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First Sin Was Tragic
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When
Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were placed into a
paradise on earth. All was
peace, tranquility and innocence. There
were two prominent trees in the Garden, the tree of life and the tree of
knowledge of good and evil. While
the occupants of the garden were encouraged to eat of the tree of life,
the other tree was strictly forbidden.
In fact, the command against eating from the tree of knowledge of
good and evil was the only prohibition they had.
This, of course, became Satan's focal point.
To get Adam and Eve to break this one simple command would drive
them out of God's kingdom and into his own. Satan's
method was to work on Eve, to deceive her into thinking she was doing
right in partaking of the tree. After
Eve succumbed to Satan's temptation, she immediately tried to get Adam
to join her in her in her folly. Why
did Adam give in to Eve to eat the forbidden fruit?
Was it because he was deceived?
The Bible states clearly that Adam knew perfectly well that he
was sinning against God when he ate.
"And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived,
fell into transgression." (I Timothy 2:14)
Why would Adam knowingly commit a sin?
For that matter, why do people today knowingly commit sin on a
regular basis? There are
several reasons. For Adam,
it was peer pressure. Adam
loved Eve, and he wanted her to be happy with him.
He knew that to make her happy, he needed to eat that fruit.
This is so sad, because in doing this, he rebelled against the
God of the Universe. It is
never right to choose to please people instead of pleasing God.
"We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29). What
are some other reasons people today knowingly sin against God?
Some sin for pleasure (I Timothy 5:6), others because of anger
(Ephesians 4:26) and still others because they simply never consider
that God knows their every action and thought.
"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on
the evil and the good." (Proverbs
15:3) What
are the consequences of Adam's sin?
They are far reaching, even having devastating effects on us
today. One is that Adam and
Eve felt guilty before God. They
ran from their Maker because they knew they had sinned.(Genesis 3:8)
Another consequence was that the soil would no longer produce
fruit without effort, but man would have to toil by the sweat of his
brow to provide for his family.(Genesis 3:17-19)
Still another consequence was that childbirth for the woman would
include pain and sorrow. (Genesis 3:16)
Another was that Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of
Eden. One reason for this
was that in the Garden of Eden was the tree of life, and anyone who ate
of this tree would continue to have eternal life. This brings us to the most tragic consequence of Adam's sin,
death! (Romans 5:12) From
the time of Adam and Eve's sin, they became mortal and began to die
physically. But not only
did they die physically, they died spiritually.
The word "death" literally means
"separation." Sin
separates man from God. "But
your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have
hidden His face from you that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2) How
tragic to be separated from God so that He does not help us in our
problems or hear us when we pray. This is the tragedy of sin, but we can be thankful that God
has provided us a remedy. This
remedy is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
By the way, the tree of life, which was lost to Adam and Eve, is
going to be available to the saved some day.
It is found in the heavenly home and is waiting there for the
saved, and all who eat of it will have eternal life. (Revelation 22:2) |
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