rendering him incapable of processing spiritual ideas and man’s corrupted beliefs causing him to serve himself rather than God. These 13 things describe fallen man in all of his corrupted glory. When we trust in Christ, all of these 13 things are removed and changed. Our –R status is made +R, our condemnation is removed, our capacities are restored and God offers us the opportunity to renew our hearts to be like Christ.
Colossians 1:13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
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