Did God Cause Adam and Eve's Sin? April 2, 2. 01. 5. Thankfully, God chose to tell us about the first man and woman He created. And He didn't stop there. God supernaturally delivered a record of human history in His . The Bible reveals many things to us we would never have known about God and His dealings with man. And so my starting point in considering Adam and Eve's sin is Scripture. How else could any of us have a clue about sin, and God's redemptive plan of salvation? Now either Adam and Eve chose to sin with their own free will, or God caused them to sin. Those are the only two options. I suppose a person could argue that it was a joint effort and God . Such reasoning contradicts God's love letter to us. Well, Scripture reveals that such desires first showed up in the heart of Lucifer. Originally, he was one of God's angels. And he was good because God has never created an angel to be evil. But then Lucifer's heart embraced pride which led to his rebellion against God. Genesis 3 New King James Version (NKJV) The Temptation and Fall of Man. 3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, This skepticism of a literal Adam and Eve begs for four much needed corrections. First, Church teaching about Adam and Eve has not, and cannot, change. The fact remains that a literal Adam and Eve are unchanging. Here is what Scripture says about Satan's downfall. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.! Have you ever had anyone ask, 'Why do people do bad things?' How would the Bible answer this question? This Adam and Eve object lesson will help. Often when Christians think of the first sin, they think of Adam and Eve and the Fall in the Garden of Eden. While this is indeed the first human sin, it is not the first recorded sin in Scripture. Original Sin as you (hopefully) know is that first sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they ate the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 3:1-7). It is clearly a sin that. You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. God did not tempt him or cause his heart to become proud. That was all Lucifer's doing. Satan was even cunning enough to come disguised as a serpent in his plot to trick Adam and Eve. He said to the woman, . She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.? No, but he definitely tempted them with the idea and got them thinking about the possibilities. Satan wanted them to embrace the evil desires he had first crafted in his own heart. Adam and Eve then made their choice in the Garden, just as Lucifer had done up in heaven. And so as we examine the big picture, here is what Scripture reveals to us: God made the angels at some point unknown to us. Lucifer was then kicked out of heaven, . After being propelled to earth, he continued his wicked ways and his hatred for God. This contempt for the Lord led the devil to lie to Adam and Eve. And the rest, as they say, is history. Apart from Scripture, there is no reason to believe Adam and Eve actually existed. And apart from Scripture, there is no reason to believe Satan . Or you may choose to reject it as nothing more than an imaginative myth. But before you make a decision you will later regret, ask yourself this question: If the story is true, who would want me to believe it? And who would tempt me to reject it? Who would tell me the truth about it, and who would lie to me in hopes that I turn away from my Creator in unbelief? The reason Jesus entered the world was to redeem man who had fallen under the spell of sin by openly rebelling against his Creator. Today, anyone can experience a loving relationship with God by turning from sin and accepting Christ as Savior. You simply repent and believe the good news. And if you choose to go through life without trusting Jesus to save your soul, it is not God who is causing you to turn away from the sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf at the cross. God doesn't turn people away from salvation. Instead, He leads people to meet His Son and receive eternal life in paradise. Will you be the next person on the planet to take this step of faith? Lucifer was originally placed in heaven. Adam and Eve were originally placed in a garden. And you were born in a specific location at a particular time. But the common denominator is that each of us gets to make our own choice. I can go God's way, or my own way. So will I learn from history, or will I repeat it? Dan Delzell is the pastor of Wellspring Lutheran Church in Papillion, Neb. Why is the First Sin called the . It is clearly a sin that involved both of them. And yet, both in Scripture and Tradition when this sin is referred to formally by name it is called the “Sin of Adam” or “Adam’s Sin.” It is also described as coming to us “through one man” not “through Adam and Eve” or “through a man and a woman.” Consider the following quotes from Scripture and then from the Catechism: Like Adam, they . Paul affirms: “By one man’s disobedience many (that is, all men) were made sinners”: “sin came into the world through one man. Paul, the Church has always taught that the overwhelming misery which oppresses men and their inclination towards evil and death cannot be understood apart from their connection with Adam’s sin? The whole human race is in Adam “as one body of one man”. By this “unity of the human race” all men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as all are implicated in Christ’s justice. Now, to be sure, both Scripture and the Catechism describe the Sin as involving both Adam and Eve, but neither formally refer to it as the “Sin of Adam and Eve” but only, the “Sin of Adam” or “Adam’s Sin.” Sin comes to us through Adam. Why is this? I want to propose several answers, not all of them politically correct. Now in doing this I am not hereby indicating that everything I am about to say is the formal teaching of the Church. Some of what I present is speculative. Hence I hope you will feel free to critique it and add to what I have written as well as subtract. Here are a few “explanations” as to why it seems fitting that Original Sin is referred to formally as the “Sin of Adam.” 1. Paul makes it clear that we are saved by Christ alone. This is because sin came through “one man” and hence we are saved by “one Man,” the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ are all made alive (cf Rom 5: 1. Cor 1. 