Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 15

Q: What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?
A: The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit. 
Genesis 3:6: So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 

Why was it bad for Adam and Eve to eat the fruit? First let's say why it was not bad to eat the fruit. It was not bad because the fruit itself was somehow bad. We know that all of God's creation was good. God himself, upon looking at his work, said it was good. The fruit had no evil in and of itself. It wasn't vile, it wasn't poisonous, in fact there probably wasn't anything distinct about this fruit at all. One commentator said you could have walked by this tree and its fruit a hundred times without ever noticing it. 

This command wasn't given as a means of protecting Adam and Eve from evil, or from keeping them from becoming wise, rather, the command was given, as John Calvin puts it, as a "trial of man's obedience". The big deal here, what made Adam and Eve's decision to eat the fruit so bad, was because in doing so they were intentionally and outrightly rebelling against the law of God. Augustine said that the root of this sin was pride, the worship of ourselves. Why does he say this? Because ultimately, by breaking the law of God, Adam and Eve were saying that their wants, their desires, their will took primacy over the will of God. It is as if they said, "We know what God's will is, we know obedience to his will is important, but we know what our will wants, and it is more important to serve our will." They elevated themselves to a position above God himself, and each and every time we sin, we rebel, we break the law of God, we are doing the exact same thing. We are worshiping ourselves, desiring to glorify ourselves and fulfill our own wants and desires rather than glorifying God and desiring to serve his will. 

 

Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 14

Q: What is sin? 
A: Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.
1 John 3:4: Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

I could try to expand upon this idea some more to truly show the gravity of sin and the offense that sin is to a perfectly holy and just God, but why try to say something that others have said better? I heard this quote from John Piper a few years ago, and it is by far one of the most startling statements of what sin truly is:

"What is sin? The glory of God not honored.
The holiness of God not reverenced.
The greatness of God not admired.
The power of God not praised.
The truth of God not sought. 
The wisdom of God not esteemed.
The beauty of God not treasured.
The goodness of God not savored.
The faithfulness of God not trusted.
The commandments of God not obeyed.
The justice of God not respected.
The wrath of God not feared.
The grace of God not cherished.
The presence of God not prized.
The person of God not loved.
That is sin."

You can hear his entire sermon, "What is Sin? The Root of All Sinning" here:
 

Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A #13

Q: Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?
A: Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.
2 Corinthians 11:3: But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Redemptive history can really be broken down and viewed under four major headings of historical events. We already looked at the first major historical event in redemptive history, Creation. Creation was described by God himself as being "very good". Now we move on to the second major historical event, the Fall. It is hard to underestimate the impact of this event. First, when Adam and Eve exercised their own free will and sinned against God, it brought about an end to the covenant of life. Adam and Eve, having originally been created to enjoy eternal life, would now have to die. The covenant was broken and the penalty would have to be paid. There was no mediator to take the curse for Adam. It would have to fall on man directly. Secondly, harmony was lost. The garden was a place of great peace and harmony. Some theologians have rightly used the word "shalom" to describe the estate of the garden prior to the Fall. There was harmony between God and man, as they enjoyed fellowship together. There was harmony between man and his wife in their marriage relationship. There was harmony between man and the creation as man had dominion over all the creatures. All of this was lost when Adam and Eve sinned and fell from their original condition. Perfect fellowship between them and God was gone. Harmony between Adam and Eve as husband and wife was gone. And of course, harmony between man and the created world was gone. There was no more "shalom" to be found.

The effects of this moment in history continue to this day. Mankind still rebels against God, and there is no peace between God and man. Mankind is constantly at war with each other, not only in the marriage relationship, but in every relationship. Mankind and the created world are constantly at war with one another, as man constantly damages the natural world around us, and the natural world unleashes havoc against man. Everything that is wrong and disastrous about this world can be traced back to this single moment in history. And while we know that God does not leave man or his creation without hope, that God would act in unspeakable ways to show us his grace and mercy, we are not quite there yet in our study of the catechism. For now, we must reflect upon the seemingly hopeless state that our first parents left the entire creation in, and know that whenever we look at the world around us, or even examine ourselves in an honest light, all the injustice, pain, suffering, sin, and evil can be traced back to this single moment in history. This single moment when God's creation was transformed from being "very good" to being utterly ruined.

Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A #12

Q: What special act of providence did God exercise toward man in the estate wherein he was created? 
A: When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death. 
Genesis 2:16-17: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

This week's blog will really be to prepare you for what is coming in the next several weeks as we move into a very critical portion of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. But here in this week's question, we find ourselves looking at a unique point in redemptive history. This is the one point in the history of creation where mankind has a real chance at eternal life based upon his perfect obedience to the law of God. Some have called this covenant that God establishes with Adam the "covenant of works". We must remember that whether we call the covenant the "covenant of life" or the "covenant of works", eternal life in the Garden was just as much an act of God's love towards his people as it is now. God certainly didn't owe Adam and Eve the blessing of eternal life. However, in an act of love for his image bearers, God willingly entered into this covenant of life, promising Adam the blessings of eternal life if he remained obedient to his word. 

There are a few things worth noting here about this covenant, things that will prepare you for the next several questions in the catechism. First, this covenant is indeed an act of providence. The Westminster Larger Catechism does a good job expanding upon this idea in question 20: "The providence of God toward man in the estate in which he was created, was the placing him in paradise, appointing him to dress it, giving him liberty to eat of the fruit of the earth; putting the creatures under his dominion, and ordaining marriage for his help; affording him communion with himself; instituting the Sabbath; entering into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience, of which the tree of life was a pledge; and forbidding to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon the pain of death." This covenant falls under last week's catechism. It is part of God's most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions. 

Second, the major distinction of the covenant of life is that there is no mediator between God and Adam. If the covenant is to be kept, Adam must be the one to keep it. If the covenant is broken, Adam is the one who must suffer the curse. Keep this distinction in mind as we move along in our study of the catechism over the next several weeks. This distinction plays a major role in how we view the fall of man and sin, and in how we view and understand the covenant of grace and Christ's work on our behalf. 

Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A #11

Q: What are God's works of providence? 
A: God's works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing of all his creatures and all their actions.
Nehemiah 9:6: You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.

In some ways, I feel as if this is the climax of all that we've been talking about with God's eternal decrees. We may shudder at some of what we've been talking about, as we realize the awesome power of God to do as he pleases, to ordain whatever he wills, and ordain the means by which his decrees come to pass. Taking comfort in that kind of utterly raw sovereignty is hard sometimes, because it requires the utmost trust in God, and a trust in the fact that his decrees are truly right, good, and good for us. Taken by themselves, the questions on the eternal decrees of God can shake us to the bones. But then this catechism comes along and reminds us of something beautiful and hopeful and wonderful. God, by the means of his works of providence, is preserving us, and all of his creation. If we were to break down the word "preserve", particularly its Latin root, we see that the word means something truly wonderful. The word means, literally, to be kept in advance. That is what God is doing with us, and with all of his creation. He is keeping us, but more than that, he has determined in eternity past to keep us. His preservation is eternally determined. We have talked already about how God is not a cosmic first responder, simply doing damage control, reacting to the will and whims of a fallen creation. Rather, he is sovereign over all of it. He is governing all his creatures, and all their actions. Nothing is outside of his rule and dominion, and through it all, he is preserving us. 

Now we see the comfort and peace that comes from knowing that God is sovereignly executing his decrees. Now we see the comfort in knowing that God not only decrees the ends, but also the means by which they happen. Because in it all, whatsoever comes to pass, we know that God, in his acts of providence, is ruling over all of it, and not only ruling, but is preserving us through it all. The Levites' doxology of praise from Nehemiah, as they came out of exile and led the people of God in dedicating the rebuilt temple, is wonderfully lifting. They recognize the King of all creation and see his love, his care, his preservation of all creation. But they not only see God's preservation all of creation in a general sense, they see his preservation and care for his own people. This doxology is a grand statement of God's faithfulness to his eternal covenant. Here, as the people of God were restored to their promised land, as they were set free from bondage and exile, they realize that God has indeed preserved them. He had not abandoned them. And in this realization, their hearts overflow with praise to the faithful God. 

Brothers and sisters, God will keep you. He has eternally determined to keep you. Before the world was created, before the fall of man, before sin and death and suffering ever entered into the creation, God has determined to keep you. His preservation will not falter. It will not fail. He will keep you until the end, when we ourselves come into our inheritance. When we ourselves are set free from exile and bondage, then we will join the host of heaven before the thrown of God above and worship him.