gen-discern-and-explain-with-scripture-where-relevant-belgic-art-3383

Discern and explain, with Scripture where relevant: Belgic Art. 14

# Belgic Confession, Article 14: The Creation and Fall of Man ## The Text (Summary) Article 14 of the Belgic Confession addresses the **creation of humanity and the fall into sin**. It affirms that God created man good, in His own image and likeness, gave him free will, yet man willfully transgressed God's commandment and fell into sin, corruption, and death. ## Key Doctrinal Points ### 1. **Man Created Good and in God's Image** The Confession teaches that God created man "good, righteous, and holy" with the ability to conform in all things to the will of God. **Scriptural Basis:** - **Genesis 1:26-27** - "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." - **Ecclesiastes 7:29** - "God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes." - **Ephesians 4:24** - "Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." ### 2. **Man Possessed Free Will in His Original State** Before the fall, Adam was created with the ability to choose obedience to God—he was not created as a robot or under compulsion. **Scriptural Basis:** - **Genesis 2:16-17** - God gave Adam a commandment with a genuine choice: "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat..." ### 3. **The Fall Through Willful Disobedience** Man, being in honor, did not understand it but willfully subjected himself to sin and consequently to death and the curse, giving ear to the devil's words. **Scriptural Basis:** - **Genesis 3:1-6** - The account of the serpent's temptation and Eve and Adam's disobedience - **Romans 5:12** - "Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned" - **1 Timothy 2:14** - "Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor" ### 4. **Total Corruption of Human Nature** The Confession teaches that through this transgression, man corrupted his entire nature, making himself liable to physical and spiritual death. **Scriptural Basis:** - **Romans 5:18-19** - "By one trespass, condemnation came to all men... through one man's disobedience many were made sinners" - **Ephesians 2:1** - "You were dead in the trespasses and sins" - **Genesis 6:5** - "Every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" ### 5. **Transmission of Sin to All Humanity** Original sin has been propagated to all mankind by natural generation—all of Adam's posterity inherit this corrupt nature. **Scriptural Basis:** - **Psalm 51:5** - "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" - **Romans 5:12** - Death spread to all because all sinned (in Adam) - **1 Corinthians 15:21-22** - "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" ## Historical Context The Belgic Confession (1561) was written by Guido de Brès during the Protestant Reformation in the Netherlands, partly to distinguish Reformed believers from Anabaptists and to show authorities they were not revolutionaries. Article 14 particularly addresses: - **Against Pelagianism**: Which denied original sin and taught man's natural ability to choose good - **Against Roman Catholic teaching**: Which minimized the effects of the fall - **Establishing Reformed anthropology**: The biblical view of man's created dignity and fallen depravity ## Theological Significance This article is foundational because: 1. **It establishes human dignity** - We are image-bearers of God 2. **It explains the human predicament** - Why we need salvation 3. **It prepares for the doctrine of grace** - Total depravity shows our absolute need for God's intervention 4. **It upholds human responsibility** - Adam sinned willfully, not by divine compulsion ## Practical Application Understanding Article 14 helps us: - Recognize both human dignity and human depravity - Understand why the gospel is necessary for every person - Resist both the pride of self-righteousness and the despair of thinking we're beyond redemption - Appreciate the magnitude of Christ's redemptive work This article stands as a crucial bridge between the doctrine of God's creative work (Articles 12-13) and the doctrine of redemption through Christ (Articles 15 and following).