6 Sin in the Biblical Story. Christopher W. Morgan

6 Sin in the Biblical Story. Christopher W. Morgan

6

SIN IN THE BIBLICAL STORY

CHRISTOPHER W. MORGAN

Atroubling YouTube video pictures a sixty-eight-year-old bus monitor named Karen being bullied by several teenagers who repeatedly hurl insults at her. At least four students from Greece, New York, curse this widow and grandmother for ten straight minutes, threatening to hurt her, deriding her, and calling her old, poor, fat, an elephant, and a troll. One teen heartlessly mocks that she does not have a family because they killed themselves, not wanting to be near her.1 The video went viral (two million people viewed it in two days), and outrage erupted. Parents, school officials, police, and reporters alike asked: How could these teens do such a thing? What is wrong with them?

And in one of the worst scandals in sports history, retired Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was recently convicted of sexually abusing ten boys whom he met through his Second Mile charity, a group foster home devoted to helping troubled boys. Penn State University then fired its president, as well as longtime coach Joe Paterno.2 The NCAA gave Penn State serious sanctions, as NCAA President Mark Emmert commented:

This case involves tragic and tragically unnecessary circumstances. One of the grave damages stemming from our love of sports is that the sports themselves can become too big to fail, indeed too big to even challenge. The result can be an erosion of academic values that are replaced by the value of hero worship and winning at all costs. . . . In the Penn State case, the results were perverse and unconscionable. . . . No price the NCAA can levy will repair the grievous damage inflicted by Jerry Sandusky on his victims. However, we can make clear that the culture, actions and inactions that allowed them to be victimized will not be tolerated in collegiate athletics.3

Though a few continue to defend coach Joe Paterno, most are rightly asking not only, “What is wrong with Sandusky?” but also, “What is wrong with universities that so value football that obvious evil is tolerated?” Thankfully, some trustees of the university and some influencers inside college sports are starting to ask, “What is wrong with us that we have built a system in which this could have happened?”

Something is wrong with the world. With minimal reflection we read the news and ask: What is wrong with them? Terrorism, ethnic cleansing, child abuse, robbery, and sex trafficking together cry out that this world is not the way it is supposed to be.4

With honest self-examination we may also be able to ask: What is wrong with us? Blind loyalty to some, disloyalty to others, slander, gossip, neglect of the poor, and disunity exclaim that we too are not the way we are supposed to be. Governments, businesses, universities, athletic teams, families, and churches each testify that something is wrong with us. We are not the way we are supposed to be.

Seldom do we forthrightly vocalize: What is wrong with me? But we may wonder: Why do I do what I should not? Why do I fail to do what I should? Why do I think what I should not, and why do I feel what I should not? Why do I want what I should not, and not want what I should? And when I do what I should, why do I often do so with mixed motives? And when I do want what I should, why do I not want it with the level of intensity that I should? Why does God’s glory often not capture my heart? Why do I often show so little interest in the needs of others? Pride, greed, lust, selfishness, discontent, and apathy should not characterize me. But too often they do. Why am I not the way I am supposed to be? The human phenomenon bears witness that something is wrong—with the world, with us, and with me. And yet the human phenomenon also testifies that something is right.

In our first example, parents, school officials, and people from around the world were indignant at the school monitor’s being so scorned. Some of the students apologized, parents were horrified, the school took action, and a stranger organized a collection for Karen. Hundreds of thousands of dollars poured in.

Penn State officials also took action, firing many who failed to speak out. And the NCAA forcefully addressed the atrocity and the school’s early inaction, giving the university and its football team heavy sanctions.

Further, that we realize that there are things wrong with the world reveals that there is still something right in it. Despite the intrinsic tensions, contemporary postmodernists and pluralists even live with an “oughtness,” criticizing people for misunderstanding their assertions, rightly condemning violence against homosexuals, and denouncing colonialism, racism, and sexism.

Even more, what is right in the world is often entangled with what is wrong. What is wrong can flow in people and systems apparently committed to the good. Henri Blocher wisely asks:

If humans are capable of so much evil, how is it that they also reach heights of heroism, performing admirable deeds of selfless service and devotion to the truth? . . . We have to acknowledge the complexity of the human phenomenon. . . . Actually the complexity is worse that many imagine; one may discover worthy motives in outrageous actions, and ugly roots under the flowering of virtue. How can we make sense of the entanglement of these things?5

Blocher’s question merits attention: How do we make sense of such things?

The testimony of Scripture acknowledges this human phenomenon, even clarifying portions of it for us. Scripture bears witness that something is very wrong in the world. And it indicates that creation is good, humans are created in God’s image, and that many aspects of life are good (even if often corrupted).

So what is wrong? How does this wrong relate to this sense of rightness? And what is the root of what is wrong? Previous chapters have examined particular biblical passages and their teachings related to such questions. Here it is hoped that asking these questions in light of the broader flow of the plotline of Scripture will shed some light on what is wrong and the roots of it. The major epochs in salvation history are commonly summarized as creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. They will instruct us in the theology of sin—directly and indirectly—indicating how things were, how they are supposed to be, how things are, and how things will be. The biblical story will shed light on what went wrong and what God does to address the human predicament.

Creation and Sin

The story of the Bible starts suddenly: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Already in existence prior to matter, space, or time, the eternal, self-existent God creates the universe and all that exists. Bruce Waltke introduces Genesis 1:1–2:3: “The creation account is a highly sophisticated presentation, designed to emphasize the sublimity (power, majesty, and wisdom) of the Creator God and to lay the foundation for the worldview of the covenant community.”6 As the chief character, God “creates, says, sees, separates, names, makes, appoints, blesses, finishes, makes holy, and rests.”7 God transforms the initially unformed, empty, dark, and watery cosmos into something good—carefully crafted, filled, and blessed with light and land. God creates out of nothing, tames the chaos, forms it according to his purposes, and fills it with plants and animals. God is not like other gods in the ancient Near East. Gordon Wenham observes: “God is without peer and competitor. He does not have to establish his power in struggle with other members of a polytheistic pantheon. The sun and moon are his handiwork, not his rivals.”8 The true God is not the sky, sun, moon, water, trees, animals, or anything else created; God created them, and they are subject to him. The creation is neither God nor a part of God; he is absolute and has independent existence, and creation has derived existence from him and continually depends on him as its sustainer (see Acts 17:25–28).

The transcendent creator is sovereign, with amazing authority and power. Like a king, he can effect his will by his very word, even bringing things into being out of nothing (Gen. 1:3; cf. Heb. 11:3). He further displays his authority over all creation by his calling and naming the elements (Gen. 1:5).

The transcendent, sovereign creator is also personal. On each day God is personally involved in every detail of the creation, crafting it in a way that pleases him and benefits his creatures. In dramatic fashion, on the sixth day he personally creates man in his own image, breathing life into him. The personal God has made humans personal as well, with the ability to relate to him, live in community with one other, and have dominion over creation. As D. A. Carson reminds, “We are accorded with an astonishing dignity” and have “implanted within us a profound capacity for knowing God intimately.”9 By creating us in his image, God distinguishes us from the rest of creation and establishes that he is distinct from us—we are not gods but creatures made in his image.

