Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?
The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin1, the want of original righteousness2, and the corruption of his whole nature3, which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it4.
Scripture proofs
The Westminster Assembly's proof texts (KJV). The bracketed numbers in the answer above mark the clause each set of references supports; expand a row to read the verses.
1 Rom. 5:12, 19
Rom. 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Rom. 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
2 Rom. 3:10; Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
3 Ps. 51:5; John 3:6; Rom. 3:18; 8:7-8; Eph. 2:3
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Rom. 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Rom. 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Rom. 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
4 Gen. 6:5; Ps. 53:1-3; Matt. 15:19; Rom. 3:10-18, 23; Gal. 5:19-21; Jas. 1:14-15
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Ps. 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
Ps. 53:2 God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.
Ps. 53:3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
Rom. 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom. 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom. 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Rom. 3:13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Rom. 3:14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Rom. 3:15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Rom. 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:
Rom. 3:17 And the way of peace have they not known:
Rom. 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Gal. 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Gal. 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Gal. 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
This doctrine across the Standards
Where the Confession and the Westminster Larger Catechism treat the same matter, so the question can be studied alongside its parallel statements.
In the Westminster Confession
VI.1 Our first parents, being seduced by the subtlety and temptation of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit. …
Our first parents, being seduced by the subtlety and temptation of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit. This their sin God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel, to permit, having purposed to order it to his own glory.
→ VI.1 · Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment ThereofVI.2 By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in …
By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body.
→ VI.2 · Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment ThereofVI.3 They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death …
They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation.
→ VI.3 · Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment ThereofVI.4 From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly …
From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.
→ VI.4 · Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment ThereofVI.5 This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those that are regenerated; and although it be …
This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those that are regenerated; and although it be through Christ pardoned and mortified, yet both itself and all the motions thereof are truly and properly sin.
→ VI.5 · Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment ThereofVI.6 Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, …
Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, doth, in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is bound over to the wrath of God and curse of the law, and so made subject to death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal.
→ VI.6 · Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment ThereofIX.3 Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any …
Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation; so as a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.
→ IX.3 · Of Free WillIn the Westminster Larger Catechism
Q.21 Did man continue in that estate wherein God at first created him?
Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, through the temptation of Satan, transgressed the commandment of God in eating the forbidden fruit; and thereby fell from the estate of innocency wherein they were created.
→ Open Q.21Q.22 Did all mankind fall in that first transgression ?
The covenant being made with Adam as a public person, not for himself only, but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him in that first transgression.
→ Open Q.22Q.23 Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?
The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.
→ Open Q.23Q.24 What is sin?
Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, any law of God, given as a rule to the reasonable creature.
→ Open Q.24Q.25 Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?
The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consisteth in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want of that righteousness wherein he was created, and the corruption of his nature, whereby he is utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite unto all that is spiritually good, and wholly inclined to all evil, and that continually; which is commonly called Original Sin, and from which do proceed all actual transgressions.
→ Open Q.25Q.26 How is original sin conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity?
Original sin is conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity by natural generation, so as all that proceed from them in that way are conceived and born in sin.
→ Open Q.26Q.27 What misery did the fall bring upon mankind?
The fall brought upon mankind the loss of communion with God, his displeasure and curse; so as we are by nature children of wrath, bond slaves to Satan, and justly liable to all punishments in this world, and that which is to come.
→ Open Q.27Q.28 What are the punishments of sin in this world?
The punishments of sin in this world are either inward, as blindness of mind, a reprobate sense, strong delusions, hardness of heart, horror of conscience, and vile affections; or outward, as the curse of God upon the creatures for our sakes, and all other evils that befall us in our bodies, names, estates, relations, and employments; together with death itself.
→ Open Q.28Q.29 What are the punishments of sin in the world to come?
The punishments of sin in the world to come, are everlasting separation from the comfortable presence of God, and most grievous torments in soul and body, without intermission, in hell fire forever.
→ Open Q.29