Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1879-07-24
&eadiua fur the Sabbath,
CONDUCTED BY
REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
GOrlginal ]
ADAM.

REV. ROBERT LATHAM.
(original
ADAM.
Learned men have devised every means Ill
their power to explain away the Bible account
of the creation of the world and its countless
inhabitants. These men have, without In
tending it, done much, both directly and indl-
rectly, to establish the truth Of the Scriptures.
For some time the German theologians have
been busily engaged in attempting to explain
away the Bible. The English and Scotch
preachers are fast becoming Germanized, and
even the American divines are, in some Sec
tions of the country, badly affected with the
moral mania. The spirit of some American
theological schools is imbued with German
notions, and the evident tendency is to bring
men up, or rather down to that point where
they will live by sight and not by faith.
The Adam Of the Bible is very different
creature from the Adam we find described by
these modern theologians. The Adam of the
Bible is man-the first man-the father OF
the human family. From him descended the
countless millions of human beings who peo-
ple the globe. What the Adam of these mod
ern theologians is, no one can tell. They leave
the mind in doubt not only with respect to the
nature Of Adam, but. also with regard to his
existence. In fact, the design Of these mod
ern theologians is, apparently at least, to eX-
plain away every thing. They 60 farther than
the Sadducees of old. These did not believe
in the existence of either angels or spirits,
but some modern theologians. believe in the
existence of neither spirit nor matter. No
sane man will deny that the Bible teaches that
there was once creature on this earth called
Adam that he was the first man that he
lived nine hundred and thirty years. If the
Bible account of the creation Of Adam is not
correct, no one can prove that it is incorrect
If all the human family are not descended
from Adam the time has passed to prove the
contrary.
In whatever aspect we contemplate Adam,
he is an interesting character. His history is
one of thrilling interest. Very few facts in
his eventful life have been recorded, but those
few are of momentous interest. His primeval
purity and original surroundings, his subse-
quent fall and degradation, his original happi-
ness and his subsequent misery all are full OF
interest. There is one feature, however, in
Adams character that is seldom taken into
consideration, and still it is the most impor-
tant feature of his being. Adam was a typi-
cal character. In the purposes of God he had
far more important mission to fulfil than
to exist. He was type Of far greater per-
sonage than himself. A type is person, a
thing or an event which represents or fore
shadows some other person, thing or event. 1t
is manifest that all the works Of God pointed
to the redemption of sinners and to Jesus
Christ the Redeemer. Since the fall of man
this is easily seen, and we are warranted in
concluding from the general tenor Of the Scrip
lures that it never was the purpose of God
that any of the human family should enter
heaven only through Redeemer Such being
the case Adam was not only, the progenitor of
the human family, but also type of Jesus
Christ, who in the Scriptures, is called the
second Adam. Paul, in the fifth chapter of
Romans, expressly declares that Adam was
figure of him that was to come Rom. 5: IA.
Adam did not become a type or figure OF
Christ after the fall but, on the contrary, ne
always was type of Christ. In other words
he was made type or figure of Christ, Him,
who was in the fulness of time, to come for
the purpose of saving sinners. This being the
case, the fall of Adam was contemplated from
the beginning. 1t was not an event for which
God had made no provision and for which he
was unprepared when it did take place. so
far from this being the case a Saviour was pro-
vided before Adam sinned, and Adam was
created type or figure of that Saviour.
We may say that what is usually called the
covenant of works was feature OF the cove
nant of grace, and that really there is no cove
nant of works, or that there is both a covenant
of works and of grace, and that, in point of
time, the covenant of grace was first.
Adam was figure Of Jesus Christ in several
particulars
1st. Adam was the head of his race, and
Chist is the head OF his spiritual seed:
End. Adam was made lord of the lower
world. In the eighth Psalm his dominion is
stated as extending over the beasts OF the
field, the fowls of the air and the fish of the
sea. This dominion Adam lost when he
sinned; but his great antitype, Jesus Christ,
as mediator. exercises universal dominion over
everything Even the wrath of man is made
to praise him and the remainder of wrath is re-
strained. The mediatorial kingdom Of the
second Adam, who was typifed by the first,
has no end. All things areput under his feet.
3rd. Adam was representative person.
The Bible teaches that by Adams disobe-
dience many were made sinners and the expe-
rience of six thousand years fully demonstra-
tes the fact All men sinned in Adam and
fell with him when he eat the forbidden fruit.
The Bible teaching on this point is that all
men sinned in Adam and fell with him be-
cause he was the representative of all men.
Whatever Adam forfeited for himself he
forfeited for all his race, and whatever llablll-
ties he incurred were incurred for his poster
ity. He became sinner and all his posterity
are conceived in sin and brought forth in in
iquity Jesus Christ was public person. He
represented others. He obeyed as public
person, lived and died as public person, rose
from the dead as a public person, and as the
representative of his people is their advocate
with the Father.
In fact the strength of the work of Christ
is the fact that it was for others and not for
himself. ''God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son that whosoever be-
lieveth on him should not perish but have
everlasting life" God gave his only begotten
son for the world-in the place of the world.
The whole work and suffering of Christ was
substitutionary-in the room, in the place-Of