I think as I read, you might
agree with what I've just said, that among those offensive doctrines
of Christianity, this certainly is one of them. Psalm 51, 1 through
5. Now, notice the heading or the
subtitle of Psalm 51, to the chief musician, given to the
music director to sing, a psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet
came unto him, after he had gone in to bath Sheba. Now, verse
1, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindnesses,
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies, blot out
my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my sin
and my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge
my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee,
thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight,
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear
when thou judgeth. Verse 5, Behold, I was shapen
in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Now that's
our principle text today. We'll branch out from that, of
course, but the doctrine of original sin. When we have settled our
mind and been in agreement with two very great principles of
the Word of God, and they are, those two principles, number
one, that God is God, that He is the eternal, uncreated, self-existent,
unsustained God, the only true God, who being tridental, or
Trinitarian, exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, and has every divine attribute under perfection. That's
number one. Secondly, that the Scripture,
the verbally inspired Word of our God, and is without error
or mixture of error, and by their authority we, quote, secure the
ground we go on, unquote. That is, whatever we teach, we
call it by the word of the Lord. All that we teach, or should,
is founded upon the Holy Scripture, the Word of God. Thus we say,
in all matters, on any subject, thus saith the Word of the Lord. Now, with that as our foundation,
one of the first things that we meet with in entering into
the house of Scripture, it's in the third chapter of Genesis,
is the sin and the fall of Adam and of his wife Eve, and in them
the fall of the whole human race. It is to be feared that most
professing Christians today do not fully grasp the truth that
we call original sin. And they do not grasp the impact
that the sin of Adam had upon the human family. And the reason
why, that it has a far-reaching and a far-lasting effect upon
mankind. We believe and we preach that
Adam fell and so the Bible declares Adam sinned, Adam fell and was
driven out of the garden. Now it behooves us then to consider
what Adam fell from. In other words, to consider his
first estate. What did Adam fall from? What was his original state before
they ate and they sinned and they fell? Then the question,
how could one sin and fall who originally is made in the likeness
and in the image of God? The first state by creation of
Adam has been called by theologians down over the centuries as original
righteousness. John Bryan is one who referred
to it under that title. That he was not sinful when Adam
was created and put in the garden. In fact, he was upright according
to Ecclesiastes 7 and verse 29. And though Adam was not immutably
holy as God is immutably holy, neither was his nature corrupted
or inclined toward evil as God originally made him. God breathed
into Adam the breath of life, and Scripture said that he became
a living soul. There was no sin in Adam when
he was created, not even any sin lying dormant in Adam that
only need to be stirred and brought forth into exercise. But Scripture
does teach us that our first parents, by sinning, fell from
their original righteousness or original condition. And death
seized upon the couple, our first parent, and they became subject
themselves unto physical death. Neither death could touch them
unless they sinned, which God had forbidden them to do. While
both came and sinned, then both fell and became corrupt." Now,
there were immediate consequences when Eve and Adam ate, sinned,
and fell. There were personal consequences,
first of all, to both of them. You will find it in Genesis chapter
3, verse 7 through verse 19, as God dealt with them about
their part in the sin. When they ate, they then saw
their nakedness. They were now afraid to be in
the presence of God. By the way, they saw their nakedness
when before that says they were naked and were not afraid. Now
they are afraid to be in the presence of God when before they
delighted for communion with Him, and they hid from God, and
they were driven out of the garden. As punishment, the woman would
bear her offspring in sorrow. The man would get his living
by the sweat of his brow, fighting the briars and the thistle for
a sustenance out of the earth. And a time would come when both
of them would die and return to the dust of the earth again
from which Adam had been taken. Now in Genesis chapter 5, there
are two facts that are given us concerning our father Adam. Number one in the third verse. that Adam begat other children
beyond Cain and Abel, that Adam begat children in his likeness
and after his image. He begat children, not wholly
and upright, but children resembling him. The words are, in his likeness
and after his image. Then the second thing that we
notice there in Genesis chapter 5 is in verse 5, and that is
that Adam, after a number of years, physically died. Adam died a physical death. His body died. He went again
to the dust from which he was taken and from which God said
he would return. Yes, it is true He lived over
900 years. in that particular age and time,
but at last death came and took him away as its prey. But now, we are more interested
this morning in the question, what consequences, if any, listen
to my question, what consequences, if any, did Adam's sin and fall
have on others? upon the human race. Did His
sin have any effect upon others? Did it affect any beyond and
outside of Himself? Upon us so far removed by time
from His sin. Did it have any effect upon us? Has his sin anything to do with
other men and women? Are any consequences visited
upon part or whole of the human race. Now for answers, we go
to the New Testament and consider what connection there is between
Adam and the race. This is our point of focus. This is where we make our stand.