Genesis 1 also stresses God’s goodness, which is reflected in the goodness of his creation and reinforced in the steady refrain, “And God saw that it was good” (1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25; see also 1:4). On the sixth day creation is even described as “very good” (v. 31). The inherent goodness of creation leaves no room for a fundamental dualism between spirit and matter such that spirit is good and matter is bad. Indeed, material creation reflects God’s goodness, which is also evident in his generous provisions of light, land, vegetation, animals, and even “creeping” things. These are blessings given for humanity’s benefit, as are the ability to relate to God, fertility to procreate, and authority to use the abundant provisions for their good. Although creation reaches its summit in God creating man in his image, Genesis 1:1–2:3 culminates in the resting of God. By the seventh day God finishes his creative work, rests, and blesses and sanctifies the day as holy, as a Sabbath to be kept. In doing so, God displays his joy and satisfaction in his creation, and his celebration of completion, and he commemorates this special event.10

Whereas Genesis 1:1–2:3 centers on God’s creation and rest, Genesis 2:4–25 focuses on God’s formation of man and woman and his provision of the garden of Eden as a place for them to live and work.11 Or, as Allen Ross summarizes, “God has prepared human beings, male and female, with the spiritual capacity and communal assistance to serve him and to keep his commands so that they might live and enjoy the bounty of his creation.”12 This section starts with Genesis’s typical structural introduction—“These are the generations of” (2:4)—but atypically refers to God as “the LORD God.” Wenham notes:

Usually one or the other name is used, but here the two are combined, suggesting no doubt that this story reveals both God’s character as sovereign creator of the universe (God) and his intimate covenant-like relationship with mankind (the LORD).

Both traits are prominent in the first scene (2:5–17), which shows the LORD God creating man and a perfect environment for him. It discloses God’s sovereignty over man his creature and his loving concern for his well-being. 13

In Genesis 2:4–19, “The LORD God” is “the sole actor, as he forms the man, plants the garden, transports man there, sets up the terms of a relationship with man, and searches for a helper fit for the man, which culminates in the woman.”14 Man is formed from the dust of the ground but is more than dust—his life comes directly from the very breath of God (2:7). In planting the garden and moving man there, the Creator and covenant Lord provides a delightful and sacred space in which humans are able to enjoy a harmonious relationship with him, each other, the animals, and the land. Waltke observes, “The Garden of Eden is a temple-garden, represented later in the tabernacle.”15 As such the garden highlights God’s presence with man.

God establishes the terms for living in his presence and graciously puts forward only one prohibition: man shall not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Contrary to what might be expected, man is allowed to eat of the Tree of Life (which confers immortality) but not the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (which gives access to wisdom), “for that leads to human autonomy and an independence of the creator incompatible with the trustful relationship between man and his maker which the story presupposes.”16 Because God’s generosity to man is so abundant, his prohibition would not seem difficult to accept.

God’s generosity to Adam is further depicted as God notices that “it is not good that man should be alone” and meets man’s need by creating woman as a complementary and intimate companion united with him for life together. Chapter 2 of Genesis ends positively, and given the beliefs of ancient Israel, surprisingly—“and the man and his wife were both naked and not ashamed” (v. 25). In the garden, nakedness is not reason for shame but points to their innocence and the pristine delight they have in each other.17

At first glance, one might conclude that this first epoch of the biblical story has little to contribute to our understanding of sin. After all, sin is not even mentioned. Ah, but that silence speaks volumes! In particular, Genesis’s teaching about God’s creation clarifies two critical principles related to sin.

First, sin is not something created or authored by God. Rather, God created a good universe and good human beings. As we have seen, Genesis 1–2 shows the Creator to be transcendent, sovereign, personal, immanent, and good. God’s goodness is displayed in his turning the chaos into something good—the heavens and the earth. His goodness is even more clearly reflected in the goodness of his creation, evidenced by the steady refrain, “And God saw that it was good,” a goodness accentuated on the sixth day: “Behold, it was very good.” God’s generous provisions of light, land, vegetation, and animals are blessings given for man’s benefit, as are the abilities to know God, work, marry, and procreate. God blesses man with the Sabbath, places him in the delightful garden of Eden, gives him a helper, and establishes only one prohibition, given not to stifle man but to promote his welfare.

The good God created a good world for the good of his creatures. Humans too were created good and blessed beyond measure, being made in God’s image, with an unhindered relationship with God and with freedom. As a result, casting blame for sin on the good and generous God is unbiblical and unfounded. Michael Williams observes: “By beginning with the story of creation rather than the fall, Scripture proclaims categorically that sin is an intruder. It is not the product of God’s creativity. It does not belong.”18 Indeed, in the beginning, God created a good cosmos with good humans who had good relationships with God, themselves, one another, and with creation itself.

Second, sin is not original. It has not always existed. From a theological standpoint, God’s creation of the universe out of nothing shows that he alone is independent, absolute, and eternal. Everything else has been created. Further, the inherent goodness of creation leaves no room for a fundamental dualism between spirit and matter. Contrary to some philosophical and religious traditions, the Bible teaches that matter is a part of God’s creation and is good. Sin is ethical, not physical or tied to the cosmos itself.

From a historical standpoint, the story of creation recounts that there was a time when there was no sin. Sin is not original. Indeed, the very fact that our world now includes sin testifies that it is not now the way it was, and therefore, as Cornelius Plantinga helpfully states, “it is not the way it is supposed to be.”19

The Fall and Sin

We know from the biblical account of creation that sin is not created by God and that there was a time when there was no sin. We also know from experience, however, that evil exists. The world is now not the way it was, and it is no longer the way it is supposed to be.

What went wrong? Carson notes:

The Bible begins with God creating the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1–2). Repeatedly, God’s verdict is that all of his handiwork is “very good.” There is no sin and no suffering. The garden of Eden brings forth food without the sweat of toil being mixed into the earth. But the first human rebellion (Gen. 3) marks the onset of suffering, toil, pain, and death. A mere two chapters later, we read the endlessly repeated and hauntingly pitiful refrain, “then he died . . . then he died . . . then he died . . . then he died.”20

We saw from Genesis 1–2 that God creates Adam and Eve in his image as good and with wonderful privileges and significant responsibilities in the garden of Eden. They experience an unhindered relationship with God, intimate enjoyment of each other, and delegated authority over creation. They are given only one prohibition: they must not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Sadly, Genesis 3 informs us that they do not obey God’s command but “fall.” The account begins with a tempter who calls into question God’s truthfulness, sovereignty, and goodness. The Tempter is “crafty” and deflects the woman’s attention from the covenantal relationship that God has established.21 In verses 6–8 the central scene in the story of the fall reaches its climax. The fatal sequence is described rapidly in 3:6: “she saw,” “she took,” “she ate,” and “she gave,” and it culminates in “he ate.” Wenham observes that the midpoint of 3:6–8, “and he ate,” employs the key verb of the narrative—“eat”—and is placed between the woman’s inflated expectations in eating (“good to eat,” “delight to the eyes,” and “giving insight”) and the actual effects: “eyes opened,” “knowing they were nude,” and “hiding in the trees.”22 The contrast is striking: the forbidden fruit did not deliver what the Tempter promised but brought new dark realities warned of by the good and truthful covenant Lord.

This initial act of human rebellion brings divine justice: “They sinned by eating, and so would suffer to eat; she led her husband to sin, and so would be mastered by him; they brought pain into the world by their disobedience, and so would have painful toil in their respective lives.”23 Collins adds:

There are small ironic wordplays. . . . For example, in Genesis 3:5 the serpent promises that the humans’ eyes will be opened and they will know something, while in verse 7 it is fulfilled: their eyes were opened and they knew something—but it was just that they were naked! . . . Similarly, there is a play between the use of the root r-b-h in 3:16 (“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing”) and its use in the commission of 1:28 (“Be fruitful and multiply”). Whereas procreation had previously been the sphere of blessing, now it is to be the area of pain and danger.24

The consequences of their sin are fitting and devastating. The couple immediately feels shame, realizing they are naked (3:7). They sense their estrangement from God, even foolishly trying to hide from him (vv. 8–10). They are afraid of God and how he might respond (vv. 9–10). Their alienation from each other also emerges as the woman blames the Serpent, while the man blames the woman and by intimation even God (vv. 10–13). Pain and sorrow also ensue. The woman experiences pain in childbirth, the man toils in trying to grow food in a land with pests and weeds, and both discover dissonance in their relationship (vv. 15–19). Even worse, the couple is banished from Eden and God’s glorious presence (vv. 22–24).

