The sermon by Eric Bechler focuses on paragraph three of the Sixth Chapter of the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession, which discusses the Fall of Man and the imputation of sin. It emphasizes that Adam and Eve are the roots of all humanity, serving as representative heads, and details the concept of 'ordinary generation'—the natural birth process. Unlike all other humans, Adam, Eve, and Jesus did not come from ordinary generation. The sermon explores two theories about humanity's relationship with Adam: realism, which sees humanity as literally present with Adam, and federalism, where Adam acts as a representative head. The sermon highlights the imputation of Adam's sin to all his descendants, leading to inherent depravity and the need for salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus, not subject to original sin due to his divine conception, offers redemption and grace. The sermon concludes by urging reflection on one's life in light of this theological understanding.

A reading today from the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 comes again from chapter six of the Fall of Man of Sin and the punishment thereof. Today is paragraph three. They being the root and by God's appointment standing in the room instead of all mankind, the guilt of the sin was imputed and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary generation, being now conceived in sin and by nature, children of wrath, the servants of sin, the subjects of death, and all other miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal, unless the Lord Jesus set them free. We continue our review of chapter 6. Last week we mentioned how the sins of Adam brought death upon us all, and although that was not the main point of the paragraph 2, Today we go more into detail about how our sinful nature comes from Adam and Eve.

We will speak about Adam and Eve being the root of all mankind. We'll talk about our sin nature and the freedom we find in Christ. First, there are only three people in all history that did not come about from ordinary generation. What is meant by ordinary generation? It is the conception of a child from a man and a woman coming together.

But who are these three people not of ordinary generation? Of course, they're Adam, Eve, and Jesus. God formed Adam from the dust of the earth in Genesis 2.7. God took the rib of Adam and made a woman, Eve, in Genesis 2.22. And Jesus, as we confess in the Apostles' Creed was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

Adam and Eve are described by our confession as the root of all mankind. They are the first parents. Everyone's DNA can somehow be traced back to theirs. Their posterity or their descendants would not be created as they were, but would come from ordinary generation by having children. The reason for stating it this way or in such a way is to show that Jesus is excluded here from the imputed sin and conveyed corrupted nature to which all others are subject because he was not of ordinary generation.

The next point made here is that Adam and Eve's sin is passed down to all mankind. There's a phrase added to the Savoy Declaration in the Second London Baptist Confession that is not present in the Westminster Confession, which is standing in the room instead of all mankind. This caused me a little bit of confusion, and gave me the implication that they, the preceding subject here in the sentence, being Adam and Eve, that they are standing in the room instead of all mankind, that they are the representative heads, plural, of all mankind. When you go to the modern version of our confession, it makes it even more clear at that point, although I couldn't find anywhere in commentaries why that was done, and I'll speak a little bit more on that later. Dr.

Sproul describes the two most popular theories for the relationship between Adam and his descendants, realism and federalism. The fundamental principle behind realism is that God can justly hold us accountable for Adam's sin only if we were really there. It suggests that Adam constituted the whole of humanity and each of his descendants coming from his body, for they were in the loins of Adam when he was in the Garden of Eden. In this sense, all of Adam's descendants sinned in Adam. Federalism is different.

It is the more accepted viewpoint by the Reformed theology, and it seems to be the viewpoint suggested by our confession by the use of that added phrase. Sproul continues his description of federalism. It emphasizes Adam's representative character. Adam is the federal head of the human race, like elected representatives in a federal head of the human race, excuse me, in a federal republic. Adam is a single individual, yet in Eden, he was the federal head of the human race, representing himself and all his seed.

The probation Adam underwent was not just for himself, but for the human race. When he fell, so did all whom he represented. People complain, why am I held accountable for what another person did? Federalism answers, because that person represented you. It is true that we did not choose Adam to represent us, but as God's perfectly selected representative, Adam represented us flawlessly.

Notice in Dr. Sproul's comments, he only mentioned Adam, not Adam and Eve, not they. Paul emphasizes this himself in Romans 5-12, therefore just as sin came into the world through one man, that is Adam, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. Paul speaks of one man, Adam, not Adam and Eve. He further ties Christ's representation to Adam's in verse 17.

For if by the one man's offense, Adam's sin, death reigns through the one, Adam. Much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. This analogy doesn't work as well if we insert they rather than Adam. Furthermore, the covenant of works was made only with Adam, Genesis 2, 16 and 17. After making this covenant with Adam, the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone.

