Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 3
Q&A 7 and 8 Sermons Vander Kam on HC Lord's Day 3
Q&A 7 and 87 Q. Whence, then, comes this depraved nature of man?
A. From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise, whereby our nature be came so corrupt that we all are conceived and born in sin.
8 Q. But are we so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all evil?
A. Yes, indeed; unless we are regenerated by the Spirit of God.
Beloved in the Lord, it is one of the great mysteries of life, is it not, that man can turn worse wherever he will and he is not able to find an answer to the basic questions of life. That all of humanism turns, as it were, upon itself and is not able to find an answer. And then look wheresoever you will, you are not able to find the basic answers to the various questions that we have. The one thing that is needful is this, that you and I again return to the Scriptures, and that it is only in that Bible that we are going to find answers. There we are going to find the answer as to the origin of all things, where they have come from, and that man when he is at this particular point in time for example, looks around him and is now seeking to go from here backward, and then find how all things have come into being. And this is an impossibility, it cannot be done. We find again that there is also no way of salvation that man knows, and he also does not know why he needs salvation. All of these things are conundrums to him, and these are the basic things in life. If we do not have the answers to these questions, then we do not have the answers to any basic questions, any important questions that we may have. Then we are, as it were, at sea, and that even though there is brilliance in this world, that there is high education, though they are able to solve ever so many mysteries, they are not able to solve the mysteries of life itself. But we are dependent upon this, that we are always and again going to go back to the Bible. That is our only source, the only source of knowledge. That source to which we have to go in order that we may be instructed in those things that we need instruction in so badly.
Now those are the things that are given to us already in the very first part of the Catechism. In order that we may be able to see beloved, that it is only here, in Genesis 1, which I read to you a few weeks ago, and now here in Genesis 3. In Genesis 1 we find the origin of all the things that exist; in Genesis 3 we have this, that man has fallen into sin. And otherwise how would you be able to explain the various situations as you have them today? You can't explain them now, and then if we did not have this, then we would be totally at sea, and then we would not know where to turn, where we would find an answer to any of the problems, any of the questions of life. That is the reason why we again go to Genesis 3. Man fell into sin, and that is a fact. That is a fact that is established by God Himself; He said so. That he was made at the very highest level, and that he has fallen to the very lowest. That is the situation, and that's where man finds himself today. And that there is redemption only through the blood of Jesus Christ. Now these are the fundamental things of life beloved, the fundamentals of the Christian religion. These are the things with which we may not begin to work in such a way so that we are seeking to undermine them or to undercut them in any way. We have to hold to these things with might and main; if they ever take from us that God has not made the heavens and the earth, or take from us that man has fallen into sin, as it is recorded for us in Genesis 3, then you can close the rest of your Bibles because you have nothing left.
We speak to you this morning on, "Man's Fall Into Sin." Noticing in the first place, its history; secondly, its effects; and finally, its only remedy.
First of all, when we look upon that history that we must realize this is the only place where that history is given. And that it is also given us in such a way so that even a child is able to understand. There isn't a child here this morning who is not able to understand that that is where it all began. That it was Adam and Eve who were placed in a place where temptation should not have been very strong. Where they had everything, everything that heart could desire, and more. Where they were filled with an abundance, they lavished all things upon them in Paradise, and that's where they fell. Here you find that that history is so simple, it is so simple that a child is able to understand; that is precisely the point also why there are so many who refuse it. Because it is far too simple. That I am in the situation in which I am, at the present time, is something that is such a conundrum, that it ought to be a deep philosophical problem. And a deep philosophical problem to which we ought to come, at sometime; with some kind of answers, but certainly not in this way with that kind of a history, that man fell into sin.