How they wish they had listened to God’s warning: If you eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, “you shall surely die!” (2:17). Upon eating the forbidden fruit they do not immediately fall over and die from something like cardiac arrest. But die they do. They die spiritually, and their bodies also begin to experience the gradual decay that ultimately leads to their physical deaths (as God’s judgment states: “To dust you shall return”; 3:19).

Most devastating of all is that these consequences do not only befall Adam and Eve but extend to their descendants as well. Robert Pyne describes the dismal scene:

Standing together east of Eden [Adam and Eve] each felt alone—betrayed by the other, alienated from God, and confused about how it had all come apart so quickly. . . .

The children were all born outside of Eden. . . . None of them ever saw the tree of life or had a chance to taste or reject the forbidden fruit. At the same time, none of them enjoyed marriage relationships without some degree of rivalry or resentment, and they inevitably ate bread produced by the sweat of their brow. Born in a fallen world, they knew only the curse, never Eden. Still they knew that this was not the way life was supposed to be. . . .

Adam and Even sinned alone, but they were not the only ones locked out of the Garden. Cut off from the tree of life, they and their descendants were all destined to die. 25

So in the beginning, God created a good cosmos with good humans who had good relationships with him, themselves, one another, and with creation itself. But now, sin has entered the picture and has brought disruption and alienation in each human relationship—with God, oneself, one another, and creation.

The immediate context and story line of Genesis 4–11 confirm this gloomy new reality of human fallenness. In Genesis 4:7, God warns Cain that sin is “crouching at the door” and “its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” Sadly, Cain refuses to heed the advice and kills his brother, Abel. He is consequently cursed by God, alienated from the earth, and banished from God’s presence (vv. 10–16).

Genesis 5 reminds that God created humans in his image and blessed them, offers hope through mention of Enoch and Noah, but soberly underlines the domain of death with the refrain, “and he died” (vv. 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31). Genesis 6 clarifies the extension and intensification of sin, which is portrayed as considerable, pervasive, perpetual, and characteristic: “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (v. 5); “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence” (v. 11). God graciously establishes a covenant with Noah and appropriately judges humanity with the flood (Genesis 6–9). Yet just after God reemphasizes the creational blessing and mandate (9:1–7) and offers a covenant promise (vv. 8–17), Noah and his family are still marked by sin (vv. 18–29). Further sobriety about the human phenomenon emerges from the story of the tower of Babel, in which God judges proud, self-seeking humans who try to make a name for themselves and to multiply their influence rather than serve as God’s image bearers and advance his name (11:1–9).

Genesis 4–11 unveils the new human phenomenon. Humans are still in the image of God, blessed by God, commanded to be fruitful and multiply, and recipients of God’s presence, promise, and grace. Yet society is marked by sin, and all human relationships to God, self, others, and creation are marred by sin.

Paul’s well-known observations in Romans 5:12–21 also shed light on the fall.26 It is worth noting that the thesis of Romans 5:12–21 centers on Christ’s obedience and how that brings about our justification. In this sense, the passage is not primarily about original sin. But Romans 5:12–21 is quite instructive about sin as it sets Christ’s work and our salvation against the backdrop of Adam’s sin and our condemnation.27 In Adam, sin enters, death is spread and reigns, and condemnation is sentenced. In contrast, through Christ’s obedience/act of righteousness, the grace of God and the free gift of righteousness abound, justification is brought, many will be made righteous, recipients of grace reign in life, and grace abounds and reigns through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus our Lord.

Though this passage is filled with interpretive challenges, the following assertions about sin are set forth:

From these accounts of the fall, several insights into sin and the human phenomenon emerge.

Sin Is Fundamentally against God

Most fundamentally, sin must be defined as against God. The accounts depicting the fall suggest that sin is rebellion against God, breaking his covenant, and failing to live as his image bearers by serving as kings and priests according to his will and on his mission.29 As such, sin is exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for something less, like idols (Rom. 1:23; cf. Ps. 106:20; Jer. 2:11–12). Sin is falling short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and brings disrepute on the name of God (2:24). And all this relates to the image of God, as Richard Gaffin cogently explains:

Sin enters in the creation through Adam (Rom. 5:12–19). Consequently, “although they knew God,” human beings “neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks” (Rom. 1:21); that is, they have withheld worship and adoration, their due response to the divine glory reflected in the creation around them and in themselves as God’s image bearers. Instead, with futile minds and foolish, darkened hearts (cf. 1 Cor. 1:18–25), they have idolatrously exchanged God’s glory for creaturely images, human and otherwise (Rom. 1:21–23). Having so drastically defaced the divine image, they have, without exception, forfeited the privilege of reflecting his glory (Rom. 3:23). This doxa-less condition, resulting in unrelieved futility, corruption and death, permeates the entire created order (Rom. 8:20–22).30

Sin Enters the Human Experience in Adam’s Sin

That sin is an intruder,31 entering the human experience in Adam’s sin, is clear historically from Genesis (the goodness of creation, the pristine state of Adam, the unhindered relationships, the presence of God in Eden, etc.). That sin enters human history in Adam’s sin is also clear theologically in Romans 5. Verse 12 is striking: “Sin came into the world through one man.”32 But much about the intrusion of sin is not clear, as Hoekema suggests:

The fact that we can discern these stages in the temptation and fall of our first parents, however, does not mean that we have in the Genesis narrative an explanation for the entrance of sin into the human world. What we have here is the biblical narrative of the origin of sin, but not an explanation for that origin. One of the most important things we must remember about sin . . . is that it is inexplicable. The origin of evil is . . . one of the greatest riddles of life.33

The riddle centers on the question, Why would Adam and Eve sin? Augustine taught that Adam was able not to sin and able to sin, so that there was an inherent possibility to sin in him. This is helpful, but as Hoekema advises: “But how this possibility became actuality is a mystery that we shall never be able to fathom. We shall never know how doubt first arose in Eve’s mind. We shall never understand how a person who had been created in a state of rectitude, in a state of sinlessness, could begin to sin.”34

Adam and Eve were created good and did not initially have a corrupt heart to lead them astray. They had a close relationship with the Lord, enjoyed intimacy with each other, and retained authority over creation. It would seem that they had everything in Eden; they lived, after all, in paradise! Collins notes:

In 3:6, as [the woman] regards the tree and sees that it is “good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable for giving insight,” the irony of the parallel with 2:9 (there was already “every tree desirable to the sight and good for food” in the garden) should not escape us. She already had everything she could possibly want, and she even had the resources to get everything she thought the tree had to offer.35

The first couple had everything they could ever want, and yet history records that, in unfaithfulness to God and disobedience to his one prohibition, they absurdly threw it all away. As Augustine noted, trying to determine reasons for such foolishness is like trying to see darkness or hear silence. Or as Plantinga describes, sin is like sawing off a branch that supports us—it cuts us off from our only help.36 We cannot make sense of such folly or find clear-cut explanations for the irrationality of this original sin.37

Adam’s Sin Results in the Fall38

Although clarity on the reason(s) for Adam’s sin remains out of reach, Scripture does indicate that Adam’s sin not only results in his own punishment but also has dire consequences for all humanity. Adam sinned not merely as the first bad example but as the representative of all humanity.39 Recall Romans 5:12–21 and the contrast between Adam’s representation of us and Christ’s representation of us. In Adam, there is sin, death, and condemnation. In Christ, there is righteousness, life, and justification. In Adam, there is the old era, the dominion of sin and death. In Christ, there is a new reign, marked by grace and life (cf. 1 Cor. 15:20–57). Note the outcomes of Adam’s representative trespass:40

Note also the greater outcomes of Christ’s representative work:

And note four particular effects that result from Adam’s sin and representation:

1)

Many/all were constituted sinners (v. 19).41

2)

Many/all died (v. 15).

