It is to be feared that there are comparatively few that really believe that man is a fallen creature in the sense that it is taught in the scriptures. No doubt it is acknowledged as a doctrine by many who do not really believe it in its full extent.
The command of God was, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Gen. 2:1717But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:17).) Adam ate of this tree, and death was the result. This is shown clearly by contrast in the gospel, which says, “believe and live.” In the midst of life and innocence God had to speak of death; and now that all mankind lie in death, God in His mercy can speak of life, but life in Another.
The converse of this was that Satan said, “Ye shall not surely die;” and now he uses all his influence to make man believe that he is alive. Man seems to forget that it was Satan who brought about the fall of Adam; and it was only accomplished by giving the lie to God, and suggesting that God was unkind in keeping from them some desirable thing—a knowledge of good and evil; they should be as gods, he said. This should open men’s eyes when they consider that the fall of man is Satan’s handiwork: the work of the one whom our Lord declared to be a murderer from the beginning and a liar. We know that the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety: the woman was deceived by the arch enemy of souls.
Men try to fritter away all this; and those who are infidels deny it; but there is really more danger from those who profess to believe it, and yet dull its edge as much as possible. The truth is, the mother of us all was beguiled by Satan, and the result was that death passed upon all, for all have sinned. Man fell from innocence, and became a sinner, and his conscience made him seek to hide himself from God.
Sad fruit this of listening to Satan! “God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;” but Adam “begat a son in his own likeness, after his image.” (Gen. 5:11This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; (Genesis 5:1), S.) It could not be otherwise after man had fallen. The psalmist declared, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me,” (Psalm 2:55Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. (Psalm 2:5).)
This is a picture of the nature of man—of all men; for God “hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” (Acts 17:2626And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; (Acts 17:26).) What a leveling is this! What a bringing down of the pride of man: all are of one blood: the most enlightened and the most uncultivated; the most refined gentleman and the most degraded cannibal; the most delicate lady and the most debased squaw. Education, polish, enlightenment, morality, may make a good deal of difference outwardly, but in their nature all are the same, all are made of “one blood,” all are the descendants of Adam and Eve.
The knowledge of this, and the belief of it, are of great value; because, as all are alike fallen men and women, the same glorious gospel suits all, is available for all, and is saving some of all. Whereas the denial of the fall, or the disbelief of it, is most damaging to souls. The enlightened and moral man often thinks he knows himself better than to believe that he needs the same mode of salvation as the most degraded. He owns that he is not what he ought to be, but thinks a little help is all he needs. It is clear from scripture that such a one does not know himself at all.
Another ruinous effect of not believing in the extent of the fall is that thousands think they can approach God as worshippers just as if nothing had happened, and as if they were not fallen. We see this in the case of Cain. He brought of the fruit of the ground to God, and did not recognize that as a fallen man his life had been forfeited, and he could only be received by a sacrifice embracing death. God had no respect either to Cain or to his sacrifice. If he had done well and had not sinned, would he not have been accepted? and if he had not done well, a sin offering was ready for him at the door.
What a wonderful lesson is this—“a sin-offering lieth at the door.” (Gen. 4:77If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (Genesis 4:7).) Abel found a sin offering, and those that have faith in God find that God Himself has provided a sin-offering in His well-beloved Son. “The righteousness which is by faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend unto heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead). But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thine heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.” (Rom. 10:6-86But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 7Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; (Romans 10:6‑8).) Then, to make it as plain as possible, the apostle adds that what he preached was, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Ver, 9.)
Surely this is very beautiful and simple for those that believe the fall of man, and his lost condition; but to those who do not believe in the utter fallen condition of man, all this is too humiliating: they think themselves above this merely believing and confessing, and think they are worthy of being considered capable of things noble and what will redound, at least in some respect, to their own glory.
Another great sign that men do not believe in their fallen condition is seen in the way they speak of the nobility of man. Instead of bowing to the description God has given of mankind, and owning their true condition as God has stated it, they deliberately set up their own reason as the supreme judge. How well may it be said of such, “ Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” “Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? He that reproveth God, let him answer it?” (Job 38:2; 40:22Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? (Job 38:2)
2Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it. (Job 40:2).)
If we had an intricate piece of machinery, and it was discovered that it was not working as it should, to whom could we go better than to the maker to discover what was wrong in it, and what was the needed remedy for the defect?
Well, God is the Creator of man, and He has told us plainly what is his condition. Listen to what He said of mankind before the flood. “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Gen. 6:5, 65And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Genesis 6:5‑6).) How scatheless the judgment: it was not the condition of some, of a few, but of all, and of all it was “only evil continually.”
Listen to God’s judgment of Israel after all that He had done for them in redeeming them from Egypt and bringing them into a land flowing with milk and honey: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.” (Isa. 1:3, 43The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. 4Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. (Isaiah 1:3‑4).) Only think of Israel having less sense as to their God than an ass has in respect to his master’s crib!
As to the Gentiles, a dreadful picture of their true state is given in Rom. 1. And whether Jews or Gentiles, the verdict is “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” “God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.” (Rom. 3:2828Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (Romans 3:28);
Now, dear reader, do you believe in Gods verdict—His verdict of all—His verdict of you: of what you and what all are by nature? Can you say, Yes, it is true of me? I can set to my seal that God is true. Then there is salvation for you. Do not be like the bankrupt who tries to appear solvent, and hides his true condition. You can well afford to make confession of your true condition as declared by God, because of the glorious gospel proclaimed by God to poor, lost, fallen creatures. When we own ourselves to be debtors, with nothing to pay, He frankly forgives the whole debt. He does not ask us to pay a part, and then He will forgive the rest. He knows and declares that we have absolutely nothing wherewith to pay a farthing. He has declared what our fallen condition is, and the Lord Jesus in mercy came to seek and to save the lost, and to die on the cross. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Reader, will you not accept this remedy, this only remedy for poor, fallen humanity, and be saved in God’s own way? Then, instead of death, you will have life: will never perish, but have eternal life.