Because of this, just as through one man the sin entered the world and through the sin the death, also thus unto all men the death passed, on the basis that all sinned. – Romans 5:12
Through Adam sin came into the world and the impact of his action was a penalty of death upon all those who come from him. When Adam took of the fruit from the tree in the garden, which God specifically instructed him not to eat from, he knowingly broke God’s rule.
and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was thoroughly deceived and came to be in a transgression- 1 Timothy 2:14
God told Adam that if he ate from this tree, it would bring death.
But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you will not eat, because in the day in which you eat dying you will die. – Genesis 2:17
As humans at this time, we were in a state of innocence. This means we relied solely upon God to instruct us on what was beneficial and what caused calamity in our lives. God walked with Adam each day for this very purpose. Eve was tricked into believing that by eating she would be more like God with the knowledge of good and evil, not understanding the full ramifications of her actions. However, Adam did understand and still chose to eat of the fruit. It was never about the fruit, it was about obedience. In each dispensation God shows us something about ourselves. Why does God permit wickedness? It comes down to the fact that we as humans chose it. In the garden there was no wickedness among humans. We lived in a perfect environment totally relying upon God. This does not mean humans were ignorant. On the contrary, Adam was extremely intelligent. He had a mastery of language, for he named all the animals, and he was not fooled by Satan. He willingly chose to disobey God. This disobedience brought sin into the world and the impact to all humans is that we are under sin.
And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. – Genesis 5:3
We hold the image and likeness of Adam after his fall. Therefore, we are all under condemnation. This is why evil is in the world today and why we all face physical death one day. However, God did not leave us without hope. He told Adam and Eve that it would be the seed of the woman that would save us.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” – Genesis 3:15
We should pay attention to what is recorded concerning Adam and Eve and the action by Adam that brought sin and death into this world. It was by his disobedience. We see the misery that it has caused in contrast to what life was like before he disobeyed God. Today, in our dispensation of Grace, we should choose to obey God. Not misapplying Scripture but taking it for exactly what it says. Today all who are saved belong to the Church. We have a better covenant built upon better promises, so we are not to try to take Israel’s promises and apply them to ourselves. We live by grace out from faith; therefore, we are not to live by law. We are able to mature and properly discern the difference between good and evil by using the renewed mind we have in Christ. We are able to overcome our sin nature through the truth. We can walk in the light and fellowship with God. But we can only do this if we obey. Ask yourself, are you willing to obey God today, or do you prefer the calamity our disobedience brings?