Here it is, simply this, that it is disobedience; that's what it is. These are not yet the worst sins that have ever been committed, no, when we look upon that beloved, then we would say that well, the later sins certainly have been far greater. The second sin that is recorded is murder; see. This was not murder that Adam and Eve committed, and we have our capital sins and we also have other sins, well, we don't like to make lists of them. The Catholic Church has done it, there are the mortal sins, and there are the venal sins. But nevertheless, also in our minds there are some sins that are worse than others. Not according to Scripture, but according to us. Then the one sin is certainly to be punished far more severely than another. And it is simply this, that they were disobedient, they did not obey God, they did not obey Him when He said, "You shall not eat of that particular tree." "Now when she saw that that tree was good for food and even desirable to make one wise;" that I have never have understood. You can look upon a piece of fruit and believe that that is desirable to make one wise; I don't know. But at least that it was desirable for food; that we understand. He has not made it corrupt, He cannot make it corrupt, He made it good, and she looked upon it, and she took it and she knew that she was disobeying. And she gave to her husband and he ate too. That's all. That's where all the corruption has come from. That's where all the sin has come from. That's where all the moral problems have come from. From that one simple deed that they have done, that they were disobedient. That's enough. When that disobedience has come into the world then the gates have been opened, and then there is nothing to hold it back. Then the one sin leads to the other, and it leads to it in such rapidity, and it leads to it so clearly that there is nothing that is going to withhold it, nothing at all. So that, as I mentioned already, the second sin is murder, fratricide, one of the worst murders that you could ever think of. And that is, brother killing brother. That's the second recorded sin; there have been others, no doubt, but that is the second recorded one. So that, when they had become disobedient, now the relationship to their God has changed around radically. It is changed so much that there is no longer that kind of communion, that kind of fellowship that they have had before. That disobedience is something that has caused a barrier to be erected. A barrier between them and their Maker, and as a result a barrier between themselves. As a result, a barrier, read Romans 8 sometime, verse 19 on, and then you see some of these things; a barrier between themselves and the rest of creation. The rest of creation, the sense of creation, but not the creation that has a mind, not the rational. So that all of these barriers have a risk, as the result of this, that she was not obedient.
See, He demands that what is going to be done, is going to be done perfectly. What He demands is this, complete, strict, obedient to every one of His commandments. Not a one shall fail, not a one shall fall to the ground, and that when He says and plants this one tree in the center of the Garden and says, "You shall not eat of it," He means it. And when He comes to us with the Law, as we read it this morning, He means it. "Thou shalt not kill." And if you kill, you are going to suffer the consequences. "You shalt not steal." "You shall not covet." None of these things, and "You shall love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself." And if we are disobedient in regard to any of them, then we have, in Paul's words, already become guilty of the whole law. Then we have undermined it all, then there is no longer any kind of a hold that we have on those things which He has promised us. Note that everything has been taken from us, because we have become guilty, guilty before God. And that is the immediate effect, that is the history that He has given us. And that history beloved, once more is something that is so simply given, so that we are certainly able to understand it.
Too simple? For the scientific mind of the present day it is indeed too simple. They want something far more difficult, so that there you are dealing with problems, the kind of problems, the universal problems that are virtually defying all kinds of solutions. But here it is given in this way. God said, "Do not eat." She ate. And that's it, and therefore all of the misery that you will read on the front page of the paper again tomorrow. All of the misery in this world, all of the sickness, all of the crime, all of the deaths, all of these things have come from that one thing. And that is the simple history that He gives. That history that shows itself everywhere else. That history that is basic to all through the understanding of all that follows. That man is now fallen into sin. He started at the very top. God did not make him that way, as he is today, God did not make him that way, He made him good, in His own image, it started at the top. And he fell; and he fell deeply. He was disobedient; that's all, and that was enough. That is the history that He has given us concerning the fall of man.
Secondly, notice its effect.
Now the effect of it beloved, is seen immediately and that is that they are immediately ushered out of the Garden of Eden. And it is placed there before us in such a very beautiful way, "Lest he reach out his hand and touch also and eat of the tree of life and live forever." They must not approach it, that they will not come back, and they are driven out. It has always been a mystery to ever so many the words that He has uttered already prior to this, and that is, "that in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Well, he did, he did. In that day he died, even though he lived yet another 950 years. But in that day he died, that is, there becomes a separation between him and his God. Death here is separation of body and soul. Spiritual death, the second death, as the New Testament speaks of it, is the separation between the soul and its God. And that is the death that occurred immediately. There is a separation, no longer is there that communion, that fellowship that they enjoyed prior to this. It is now "Adam where art thou? Where art thou?" "I hid myself from Thee, we are the only ones in this universe, but I hid myself from Thee." Because there is something wrong; something wrong. "I am naked." "Who told you that? Who told you that? Did you eat." "Yes, but it was in a circuitous manner." The effect of it is this — "Out of the garden, out of paradise." Out into the world that is indeed no longer a friend to grace. That is, no longer a friend to man, but where thorns and thistles shall come up, where thieves will break through and steal. It is going to be such that it is going to be a world in which you are going to labor in the sweat of your brow. Where children are to be born with pain; these are the effects. That is the immediate effect that comes, and oh it takes a while yet, another 950 years before Adam dies.
