Tonight, I invite you to turn with me in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 10, Lord's Day 3. Page 10, Lord's Day 3, questions and answers 6, 7, and 8. In your Bibles, please turn to Romans chapter 5. And when you have that found, then I'll ask you to turn back to Genesis. We'll read from Genesis chapters 1, 2, and 3, a few verses from each of those first, and then turning over to Romans 5 to read verses 12 through 19. Genesis chapter 1, beginning at verse 24 through 31. Hear now the word of God. And God said, Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds. Livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals each according to its kind. And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him. Male and female, He created them. God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground. Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it, they will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground, everything that has breath of life in it, I give every green plant for food. And it was so. God saw all that He had made and it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. In chapter 2, beginning of verse 15 through 17, The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die. In chapter 3, the first five verses, Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman said to the serpent, We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it or you will die. You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Romans chapter 5, beginning in verse 12 through 19. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men because all sinned, for before the law was given, sin was in the world, but sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many? Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin. The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, But the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ? Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made righteous. Beloved, let's bow together in a moment of prayer. Father, once again as we come before You, having read Your most holy Word, we thank You again for Your Word. And we thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit apart from whom we cannot understand Your Word. And we pray, O Lord, that You would illumine us in this hour. That You would work in us in a powerful way by Your Spirit that we again tonight might hear and understand. Speak to us, O Lord. Even a difficult word. Your word which tells clearly how things are with us. And we have no excuse. But Father, give to us the comfort as well that only You can give, that again we might be strengthened in that most holy faith in Jesus Christ. Hear our prayer, O Lord, for Jesus' sake, and in His name alone, Amen. Turn with me then to page 10 in the back of the Psalter hymnal as we confess together what we believe concerning Lord's Day 3, reciting the answers together. Question 6 asks, Did God create man so wicked and perverse? No. God created man good and in His own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might truly know God His Creator, love Him with all His heart, and live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and glory. Then where does man's corrupt nature come from? from the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in paradise. This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners, corrupt from conception on. But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil? Yes, unless we are born again by the Spirit of God. A beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the best kinds of stories is a from rags to riches story. We like to hear those. It's encouraging to hear about someone whose life was turned around from some sort of a shambles to a situation where everything now is going well. Maybe they went from being sick to becoming healthy. Maybe they went from being jobless with no means really to support their family to landing a good job with all of their needs being met. Maybe they were chosen to have the good fortune of extreme makeover, home addition, or three wishes with Amy Grant. Maybe they indeed went from being quite poor to all of a sudden becoming quite wealthy. But whatever the case may be, rags to riches stories can be encouraging. But it's not the same if things go the other way around, is it? There's not a whole lot of encouragement in from riches to rags stories. We don't like to hear those kinds of stories, but when we do, we always tend to ask the question, who's to blame? Somebody must be to blame. Whose fault is it? Because it certainly isn't my fault. Think back even to the recent hurricanes again. Of course, it's hard to blame the weather. It's hard to blame the hurricane. but our society quickly turned out to blame the slow response after the hurricane. Somebody must be to blame, but certainly it isn't my fault. Now, boys and girls, you know a little bit what we're talking about here. If you happen to be fighting or arguing with a brother or sister, and then your mom or dad walks in and says, well, who started it? We often automatically blame the other person. In our family, it's kind of humorous, sadly, but when you ask that question, two fingers go out, in opposite directions, at the same time. He did. She did. Truth is, even adults at times play the blame game for various situations and reasons. We blame the environment. We blame the government. We even blame our parents for whatever. But don't blame me. Don't blame me. We don't like to be blamed, do we? Of course, you know that we are in the section of the catechism that talks about our sin and our misery, our guilt. And the answer to question 5 at the end of Lord's Day 2 basically put you and me in our places. In a sense, it looks you and me straight in the eye and tells us what our condition, what our nature is like in answer to the question, can