Podcast Summary: Renewing Your Mind

Episode: Dead in Adam, Alive in Christ
Date: January 29, 2026
Host: Ligonier Ministries (Nathan W. Bingham)
Speaker: Dr. R.C. Sproul
Main Theme:
Exploring how Adam's fall affected humanity's relationship with God, the concepts of the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace, and how Christ, the "second Adam," secures life for believers where Adam failed.

Episode Overview

This episode delves into core Reformed theological concepts regarding the state of humanity after Adam and Eve’s fall, what was lost in Eden, and what is gained through Christ. Dr. R.C. Sproul unpacks the distinctions between innocence and righteousness, the meaning of being made in God’s image, and the fundamental differences between the "Covenant of Works" and the "Covenant of Grace." The discussion draws heavily from Scripture and historical theology, culminating in the greater hope provided by Christ’s obedience.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Covenant of Works and The Covenant of Grace

• Definition and Context:
  • God's first covenant with Adam (also called the Adamic or Creation Covenant) is frequently referred to as the "Covenant of Works"—life was promised to Adam and his descendants on the condition of perfect, personal obedience [01:00–03:40].
  • Quoting the Westminster Confession:
    “The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works wherein life was promised to Adam and in him to his posterity, upon condition of perfect and personal obedience...”
• Historical Distinctions:
  • Covenant of Works = pre-Fall, conditioned on obedience.
  • Covenant of Grace = post-Fall, grounded in God's mercy and fulfilled in Christ [03:41–06:20].
  • Old Covenant (OT) and New Covenant (NT) are both manifestations of the overarching Covenant of Grace, differing in how God works this promise out in history.

Quote [02:15]:
"In the covenant of works, the human race is put on probation and is promised life eternal on the condition of obedience to the commands of God." — Dr. R.C. Sproul

2. The Image of God After the Fall

• Debate Over Image and Likeness:
  • Discussion whether "image" and "likeness" in Genesis refer to distinct aspects (as Roman Catholic theology asserts) or are synonymous (as Protestant theology holds) [06:21–09:30].
• Retention of the Image:
  • Despite the "ruinous state" brought by Adam and Eve’s sin, human beings are not utterly stripped of being made in God’s image [09:40–10:30].
• Augustine’s Insight:
  • Humankind received a "donum superadditum" (superadded gift)—original righteousness added to basic humanity, but this could be lost without losing humanity itself [10:30–12:00].

Quote [10:38]:
"Man was created good, but he was created mutably good, not immutably good." — Dr. R.C. Sproul

3. Innocence vs. Righteousness

• Adam and Eve were innocent (without sin or impurity) but had not demonstrated positive righteousness (which requires active obedience to God’s commands) [12:01–14:30].
• Righteousness requires more than just the absence of sin—it’s proven by a life aligned with God's commandments [14:00–14:50].
• Adam and Eve’s state before the Fall was one of probation: their standing could improve (through obedience) or worsen (through disobedience).

4. Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained?

• Common but incorrect notion: Salvation merely returns us to Eden.
• Correction:
  • Justification in Christ does more than restore innocence—it supplies the positive righteousness Adam and Eve never achieved [15:00–17:30].

Quote [15:40]:
"If all we did by our being justified by faith is to be placed back into the condition that Adam and Eve were before the Fall, we still would not have the positive righteousness necessary to have eternal life." — Dr. R.C. Sproul

5. Probation, the Two Trees, and Their Significance

• Four Elements of the Covenant of Works (after Gerhardus Vos):

  1. Tree of Life:

     • Symbolizes the highest possible life for humanity, not simply physical existence but a higher order ("zoe" in Greek) [18:00–20:50].
     • Christ, as the second Adam, secures actual participation in this life for His people, as promised in Revelation 2:7 and 22 [21:00–23:00].

     Quote [19:45]:
     "When Jesus comes in the New Testament...he says that I come that you may have life and have it more abundantly... They were alive and well. But they lacked this different, special kind of life... that Christ comes to give." — Dr. R.C. Sproul

  2. Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil:

     • Represents Adam and Eve’s probation—a divinely instituted test, not a temptation to evil [23:00–24:20].
     • Distinction between God testing and Satan tempting: God never entices to sin but does put creatures to the test (just as with Christ in the wilderness).

     Quote [23:20]:
     "God never tempts anybody in the sense of trying to seduce them or entice them or coax them to sin. But what he does do is puts us to the test... This is what we mean when we talk about the probation of Adam and Eve." — Dr. R.C. Sproul

6. Adam and Christ: The Two Adams

• Both face temptation from Satan under God's sovereign test.
• Adam fails, plunging humanity into sin; Christ passes, securing eternal life for His people [24:35–25:25].

Quote [24:55]:
"Both of them are subjected to the assault of Satan. Both of them are being put to the test by God... Just as Christ had to be put to the test as the new Adam to be qualified to perform his work of redemption." — Dr. R.C. Sproul

Notable Moments & Quotes

• On probation and loss:
  • “Adam and Eve, because of their transgressions, lost paradise. And we have the tendency to think that what happens to us in our redemption... is that... we regain paradise. But that's not the biblical view.” [15:25]
• On what Christ achieves:
  • “We are going to be elevated to a higher level of life that is eternal and that is a life in which there is no sin, no sorrow, no death, no suffering, none of those problems.” [20:55–21:10]
• On the meaning of testing:
  • “God is putting his son to the test. And here we see again the relationship between the first Adam and the second Adam.” [24:15]

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:52 — Overview of the covenants and Westminster Confession reading
• 06:21 — The image and likeness of God: historic theological perspectives
• 10:30 — Augustine’s doctrine of original righteousness
• 12:01 — Innocence vs. righteousness in Adam and Eve’s pre-fall state
• 15:40 — Distinction between restoration and elevation in Christ
• 18:00 — The Tree of Life and true life in Christ
• 23:00 — The Tree of Knowledge and the principle of probation
• 24:35 — Adam and Jesus paralleled as being tested by God

Conclusion

Dr. Sproul masterfully guides listeners from Eden’s probationary covenant through the ruin of the Fall, up to the glorious fulfillment in Christ, the second Adam. The core message underlines humanity’s utter inability to reclaim paradise lost—and the profound, overflowing victory and new life believers receive in Jesus, who passes the ultimate test on their behalf.