The connection or the link there is between Adam and the race. And the most prominent passage
is that one from Paul in Romans chapter 5, running from about
verse 12 down to the end of the chapter. We'll not read it, only
make reference to it. But in verse 12 of Romans 5,
There we read something important and impacted. By one man, sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon
all men, for that all have sinned, or all sin. Then in verse 19
of Romans chapter 5, listen to this, it is as clear as it could
be. Verse 19, by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners. Now it contrasts Christ in the
last time, but this is the part we're interested in. See it again,
by one man's disobedience many were made sinners. Listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. That chapter on the resurrection
and the 22nd verse says this, in Adam all died. In Adam all died. There's an interesting passage
further down in 1 Corinthians 15. You'll find it down about
verses 47, 8, and 9. But verse 49 said, We have born
the image of the earthly, or earthy man. the earthy man, and
he's talking about Adam. We have borne the image of the
earthly and also shall bear the image of the heavenly. Now the
human family has a double connection or relation, if you will, unto
Adam, which bears its bitter fruit throughout the history
of mankind. Number one, Adam was not just
a private individual, but a federal head. According to Paul in Romans
5 and verse 14, Adam is in some way a figure or a type of Christ. He is a figure of that one that
is to come. In some way, Adam, says Paul,
is a type of Christ. And as a federal head, his sin
is imputed, and even the guilt of it, and that's what verse
12 said of Romans 5. But then secondly, Adam is the
Father, if I may say so, of the race. Adam is the first progenitor
of the race of mankind or of humanity. And human nature, having
been corrupted in him, is then passed along to all of his offspring. Remember, he bore children in
his likeness and in his image, not children before he fell when
he was upright, but children when he had fallen and was sinful. He begat a Son in His own likeness
and in His own image. We bear the image of the earthy,
Paul said in 1 Corinthians. Now, let's put it this way, that
the fountain is polluted. That is, the original fountain
is poisoned, is polluted with sin. So are the streams then
that flow out of that fountain. The stalk of the root is corrupt,
if we might use the analogy of a tree. So, therefore, the fruit
of that corrupt root is also corrupt and the branch it. In
Acts 17 and verse 26, Paul tells those ignorant Athenian philosophers,
that God had made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell
on the face of the earth. The reason Paul said that or
threw it in could be very well because the Athenians and those
in that area believed that they were aborigines, that they were
octoctones, as some call it. That means that they thought,
sprung up from the native soil out of their land. They thought
that they had sprung up out of the soil in the area where they
live. So Paul says, no, all nations
have a common origin. All are descended from one ancestor
of one blood. By the way, I think this probably
would also make a good argument against the teaching of evolution. Now for a while let's consider
back in Psalm 51 5 a part of that larger confession that David
makes after his sin with Bathsheba. After the prophet had come, he
had been humble, God had smitten his heart, he had become contrite
after being faced with his sin. Now, it is true, he confesses
here actual, literal sins. Deeds of sin, acts of sin. Verse 1, my transgression. Verse 3, I acknowledge my transgression. Look at verse 4. Here it is.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in
your sight. These are His acknowledgment
of His actual sins with Bathsheba and His murder of Uriah. These are His acts or deeds of
sin, the iniquities which he had committed with and against
Bathsheba, and also against her husband. But now come to verse
5 with me, and he carries his confession still higher and higher. He carries it as far as it is
possible to carry a confession of sin. That is, he confesses
his original sin. He confesses the corruption of
his nature. What does he say here? But that
he was sinful from and in his mother's womb, that he was sinful
from birth. Verse 5 says again, Behold, I
was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Now, we will return to consider
verse 5 shortly after we enter into the record some other verses
that trace human depravity to be existent at birth, as soon
as we are born. Here are some. Do not sweep them
under the rug. They are forceful. They are true. Psalm 58 and verse 3. The wicked are estranged from
the womb. They go astray as soon as they
are born, speaking lies. Notice that. From the womb. and
from birth. Isaiah chapter 48 and verse 8
weighs in. I knew that you would deal treacherously
and was called a transgressor from the womb. Listen to that. Job 11 and verse 12. Zophar, one of Job's miserable