Yet at the same time Adam is an individual who is scarcely heard of again, have you ever noticed that! Aw, he is mentioned a few times in the Bible but certainly not according to the prestige that the first person should have had. No, he is hardly mentioned again because when it comes to spirituality then some of his successors far outdistance him. That he is not able to stand in the shadow of an Abraham, or of a David. We, you never hear of the spiritual life of an Adam, we are given the impression that they were people of God, but no more than that. What is the effect; the effect is this, that he has become depraved. Notice what the Catechism says in that regard: Whereby our nature became so corrupt, and we are all conceived and born in sin. That is the effect, that our nature has become corrupt. The nature of man, so that there is no longer anyone who is able to bring forth a clean out of the unclean. That everything he touches he corrupts, that's the effect. That it is such that he is born, conceived and born in sin. This is the first of original sin. You've heard that!! Original sin, that is, this sin of Adam upon which is based all the other sin that we do. And those now become so natural, because the basis is now original sin. Where it was original rectitude, now it becomes original sin, is the basis on which we live, and upon which we act. And then we are conceived and born in sin.
Now that is the effect that this sin of Adam and Eve has had. That is the effect that it has had immediately and throughout their lives, and still goes on, so that the actual sins that are committed are the sins that we would also have expected. These are the things that you can now expect because of the fact that there is no other way, no other basis upon which they are living than upon the basis of original sin. The sin that Adam has committed, who was the representative, who was the father of us all, who acted for us. And as the result, that a very important position in regard to us. That was the one who sinned and that is the one whom we now follow, and whom we imitate. So that the sins that have been committed since that time are all on the same basis. That we are now conceived and born in sin, and that it goes way back; this was true with your and my parents too, and it was true with your and my grandparents too. They also were sinners, and so they bring forth sinners. They bring forth after their kind, as Genesis 1 says. Everything brought forth after its kind, and the only kind that Adam and Eve are going to be able to bring forth from this day forward is this, those who are corrupt, corrupt.
Ever so much ink has been spilled throughout the years in order to say, to come to the conclusion that our children are innocent. That in an age of innocence, that a child is so innocent, hasn't committed any sin yet; don't you believe it. They are conceived and born in sin, and therefore children of wrath. That's what our form for baptism says when they are baptized into the name of the Triune God; that they are children of wrath, conceived and born in sin. So that the picture that is drawn here beloved, is about as dark as it could be. This is about as dark as it can ever get, which this Lord's Day also plumbs to its depths, in order that you and I be not mistaken, be not misled, but that we will see clearly what is really at stake. That we are conceived and born in sin and that we are, from the fall and disobedience of our parents, Adam and Eve in Paradise, whereby our nature is become so corrupt that we are all conceived and born in sin. Are we so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good and inclined to all evil? Yes indeed... So we are wholly incapable of doing any good, inclined to all evil. That's what the Scripture says. That's the way man comes into this world. Ever since that day, ever since that day of wrath, that day in which Adam and Eve partook of those things which they were not to partake of. Ever since they were disobedient. Thus the results for us. The effect is so widespread, it is so broad, there is no limit to it. We are not able to see its boundaries, the effect that that sin of man has had. The fall of man into sin is incalculable, and that must be seen again. That we do not paper it over and look upon it as being a sickness, or a shortcoming, or things like that. No, it goes so deep that we are all conceived and born in sin, and that we are incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all evil; by nature. That's our nature — that's where we come into the world. And that is a very difficult thing to swallow, very difficult thing to believe. And that's fundamental. If we don't believe that, then we can't believe the rest because this is the thing that is fundamental to all else. First, know how great your sin and misery is; and then the Catechism is not going to go and show you in a way so that it is not too bad, that it will not really insult, that it will not really cut, but no, it goes to the very depths in order that we will realize how great that sin and misery is. So that we may seek our refuge elsewhere.
And finally, notice the only remedy.
Now I have heard a few sermons on Lord's Day 3, especially the last part, but then when they come to the last question and answer, and notice that once again, and I will read it once more, "But are we so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good and inclined to all evil?" Yes indeed, unless; we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. A ray of light? No, then you have misread it. And be sure to read this answer correctly. I have heard sermons on this where was then that they had gone into the first two questions and answers of this Lord's Day. Come to the third one and then they go into an exposition of what being born again is, of what regeneration is. That's not the point; that's not the point. It is not a matter that we are now all of a sudden removed from Paradise, and all of a sudden John 3. No, we are not jumped from this, the fall into sin to regeneration. No, but it is that, that this, notice how it is worded; this is the way it is, yes indeed, unless we are regenerated by the Spirit of God, then it is not so. Notice; what it means beloved, is this; to use an example that is about as clear as anything that I can think of, and that is, that when someone is very sick, so that you despair of life and the doctor comes, and he is a Christian doctor, and you say to him, 'what hope is there?' And he says, 'none, unless a miracle occurs.' That's it. That's what Lord's Day 3, question and answer 8 means. Unless a miracle occurs; yah, that can always happen, we know that, but that's not very common. Then it would be no miracle. But nevertheless that is a possibility.
