Article 7

Concerning the fall and punishment of man, we confess: The first man, Adam, and Eve, having been so gloriously created in the likeness of their Creator, for eternal life, did not remain long in that state. They were created with a free will, to choose what they would, so that they could fear, serve and obey their Creator, or disobey and forsake Him; and their Creator had given them a command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that they ate of it they would surely die. In spite of this, in their vain desire to be equal to their Creator in wisdom and knowledge, they were led and drawn away from God, and deceived by Satan; and so they disobediently and willingly transgressed the command of their Creator. The woman, created last, was deceived first, and turned her ears away from God to Satan; and, seducing her husband as well, they through this sin fell under the wrath and disfavor of God, and, with all their posterity, became subject that very day to temporal and eternal death, and were thus stripped of the divine virtue, which is righteousness and true holiness, and became sinful and mortal.

On this account God, the holy and righteous judge, in whose sight wickedness cannot endure, but who is of purer eyes than to behold evil, or to look on iniquity; and who threatens from heaven with His wrath and disfavor all disobedience and ingratitude of men; was so incensed by the sin thus committed by Adam and Eve, that by it they not only fell into eternal condemnation, together with all their posterity, but God the Lord also imposed upon Adam and Eve various temporal, bodily punishments, which likewise continually extend themselves to all their generations. Who are so corrupted in Adam that they are all from their youth, by nature, inclined to sin and evil, and are therefore deprived of the beautiful pleasure garden, or paradise, but must eat their bread, all their life, in sorrow and in the sweat of their face, from the uncultivated earth, which because of this first sin was so cursed and marred that it brings forth of itself weeds, thorns, and thistles; and cover the shame of their bodies made naked by sin. The woman, as the chief transgressor, has to subject her will and power to the man, and was compelled to bring forth her children in pain and anguish. This punishment continues upon all men, until they finally return to the dust and ashes from which they came.

Concerning how Adam, together with the whole human race, through sin, fell into temporal and eternal death, and, as a result of this, became sinful, read: "Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men." "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned." and so on. "And not as it was by one who sinned . . . for the judgment was by one to condemnation," and so on. "For if by one man's offense death reigned," and so on. "Therefore, as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation," and so on. "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners," and so on. Romans 5, verses 12 and 14 to 19.

"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." First Corinthians 15, verses 21 and 22.

"Behold, I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin my mother conceived me." Psalm 51, verse 5.

"Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" Job 14, verse 4.

"Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die." Sirach 25, verse 24; Titus 2, verse 14; Wisdom 2, verse 24.

The prophet Esdra says: "The first Adam, bearing a wicked heart, transgressed, and was overcome; and so are all those who are born of him." "And he transgressed, and you immediately, you appointed death in him and in his generations." Second Esdras 3, verses 21 and 7.

"O you Adam, what have you done! For though it was you who sinned, you have not fallen alone, but we all who come from you." Second Esdras 7, verse 48. Read also: John 3, verse 6; Romans 8, verse 5; Ephesians 2, verse 3; Sirach 17, verse 16; Genesis 6, verse 5.

Read further how God announced to Adam his punishment on account of sin, a punishment which God extends to all his posterity: "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 you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you shall eat the herb of the field: in the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken: for dust you are, and to dust you shall return." Genesis 3, verses 17 to 19, 23 and 24. Concerning the punishment of the woman, read: Genesis 3, verse 16; First Corinthians 14, verse 34; First Timothy 2, verse 12.