An Article of Faith

Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary relates the Fall of Man to the disobedience and sin of Adam and Eve that caused them to lose the state of innocence in which they had been created. This event plunged them and all of mankind into a state of sin and corruption. The account of the Fall is found in Genesis 3.
Adam and Eve were created by God in a state of sinless perfection so they could glorify God, reflecting His righteousness on the earth, and enjoy fellowship and communion with Him. Their calling was to exercise dominion, or control, over God’s creation through their own labors and those of their offspring in faithful response to the Word of God. As a specific test of this loyalty, God commanded them not to eat the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:17). Adam and Eve were to demonstrate their willingness to live “by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD” (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4). God warned them clearly that their disobedience would result in death.
The fall from their original state of innocence occurred when Satan approached Eve through the serpent, who tempted her to eat of the forbidden fruit. Satan called into question the truthfulness of what God had spoken about the tree and its significance. He urged Eve to discover, through trial and error, whether it was in her best interest to do what God had forbidden. Eve’s sin did not consist of being tempted (see Heb. 4:15) but in believing and acting on Satan’s lie. Her rejection of God’s command occurred when she ate the forbidden fruit and persuaded her husband to do the same thing. The term “Fall” should not be interpreted to suggest that their sin was accidental. The temptation was purposeful, and their submission to it involved their willing consent.
The immediate consequence of the Fall was spiritual death, symbolized by their separation from God. For the first time, Adam and Eve experienced fear in the presence of the Lord God; they hid when He approached (Gen. 3:8-10).
Because of their unbelief and rebellion, they were driven from the garden that God had provided as their home. From that time on, people would experience pain and encounter resistance as they worked at the task of earning their daily bread. Physical death, with the decay of the body, is not a natural process. It entered the human experience as God’s curse upon sin.
Adam and Eve did not sin simply as “private persons” but as the representatives of all members of the human race. Their sin is the sin of all, and as a result, every person receives from them a corrupt or sinful nature at conception (see Psalm 51:5). It is this nature that stands behind all personal violations of the Lord’s commandments. For this reason, the fall of Adam is the fall of the human race: “When Adam sinned,” explains Paul, “sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Romans 5:12 NLT).
However, Paul goes to explain, “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness [i.e., His death on the Cross] brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person [viz., Jesus] obeyed God, many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:18-19 NLT).
Righteousness or a right standing with God only comes through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Jessie J. Charpentier Sr. is pastor of Jenkins Memorial Baptist Church in St. Martinville.