3)

Condemnation is upon all (vv. 16, 18).

4)

Death reigned over all humans (v. 17).

Thus, and as we will see, in Adam, all are sinners; all die; all are under the domain of death; and all are condemned.

The Fall Results in Universal Human Sinfulness

That the fall of Adam results in universal human sinfulness is suggested by Genesis 3–11 and emphasized by Romans 5:12–21. In particular, verse 19 clarifies, “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

That all are sinners is of no surprise to Christians. The universality of sin is well-known and famously expressed in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” which crystallizes Paul’s more developed case in 1:18–3:20. Note also the universal scope of sin reiterated by Paul as he concludes his argument in 3:9–20:

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:

“None is righteous, no, not one;

no one understands;

no one seeks for God.

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;

no one does good,

not even one.”

“Their throat is an open grave;

they use their tongues to deceive.”

“The venom of asps is under their lips.”

“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

in their paths are ruin and misery,

and the way of peace they have not known.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

How all are constituted sinners in Adam is harder to understand.42 Even so, some sort of forensic nature of Adam’s representation is most plausible, due to the comparison with Christ as the other unique representative, whose work for us is not merely moral but also vicarious, substitutionary, representative. In an essay on Romans 5:12–21, Lewis Johnson puts forward several arguments for this perspective. Three stand out. First, he maintains: “So, just as the act of the Last Adam is a representative act, becoming the judicial ground of the justification of believers, it follows that the act of the first Adam is a representative act, becoming the judicial ground of the condemnation of those united in him.”43 Second, Johnson argues:

In v. 12, the apostle makes the point that all die because all sinned. In the following verses, vv. 13–19 (including both the parenthesis of vv. 13–17 and the apodosis of vv. 18–19), he makes the point that all die because one sinned. Can the apostle be dealing with two different things? Hardly. The one fact may be expressed in terms of both plurality and singularity. The sin of all is the sin of one. There must be some kind of solidarity. It is that of federal representation.44

Third, Johnson suggests that immediate imputation “enables us to see why only the first sin of Adam and not his subsequent sins, nor the sin of Eve, is imputed to men.”45

The salvation historical nature of Adam’s representation of humanity is also significant. Herman Ridderbos comments on Paul’s argument in Romans 5:12–21 and “the reckoning of many as sinners on the grounds of Adam’s sin and their share in it”:

This is apparent not only from parallel expression in verse 19b: “will be constituted righteous,” which likewise has a forensic and not a moral significance, but also from the preceding pronouncements, which describe the share of all in Adam’s sin again and again as a sentence extending to all. . . .

By the entrance of sin into the world the situation has been profoundly changed. Sin has begun its calamitous regime. To be constituted sinners also means to have been placed under the power of sin and death (cf. v. 21). 46

The Fall Results in Universal Human Guilt and Condemnation

Romans 5:12–21 displays this, particularly in verses 16 and 18: “The judgment following one trespass brought condemnation” (v. 16); “. . . as one trespass led to condemnation for all men” (v. 18). Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 2:1–3 speaks similarly: we were all “by nature children of wrath” (v. 3). Blocher puts it well: “Sinfulness has become our quasi-nature while remaining truly our anti-nature.”47 Humans are universally guilty, in that state by nature (by birth, see Gal. 2:15), and thereby stand condemned under the wrath of God.

The biblical material addressing the relationship of sin and guilt is complex. Take, for example, sin and guilt in Romans. In Romans 1:18–32, Paul highlights that everyone is guilty because everyone suppresses and rejects God, who has communicated himself universally and persistently through creation. In Romans 2, Paul reiterates the universality of guilt, pointing to human guilt’s emergence from failure to follow the law written in the hearts of people. In Romans 3, Paul underlines the guilt of the Jews for failure to follow God and his ways, even though they are blessed with God’s clear revelation—his very oracles. Paul further concludes that everyone is judged guilty, and the law plays a central role in this (3:19–20). And here in Romans 5 he points to the entrance of sin, death, and condemnation—all three of which are interrelated and enter through Adam, as we have seen. So humans are universally guilty—through rejection of God’s general revelation in creation, failure to embrace God’s general revelation in this internal law of conscience, and failure to live according to God’s special revelation in the Torah; and they are guilty in Adam.

Passages such as John 3 also illustrate the complexities of the biblical portrait of human guilt. Take John 3:18, for example: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:19–20 underlines that condemnation comes because people love the darkness. John 3:36 points to the present wrath of God upon the current state of unbelievers. So according to John’s Gospel, everyone who does not believe in Jesus is already spiritually dead (3:3–5) and presently condemned; they are now under God’s wrath. Further, they do not believe because they love the darkness, and they are judged because they love the darkness.

The complexity of sin and guilt can also be seen in passages that relate guilt to factors of knowledge (Matt. 10:15; Luke 9:13–14; 12:47–48; John 19:11; 1 Tim. 1:13)48 or intention (Lev. 4:22; Num. 15:27–30), and those that occasionally focus God’s judgment upon the individual’s sin (Deut. 24:16; Ezek. 18:20; Jer. 31:30). But while guilt may be adduced in various ways and in varied degrees (cf. Rom. 2:5), all humans are guilty in Adam.

The Fall Results in Universal Human Death

This is evident from Genesis, including God’s warning in 2:17, “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.” It is evident from God’s judgment upon Adam, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (3:19). The new entrance of death is also clear from the banishment of Adam and Eve from Eden and from participation in the Tree of Life (vv. 22–24). Death first becomes a physical reality in Cain’s murder of Abel, then soon after in Lamech, “an arrogant bully who openly boasted of his murderous exploits” (4:23–24).49 Death is even underscored in the newborn boy’s bizarre name, “Enosh.” This term connotes humanity in the sense of frailty and mortality (cf. Pss. 9:20; 103:15; Job 25:4). Death, originally abnormal to humanity, becomes so commonplace that it seems ordinary.50 Genesis 5 testifies to the regularity of death through the refrain, “and he died” (vv. 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 27, 31).

That Adam’s sin results in the universality of human death is also manifest in Romans 5:12–21. Death enters human history through Adam’s sin (v. 12) and spreads to all (v. 12). Indeed, the universality of death clarifies that sin was in the world before the law was given (vv. 13–14). Paul puts it starkly: “Many died through one man’s trespass” (v. 15); “sin reigned in death” (v. 21); and later, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (6:23). And because death as a whole is viewed in these biblical accounts as a penalty or judgment, it is related to and results from humans’ being sinful in Adam and being guilty in Adam.

Though death in these accounts includes physical death, obviously, what is too often forgotten is the domain of sin and death that results from the fall. Ridderbos captured the idea:

So sin has entered in, here represented as a personified power (cf., e.g., v. 21); through and with sin death has come in as the inseparable follower and companion of sin. . . .

That the share of all men in the sin of Adam is indicated, however, and as its consequence they have been brought under the dominion and power of sin and death. The presupposition of the whole chain of reasoning lies in the inclusion in the supraindividual situation of sin and death represented by Adam. Here again the basic structures of Pauline theology are not individualizing, but redemptive-historical and corporate. It is a matter of two different modes of existence, that of the old and that of the new man, which are determined by two different aeons, and concerning which an all-embracing decision has been made in Adam and Christ. . . .

Death is thereby not only a punishment that puts an end to life, but a condition in which the destiny of life outside of Christ is turned into its opposite. . . .

In addition to the future, however, sin brings forth death already in this life. . . . Thus death works itself out in the sinful life of man. 51

Such a salvation-historical reading makes sense of the overall comparison of Adam and Christ as our representatives,52 the importance of the law in the argument here, the emphasis on reigning, and the overall cosmic thrust.