But notice also exactly in what kind of a framework it places it. This is the situation people, as it has been made clear in the previous questions and answers. This is the way it is, so that are we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any good and inclined to all evil? Yes indeed! Don't forget it, that's the way it is; unless a miracle occurs. Then what is that miracle? That is the only remedy. The only remedy that nobody had ever thought of, that had not occurred to anybody. That is a miracle from beginning to end. That is a miracle so great and yet that nobody considers to be a miracle anymore, and that is, salvation. There is a remedy, but who in the world had ever thought of that in the days of Adam and Eve. Who had ever thought of that, would you look into these things; how great that sin is, how great is the fall of man, that is, fallen into the lowest depths. And it is based on, unless a miracle occurs and, thank God, a miracle has occurred. But it is a miracle, and that is the thing that we must never lose sight of. That that salvation that has become so common to us, that salvation which even a child is able to talk about, that that salvation is indeed the greatest miracle that has ever happened. The greatest miracle that has ever taken place.
This evening we will begin a series on the passion of Jesus Christ. If you ever want a clear indication of how great our sin and misery is, look at the suffering of Christ. How greatly He had to suffer in order that our sin might be wiped out. There you have the picture of it, how great it is; but then you have to delve deeply into that suffering in order to be able to find it. And so it is here. There is no hope, no hope in man himself. And when the doctor looks at it, his prognosis is this, it is only a matter of time, and very little time; unless a miracle occurs. Now we've heard of some of these miracles, these miracles still occur, but nevertheless, that's not what you look for. That's not what you expect, is it. You expect this, that it is, the sickness is going to run its course. That the sickness is going to claim its victim, and that the victim is going to be overcome completely and is going to die. Unless a miracle occurs. And if that miracle occurs, yah, then of course, it is completely reversed. Then there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Then being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That salvation has occurred, that miracle has occurred. He has entered into the bloodstream of mankind, and He has reversed the stream. That's salvation, that is the salvatory work of Jesus Christ. He is the great miracle worker, and the greatest miracle that He has ever performed, He has performed in you and me. That He has rescued us from original sin, that would have captivated and slain us. But He has redeemed, yes indeed, unless we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. And when he infuses new life, yah, now it is an entirely new beginning. When He comes with His light of the Spirit, when He comes with His light that is from above, thereby He has overturned all the evil that took place in Paradise. And He has restored him, restored that man, so that of course, and now listen, then it is no longer this, that we are so corrupt, that we are wholly incapable of doing any good and inclined to all evil; that follows. So that Paul is able to say, "The good that I wouldn't, I want to do it now." Aw listen, that we are wholly incapable of doing any good, inclined to all evil; but now I want to do that, because he has been redeemed. Because he has tasted of that redemption through the blood of Christ, because of the fact that he has been born again. That's what it means, so that the situation is hopeless, except the rebirth occurs. And if that occurs, then it is an entirely different situation. Then the sickness is gone, He has overcome the evil one, and He has overcome all evil and sin and death, and there there is no sickness, and no death, and all tears are wiped away. And there He reigns with His people. That is the glory of salvation. So though we delve deeply into the matter of man's sin, his fall into sin, as recorded in Genesis 3, never lose sight of this, that in Jesus Christ we have overcome and we have overcome so completely, that, says the apostle, "We are more than conquerors, more than conquerors," standing next to Adam. Amen.....
We thank Thee Lord our God, for Thy goodness to us. For the glorious Gospel of salvation that was revealed to us. We pray Oh God, that Thou wilt graciously apply it unto our every heart. That we may ever grow in Thy grace and in Thy knowledge, that we may ever rejoice therein, that we may realize how great is the goodness Thou hast kept in store for those who fear Thee and adore in meek humility. Bless us further on this day, bless the Sunday School and Catechism classes as they meet. Bring us together again in this evening into Thy house, that we may look upon the sufferings of our Savior on our behalf. Forgive our sins and hear us in Jesus our Redeemer's name. Amen.....
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