you live up to all this perfectly? That is, loving God above all and your neighbor as yourself. No. I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor. You see, the requirement is love. But I hate, and you hate. That is the fact of the matter for you and me. But if this is how we are by nature, then whose fault is it? How did you and I get to be that way? Who's to blame? Scripture, as summarized by Lord's Day 3, gives the answer to this question. You and I are completely to blame for our fall from riches to rags. for our sin and misery. We want to notice, first of all, our creation without sin. Secondly, our fall into sin. And then finally, our depravity under sin. Now, question six gets the jump on you and me. It's a very arrogant question on our part. You see, the catechism is written from the perspective now that we are asking the questions. And again, it's a very arrogant question on our part. But it's the kind of question that someone would ask, who doesn't want to get blamed? Did God create man so wicked and perverse? There's nothing like going to the top, is there? Did God create man so wicked and perverse? In other words, is it God's fault that I am the way I am? He's the Creator. Therefore, is there some sort of a manufacturer's defect that He's responsible for? See, that's the kind of question that we would ask, isn't it? Not, is it my fault? We don't even want to begin to have the light shining in our direction. But is it God's fault? The catechism asks that question right up front for you and me, but then notice it doesn't waste any time in sounding out a resounding, no way. No. God created man good and in His own image that is in true righteousness and holiness so that he might truly know God, His Creator, love Him with all of His heart, and live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and glory. No, God is not responsible for man's wickedness and perverseness. In fact, God made man exactly opposite of what man has become. God created man with the riches of God Himself. You see, beloved, we need to understand the exalted position with which and for which God created man. We read part of the creation account, but if you recall the creation account, again, in Genesis 1, you remember that the Bible says that when God created the animals, as we read, He created them all according to their kind. Chapter 1, verses 24 and 25. But when God created man, when God created Adam, He created him differently. God created man after His own image. God was the blueprint for Adam. Verse 26 of chapter 1, then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. God created man good. Adam was perfect. That is, there were no defects or flaws about him. God's work of creating him was perfect. He was sinless as well. There was nothing wrong with him. And God created him in God's own image. Now, an image represents something, doesn't it? An image is a mirror of that which it represents. So often in children, we can see the features of their parents. They, in a sense, image their parents not only in the way they look, but also in the way they sometimes act and as well in the things they sometimes say. And in the same way, the traits and the qualities of God could be seen in our first parents, Adam and Eve. Now, this image means two things. On the one hand, it means that man is different from the animals. He is able to think and to reason. He has a conscience and a soul that animals do not have. Man is not the peak of evolutionary development, but he is the culmination of God's creation. All of his creative works led to God's creation masterpiece. God said that what he created was good, but after he created man, he said that what he created was very good. But the image of God also refers to the original character or nature of man. The Catechism says it rightly, in true righteousness and holiness. Now, righteousness we can think of as a legal quality. in that there was no sentence against the first man. There was no knowledge of sin in him. There was no law against him. The first man was holy and completely in harmony with the will of God. He was fully capable to do God's will, and it was a delight for him to do God's will. And holiness we can think of as an ethical quality. Adam did not wish for anything else but God. All of the inclinations of his mind, all of the affections of his heart, and every act of his will was directed only toward that same law that had been written or inscribed upon his created heart. And that law was to love God entirely. He loved God with all of his heart and soul and mind and strength. God did not create man so wicked and perverse, but rather God created man good in his own image, in true righteousness and holiness. We know that something that is good is something that answers to the purpose for which it was made. In the case of our first parents, in the case of man, they were made to glorify God. They were made to enjoy Him and they answered to that purpose. God made him fully capable of serving his Creator and of being his representative in the world. To be God's prophet, to know and glorify Him. To be God's priest, to consecrate Himself and all things unto Him. And to be God's servant king, to rule in righteousness over the works of God's hands, and therefore to live with God, as the catechism says, in eternal happiness for His praise and glory. Beloved, to truly know God as our Creator, to love Him with all of His heart, to live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and glory, as the catechism says, is the way our first parents were created and it is the way that we are supposed to be. But we have really messed up. Not God, but you and me. To live in the way that God created Adam and Eve, completely directed toward God, is the only thing that gives life purpose and meaning. Not wealth, not prestige, not material things. But