The domain of sin and death is also apparent in Ephesians 2:1–3:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

This passage is replete with teachings related to sin.53 But especially notice how the domain of sin and death is central: the state of spiritual death; the lifestyle that flows from it; the environmental influence of the world, Satan, and the flesh on human behavior; the designation of sinners as those characterized by sin (“sons of disobedience” and “children of wrath”); and the universal guilt of all by nature.54

The Fall Results in Universal Human Corruption

This is directly related to the domain of sin and death just mentioned. Indeed, Romans 5:12–21 conjoins Adam’s sin, humans constituted as sinners, universal guilt, universal death, and the domain of death. The domain of sin and death is the macro-environmental condition in which life occurs; the particular human corruption is a part of the personal and individual aspects of the domain of sin and death.

As we noted above, Ephesians 2:1–3 relates these. Spiritual death is a condition “in which you once walked” (v. 1). There is a following after the way of the world, the present evil age, and Satan (vv. 1–2). There is a spirit that is at work in sinners (v. 2). There is a living after the passions of the flesh, a carrying out of improper mental and physical desires (v. 3).

Scripture explains this corruption in various ways. It uses various metaphors to indicate our corruption: spiritual death, darkness, hardness, bondage, blindness, flesh, and more.55

Scripture also links the corruption to a wide range of human faculties and behaviors: mind, will, actions, words, ways, attitudes, and inaction. In Romans 3:9–20, for example, the overall condition of sinners is bleak: all are “under sin” (v. 9); “none is righteous, no, not one” (v. 10); every mouth will be stopped (v. 19); the whole world will be judged guilty before God (v. 19); no human being will be justified by the works of the law (v. 20). But also notice the wide range in how this fallenness is depicted:

Paul stresses that the corruption is pervasive, from head to toe as it were, and includes the mind, will, throat, tongue, mouth, and feet. Jonathan Edwards perceptively observed: “Their heads and their hearts are totally depraved; all the members of their bodies are only instruments of sin, and all their senses (seeing, hearing, tasting) are only inlets and outlets of sin, channels of corruption. . . . There are breaches of every command in thought, word, and deed.”57

Scripture does not just locate this universal corruption environmentally in the domain of sin and death but as directly as is conceivable, even from within the person. Jesus maintained:

What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. (Mark 7:20–23; cf. Matt. 15:10–20)

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! (Luke 11:13; cf. Matt. 7:11)

In Mark 7:20–23, Jesus teaches that evil thoughts, actions, desires, attitudes, and ways of life are all rooted in the corrupt human heart. And as Jesus teaches his disciples about prayer in Luke 11:13, one of his examples compares the generosity of the good God with the giving of humans, who are designated quite starkly as “evil.”58

James’s teaching about temptation also demonstrates that this corruption is rooted in the very core of all people: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:13–15). Those tempted need not look to God or others for the source; they need look no further than their own warped hearts, as their “own desire” is the root.59 The person’s own heart (the internal desire) is the core problem. It gives birth to sin, and when sin grows up into adulthood, the outcome is death.60

That this corruption is not only pervasive but internally driven suggests its radical power. Sinners who sin according to their very sinful core have minds, wills, desires, actions, and attitudes shaped by such sin. They cannot disentangle themselves from sin’s grip but need something or someone from the outside to rescue them and change their hearts. All humans are sinful, guilty, under the domain of death, fundamentally corrupt, and therefore in desperate need for grace, as Philip Hughes observes:

Original sin, however mysterious its nature may be, tells us that the reality of sin is something far deeper than the mere outward commission of sinful deeds. . . . It tells us there is an inner root of sinfulness which corrupts man’s true nature and from which his sinful deeds spring. Like a deadly poison, sin has penetrated to and infected the very center of man’s being: hence his need for the total experience of rebirth by which, through the grace of God in Christ Jesus, the restoration of his true manhood is effected.61

The Fall Results in Human Suffering

As sin enters through Adam, so do its consequences, suffering included. And just as God is not the author of sin, so he is not the author of suffering. Suffering is not a part of God’s originally good creation but rather a by-product of sin, as Carson explains:

Between the beginning and the end of the Bible, there is evil and there is suffering. But the point to be observed is that from the perspective of the Bible’s large-scale story line, the two are profoundly related: evil is the primal cause of suffering, rebellion is the root of pain, sin is the source of death.62

On a cosmic scale, therefore, all suffering is an effect of the fall.63 Indeed, because we live in this fallen world, we will suffer and “reap sin’s consequences in the home, the workplace, and the cemetery.”64

Thus, sin is not the only intruder, but its evil children—suffering and death—have intruded as well. We intuitively know this but often do not consider its significance. When we encounter suffering, something inside us often cries out: “This is wrong. The world should not be like this. Children should not be abused; senior adults should not get Alzheimer’s; missionaries should not be tortured!” Or on a more personal level we might protest: “Why me? What did I do to deserve this?” Such instincts are valid because they recognize that this world is not the way it is supposed to be. We know this when we consider sin; we know to hate rape, murder, bigotry, and child abuse. We oppose sin and refuse to be at ease with it. In the same way, we are not to be comfortable with the reality of suffering (although we are to be at peace with God in the midst of it) and should do our best to alleviate it. Like sin, suffering is an intruder and cannot be welcomed as natural. The horror of suffering’s intrusion points to the horror of sin, its fundamental source.65

The Fall Results in a Matrix of Shattered Relationships

As we previously noted, in the beginning God created a good cosmos with good humans who had good relationships with God, themselves, one another, and creation itself. But now, sin has entered the picture and has brought disruption and alienation in each human relationship—with God, oneself, one another, and creation.66

The account in Genesis shows the couple’s wrecked relationship with God. Once, Adam and Eve enjoyed the intimacy of God’s presence, but after they eat the forbidden fruit they hide from him (3:8). They realize they are naked (vv. 7–11), lie to God (vv. 12–13), are judged by God (vv. 16–19), face death (v. 19), and are banished from God’s temple-garden (22–24).67 Even more, they fail to live out their identity and mission as humans created in the image of God. They do not display his goodness or serve his purposes.

Genesis also depicts how sin even hurts the perpetrators. In addition to being subject to death, they find themselves naked and ashamed. Being fruitful and multiplying would now require pain in childbirth, and having dominion over the creation would now require toil in work. Further, there is a failure to live out the image of God, to be what they were always intended to be, to do what they were created to do, and even to want and will rightly. Marguerite Shuster observes:

These paradoxes reveal something corrupt at the root of our acts and impulses: our “natural” desires for pleasure and for a goodness of our own are deeply self-centered and so twisted that they cannot reach their own proper ends but tend to destroy self and others. Even the effort to rid oneself of excessive self-concern may intensify it. Thus, at the superficial level, the paradox is simply the observation that we cannot reach certain goals by aiming at them; at a deeper level, the paradox points to our profound moral inability to do that which we ought to do, to love what we ought to love, or to will as we ought to will.68

Sin also disorders human interpersonal relationships. Adam blames Eve for the sin, and in an episode of telling stupidity and self-justification, he even insinuates that God is somehow at fault. Their previous intimate relationship is replaced by enmity, evasion of responsibility, and blame of the other. Cain kills Abel (Genesis 4), societal evil becomes rampant (chap. 6), and social sin marches on as mistreatment often leads to further mistreatment and as victims often become perpetrators.

The fallout is also seen in human relations with the creation and cosmos. As previously mentioned, there is new pain in being fruitful and multiplying, new toil and pain in working the ground, as Farris depicts: “History’s first family now faced a fallen and perverted order that featured hostile death-dealing conditions, a violent world of chaos and destruction.”69 Indeed, God judges, “Cursed is the ground because of you” (Gen. 3:17).70 Paul clarifies:

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Rom. 8:19–23)

Even creation has been affected by the fall, being “subjected to futility,” “in bondage to corruption,” and longing for full freedom and groaning for the final redemption (cf. Rev. 22:3).

