Topical Bible: Natural Life: Forfeited by Sin

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The concept of natural life being forfeited by sin is a foundational theme in Christian theology, rooted in the narrative of the Fall as described in the Book of Genesis. According to the biblical account, God created humanity in His own image, endowing them with life and the ability to live eternally in communion with Him. However, this natural life was forfeited through the act of disobedience by the first humans, Adam and Eve.

The Creation and Original State of Humanity

In Genesis 1:27, we read, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." This verse highlights the unique status of human beings as bearers of God's image, designed for a life of fellowship with the Creator. Genesis 2:7 further describes the intimate act of God giving life to man: "Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being."

The Command and the Fall

God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, granting them freedom to eat from any tree except one. Genesis 2:16-17 states, "And the LORD God commanded him, 'You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.'" This command established the condition for maintaining their natural life and relationship with God.

The narrative of the Fall in Genesis 3 describes how the serpent tempted Eve, leading her and Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. This act of disobedience resulted in immediate spiritual death and the eventual physical death, as God had warned. Genesis 3:19 declares the consequence: "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread, until you return to the ground, because out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return."

The Consequences of Sin

The Apostle Paul reflects on the impact of Adam's sin in Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned." This passage underscores the theological understanding that sin introduced death into the world, affecting all of creation and every human being.

The forfeiture of natural life due to sin is further emphasized in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Here, Paul contrasts the death that comes from sin with the eternal life offered through Jesus Christ, highlighting the redemptive plan of God to restore what was lost.

The Hope of Redemption

While natural life was forfeited by sin, the Bible presents a message of hope and redemption. Through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, believers are offered the promise of eternal life. John 3:16 affirms this hope: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

In conclusion, the biblical narrative presents the forfeiture of natural life as a direct consequence of sin, yet it also offers the promise of restoration and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. This theme is central to the Christian understanding of the human condition and God's redemptive plan for humanity.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Genesis 2:17
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Genesis 3:17-19
And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake; in sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life;
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Whether in the State of Innocence There Would have Been Generation ...
... natural to man was neither acquired nor forfeited by sin. Now it is clear that
generation by coition is natural to man by reason of his animal life, which he ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether in the state of 7.htm

The Corruption of Man, his Conversion to God, and the Manner ...
... by his own free will, he forfeited these excellent ... with understanding and will, nor
did sin which pervaded ... forth and supports this our natural life does not ...
//christianbookshelf.org/anonymous/synod of dort/the corruption of man his.htm

Whether the First Man was Created in Grace?
... as they disobeyed the Divine command, and forfeited Divine grace ... but that he had
not spiritual life as regards ... angels or men were created with natural free-will ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether the first man was.htm

The Epistles of St. John
... an old Jewish expression for a sin deserving natural death. ... all moral darkness
(i.6); God is Life (v.20 ... 1)"though our relationship with Him is forfeited by sin ...
/.../pullan/the books of the new testament/chapter xxiii the epistles of.htm

Whether the Intellectual Soul is Properly United to Such a Body?
... of a physical organic body having life potentially ... otherwise its immortality would
not be forfeited through sin ... answer that in the formation of natural things we ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the intellectual soul is.htm

Introduction to the Treatise on the Incarnation of the Word.
... power of the Logos, and which, if not forfeited by sin ... worthy of the name of existence
or life,"(2) that ... the line between what belongs to the natural man and ...
/.../select works and letters or athanasius/introduction to the treatise on.htm

Of Sin by Imputation and Propagation.
... if such an undeserved reward of eternal life would have ... If the father be forfeited,
the heirs suffer in it, and ... in this, else there was no natural necessity of ...
/.../binning/the works of the rev hugh binning/lecture xxiv of sin by.htm

Semi-Parasitism.
... be that by this act they have forfeited to some ... of its intellectual, not to say moral
sin, is this ... The natural life, not less than the eternal, is the gift of ...
/.../drummond/natural law in the spiritual world/semi-parasitism.htm

No Sorrow Like Messiah's Sorrow
... Natural conscience, may excite a painful conviction, of the ... son Absalom conspired
against his life, was patient ... our lives are spared, though forfeited by sin. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/newton/messiah vol 1/sermon xxiii no sorrow like.htm

The Typical Significance of the Scriptures Declare their Divine ...
... As it is in the natural world, so it is in the spiritual: there is first the blade,
then the ear, and then ... He saw that his own life was forfeited thro' sin ...
/.../the divine inspiration of the bible/chapter six the typical significance.htm