Belgic Confession, Article 14: The Creation and Fall of Humanity
This excerpt from Article 14 of the Belgic Confession presents the Reformed understanding of human creation in God's image and the catastrophic effects of the Fall on human nature and will. The article emphasizes humanity's complete moral corruption and bondage to sin, explicitly rejecting libertarian free will and affirming that all human capacity for good depends entirely upon God's sovereign grace. This foundational confessional text is essential for understanding core Reformed anthropology and soteriology.
Article 14: The Creation and Fall of Humanity We believe that God created human beings from the dust of the earth and made and formed them in his image and likeness—good, just, and holy; able by their will to conform in all things to the will of God.But when they were in honor they did not understand it21 and did not recognize their excellence. But they subjected themselves willingly to sin and consequently to death and the curse,lending their ear to the word of the devil.For they transgressed...