already in the garden, man became selfish. We are egocentric, eye-centered. Boys and girls, me-centered. Me, me, me. We live for ourselves. For example, it's not my ministry. It's not my church. It's not even our church, really, but it's Christ's ministry. And it's the church of Jesus Christ. So often we spend more time trying to praise and glorify and satisfy ourselves. And again, this is true even in the church, isn't it? We want things to go our way because our way is right. If it doesn't go our way, then certainly it must be wrong. That's how we tend to live our lives, isn't it? Or we are so busy trying to build our own earthly kingdoms that we shove the kingdom of God aside. No, God did not create man so wicked and perverse. He created him good, with a unique nature that is the image of God, with a unique place as vice-regent, ruling over all creation, and with a unique calling to exercise dominion. What an exalted state was the original state of man. Man was the pinnacle of God's creative powers. This was a time of true riches for man. But who then is to blame for man's wickedness and perverseness? You and me as represented by our first parents. Man was created without sin, but soon fell from riches to rags when he fell into sin. Question 7 again asks, then where does man's corrupt nature come from? From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in paradise. This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners. Corrupt from conception on. You see, congregation, our depraved nature is not God's fault. It's our fault through our representatives, Adam and Eve. Remember, God clearly told them what was what. He didn't hide anything from them. He told them the truth from the beginning, as we read in chapter 2. You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die. Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn't it? And notice Adam's answer. Notice Adam's answer a little bit later on in chapter 3 when God asked him, have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from? Did Adam say, yes. Yes, I did. It's my fault. I'm to blame. Is that what he said? Of course not. He blamed it on the woman. And then she blamed it on Satan. You see, God, the devil made me do it. And isn't it something how many people give that same excuse today? Sin is not my fault. The devil made me do it. The devil made me look at that pretty girl lustfully. The devil made me lie to that police officer about why I was speeding. The devil made me take advantage of my customers. The devil made me look at my classmates' test and cheat. The devil made me sleep in church. No, Eve, the devil, Satan, did not make you do it. Yes, congregation, Satan tempted Eve as Lord's Day 4 points out. Satan, as another version says, is the instigator at the instigation of the devil. That was his plan. That was his desire. That was his goal. But Adam and Eve chose of their own free wills which they had at that time. A free will they had been created with. They chose to follow Satan and believe the lie. And ultimately, Adam blamed God, the woman you gave me. Beloved, the fall and disobedience of Adam and Eve was sin and the entrance of sin into the world and into humankind. And many people today, and I suspect many people throughout history have asked the question, well, did God really have to punish Adam and Eve so severely and in turn us just for taking a bite of a piece of fruit? Well, you and I know that it was so much more than just that. It was what lay hidden behind taking that bite of fruit. Think of all that was involved in their disobedience in taking that bite. There was pride and the ambition and admiration of themselves. They became dissatisfied with how God had created them and they desired to be equal with God. After all, that's what Satan promised them if they ate the fruit. There was unbelief. According to what Satan said, God was lying to them about what would really happen if they ate. There was contempt and disobedience to God. There was ingratitude. They were ungrateful for the benefits they had received, that is, being created in God's image and if obedient, having eternal life in paradise. There was an obvious lack of love for their children and their children's children and all of human life. You see, the gifts or benefits they had received would be for their offspring, but so would losing these gifts. You and I also lost them. Paul says in Romans 5 that sin and death entered the world through one man and spread to all men because of that one man. And one more thing that belongs with their fallen disobedience is apostasy. Adam and Eve fell away from God to the devil. The congregation was taking that little bite of fruit that serious? Absolutely. That was rebellion. Rebellion against God. Sin, every sin, even a little white lie, as we say, is rebellion against none other than God, our Creator. And the result of Adam and Eve's rebellion was that life as they had known it was going to be different for you and me too. Cursed is the ground. In toil, in sweat, in pain, in tears, they would eat of it. Work would become as we know it. Work. Hard. Rarely fun. But work. They would die. We die. And return to the dust. There would be pain in childbirth. The harmony that existed between God and man was broken. It was fractured for you and me too. We will never know in this life the harmony that Adam and Eve had with God before they fell. They walked and talked with God as king and servants to be sure, but also as friends. And because of the sins of our first parents, you and I, each one of us, no exceptions are conceived and born in sin. That's what David says in Psalm 51. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. We call this original sin. You know, scientists can work with genetics all they want, but they can never produce a sinless human being. And because of this original sin, the glimmerings of the image of God that remains in us is all messed up. It's corrupted. And that means that we are not born in true righteousness and holiness. And boys and girls, that means that instead of, as the catechism says, truly knowing God, our Creator, loving Him with all of our heart, and living with Him today, giving Him all praise and glory, we are born with a lack of knowledge of God. We don't know Him rightly and truly. We are born without a desire to obey Him, and instead we are born with a desire to do what God forbids. We read in Genesis 6, before the flood, Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Instead of loving God, we hate Him. We might not say it. Who of us would ever say, I hate God? We would never say that. But we show it in so many ways. For example, when we do not take God at His Word or when we do not take His Word seriously. Instead of living in blessed fellowship with God, We live at enmity against Him. Brothers and sisters, our depraved nature comes because of sin. Our sin. It's your fault. It's my fault. But then just how depraved are we under sin? Question 8 asks, But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil? Yes. Yes. Period. it, the answer begins. This is the doctrine of total depravity. Now for those of you who may still secretly think that you have a little bit of righteousness apart from God, a little righteousness that will earn you favor with God, guess again. This question and this short one-word answer ought to take the wind out of all of our sails. Total depravity means that every part of our nature, including our body and soul, is totally corrupt. That there is no spiritual good in relation to God in any one of us. We cannot turn to God on our own. We can do nothing to please Him. We don't want to do anything to please Him. We are inclined toward all evil. That's our direction. Many today, even in the evangelical world, want to say that we still have free will. That we can still freely choose for God. If you want to speak of free will, the only way our will is free is that it is free to act in a way that is consistent with its nature. That means in sin we can only choose for sin. If two choices are placed before us, one leading to God, one leading to sin, no question, we will choose for sin. Our will is bound, a slave to sin, as Paul says. Now, total depravity doesn't mean that we are as evil as we can be. And that, too, is only by God's restraining grace. God restrains evil in you, in me, as well as in unbelievers. But total depravity simply means we are unable to do any good in relation to God in and of ourselves. Our other confessions support this. The Canons of Dort supports this teaching in Article 3 of the third and fourth main points of doctrine, where it says, Therefore, all people are conceived in sin and are born children of wrath, unfit for any saving good, inclined to evil, dead in their sins, and slaves to sin. Without the grace of the regenerating Holy Spirit, they are neither willing nor able to return to God, to reform their distorted nature, or even to dispose themselves to such reform. We considered the same thing in Belcher Confession Articles 14 and 15. This is what our confessions say. And you know where they get their information, don't you? From God's Word. We already heard what David said. Job says, who can make the clean out of the unclean? And he says, no one. Jeremiah 13 verse 23 says, can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? The answer is no. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, a good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. Beloved, because of sin, we are totally depraved. Completely unable to do any good in and of ourselves. Sin is a terrible thing. Sin is a deadly thing. But today, sin is being stripped of what it really is more and more. It's no more than a mistake that I make once in a while, some say. Or it is when something is done against me by someone else. But whatever it is, it certainly isn't that serious anymore. And we can see that in the daily life of our society, that sin itself, the seriousness of it, is being watered down. It's not taken seriously anymore. Congregation, we must clean up our minds to these notions of sin. Sin is personal rebellion against God. Sin is not simply a mistake that can be explained away. It's not just a difficulty which needs to be overcome. It's not just a problem which simply needs to be solved. Sin is none of these things. It is rebellion that needs to be confessed and atoned for. But it's not easy to admit our sin, is it? Even among our brothers and sisters in Christ in the church, sometimes we try to cover up our sins and call them mistakes. We try our hardest not to call sin, sin. But you must remember, always remember that the joy of the Christian life comes only to those willing to repent of and confess their sins. But again, that's so hard because to do that means that I must admit that sin is my fault. I must admit that I'm the one to blame no one else. We must drop to our knees in humble confession praying, Father, forgive my sin, which has destroyed what I am supposed to be. Instead of living in harmony with You, I am at enmity with You. Instead of being Your humble servant, I am Your enemy. Instead of loving You with all of my heart, I hate You with every fiber of my being. You must confess your sin and I must confess my sin. But then, given everything we've said so far, how do we do this if we are totally depraved and unable? Well, there is a little word in the answer to question 8 that is a transition word that leads us to a most comforting message. Unless. Unless we are born again by the Spirit of God. How comforting that is, because I suspect that, like myself, most of you are sitting here thinking, but I don't hate God. I don't hate Him with every fiber of my being. I