comforters as he called them, Zophar insults Job likening him
unto a man. born like a wild ass's coat while
trying to be wise. That Job is making himself to
be a wise man and so far would liken him to one born like a
wild ass's coat. The words of our Lord in John
chapter 3 and verse 6, oh how pertinent they are. The Lord
tells Nicodemus something in that nighttime conversation. It is this, that which is born
of the flesh is flesh. Now that is as clear as it can
be when we understand the meaning of the word flesh in this context. What is he saying but that like
produces like. Flesh begets flesh. Flesh gives
life to other flesh, each after its own kind. Flesh only brings
forth flesh. Grace and salvation do not run
in the blood, but a corrupt nature is propagated from Adam down
to us. Thus in Psalm 51 and verse 5,
does not stand alone. It's not the only passage. We're
not locked into it only for proof of original sin, original sin
from birth. David says in our text, and by
the way, The NIV version of the Scripture renders this verse
this way, quote, Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from
the time my mother conceived me, No question this is a hard
saying to many who preach original innocence and champion the purity
of newborns and the goodness of the race. Some tell us that
infants are born safe. S-A-F-E, I've seen, safe until
a certain time. Others say they are innocent
for a while and not accountable. As John Gill said, the Armenians
are very greatly pinched badly pinched by this scripture in
Psalm 51 and verse 5, which is evidenced, he said, by the silly
twist which they put upon it to evade the truth that is here. Now, one ruse, R-U-S-E, that
is used to dodge the truth of this verse, Psalm 51, verse 5,
is to say, to have, and to claim that David is speaking not of
his innate depravity, but of the sin of his mother. And they even accuse her of the
possibility of being guilty of a sexual sin or vice. Even call her an adulteress. Now, if this were the case, It
would have made David an illegitimate son. And remember in the law,
in Deuteronomy chapter 23 and verse 2, very clear, quote, a
bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord
until the tenth generation, unquote. And David, at least twice in
his writing, at least twice, extols the virtue and the godliness
of His mother. How rash to call her a sinful
woman by this text of the Scripture. In Psalm 86, 16, again in Psalm
116 and verse 16, David refers to his mother as the handmaid of the Lord. And he says, I, the son of the
handmaid of the Lord. Valued, valued she was, a handmaid
of Jehovah. Others there are who are willing
to understand David to be describing the lawful union of his parents
as a sin. This is absolutely ridiculous. The sin is in their intimate
union that brought forth the son in conception. This is ridiculous. God commands the propagation
of the race. Replenish the earth and multiply. Genesis 128 to Adam and Eve,
again in Genesis 9 and 1 to Noah, his sons and family. The author
of Hebrews has written, marriage is honorable in all and the bed
undefiled. Hebrews 13 and verse 4. Psalms
127 and verse 3 said, Lo, children are and heritage of the Lord. And the Scripture said the fruit
of the womb is His reward. Besides all that, trying to get
around this, hold on just a minute. David is talking about Himself. He's not talking about somebody
else. He's talking about Himself. And
He's talking about His own personal sin. He's lamenting and confessing
His own sin and sinfulness, not that of someone else. John Marston
wrote a long time ago, David is saying that he was not a sinner
by accident. I've never heard that expression
before. Saying, the man said, quote,
I have sinned, yea, I was born in sin, unquote. Christopher
Ness put it this way, David traces his actual sin and makes a connection
to his original sin. That the original sin is the
womb out of which flows all of the actual sins of David. Adam
Clark said, David speaks here of what is commonly called original
sin. Charles Spurgeon wrote on this
verse, quote, it is a wicked resting of scripture to deny
that original sin and natural depravity are here taught, unquote. So you see, this was the opinion
of some good theologians down through the ages. But now, let's
wade a little bit further out into the deep and consider how
and why, those two words, how and why all come into the world
stained with original sin. How is this inherent corruption
derived right down to our own individual self. How is our nature
defiled? As soon as it exists. And why are there no exceptions? No exceptions whatsoever. Now some have taught that. souls
who are preexistent and that they sin yonder in a preexistent
other world and then as punishment are sent down to inhabit a sinful
body. This view was held by some of
the heathen philosophers in days of yore and if I'm not mistaken
was adopted by Origen, one of the early writers. Others say
depravity is not inherent from birth, but that it is learned
by imitation. Not from birth, but imitation.
