Was God in charge of Adam's sin? Did Adam's sin affect all human beings?
CHAPTER 6: Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof
(Parts One and Two)
God graciously created man upright and sinless. God gave man His righteous law, which at that point contained only one prohibition: “Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:16-17) Had man keep, instead of broken that law, he would have continued to live forever in perfect harmony with God in the garden. But God was so serious about man’s obedience that He wrapped the law in a threat. “In the day you eat of it [the fruit from the forbidden tree] you shall surely die.”
Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44) and the master of subtlety (Genesis 3:1), used a serpent to tempt and overcome Eve, who then tempted and overcame her husband, Adam.
“Life or death?” Our first father Adam, without compulsion, willingly broke God’s law, choosing disobedience and the promised subsequent death over obedience and life.
None of this was beyond God’s sovereign control. God permissively decreed it in order to show His grace to mankind for His greater glory. (Ephesians 2:7)
(Part Two)
When Adam and Eve sinned, they not only fell from their original state of righteous communion with God, their sin became “spiritually genetic.” Because they are the original parents of the entire human race, all of their posterity are also ruined by their sin (Romans 5:12). When Adam and Eve died spiritually, all of us who were “in them” and would ever come from them, also died spiritually. All human beings since are born in sin and are spiritually slaves to sin (John 8:34, Romans 6:16-17).
People usually do not think this is fair and therefore often reject this biblical teaching. Yet we have no problem accepting (even if we do not like it) that we genetically inherit from our parents everything else we are. We have nothing to say about our height, or our hair and eye color, do we? Neither do we have any say in the fact that we are natural born sinners—like it or not!
Application? This is why Jesus said “unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Our first birth is in sin and leads to judgment. It is the second birth of which Jesus spoke that leads to righteousness and entrance into the kingdom of God (Romans 5:15-19).
Natural Born Sinners? Really?
Chapter 6: Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof
(Parts Three and Four)
Adam and Eve’s sin affected not only them; it affects all their posterity. Adam was (as explained in Romans 5:12-21) the federal representative for all mankind. Because all we who, though not yet even conceived, were “in him,” when he sinned, we sinned. Proof? Death has reigned ever since, just as God promised.
The cry of the natural man is almost always, “That’s not fair.” But think about it. Aren’t their countless decisions made by others, over which we have no control, that affect us? The president declares war, and whether we are for it or against it, we are at war. Parents move due to a job change, and whether the children like it or not, they are uprooted and resettled into another town. Examples could go on and on. The point is, as our federal representative, Adam’s sin is our sin as well.
For those who insist that they want to be judged for their own lives, not the life of Adam, our sins only confirm our sinfulness and validate God’s just judgment. So even if we were not guilty in Adam (which we are) we are no less off the hook.
One more thing: If we reject the concept of a federal head standing in the place of those he represents, we must also reject Christ as the Federal Head over all who are saved. Just as Adam’s sin condemns all who are “in him,” Christ’s righteousness saves all who are “in Him.” Are people are “in Adam.” The question is, are you “in Christ”?
(Part 4)
Jesus said we must be perfect even as our Father in Heaven is perfect. [1] We not only do not do anything perfectly, Adam’s sin has corrupted all mankind, rendering us incapable of doing anything (much less everything) perfectly.
Because we are born into this condition, the Bible says we are by nature children of wrath [2] and servants of sin, the subjects of death. [3] Because (a) we are sinners by nature, (b) we commit sins, not the other way around. Stated another way, we are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners.
Even after we are born again, given new hearts, and made new people, [4] vestiges of the corruption of the Adamic nature remains until we are glorified and in Heaven, where there is no more temptation or sin—at all.
In the mean time, let us put off the old man and put on the new man, growing in sanctification, looking forward longingly to that great day of glorification.
[1] Mat 5:48, [2] Eph 2:3, [3] Rom 6:20; 5:12. [4] 2 Cor 5:17.
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