don't despise Him. I desire to do what is right. I recognize I do what is wrong, but I desire to do what is right. There's only one reason for that. Unless. Unless we are born again by the Spirit of God. We are completely unable to do any spiritual good unless the Spirit gives us new birth. That's regeneration. Boys and girls, to regenerate means to make alive, to recreate, to give new life. To be regenerated means to be born again, to become anew, to be made into a new creature. And why do we need to be made alive? Because we are dead. The Bible says that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. We know what dead means. But again, there are some who say, no, no, that's not true. We are not dead. It's not that serious. Because of sin, we may be dented a little bit. We may have a small injury. But we're not dead. That's what Pelagianism has taught for centuries. And semi-Pelagianism says that children are not born as sinners, but they learn sin by imitation. Semi-Pelagianism, like Arminianism, and whatever covers it wears says, well, okay, we're again dented a little bit. There's a problem to be sure. But there is something in us yet that is good. There is a redeeming quality in us. There is something we can do to cooperate in our salvation. But the Bible says that we are dead spiritually. And in order to do any good whatsoever, we must be made alive by the Holy Spirit. Dead. You see, that's what's so hard about death, isn't it? That's why we struggle with it. Because it's lifeless. One who is dead is lifeless. One who is dead cannot even lift their pinky. Can't do anything. Congregation, God, the Holy Spirit, regenerates. He makes His own alive through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, we are being made into new creations. In Adam, all die. In Christ, we are made alive. And Paul says in Ephesians 4, that you may be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. You see, the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit re-establishes the purpose of answer 6. That is, to rightly know God our Creator. To love Him with all of our heart and to live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and His glory, all because we have been recreated by the power of the Spirit through Jesus Christ. This is that relationship that was lost in paradise, but is being regained for the child of God in part in this life, and it will be complete in glory. Again, this is to be our comfort. As we say, no, I don't hate God with every fiber of my being. Yes, I know that I sin, but I love Him. By His grace, I love Him. I've been born again. And even today, beloved, our purpose then for being here is to praise and glorify God. Are you fulfilling that purpose? To praise and glorify God? Are you fulfilling that through your thoughts and words and actions and intentions and motives and desires? Are you fulfilling that through your daily life? This riches to rags story once again turns to riches for the child of God. Eternal riches through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, then these riches are yours. How do you know? Boys and girls, how do you know if you've been born again? Well, a couple of things. You recognize your sin. You're sorry for your sin. But you desire to do what is right. Your conscience accuses you of grievously sinning against God, but your heart cries out for mercy. You are filled with the joy of forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ alone, who alone brings justification in life. but if none of this is true then you are still trying to blame someone else for your sin and your misery and apart from Jesus Christ and his imputed righteousness there is only eternal punishment in hell there are some who say this story of our sin and misery that it's simply too harsh to tell we shouldn't tell it How in the world do you plan to win friends and influence enemies by telling this kind of a story? Dr. Bergsma told me a couple of weeks ago a conversation he had with a well-known TV preacher some years ago already who said at that time he did not mention the word sin in 20 years from the pulpit. But the truth is, beloved, there's no hope without it. Indeed, sometimes this harsh message is spoken harshly, and that should never be. But there's no hope without this harsh message. By not preaching and by not telling the truth of our sin, we rob people of eternal hope because without knowing it, there's no need looking for help. To not preach sin, beloved, simply is to open a little bit wider the door to hell. Yet, there is comfort. There is comfort for you and me in knowing the truth of ourselves and our sin. Why? Because this is not the end of the matter. Our God will not leave His people, those whom He has chosen, those to whom He has given the knowledge of their sin and misery, He will not leave them to wallow in that knowledge of sin and misery. But He raises them up. He lifts their eyes to behold the beauty of the salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. And beloved, one day Jesus Christ, the man of sorrows, will stand with you before the Almighty Judge, and He'll say, yes, he is to blame, she is to blame, but I paid for every one of his sins. And then you will hear those most blessed words enter into your rest. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we do confess that it is hard so often to hear the truth. As we sometimes say, the truth hurts. But yet your truth gives healing completely. And Father, we thank You for giving to us that knowledge, that true knowledge of who You are and who we are. And for raising us up in Christ Jesus to be Your children. Father, lead us and guide us day by day by the power of Your Spirit that we would desire to live in a way that is pleasing to You. And may You be glorified and praised in all things. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you.