The Sin of Adam and EveBy Tom M. Roberts |
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A comedian by the name of Flip Wilson made a statement famous as his trademark by saying, “The Devil made me do it.” Connected to his skits, the line was hilarious. However, it is not so funny (and not true) in reality. I have often wondered what life would have been like in the Garden of Eden with our fore-parents given the task of “tending” and “dressing” their beautiful home (Gen. 2:15). They were given dominion over all the creatures in the garden and life must have been sublime. After sin entered their lives, man was excluded from the garden and we all must earn our bread “by the sweat of (our) brow” (3:19). Nature also became less benign and more difficult (3:18). However there was a difference between human beings and the other creatures of God. Only humans were sentient (having self-knowledge and awareness), being made in the image of God (1:26-27). As such, they were of a higher order than the animals, being made in the image of God, having an inward spirit. Among the gifts God gave Adam and Eve was the ability to choose between right and wrong: free will. The wonder of free will is that man can choose whether or not to obey God, unlike animals which are given instinct to guide them. To man, God “expresses” his will by his word; with animals, it is “impressed” (instinct). No other being of creation was given this choice, and it is a singular gift. We achieve no higher purpose of life than when we willfully and deliberately decide that we will be an obedient believer. Solomon said, “This is the whole (duty) of man” (Eccl. 12:13). Thus, with good free will, we accomplish the purpose for which we were created. Unfortunately, the risk of free will is that man may choose not to obey God. Horses, dogs and cats cannot say “No” to God. They do as they were programmed to do. But with free will, man decides whether or not he wants to do what God commands in his life. This is the inherent danger of our nature. During time, man makes decisions according to his will. What is often forgotten is that we must also, as a free will agent, give an account for our actions. Young people need to learn early in life that there are consequences for our actions! We will be judged according to our deeds (2 Cor. 5:10). So then, how did sin come into the world? Did God make us sin? Why were Adam and Eve punished, and why is the world today so different from the Garden, with sin so prevalent? Who is responsible for the mess we are in? Well, Flip Wilson was nearly right. The Devil didn’t make us do wrong, but knowing our nature of free will, he enticed Adam and Eve to sin. They could have resisted, but they did not (James 4:7). Sin entered the Garden and the life of Adam and Eve by their own choice. We still do the same thing today when we sin (Romans 6:16-17). God had warned the couple in the beginning not to eat of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:17). Every other tree and fruit was available to supply all their needs, including the Tree of Life (2:9). But having free will allows us to be tested to see what we will do. Eve, when tempted by Satan, regarded the forbidden fruit as “good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise.” She used her free will and did what she was forbidden to do, also enticing her husband to do the same. Their sins were listed as “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.” In this same fashion, Satan tempted Jesus (Matt. 4:1-7). John tells us that this is still the avenue of Satan’s temptation to us (1 John 2:16). Adam and Eve could have lived forever, with their access to the Tree of Life. However, they were forbidden to partake of it and, as God had warned, died (Gen. 2:17). They died spiritually when they ate of the fruit and began to die physically. We are unable to partake of the Tree of Life and also die (physically) today. However, we do not inherit Adam’s sin (Ezek. 18:4, 20) nor die spiritually because of their sin. We all sin (Rom. 3:23) and the wage of sin is still death (6:23). However, the good news is that the blood of Christ will cleanse us of sin when we obey the gospel (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:38; 22:16). Also, the Tree of Life has been “transplanted” to Paradise and we all shall eat of it again when we get to Heaven (Rev. 22:2). As someone else once said, “What we have lost in Adam, we regain in Christ” For further study, see also Romans 5: 12-17; 8:1-3). |
That which has been is what will be, |
