1Gen 1:26–27; Rom 2:14–15; 10:5; Gen 2:17

Adam, our first father, was created in an ‘estate of innocence’ (c.f. WLC 17, 20). In this state, Adam knew neither sin nor evil. His heart was righteous and he was inclined to righteousness, though it was possible for him to fall from this original condition.

It was in this estate that God as Creator revealed to Adam a rule of obedience unto Him. This rule of obedience is made known to us in two parts, viz., the Moral Law and a special command.

The special command was revealed to Adam verbally. It was a command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 1:26-27). This command is often spoken of as forming the condition for the covenant of works. However, it must be noted that Adam was not only obliged not to eat of the forbidden fruit. The command was but a summary and representative of Adam’s moral obligations toward God. As a rational creature of God, he was duty bound to love God and to serve him. The command not to eat of the forbidden fruit embodies this duty in a distinct and concrete manner and therefore provides, as it were, a test of whether Adam would love the Lord with his whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

The Moral Law of God, on the other hand, is God’s natural revelation to man on how exactly he is to love and serve Him in whether or not any other specific command is given. The Moral Law as we shall see, would be epitomised in the Ten Commandments and revealed verbally at Mount Sinai. But even before that time, it was already given. It was given as part of man’s moral nature, man having been created in the image of God. This is what the apostle Paul is referring to when he says that the works (or requirements) of the law are written in the hearts of all men including those who have never heard of the law (Rom 2:14-15).

Indeed, if man had not fallen into sin, he would have understood God’s Moral Law clearly and obeyed it wholeheartedly. That is to say: if man had not fallen into sin, the Moral Law would not need to be published verbally. But the Fall darkened the understanding of man so that his knowledge and appreciation of the Moral Law became distorted and indistinct.

It was for this reason that a special revelation of the Law became necessary. For apart from the light of the Scriptures, fallen man will inevitably "[changed] the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator" (Rom 1:25).

This fact is easily verified by the fact that there are so many religions in the world. Man created in the image of God has the works of God’s moral law written in his nature; and therefore man unlike animals has a sense of divinity and the knowledge of the existence of God. He knows that he must serve God. If he does not, His conscience afflicts him. However sin has darkened the fallen man’s mind so that He does not recognise nor acknowledge the Living and True God. Instead, to pacify his conscience, he makes idols,—whether of wood and stone or of his imagination. He bows down to the idols and worships them, thinking that he has observed the moral law of God. W