I will make him a helper comparable to him." Genesis 2.18. Eve was then formed from the rib of man, specifically Adam, in Genesis 2.22. Note here that Eve was formed from part of Adam. In a sense, you could say even she was descended from him. He was also her representative.

In conclusion here, it is Adam alone. The representation is through Adam. He is our representative head and the federal head of all mankind. I would say despite this point of contention that I raised, I believe the intention of the authors of the confession was to stress the principle of representation or federalism and that this was done by God's appointment though through his perfect knowledge and wisdom. Our second paragraph from our paragraph today is, our second point of our paragraph today is tied to the guilt of the sin imputed and corrupted nature conveyed to all descendants of ordinary generation.

What does this really mean to us? It means that from the point of conception, we are corrupt by nature and stand guilty before God as sinners. The confession uses the word imputed. The guilt of sin is imputed to us. Imputed means to charge to the account of or to be credited or to transfer.

So the guilt of Adam's sin is to be charged to my account, to your account, to everyone who has descended from Adam by ordinary generation. From Adam's sin, death came into the world. And Paul explains, one trespass led to condemnation for all men, Romans 5.18. The confession also uses the word conveyed, corrupted nature conveyed to all. This just means to transfer.

Adam's corrupted nature is transferred to us all the way back to each person's conception. David, after Nathan had confronted him of his sin with Bathsheba, David cries out in the Psalms, behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. Psalm 51.5. This doesn't mean that his mother's act was sinful, but that he was expressing his deep sense of his own depravity, a depravity so deep that it must have had its origin in the very beginning, even at his conception. Adam's sin was imputed to that baby, to all babies, and his corrupted nature transferred to them.

Job speaks of the effects of sin as part of his list of life's woes. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one in Job 14.4. This is understood to mean how can a man be clean that is born of a woman who is unclean. We read in Genesis 5, 3, Adam lived 130 years and begot a son in his own likeness after his new image and named him Seth.

Benson comments, Adam was made in the image of God, but when he was fallen and corrupted, he begat a son in his own image, sinful and defiled, frail and mortal, and miserable like himself. Not only a man like himself, consisting of body and soul, but a sinner like himself, guilty and obnoxious, degenerate and corrupt. But what about the example of an unborn child that dies? The psalmist tells us, the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

This gives the implication that they don't sin until after birth. That's Psalm 58.3. Charles Hodges suggests, the physical death of infants is a patent proof that they are subject to the penalty which came on men, which entered the world and passed on all men on account of one man or by one man's disobedience. And as that penalty was death spiritual as well as the dissolution of the body. The death of infants is a scriptural and decisive proof of their being born destitute of original righteousness and infected with a sinful corruption of nature.

Their physical death is proof that they are involved in the penalty, the principal element of which is the spiritual death of the soul. It was by the disobedience of one man that all are constituted sinners, not only by imputation, which is true and most important, but also by inherent depravity. Finally, from Romans three, we read, none is righteous, no, not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God. No one is righteous, We all deserve death.

We all deserve eternity in hell unless the Lord sets us free. In Romans 5, Paul describes Adam as a type of Christ, 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. Romans 519. He repeated this viewpoint in his letter to the Corinthians. For since by one man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." 1st Corinthians 15, 21 and 22. And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 1 Corinthians 15 45. And finally, as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 1 Corinthians 15 49.

Just as Adam was the federal or representative head of all descendants of ordinary generation in the covenant of works, Christ was the federal or is the federal representative head of the elect in the covenant of grace. Praise God for His grace and mercy. For the elect, He brings salvation. He gives a new heart. He sends the Holy Spirit to indwell in us.

It is Jesus who has quickened you, you who were dead in trespasses and sin, Ephesians 2.1. It is Jesus who delivered us from the wrath to come, 1 Thessalonians 1.10. Think about it. Even if you are living a good life, you're giving to the needy, you're helping others, kind, you never get angry, and on and on I could go. All these good things.

It's not enough. The impact of Adam's sin affects each and every one of us. Even if we did and thought perfectly, we would still be seen as guilty in God's eyes. We would still need a Savior. We would still need Jesus to set us free.

This should humble us greatly and this just caught this should cause us to live a life filled with gratefulness and thanksgiving for the redeeming work of Jesus Christ our Lord. But does it? Does this have any effect whatsoever in how you live your life each day? It should. I would encourage you this week to take some time meditating on this and honestly examining yourself and examining your attitudes and your actions.

Amen.