What Should Adam Have Done?

When the Serpent offered Eve the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, she was fooled by the Serpent’s argument and the innate appeal of the forbidden fruit. (Genesis 3:13; 1 Timothy 2:14; 2 Corinthians 11:3)

Deceived, Eve ate it!

What should Eve have done when tempted by the Serpent to disobey Yahweh’s command?

Obviously Eve should have refused the Serpent’s offer and adhered to God’s command not to eat the forbidden fruit.

At the very least, Eve should have presented the issue to Adam and asked him what to do. Eve was created for Adam (1 Corinthians 11:9) to be his helper and companion (Genesis 2:18). Therefore she should not have taken upon herself the responsibility to step outside the boundaries Yahweh had set for her life with Adam.

But Eve did eat the forbidden fruit. What should Adam have done when Eve offered it to him?

Adam was not deceived, according to Scripture:
And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression. (1 Timothy 2:14 NASB)

Adam should have refused the forbidden fruit. He should have taken Eve to God and pleaded for His mercy since the Serpent had deceived her. The entrance of sin and death occurred through Adam when he ate — not when Eve ate (Romans 5:12-14). So it might have been possible to “undo” Eve’s disobedience through an act of obedience and faith by Adam in obeying God and refusing to eat the forbidden fruit.

Just as the Second Adam’s act of obedience resulted in life to all his spiritual progeny, so the First Adam might have been able to save Eve and the entire human race through an act of faith and obedience.
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:18-19 NASB)

But the First Adam chose differently. He chose disobedience and death.

Thank God that the Second Adam (Jesus of Nazareth), who was under far more duress and in much less favorable circumstances than the First Adam, chose obedience.

Jesus Christ’s obedience led to His death on the cross 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem. His subsequent resurrection three days and three nights later shows that His sacrifice for sin was accepted and death was defeated. The super-fantastic result is that those who commit themselves to following Jesus as Lord are justified with His righteousness and receive eternal life.

Questions to Ponder

1. What factors make a temptation difficult to resist?
2. What strategies could Adam have used to resist sin?

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

Soli Deo Gloria.

This is the eighth 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?
5. Does Belief in Adam Matter?
6. Adam and Puppies
7. Why Did Adam Sin?

Read the sequels:
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 November 11, 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.”
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 2:16; 3:1-6)