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In this episode of The Reformed Standard, we explore the Westminster Shorter Catechism’s Answer 13, which addresses the Fall of humanity. The catechism explains that “our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.” This profound statement illuminates three critical aspects of the Fall: its cause (freedom of will without divine intervention), its nature (sin as cosmic treason against God), and its devastating results (the collapse from innocence into guilt and corruption). The episode reveals how this ancient event explains the brokenness of our present world and points to our need for Christ as the Second Adam who would succeed where the first Adam failed.
Key Takeaways
- The Fall occurred because God left Adam and Eve to “the freedom of their own will,” meaning God created them with the capacity to choose but did not intervene to prevent their disobedience
- Adam and Eve were created good but mutable (changeable), with genuine ability to either stand in obedience or fall into disobedience
- The Fall was not merely a mistake but a willful act of “sinning against God” — a conscious rebellion and rejection of God’s authority
- When Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit, they were committing “cosmic treason,” attempting to place themselves as the judges of good and evil
- The Fall resulted in a catastrophic collapse from innocence to guilt, holiness to corruption, and communion with God to alienation and fear
- The Fall defaced (but did not erase) the image of God in humanity, replacing true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness with ignorance, guilt, and pollution
- Humanity needs a “Second Adam” who would not fail when tested but would perfectly obey where the first Adam disobeyed
Key Concepts
The Nature of Adam’s Probation and Freedom
Adam’s original state in Eden represented a genuine probation—a true test with the real possibility of both success and failure. God created Adam with a nature that was good but mutable (capable of change). He was not created with an inherent bent toward sin, but neither was he created in a state of “unchangeable confirmation” where falling was impossible. When the catechism states that our first parents were “left to the freedom of their own will,” it means God honored the integrity of human choice by not intervening to prevent the Fall. This wasn’t God forcing them to sin—which would make Him the author of evil—but rather permitting the genuine exercise of the freedom He had given them. Adam was fully equipped to obey yet fully capable of choosing otherwise, making his responsibility for the Fall complete.
The Cosmic Significance of the First Sin
The first sin was far more than breaking a rule about forbidden fruit—it was a fundamental reordering of reality. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were committing what the episode calls “cosmic treason.” They were rejecting God’s rightful authority and attempting to establish themselves as the ultimate arbiters of good and evil. By accepting the serpent’s alternative narrative—that God was withholding something good rather than protecting them from harm—they were essentially declaring that they no longer trusted their Creator’s word. Instead, they trusted the word of a creature. This represented a complete inversion of the proper order of creation, where the creature submits to and trusts the Creator. Their sin was thus a comprehensive rejection of God’s authority, wisdom, and goodness—an attempted dethroning of God and an attempted self-enthronement in His place.
Memorable Quotes
“We are not evolving upward from a primitive state; we are the survivors of a great shipwreck. We are a fallen race, born into the ruins of our father Adam’s rebellion.”
“Adam had freedom of will, and he used it to plunge us into ruin. We are now born in bondage to sin, unable to will our way back to God. We need a Second Adam… who would obey where Adam disobeyed, and who would restore the estate that was lost.”
Full Transcript
[00:00:19] The Great Tragedy of Human History
On Tuesday, we asked the question that marks the great tragedy of human history: “Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?” We stood at the precipice of the Fall, looking back at the perfection of Eden and looking around at the brokenness of our own world, knowing that something catastrophic must have happened to bridge that gap.
Today, we turn to the catechism’s somber and precise answer. It explains exactly how paradise was lost.
Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.
This answer is a masterclass in theological precision. It addresses three critical elements: the cause, the nature of the act, and the result.
[00:01:07] Understanding the Cause of the Fall
First, consider the cause. How did this happen? The catechism uses a very specific phrase: “being left to the freedom of their own will.” This is crucial for understanding the nature of Adam’s probation. God created Adam good, but He created him mutable—changeable. Adam had the ability to stand and obey, but he also had the ability to fall and disobey. He was not created with a nature that was bent toward sin, but neither was he created in a state of unchangeable confirmation.
When the catechism says God “left” them to this freedom, it means that God chose not to intervene to prevent the fall. He did not force them to sin; God cannot be the author of evil. But neither did He prop them up with a special, super-added grace that would have made their fall impossible. He honored the integrity of the creature He had made. He allowed the test to be a genuine test. Adam stood on his own two feet, equipped with everything he needed to obey, yet fully capable of choosing otherwise. And in the mystery of His sovereignty, God permitted this freedom to run its tragic course.
[00:02:15] The Act of Rebellion
Second, consider the act itself: “by sinning against God.” It is important that we don’t view the fall merely as a mistake or a lapse in judgment. It was a sin. It was a willful, conscious act of rebellion. Genesis 3 tells the story. The serpent offered a rival version of reality, a lie that suggested God was holding out on them, that His command was restrictive rather than protective.
When Adam and Eve took the fruit, they were doing something far more significant than breaking a dietary rule. They were switching allegiance. They were declaring that they would be the judges of what is good and evil. They were rejecting the word of their Creator and accepting the word of the creature. It was cosmic treason. It was an attempt to dethrone God and place themselves at the center of the universe.
[00:03:06] The Devastating Results of the Fall
Third, consider the result: they “fell from the estate wherein they were created.” The word “fell” is the perfect description. It was a collapse. A crash. They didn’t just lose a nice garden; they lost their standing. They fell from the state of innocence into a state of guilt. They fell from a state of holiness into a state of corruption. They fell from communion with God into alienation and fear.
The immediate consequences were devastating. Shame entered the world—they realized they were naked and tried to hide. Fear entered the world—they hid from the sound of the Lord God in the garden. And death entered the world, just as God had warned. The image of God in man was shattered. It wasn’t completely erased—we are still human—but it was defaced. The true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness that defined them was replaced by ignorance, guilt, and pollution.
This answer explains the world we live in today. We are not evolving upward from a primitive state; we are the survivors of a great shipwreck. We are a fallen race, born into the ruins of our father Adam’s rebellion.
[00:04:15] Hope in the Second Adam
But this answer also points us, by way of contrast, to our only hope. Adam had freedom of will, and he used it to plunge us into ruin. We are now born in bondage to sin, unable to will our way back to God. We need a Second Adam. We need one who, unlike the first Adam, would not fall when tested. We need one whose will was perfectly aligned with the Father’s, who would obey where Adam disobeyed, and who would restore the estate that was lost.