Redemption and Sin

The irony of sin in the biblical story is striking: as humans we all refused to acknowledge God’s glory, accept our own identity as being created in the image of God, and serve our image-bearing mission as expressions of his mission. We sought our own glory and defined ourselves autonomously, and in so doing we forfeited the glory that God intended for us as his image bearers. Thankfully, God does not completely eradicate humanity for such cosmic treason but graciously begins a restoration project. He begins the process of redeeming humanity and the cosmos, particularly restoring humans as full image bearers so that we can participate in and reflect the glory, identity, and mission that we longed for the whole time. Establishing a covenant with a people (Israel) whom he chooses and calls, God promises to bless those people so that they can in turn bless the nations, and then the nations in turn will worship and glorify him.

Every step of the way, sin is evident—the sin of the hostile nations, the sin of Israel, and even the sin of the very best leaders of Israel. But every step of the way, God’s grace is also evident—establishing a covenant with his people, displaying covenant faithfulness even when his people do not reciprocate. God resiliently links his name to his people and guides them with his presence. Along the way, he displays his holiness through the giving of the Law, his greatness through prescriptions for appropriate worship, and his glory through awe-inspiring theophanies, the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, the temple, and the kingdom. He sends prophets at key points to redirect the sinful people away from empty and worthless idols and back to himself. These prophets also point to a time when Israel will no longer be characterized by sin but become what it was intended to be—glorious (see Isaiah 60–66)—a time linked to the Messiah’s arrival (see Luke 2:29–32).

The Messiah Jesus addresses sin, but not in the way most Jews expected. They hoped for a political, military, and spiritual leader to restore Israel to its former glory as a kingdom; and they hoped for a judgment on the sins of the nations. But Jesus’s redemption was of a different sort and his mission not so nationalistic. Jesus’ response to sin is beyond what anyone anticipated, because he is the Holy One, the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8; James 2:1), Yahweh himself (cf. John 12:41; Isa. 6:1; Dan. 7:13–14).71 Jesus the Messiah is the eternal Son, born of a virgin, who humbles himself to become incarnate (John 1:1–18; Phil. 2:5–11). He is the new Adam and the new Israel, successfully resisting Satan’s schemes in the wilderness. Jesus’ entire life is marked by complete faithfulness to God, obedience to his law, and freedom from sin. His preaching calls for repentance from sin, not just for the notoriously wicked but also for religious devotees. His miracles/signs witness that the presence of God and his kingdom have arrived. The kingdom of sin and death is in for a battle as Jesus powerfully and systematically displays his reign—through taming the chaotic sea, healing the sick and unclean, casting out demons, and even raising the dead (Luke 8; cf. John 11:38–44).

Even more, Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of Man, is also the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52–53) who asserts: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Luke 9:22). Jesus’ sense of the necessity of his mission is striking, as when he declares, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45; see also Matt. 20:28; Luke 4:16–21; John 12:23–28). Jesus came to serve; he came to save. And while the entire life of Jesus displays this, Robert Peterson helpfully highlights Christ’s nine major “saving events”:

1)

Incarnation (Luke 2:11; Gal. 4:4–5; Heb. 2:14–15).

2)

Sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 5:8–10; 1 Pet. 3:18).

3)

Death (Gal. 3:13; Heb. 10:14).

4)

Resurrection (Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:21–22; 1 Pet. 1:3).

5)

Ascension (John 14:2–3; Acts 5:31; Heb. 9:24).

6)

Session (Col. 3:1–3; Heb. 1:3; 10:11–12).

7)

Pentecost (John 20:22–23; Acts 1:5).

8)

Intercession (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25).

9)

Second coming (Matt. 25:46; 1 Thess. 1:9–10; 1 Pet. 1:13).72

Peterson also suggests that the Bible includes six major pictures of Christ’s saving work. Note his chart below:73

Biblical Pictures of Christ’s Saving Work

Sphere

Need

Christ

His Work

Result

Passages

Relations

Alienation

Peacemaker

Reconciles

Peace

Rom. 5:10;

2 Cor. 5:18–20;

Eph. 2:12–17;

Col. 1:20–23

Slavery

Bondage

Redeemer

Delivers

Freedom

1 Cor. 6:20; Heb. 9:15; 1 Pet. 1:19

Law

Guilt

Substitute

Pays penalty

Justification

Rom. 3:25–26;

Gal. 3:13;

Col. 2:14

Warfare

Enemies

Champion

Defeats foes

Victory

Col. 2:15;

Heb. 2:14–15;

Rev. 5:5

Creation

Disorder

Second Adam

Obeys

Restoration

Rom. 5:18–19; 1 Cor. 15:22; Col. 1:18

Worship

Defilement

Priest

Makes sacrifice

Purification

Eph 5:2, 25–26; Heb 9:12, 14; 10:14

For our purposes, notice how Christ’s saving work sheds light on the doctrine of sin, especially through “saving events” such as his sinless life, substitutionary death, life-giving resurrection, and triumphant coming. And Christ’s saving work sheds light on the doctrine of sin through the biblical pictures, as Peterson shows:

The multiplicity of images of salvation corresponds to the multiplicity of the images of sin. The many ways of speaking about our plight correspond to the many ways God in his grace comes to our aid. Sin is so odious to God that he depicts it in a variety of ways, as the discussion of the need for each picture in the preceding shows.

Each need, each way of describing sin, corresponds to God’s way of overturning sin in Christ’s work. So, God overturns sin as alienation with Christ’s reconciliation. He overcomes bondage with Christ’s redemption. He overturns guilt with Christ’s propitiation. He overcomes our mighty enemies with a mightier champion’s victory. He overturns Adam’s disobedience with the second Adam’s obedience. He overcomes our spiritual defilement with Christ’s purifying blood. But the key point here is that these are multiple ways of communicating the same truth—Christ’s death and resurrection save sinners! 74

Similarly, the Bible’s portraits of salvation also teach much about sin. Examples include: regeneration addresses our state of spiritual death; justification, our guilt; adoption, our condition as slaves and outside God’s family; sanctification, our unholy lives as well as the lingering reality of indwelling sin even in believers who continually need mortification, renewal, and repentance (Eph. 4:20–24).

Further, the nature of the church as the people of God’s salvation is also instructive for our understanding of sin.75 The church is God’s temple, the people characterized by God’s presence and holiness (Eph. 2:11–22). The church is likewise the new humanity in which believing Jews and Gentiles are no longer the standard illustration for ethnic division but the model of the one new society that depicts what the human community was always intended to be (Eph. 2:15; 3:9–12; 4:11–16). The church is God’s contrast community, characterized by holiness, unity, truth, and love (Eph. 2:11–22; 4:1–6, 11–16) in a society marked by sin, discord, distortion, and self-seeking (4:17–5:21). And as the community of the kingdom, the church lives in the already and not yet of the kingdom, which indicates that the world is not what it should be. The current already and not yet of the kingdom also indicates that this world is not what it will be, that there is a fuller “already” with no “not yet” kingdom to come.

The Consummation and Sin

Indeed, there is a time coming when the kingdom of God will not only be in-breaking into our world but will fundamentally define it. There is a time coming when the fullness of salvation will be received. There is a time coming when justice will prevail, sin will be finally overthrown, and God’s glory will be fully displayed in the new heaven and the new earth as his temple. This time is often called the “consummation” and includes major events and states such as the second coming of Christ, the final judgment, and the final states of hell and heaven.