5: 2. 2). Now this argument is ultimately unsatisfying since is amounts to a kind of post hoc, propter hoc sort of argument. We’re really back- loading the whole thing here by starting with a conclusion (we are saved by one Man) and then developing the premise (one man, sinned). But, it is a true fact that the New Testament guides and influences our understanding of the Old Testament, and it should. Hence there are two Adams, a “man- for Man” parallelism. And in this sense the first sin is fittingly called the “Sin of Adam.”2. The headship of Adam – Scripture teaches of the headship of the husband in marriage (cf Eph 5: 2. Peter 3: 1; Titus 5: 2; Col 3: 1. When God ordained marriage he stated that “A man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife and the two of them shall be one” (Gen 2: 2. Hence it is the man who leads the marriage and is its head. But this makes him finally responsible for takes place in that marriage. Now our modern age tends to think of headship in terms of privilege but Scripture speaks of it more in terms of responsibility and service (cf Mark 1. Lk 1. 2: 4. 8). Thus the headship of the husband brings to him a final responsibility for what happens under his roof. This does not mean his wife is without guilt, any more than Eve was without guilt. But headship does mean that the head has to answer for what happens. I am the head of my parish. Now if some members of my parish or a staff member do something wrong, the Bishop does not call them, he calls me and expects me to handle the matter. I am ultimately responsible for what happens in my parish and must account for it, correct it and accept that I share responsibility for what has happened. This may be because I failed to teach properly, or perhaps I failed to exercise oversight or due diligence. It may not be all my fault, but as head, I have to answer for it. Hence Original Sin is called the “Sin of Adam” since he was the head of that early household and was finally responsible for what took place. In this regard, notice that when God was looking for them in the Garden after they had sinned he did not say “Adam and Eve where are you?” He said, Adam, where are you? Eve is not without blame but God calls out Adam. Adam had headship and in this sense the first sin is fittingly called the “Sin of Adam.”3. The “Complexity” of Original Sin – When we think of the first sin we tend to think of it as simply the eating of a forbidden fruit. But I want to suggest to you that the first sin was a little more complicated than that and thus involves Adam a little more we commonly think. Adam had been placed in the Garden and, even prior to Eve’s creation, been told to work the garden and keep it (Gen 2: 1. Some translations say he is to work in and guard it. After the creation of Eve and at the moment of temptation we see that Eve has something of a long conversation with the devil wherein he spars with her to cause her to be tempted and ultimately to fall. Now during this time where is Adam? He would seem to be far off since nothing is said by him. But the text quite remarkably discloses that he was standing right next to her the whole time she converses with Satan! Why this silence from Adam? One would expect Adam to say to Satan, “Why are you speaking with my wife? Surely Eve should not have had to answer the Devil all on her own. She does well to begin but then grows weak under the onslaught. Why does Adam not step in to protect and augment his wife’s strength? Why does he not assist her in this struggle and help defend against this threat? Is his silence not part of the first sin? Is his omission not integral to the fall of them both? Adam had an obligation to rebuff Satan and guard his wife and the garden. As head of the house he has the first responsibility to defend his household from all error, sin and threat. Eve should not have had to face the devil and answer him alone. He was worse than useless, his silence gave strength to Satan’s arguments. Eve is not without sin but Adam has failed miserably to assist Eve and provide the support she needs and deserves. Now, dear reader, permit my flourishes here. After all I am a preacher at heart and preachers love hyperbole. I admit some excess in my cross- examination but also stand by its basic point which is that the first sin involved more than eating the fruit. That was its culmination. But complicit silence from Adam was integral to the fall as well. It set the stage for the first sin. In this sense too, the first sin is fittingly called the “Sin of Adam.”Well, enough said by me. Distinguish what I have already set forth or wholly reject it if you wish. But ponder with me why, when original sin is called by name, it is called, “the Sin of Adam?”.
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