Jun 22
12
Baptist Catechism 22
Q. 22. What is the misery of that estate whereunto man fell?
A. All mankind, by their fall lost communion with God, are under His wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. (Gen. 3:8,24; Eph. 2:3; Gal. 3:10; Rom. 6:23; Matt. 25:41-46; Ps. 9:17)
Scripture Reading: Matthew 25:31–46
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’” (Matthew 25:31–46, ESV)
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Introduction
Questions 16-22 of our catechism all contain bad news.
Q. 16. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?
A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God. (Gen. 3:6; Eccles. 7:29; Rom. 5:12)
Q. 17. What is sin?
A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God. (1 John 3:4; Rom. 5:13)
Q. 18. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?
A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit. (Gen. 3:6,12,13)
Q. 19. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?
A. The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself but for his posterity, all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression. (1 Cor. 15:21,22; Rom. 5:12,18,19)
Q. 20. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?
A. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery. (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:18,19: Is. 64:6)
Q. 21. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereunto man fell?
A. The sinfulness of that estate whereunto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called original sin, together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it. (Rom. 5:19; 3:10; Eph. 2:1; Is. 53:6; Ps. 51:5; Matt. 15:19)
Q. 22. What is the misery of that estate whereunto man fell?
A. All mankind, by their fall lost communion with God, are under His wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever. (Gen. 3:8,24; Eph. 2:3; Gal. 3:10; Rom. 6:23; Matt. 25:41-46; Ps. 9:17)
I should tell you that good news is coming. It is coming very soon, even in the next question, which is, “Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?” Answer: God having out of His mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life, did enter into a covenant of grace, to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation, by a Redeemer.”
We will consider the good news in a could of weeks, Lord willing. For now, I wish to encourage you to let the bad news sink in. No one likes bad news, especially not bad news of this magnitude. But the bad news concerning our sin and its consequences must be preached and contemplated for two reasons: One, it is true… Two, it is the bad news that makes the good news so very good.
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What is The Misery Of Our Fallen Estate?
We have learned that when Adam fell into sin, his fall brought the whole of “mankind into an estate of sin and misery”, for Adam was our federal head or representative.
We have also asked what is sinful about his fallen estate.
Now we ask what is miserable about it. Let us consider the answer piece by piece.
“All mankind, by their fall…” one, “lost communion with God…”
It is interesting that this is the first misery mentioned. Many would think that sickness and death were the greatest miseries that came upon humanity as a result of sin. Our catechism starts here, though. Sin brought the misery of alienation from God. Our communion with God was ruptured… That is the first and greatest misery… Do you agree?
Two, “All mankind, by their fall… are under [God’s] wrath and curse…”
Wrath is God’s holy and just response to sin. Curse here refers to the judgments of God that were threatened in the Covenant of Works; “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die…”, he said. We are under God’s wrath and curse in our natural and unregenerate condition. This is why Paul speaks of those not in Christ as being “by nature children of wrath…” (Ephesians 2:3, ESV). This was not Adam and Eve’s natural condition before the fall, but is was their condition after the fall. Indeed, all who are born into this world after them are born, “children of wrath.”
Three, the words “and so” in our catechism indicate that what follows are the consequences or fruits of being alienated from God and under his wrath and curse because of our sin.
First of all, we are “made liable to all the miseries of this life…” It is because of sin that we experience pain and sorrow, sickness and death, and conflict with each other. The work of man is difficult (the ground produces thorns and thistles. And childbirth for women is arduous. All of that, along with every other misery of life, is the result of man’s fall into sin, his lost communion with God, and his coming under God’s wrath and curse.
Secondly, all are made liable “to death itself.” Perhaps you have noticed that all men die. If Adam would have obeyed he would not have died physically, but would have been translated from life to a higher order of life. After the fall, men and women go from death to death, that is to say, from spiritual death to eternal death and the gateway is physical death. But those united to Christ by faith go from life to life. They are spiritually alive in Christ in this world, and because they are in Christ they will live before God forever and ever (they will enter into the higher order of life that was offered to Adam but forfeited). But they will pass from life to life through the same dorr, namely, physical death. Those in their sins and those in Christ must walk through the same door, the door of physical death. Those who die in their sins go from death to death. Those who die in Christ go from life to life. And this is why Paul says, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, ESV). For the one in Christ, the sting of physical death has been removed.
But not for the one who dies in their sins. For the one who dies in their sins, death is the doorway from death to death. This is the third and last consequence mentioned that comes as a result of our alienation from God and being under his wrath and curse: “the pains of hell forever”, that is to say, eternal punishment.
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Conclusion
You know, men and women do like to talk about the love of God and of Jesus Christ. Indeed, God is love, and in Christ the love of God is manifest. There is no doubt about that. But because God is love (perfectly so), he is also perfectly against all that is evil. We cannot fail to talk about this. God is love, but he is also perfectly holy and just. The scriptures have a lot to say about that. Christ himself had a lot to say about that. I read Matthew 25:31–46. That passage concluded with these words from Jesus: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Do not miss this, friends. Christ taught that hell is the destination for all who are not in him, who live lives of unrighteousness before him. Hell, that is to say, eternal punishment is a real place. That is where all who die in their sins will go. But all who die in Christ, united to him by faith, will pass through the door of death into life everlasting in the presence of God. Be found in Christ. Turn from your sins and believe in him to the saving of your souls.