The consummation is instructive about sin in several ways, as we will see below: sin will be defeated; sin will be judged; unbelievers will be punished eternally in hell; and believers will be free from sin and revel in perfect goodness in heaven. John Piper is helpful: “The evil and suffering in this world are greater than any of us can comprehend. But evil and suffering are not ultimate. God is. Satan, the great lover of evil and suffering, is not sovereign. God is.”76

The classic passage depicting the consummation and these related truths is Revelation 20–22. Just as Genesis 1–2 reveals that the biblical story begins with God’s creation of the heavens and the earth, Revelation 20–22 shows that it ends with God’s creation of a new heavens and a new earth. The story begins with the goodness of creation, and it ends with the goodness of the new creation. The story begins with God dwelling with his people in a garden-temple, and it ends with God dwelling with his covenant people in heaven, a new earth-city-garden-temple.

Once and for all God’s victory is consummated. God’s judgment is final, sin has been vanquished, justice prevails, holiness predominates, God’s glory is unobstructed, and the kingdom is realized. God’s eternal plan of cosmic reconciliation in Christ is actualized, and Christ is “all in all.”

As a part of his victory, God casts the Devil and his demons into the lake of fire, where they are not consumed but “tormented day and night forever and ever” (20:10). Satan and the demons are not restored but go to hell to receive their due punishment; and they remain there to suffer forever.

Then God judges everyone—those whom the world deems important, those whom the world never notices, and everyone in between. “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (v. 15). God does not only send the ruthless Roman emperors to hell (which we might expect), but he consigns to hell all who are not the people of Jesus (cf. Dan. 12:1; Rev. 13:8; 21:8, 27). Three pictures of hell emerge here in Revelation 20–22: hell as punishment (20:10–15), destruction/death (20:14–15; 21:8), and banishment (22:15).77 And each picture of hell sheds light on the doctrine of sin: hell as punishment clarifies that sin is a crime; hell as destruction shows sin as spiritual death; hell as banishment views sin as alienation from God. Indeed, the pictures of hell can be viewed as culminations, extensions, intensifications, and logical continuations of the unbeliever’s current state of sin.78

Magnificently, the new heavens and new earth arrive and God dwells with his covenant people (note the covenant formulas of 21:3, 7), brings comfort to his people (no more pain, death, etc., in v. 4), makes all things new (v. 5), and proclaims, “It is done!” (v. 6).

Heaven is then depicted as a perfect temple, glorious, multi-national, and holy (vv. 9–27). The people of God will rightly bear God’s image—serving him, reigning with him, encountering him directly, and worshiping him (22:1–5). God receives the worship he is due, and humans are blessed beyond description, finally living to the fullest the realities of being created in his image.79

As we have seen, the biblical story sheds much light on sin. But, clearly, sin is only the backdrop, never the point. It emerges in God’s good creation as a temporary intruder, causes much havoc, and holds many in its clutches. But it is no match for the work of God in Christ. Through his sinless life, sin-bearing death, sin-defeating resurrection, and sin-crushing second coming, sin and its offspring of suffering and death are given the death blow. Sin abounded, but grace super-abounds! In the biblical story, God has the first word. And, thankfully, God also has the last word, as the apostle Paul so marvelously proclaims:

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15:50–57)

1 Niamh Scallan, “Video of Bus Monitor Bullied by Students Goes Viral,” Toronto Star, June 22, 2012.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1214780—video-of-bus-monitor-bullied-by-students-goes-viral. Accessed September 16, 2012.

2 Bill Chappell, “Penn State Abuse Scandal: A Guide and Timeline,” National Public Radio, July 28, 2012. http://www.npr.org/2011/11/08/142111804/penn-state-abuse-scandal-a-guide-and-timeline. Accessed September 16, 2012.

3 Edith Honan, “NCAA sanctions Penn State for Sandusky scandal,” Reuters, July 24, 2012. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/24/us-usa-pennstate-idUSBRE86L07F20120724. Accessed September 16, 2012.

4 Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995).

5 Henri Blocher, Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle, NSBT, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997), 11–12.

6 Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis: A Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001), 56.

7 C. John Collins, Genesis 1–4: A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2006), 71.

8 Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 1–15, WBC (Waco, TX: Word, 1987), 37–38.

9 D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 205.

10 Allen P. Ross, Creation and Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1996), 114.

11 Collins, Genesis 1–4, 39, 101.

12 Ross, Creation and Blessing, 127.

13 Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 87.

14 Collins, Genesis 1–4, 132.

15 Waltke, Genesis, 85.

16 Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 87.

17 Ibid., 88; Collins, Genesis 1–4, 139.

18 Michael D. Williams, Far as the Curse Is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2005), 64.

19 Plantinga, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be, 2.

20 D. A. Carson, How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1990), 41.

21 “It is interesting to note that, though the deity throughout Genesis 2:4–3:24 is ‘the LORD God,’ the Serpent only calls him ‘God,’ and he and the woman use only that title in their conversation (3:1b–5). Now, as many have observed, the name God designates the deity in his role of cosmic creator and ruler (its use in 1:1–2:3), while ‘the LORD’ (‘Yahweh’) is particularly his name as he enters into covenantal relationship with human beings. By dropping the covenant name, then, the Serpent is probably advancing his program of temptation by diverting the woman’s attention from the relationship the Lord has established. The woman’s use of it shows that she is trapped, and we begin to have a clue as to how she could be led into disobedience by forgetting the covenant.” Collins, Genesis 1–4, 171.

22 Wenham, Genesis 1–15, 75.

23 Ross, Creation and Blessing, 148.

24 Collins, Genesis 1–4, 169; emphasis original.

25 Robert A. Pyne, Humanity and Sin (Dallas: Word, 1999), 162.

26 Since the exegetical details of this passage have already been ably addressed in Douglas Moo’s chapter, the focus here will be only on Paul’s theological argument as it sheds light on the doctrine of sin. See Moo, “Sin in Paul,” 120–26.

27 In Romans Paul has already concluded that all are sinners and guilty before God (3:9–20, 23). He has stressed that only Christ can bring about our righteousness. Nothing else can—not human sincerity, religious privilege, the law, or works. All human beings are under God’s wrath; Paul shows this by including pagans, moralists, and Jews in his argument. Pagans have resisted God, though he has communicated himself through creation. Moralists have resisted God, though he has given a law written on their hearts. Jews have resisted God, though God has given them the law, his very oracles. Indeed, that humans are in a pitiable state of sin is manifest from Paul’s emphasis that Christ died for us while we were still “ungodly” (5:6), “sinners” (v. 8), and “enemies” of God (v. 10).

28 As Moo suggests (“Sin in Paul,” 121), this death is likely physical and spiritual. The context includes physical death but also seems to contrast it with spiritual life (as in 6:23). It also portrays death as a domain.

29 There is no need to rehearse the definitions and nature of sin here since that is given careful treatment in the chapter by John W. Mahony, “Toward a Theology of Sin,” 194–206.

30 Richard B. Gaffin Jr., “Glory, Glorification,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993), 348. See also Richard B. Gaffin, “The Glory of God in Paul’s Epistles,” and Christopher W. Morgan, “Toward a Theology of the Glory of God,” in The Glory of God, Theology in Community 2, ed. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010).

31 Obviously, the fall is not outside God’s eternal design for history.

32 Since we discover a tempter already in the otherwise pristine garden, sin was evidently present in the angelic world before the human world. See Anthony A. Hoekema, Created in God’s Image (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986), 121–32. See also the chapter by Sydney H. T. Page, “Sin, Satan, and Evil,” 219–42.

33 Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 130–31.

34 Ibid., 131.

35 Collins, Genesis 1–4, 172.

36 Plantinga, Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be, 123.

37 Paul’s words “now I know in part” (1 Cor. 13:9, 12) show that for some matters even apostolic revelation is partial. See Carl F. H. Henry, God, Revelation, and Authority (Waco, TX: Word, 1976–83; repr. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1999), 6:302. Blocher also reminds that not everything about sin is mysterious, and some theologians too quickly appeal to mystery (Original Sin, 107–9).