or from a bad environment, being born into a bad environment. From the influence of those already
skilled in sinning, that we imitate what we see. We learn to sin
by example and environment, they say. Why again I say, is there
no exception? If all are born innocent and
without sin, why do all without exception sin and turn to sin? So let's notice, David traces
his depravity all the way back to his birth and conception. And he does not say that he began
to sin when he was but a young man or a youth. Shapen in sin,
conceived in iniquity. And I understand one of those
Hebrew words literally means warmed. warmed by his mother. Now, we consider how this sinful,
corrupt nature is passed unto all, how it is conveyed unto
all, and the question whether the immediate parents, now listen
carefully right along here, whether the immediate parents are the
immediate purveyors of the corrupt nature, or whether we must trace
it back to Adam, our first father. Now, think about that. Is it
the parents that purvey it, or must we trace it all the way
back to Adam? Now, we admit with David, and
as Thomas Goodwin put it, that generation from immediate parents,
our own parents, is the channel and is the instrument of conveying
the corrupt nature. While the original cause, which
the Scriptures teach, is from our first father, Adam. In Isaiah, there's a verse, 43
and 27. God says to Israel, thy first
father hath sinned. Now we're bound to admit, that
all are generated from Adam. We can't escape that, can we? God is made of one blood. All
nations of men are to dwell upon the face of the earth. And then
we're bound to admit that sin originated in the human family
with Adam, whose nature was corrupted when he sinned, and he fell under
the curse of his sin and of death. Now, the New Testament clearly
links us to Adam. And let's look at that very,
very carefully. As seen by the Scriptures that
we have already quoted, as Paul tells us again in Romans 5 and
12, all sinned in Adam. And by the way, if you look at
that passage in Romans 5, 12 through verse 19, you will see
that Paul speaks here only of one man and one sin. All the way through that passage,
He has in His mind's eye one man and one sin. And it's not
our personal sin, but the one or the first sin of Adam. And in this light, let's look
again at the first half of verse 17, and verse 19 of Romans chapter
5. Listen again. Romans 5.17, For
by one man's offense death reigned by one. Then look at verse 19,
By one man's disobedience many were made sinners. Let me give
you a part of verse 19 from Marshall's Greek-English interlinear, and
it goes like this, quote, for as through the disobedience of
one man, the many were constituted sinners, unquote. He means Adam,
of course, and as John Murray put it, they were placed in the
category of sinners by the sin of one man. And again, Paul links
us to Adam. In the matter of physical death,
there is an inescapable link to Adam. 1 Corinthians 15, 22,
again, in Adam all die. Because you see in verse 21 of
that same chapter, death came through a man, that man is Adam. Notice what Paul does not say. He does not say, in your parents,
all die. He says, in Adam all die. Yes, the parents are the instruments
of transmitting, are conveying this sentence of death along,
as well as the corrupt nature. But it originated with the first
man, Adam. For all were in his loins when
he sinned and fell in the garden. I want that to sink in. All were
in the loins of Adam when he sinned. Let me give you a lesser
example of that being in the loins and it being accounted.
You'll find it in Hebrews chapter 7, a discussion of Abraham and
Melchizedek. And in the 5th through the 10th
verse there, in Hebrews chapter 7, I see some are turning. I'll
kind of slow down. Here the author shows that Levi
Levi, who was a Levitical priest and a priest under the old covenant
and dispensation, the author shows that Levi gave a tithe
to Melchizedek in Abraham. Notice, for he was yet in the
loins of Abraham when Abraham honored Melchizedek with a tithe
of a tenth of all that he possessed. Levi is reckoned to have tithed
in Abraham. That's just a lesser illustration. Consider something else that
Goodwin said about our link unto Adam. Quote, our generation,
or our birth, had a curse laid upon it." And that in Adam. By reason of that first man. Because of that, human nature
is corrupted and corrupted to the end of the world. True, we, like David, are conceived
and shaped in iniquity, still we cannot stop there. We must
trace our stream back by the same formula. Consider those
disciples of the Lord who in John chapter 9 passed by and
they saw a grown man. a man groaned who had been blind
from his birth. When they saw that, they asked
the Lord, Master, who sinned, this man or his parents, that
he should be born blind? They linked such things unto
sin. that perhaps some sin of his
parent caused a judgment to be passed upon their child, that
of blindness. But this is not the same as original
sin. It is true that all disease,
sickness, bodily afflictions, and finally death would not have
come except for sin and the fall. Perhaps the disciples calls to
mind such a text as Exodus 20 and verse 5 about visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children until the third
