Does Belief in Adam Matter?

The most attacked book of the Bible has always been Genesis.

A major thrust of today’s attack is the claim that Adam never existed. Those who think that mankind evolved over millions of years believe that Adam and Eve are mythical and have no place in human history.

Today scholars from within and without Christendom dispute the literal understanding of Genesis with unrelenting fervor. Many insist that Adam is a myth. Yet, as has been shown in the previous articles (see here, here, here, and here), the Bible is clear that Adam was a flesh-and-blood historical man. This rejection of the Bible’s clear message on Adam is driven by the desire to harmonize the Bible with the current scientific fad, namely the theory of molecules-to-man evolution.

What are the ramifications of disbelief in a historical Adam? This fifth post of the Adam series examines the consequences of dismissing Adam as a myth.

What Are the Ramifications of Rejecting Adam?
Unbelief in a real Adam is a foundational error that has many negative consequences. Discarding the historical Adam dynamites the doctrines of sin, Christ, and salvation.

First, unbelief in Adam undermines belief in the plain truth and inerrancy of Scripture because Moses, Jesus, Luke, and Paul certainly believed in and based teaching on a first man Adam — as previous articles in this series on Adam have shown.

Chapter Two of Genesis focuses on Yahweh’s creation of Adam and Eve. This passage is referenced multiple times in the New Testament (Matthew 19:4–6; Mark 10:6-8; 1 Corinthians 11:8–9; Ephesians 5:31; 1 Timothy 2:13-14). Many today allege Genesis 2 is a symbolic tale. If the Genesis passage is only a fable and not historically true, then the meaning of these New Testament texts is destroyed.

Scripture never bases truth on a myth. In fact, Scripture repeatedly distinguishes between truth and myth (1 Timothy 1:3-4; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; Titus 1:13-14; 2 Peter 1:16).

Second, if Adam was not real, then neither was Jesus.
For Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus back to Adam. If Adam was a myth, then so also must his son Seth have been a myth. If Seth was a myth, then so must his son Enosh have been a myth, and so on all the way down to Jesus. But Jesus is firmly attested historically, and therefore all his ancestors all the way back to the first one must have existed. A real person cannot descend from a mythical ancestor. The Bible teaches that the first ancestor of Jesus was Adam (Luke 3:23-38; Genesis 2:7-8, 15-23; 3:20; Matthew 19:4; 1 Chronicles 1:1; 1 Corinthians 15:45; 1 Timothy 2:13; Jude 1:14). Therefore, Adam was a real man.

Third, unbelief in Adam dynamites the Gospel.
If Adam did not literally exist, then he did not fall into sin taking all his descendants with him. Hence men are not sinners, and hence man does not need a Savior. If there was not a first Adam (who according to Scripture became a life-giving soul), then there cannot be a second or last Adam (Christ to become a life-giving spirit), because 1 comes before 2. Destruction of a foundation destroys the superstructure built on the foundation.
So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
(1 Corinthians 15:45-47)

If there was no Adam, then there was no disobedience and fall into sin by Adam. In that case, how can the crucifixion of Jesus atone for a sin that never happened and reverse a fall that never occurred? Obviously it cannot. A literal historical Adam is logically necessary for the meaning, significance, and relevance of the Crucifixion.

Fourth, unbelief in Adam negates life in Christ.
Paul parallels death through Adam with life in Christ:
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22)
“So also” is like an “equals sign =”. If we do not die in Adam (which we didn’t if Adam is mythical), then we are not made alive by Christ.

Fifth, unbelief in Adam directly impacts belief in Jesus.
Jesus ties believing His words to believing what Moses wrote: “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46-47)

These are all serious negative consequences of unbelief in a real Adam. Heretical teaching like this and false doctrines that flow from its logical repercussions should not be permitted in the Church. Those who teach a figurative Adam are false teachers who undermine the truth of Scripture and weaken the Church.

Christians should reject such “de-Adamizing” teaching because it contradicts multiple Scriptures and undermines the central Gospel message of the Bible. Christians should accept the clear testimony of Moses and Paul that Adam was a real man, the literal father of the entire human race, and the one who brought sin and death into Yahweh’s perfect creation. We are all biological sons and daughters of Adam.

Beyond all doubt, Jesus Himself certainly believed in Adam as a real historical person and the biological father of the entire human race. Those who claim Jesus as Lord must accept His view as their own.

Questions to Ponder

1. What motivates the drive to mythologize Adam?
2. Does your pastor and church understand and teach how a real, historical Adam is essential to the Gospel?

Share your thoughts on these questions in the comments below. It could encourage or help another reader.

Soli Deo Gloria.

This is the fifth of a series of weekly blog articles on Adam.
Read the prequels:
1. Was Adam in the Garden of Eden?
2. Did Moses Believe in Adam?
3. Did Jesus Believe in Adam?
4. Did Paul Believe in Adam?

Read the sequels:
6. Adam and Puppies
7. Why Did Adam Sin?
8. What Should Adam Have Done?
9. What Did Adam Cause?
10. What Was Adam’s Forbidden Fruit?
11. How Long Was Adam in Eden?
12. Was Adam’s Garden of Eden Real?
13. Christmas & Adam (with videos)
14. Where Was Adam’s Garden of Eden?
15. Did Adam Wear Clothes in Eden?
16. Was Adam Backward or Brilliant? (with video)
17. Who Was Mrs. Adam?
18. Adam’s Dream Girl
19. Adam’s Prolific Princess
20. Adam’s Problematic Princess
21. How Many Children Did Adam Have?
22. Whom Did Adam’s Sons Marry?
23. Did Adam Ride a Unicorn?
24. How Long Did Adam Live?
25. Did Adam Swat Mosquitoes in Eden?
26. Did Adam’s Garden Have a Talking Snake?
27. Why Should Adam’s Sin Affect Me?
28. Did Roses Have Thorns in Adam’s Garden?
29. Adam the Image-Bearer & Harambe the Gorilla
30. Did Adam Ever Return to Eden?
31. What Was Adam’s Tree of Life?
32. Will Adam Be in Heaven?
33. Did Adam See the Big Dipper?
34. Did Adam Know Earth Is Round?
35. Did Jesus Say When Adam Was Created?
36. Did Adam See Dinosaurs?
37. Did Adam Like Steak?
38. Could Adam Read & Write?
39. Did God Use Evolution to Make Adam?
40. Adam & the Olympics
41. Adam and the Gospel
42. Adam and the Genesis Road

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©William T. Pelletier, Ph.D.
“contending earnestly for the faith”
“destroying speculations against the knowledge of God”
“for the defense of the gospel”
(Jude 1:3; 2 Cor 10:5; Phil 1:16)
Wednesday October 21, 2015 A.D.

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:1-6)