It Aint My Fault
So I've heard that Adam and Eve were the first people to sin, but why do I have to pay for their mistake?
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I think as a human being we have all at some point pondered this. I think there are a few misconceptions here though. I think the first thing we need to recognize is that Adam did not "create" sin nor was he the first "being" to sin. The devil was actually the first "being" to sin. 1 John 3:8 says,
But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil.
The devil was an angel and was actually the first to sin, and he was the one who introduced sin to Adam and Eve, who were the first humans to sin. Then you may ask, well is it fair that since Adam sinned, although not the first "being" to sin, that we are punished because of his sin? Romans 5:12 says,
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
It isn't necessarily that his sins were counted to us but more that the sin nature was passed on to us, almost genetically. We are born with his spiritual attributes, sin nature, just like we are born with physical attributes from our parents and ancestors. This is why the Bible says in Romans 3:23,
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.
We aren't sinners because we sinned, but we sin because we are sinners. It is in our nature!
You may also say that, "If I was Adam, I wouldn't have sinned". I think that is easy to say in hindsight. I'm sure Adam would say the same thing in hindsight. But Adam represented the best that humans could offer. Genesis 1:31 says,
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Adam was made very good. He was in a perfect environment, he was made perfect, and had the best qualities and capabilities of anyone and of all mankind, of all humanity. But he still sinned. In fact, Adam was not "tricked" into sinning either. He heard directly from God not to eat the fruit, and he decided to disobey God.
In Genesis 2:9 the Bible says,
The LORD God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Isn't it amazing that in the short time of Adam's existence he chose to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and not the tree of life! He chose to eat from the tree that God told him not to. All sin comes from this selfishness, this desire to be God. Satan wanted to be like God and this was the origin of sin, wanting to be like God. Similarly, God made a single rule and Adam wanted to abide by his own rule. I think this is similar to our society today, we want to be in charge and live by our own rules.
Now lets talk about "fairness". Is it fair for God to punish us for our sin or the sin of Adam? I think we must look first at the punishment that God had for the devil and his fallen angels. In Revelation 12:4 it says,
His tail swept away one-third of the stars in the sky, and he threw them to the earth. He stood in front of the woman as she was about to give birth, ready to devour her baby as soon as it was born.
This says that the devil took 1/3 of the angels with him and in Matthew 25:41 it says,
"Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
Hell was actually created for the devil and his demons. There was no plan of salvation or redemption for them. I think we deserved the same thing, but God showed us mercy and grace by not giving us the same punishment with no hope of escape.
I think what is more unfair than us being punished for sin, is that Jesus lived a perfect life and then died for our sins and yet we can reap the benefit of it as if we lived the perfect life and died on a cross. Also, Jesus didn't just pay for Adam's sin, which would have been fair, but he paid for our sins-past, present, and future!
The Devil and the angels were given no choice, but we as humans are given a choice. God has given us a way to escape eternal damnation. In a way, he has put us in Adam's position. He has given us a choice. We can chose the free gift of salvation through Jesus and have eternal life or we can chose sin and pay the consequence which is eternal death according to Romans 6:23,
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, is it fair that we pay for Adam's sin? I think it would totally have been fair for God to treat us like the devil and demons and condemn us with no hope, but God is so gracious and so merciful and has given us a free will and a choice. What choice will you make? If you want to chose Jesus and chose life, please check out my sections titled "What must I do to be saved?" or ask one of our counselors in our CHAT section.
Did I answer this question fully, or is there some aspect or question you still have? Ask your clarifying questions at my SUBMIT sections.