38 For more on the historicity of Adam’s sin and its theological importance, see John W. Mahony, “Why an Historical Adam Matters for a Biblical Doctrine of Sin,” SBJT 15 (Spring 2011): 60–79; C. John Collins, Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? Who They Were and Why You Should Care (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012); Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 112; Blocher, Original Sin, 42–59.

39 Thus, the Council of Carthage in 418 and the Synod of Orange in 529 condemned teachings of Pelagius. For a clear historical overview of Pelagius and Augustine’s response, see Gregg R. Allison, Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 342–52.

40 Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans, BECNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1998), 268.

41 Paul does not set “many” in comparison against “all,” or vice versa. Rather, he contrasts Adam’s one act with the widespread effects of that sin upon humanity, “many.” Likewise, Paul contrasts Christ’s act with its incalculable effects on “many.” Paul uses “all” similarly here. For example, many die and all die.

42 Several perspectives have been set forth, including Pelagianism, mediate imputation, realism, and immediate imputation. In very broad strokes, Pelagianism envisions Adam as merely setting a bad example for his descendants; it denies that humans are sinful, corrupt, or guilty in Adam. Those holding to mediate imputation suggest that humans derive sinful corruption from Adam through their parents, and that Adam’s guilt is mediated through the condition in which we have been born. Realism is the view that all humans are guilty of Adam’s sin because everyone is a part of the generic human nature of Adam. Immediate imputation is the view that Adam is both the physical progenitor and the representative of all humans; when Adam sinned, he did so as the representative of all, and therefore his condemnation is applied to all. See Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 154–67.

43 S. Lewis Johnson Jr., “Romans 5:12—An Exercise in Exegesis and Theology,” in New Dimensions in New Testament Study, ed. Richard N. Longenecker and Merrill C. Tenney (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1974), 312.

44 Ibid., 313.

45 Ibid.

46 Herman Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology, trans. John Richard de Witt (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997), 98–99.

47 Blocher, Original Sin, 30.

48 See Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 177–86. For discussions on the state of infants and the mentally challenged, see Ronald H. Nash, When a Baby Dies: Answers to Comfort Grieving Parents (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan 1999); Robert A. Peterson, Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1995), 235–36. For a discussion on the state of those who have not heard the gospel, see Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, eds., Faith Comes by Hearing: A Response to Inclusivism (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2008).

49 T. V. Farris, Mighty to Save: A Study in Old Testament Soteriology (Nashville: Broadman, 1993), 40.

50 Ibid., 52–53.

51 Ridderbos, Paul, 96, 99, 112–13. See also J. Julius Scott Jr., “Life and Death,” in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne and Ralph P. Martin (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1993), 553–55.

52 Note how 1 Cor. 15:20–58 also puts forward a cosmic, salvation-historical comparison of Adam and Christ.

53 For an outstanding analysis of this passage and its teachings related to sin, see Peter T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), 153–64.

54 This domain of sin and death emerges often, particularly in Rom. 3:9 (“all are under sin”); 2 Cor. 4:4 (“god of this world”); Gal. 1:4 (“present evil age”); and Col. 1:13 (“domain of darkness”).

55 Several of these terms are used more broadly than this, too. For the example of flesh, see Moo, “Paul on Sin, 118–20.

56 See Gal. 5:16–25.

57 Jonathan Edwards, “The Eternity of Hell Torments,” in The Wrath of Almighty God: Jonathan Edwards on God’s Judgment against Sinners, ed. Don Kistler (Morgan, PA: Soli Deo Gloria, 1996), 91–92.

58 Addressing the same topic from a different text (Ps. 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me”), Blocher comments: “Far from attempting to downplay his own guilt, David refers to his birth and conception in the clear realization that his very being is shot through and through with the tendencies that produced the fruits of adultery and murder. As far back as he can go, he sees his life as sinful.” Original Sin, 28–29.

59 See Christopher W. Morgan, A Theology of James: Wisdom for God’s People, Explorations in Biblical Theology, ed. Robert A. Peterson (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2010), 156–59.

60 For a helpful introduction to the related doctrines of total depravity and inability, see Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 147–54. For a comparison of the Arminian and Reformed views of human inability, and for clear exposition of related passages, see Robert A. Peterson and Michael D. Williams, Why I Am Not an Arminian (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004), 162–72.

61 Philip E. Hughes, “Another Dogma Falls,” Christianity Today (May 23, 1969), 13. Cited in Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 154.

62 Carson, How Long, O Lord?, 42.

63 This is not to suggest that particular instances of suffering can be or should be traced back to particular sins. In some cases, that is possible, but in other instances it is unfounded. The point is that all suffering results from Adam’s sin.

64 Pyne, Humanity and Sin, 160.

65 For more on suffering, see Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, eds., Suffering and the Goodness of God, Theology in Community 1 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008).

66 For helpful material on the effects of sin on the sinner’s relationship to God, himself, and others, see T. V. Farris, Mighty to Save, 28–43; Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1984), 601–19; and Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 133–40.

67 For more on the garden of Eden as a temple, see Gregory K. Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2011), 614–48.

68 Marguerite Shuster, The Fall and Sin: What We Have Become as Sinners (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004), 166. See also her perceptive comments on pp. 163–65; 190–207.

69 Farris, Mighty to Save, 40.

70 Shuster reminds: “We ought not, of course, identify the whole pre-Fall creation with Eden. It is easy to forget that the image of the “garden” of Eden distinguishes this spot from the rest of the world, as does the image of Adam and Eve being driven from it after the Fall.” The Fall and Sin, 77.

71 For more on Jesus’ deity, see Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson, eds., The Deity of Christ, Theology in Community 3 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012).

72 Robert A. Peterson, Salvation Accomplished by the Son: The Work of Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 553.

73 Ibid., 555. Used with permission.

74 Ibid., 556.

75 For more on this and related ideas, see Christopher W. Morgan, “Toward a Theology of the Unity of the Church,” in Why We Belong: Stories of Evangelical Unity amidst Diversity, ed. Anthony L. Chute, Christopher W. Morgan, and Robert A. Peterson (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, forthcoming). See also Christopher W. Morgan and Kendell H. Easley, eds., The Community of Jesus: A Theology of the Church (Nashville: Broadman, 2013).

76 John Piper, “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God: Ten Aspects of God’s Sovereignty in Suffering and Satan’s Hand in It,” in Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, ed. John Piper and Justin Taylor (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006), 29.

77 For how Jesus and Paul use these three pictures of hell, see Matt. 24–25; 2 Thess. 1:6–11. See also Christopher W. Morgan, “Biblical Theology: Three Pictures of Hell,” in Hell under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment, ed. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), 135–51.

78 “Various pictures of hell also extend the here-and-now judgment of God on sin. God’s wrath is on sinners, and hell is the culmination of that wrath. Sinners are condemned already, but they await the ultimate condemnation in hell. Sinners are now dead spiritually but await the second death. Unbelievers are alienated from God now but will be finally excluded from his presence. Sinners’ hearts are dark now but will eternally be in ‘outer darkness’ and ‘blackest darkness.’ The evidence is compelling: The pictures of hell can be viewed as culminations, extensions, intensifications, and logical continuations of the unbeliever’s current state of sin. It is also significant that the pictures of punishment, destruction, and banishment have Old Testament roots. They can be found as early as the fall recorded in Genesis 3, when God punished Adam and Eve with a curse, warned of sin’s consequence of death, and banished the first humans from the Garden of Eden.” Christopher W. Morgan, “Three Pictures of Hell,” in Is Hell for Real or Does Everyone Go to Heaven?, ed. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 46–47.

79 Note that during this scene, sinners still exist—outside of heaven, outside the kingdom, outside the temple (Rev. 22:14–15). And they still exist on the outside after being cast into the lake of fire (20:14–15; 21:8).

↑ Back to top