and the fourth generation. Or Ezekiel 18 and verse 2, when
the prophet said, the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the
children's teeth are set on edge. Or when God sometimes visits
the iniquity of the Father upon His offspring, as God did with
David. We read that in 2 Samuel 12,
10-14. The sword will never depart from
your house. Your wives shall lay in the very
sight of the Son, and so forth. But let's go back to Adam and
the question. By what arrangement is Adam's
pollution passed along unto us? What was it about Adam that infects
us? What, Adam lost his original
righteousness when he sinned? He became corrupt, dead in trespasses
and sin? All of this by one man and his
first sin. The same act which corrupted
the nature of Adam at the first does corrupt all that come out
of him to the end of the world. Human nature will never purify
itself with time, not through religion, not through education,
not by culture, not by philosophy, neither by the arts and the sciences,
or by self-reformation, or by positive thinking, will one human
person purify themselves. Therefore, it is not mere generation
in and of itself, not just our descent and only our descent
from our natural parents that gives us a sinful nature, though
I again say they are the channels by which it is passed along unto
us. so that, like David, we bring
depravity with us from our birth and womb. Now, can we bear to
hear those texts again? Romans 5 and 12, by one man,
sin enters the world. Romans 5, 19, by the disobedience
of one, many were made sinners. 1 Corinthians 15, 22, in Adam
all die. 1 Corinthians 15-49, we have born
the image of the earthly. Adam was both a public figure
and a federal head. Now let's spend the remainder
of our time showing the extent of this corrupt nature by showing
how it is leavened through and through. That everything that
comprises the human nature or the human makeup is depraved. That everything that comprises
what we call our nature or our being is defiled. Let's say it
like this, not one faculty has remained upright. Sometimes a
fire may burn a house and the back room not be burned at all.
But brethren, in this case, it has passed through all of the
house and there is written Ichabod upon every one of our faculty
and of our members. And here are some proofs of that
in closing. One, so many most admire the
faculty called will. Ah, this is the first thing they
run to for their help and they talk about the freedom of the
will, meaning that a sinner has the ability to will himself into
salvation and the grace of God or will against God saving him. That is, they say, the power
of the will. John denies this. 1 John 13. It is not of the will of man. Secondly, what of the heart? Oh, we hear people say, he's
got a heart of gold. Aren't people good-hearted? Aren't
most people good-hearted in that sense? The scripture answer is
no. Jeremiah 17 and 3, the heart
is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked, who can know
it? Mark 7, 21, likens the heart
to a cesspool, saying, Out of the heart proceed all manner
of sin. Thirdly, what of the conscience?
Isn't the conscience yet true to God? Can we not depend on
it to be a faithful guide and a leader unto us? Surely it is
a reliable guide and compass unto us. Nay, Paul tells us it
is defiled. Titus 1 and 15. that it can become
seared over, 1 Timothy 4 and verse 2. It can be bribed to
act faultly and to justify sin. Then fourthly, the mind, the
reason, the understanding, these mental faculties that we possess,
are they also ruined by our descent from Adam? Yea, the carnal mind
is enmity against God. Romans 8 and verse 7. The understanding
is darkened. Ephesians 4 and verse 18. They have a foolish heart that
is darkened. Romans 1 and 21. Fifthly, how
about the emotional faculties? Are they perverted? People love
what they love, should hate, and vice versa. The affection
and the sentiments are misplaced, yes. The emotional faculties
are corrupted. Sixthly, the thoughts. How about
our thoughts? Aren't they pure? No, they are
vain and evil from our youth up. Then I'm going to say this
in closing. Seventhly, that original sin
is probably or can be the most offensive doctrine that can be
brought forth out of the treasure of the Scripture. So in conclusion,
The doctrine of original sin or total depravity is a vital
biblical and Christian doctrine which is to be retained and is
to be preached. It knows no remedy but the grace
of God through Jesus Christ. Except for saving mercy, original
sin could be the eternal ruin of each and every individual. Now this does not mean that all
commit the same sins exactly, and it does not mean that all
sin, all they're capable of sinning. But the admission is painful
that the seeds of every sin dwell in the depraved heart and soul
of every individual. We are capable of many more sins
than are stopped up in us by the providential hindrance of
our God. And for that, thinking on original
sin, we can say, thank God, thank God for imputed righteousness,
the imputed righteousness of Christ that saves us. For the
end of those verses said, by one man, disobedience were many
made sinners. By one man's obedience shall
many be made righteous. And that's Christ, our blessed
Lord, the second Adam, the second man from heaven, whose image
we shall bear in due time.