Chapter 6 – Of the Fall of Man: 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith

by mikeon Posted on

Key Doctrinal Themes in Chapter 6

  • Historical Adam, Federal Headship, Original Sin, Total Depravity, Imputed Guilt, Corruption of Nature, Necessity of Regeneration, Sovereignty of God in the Fall, Christ as Second Adam

Paragraph 1 – The Historical Fall

1. Man Created Upright

  • God created Adam righteous and without sin
  • God gave a clear law in Book of Genesis 2:16–17: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat…”
  • Only one prohibition in all creation.
  • Death was warned of before it was ever witnessed.

2. The Temptation

  • The serpent (Satan) deceived Eve.
  • Satan’s fall is alluded to in Book of Ezekiel 28 and affirmed in Gospel of Luke 10:18.
  • Eve added to God’s command (“neither shall ye touch it”), venturing beyond what God said. Lesson: Adding to Scripture leads to error.

3. The Nature of the Sin

  • Willful disobedience. / Not ignorance. / Not coercion. / A violation of clear, simple law.

4. God’s Sovereign Decree

  • The fall was not outside God’s will. / By His permissive decree, He allowed it. / Why? Ultimately for His glory and redemptive purpose.

Paragraph 2 – The Consequences of the Fall

1. Immediate Spiritual Death

  • Loss of righteousness. / Loss of intimate communion with God. / Fear replaced fellowship.

2. Total Catastrophe

  • Adam was the head of creation. / The ground was cursed. / Labor became toil. / All creation fell under corruption (Rom. 8:20–22).

3. Physical Death Began

  • Banished from the tree of life. / Began the slow process of dying. / Adam lived 930 years—long enough to witness the spread of wickedness.

4. Total Corruption

  • Both body and soul corrupted. / Not as evil as possible in degree, but corrupted in every faculty. / Without God’s restraining grace, mankind is capable of great wickedness.

Paragraph 3 – Federal Headship & Original Sin

1. Adam as Federal Head

Adam represented all humanity. As Calvin wrote in his Institutes: “Adam, therefore, being corrupted by sin, has infected all his posterity with the contagion.” / All humanity was in Adam covenantally and naturally.

The principle is illustrated in Epistle to the Hebrews 7:9–10 — Levi paying tithes in Abraham.

2. Imago Dei Corrupted

  • Adam and Eve were created in the image of God. / That image was marred, not destroyed. / Every human conceived by ordinary generation is born in sin.

3. The Exception – Christ

  • Promised in Book of Genesis 3:15. / Conceived by the Holy Spirit. / Not born of Adam’s corrupted seed. / The Second Adam.

4. The State of All Men

  • Born in sin. / Children of wrath. / Deserving eternal punishment apart from Christ. / Judgment is eternal and conscious.

5. The Only Hope – The Gospel

Christ’s call in Gospel of Mark 1:15: “Repent and believe the gospel.”

The Gospel:

  • Man is sinful. / Christ lived perfectly. / Christ died substitutionarily. / Salvation comes through repentance and faith alone.

Paragraph 4 – The Natural Man

1. Sin from Conception

  • Psalm 51:5 – conceived in iniquity. / Romans 3:23 – all have sinned. / No neutrality. / No moral innocence.

2. No “Age of Accountability”

  • Scripture gives: / No stated age of moral exemption. / No transition from innocence to guilt. / Judgments in Scripture (Flood, Sodom, Amalek) show: Guilt and corruption extend to all born of Adam. / Sin is inherited before it is practiced.

Paragraph 5 – The Believer and Remaining Sin

1. Regeneration Changes the Heart

  • The believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. / Now sensitive to sin.

2. Yet Sin Remains

  • Not free from practical sin. / The enemy seeks to sift believers. / Growth in holiness increases awareness of remaining corruption.

3. Final Hope – Glorification

  • At death: / Freed from the presence of sin. / Freed from the corruption of nature. / Perfected in holiness. / This is the believer’s rest.



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