Adam’s and Eve’s sin of eating the forbidden fruit triggered massive devastation throughout Yahweh’s Creation. The damage and repercussions continuing down the ensuing centuries are beyond calculation.
All the centuries of human suffering, all the social ills, all the broken relationships, all the immorality, all the thievery, murder, and war, all the gossip, gluttony, and lies, all the evil, pain, tears, and death, all the waste and brokenness of the world — all of it is a result of Adam’s sin.
And the penalty Yahweh inflicted for Adam’s sin was severe. He expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and cursed all of creation.
Yet from our “after Eden” perspective, because our minds and thinking are clouded by sin, Adam’s “mistake” seems out of proportion to the consequences and the work and difficulty required to fix the mistake. It’s amazing how such a seemingly small “mistake” could have wreaked so much havoc throughout the entire creative order.
And it took a huge investment by Yahweh to fix Adam’s mistake. The remedy required was enormous — the death of the Son of God.
The alluring power of sin! Adam and Eve traded a perfect world for the momentary pleasure of eating a piece of fruit. And their sons and daughters daily do the same thing — trading life itself for the transient pleasures of sin.
People destroy their lives, lives that are often envied by many, for the momentary pleasures of adultery, as evidenced by the scandals that regularly make the news. And the human damage from adultery is irreversible. Scripture essentially calls adulterers morons:
The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense;
He who would destroy himself does it. (Proverbs 6:32 NASB)
The powerful pull of sin is enormous as evidenced by how people throw away their lives in exchange for the short-lived pleasures of sin.
The power of sin is enormous. The price for sin is enormous. The fix for sin is enormous.
As Adam, Eve, and all their descendants have found out, sin is a bad bargain — it’s self-destructive and stupid.
But the enticing, attractive power of sin is strong. Therefore it is very important to be strategic. Scripture emphasizes three tactics: Pray, Flee, Resist.
We must pray to God the Father to save us from ourselves. Pray as God the Son taught us:
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matthew 6:13 NASB)
We must flee as an instant, consistent response. Put physical distance between yourself and the temptation.
Now flee from youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22 NASB)
When moving away from temptation is impossible, resist.
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7 NASB)
When we fail, pray this per God the Son:
Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. (Matthew 6:12)
Questions to Ponder
- Think about your greatest temptation. What can you do to lessen its pull?
- If it were up to you, what penalty would you have given Adam and Eve?
Share your thoughts on these questions in the comments below. It could encourage or help another reader.
Soli Deo Gloria.
This is the ninth 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?
8. What Should Adam Have Done?
Read the sequels:
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 18, 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)
Bible-Science Guy 
Well said. Sin is the source of all that is bad in the world. The little cartoon hits the mark.
1) My greatest temptation is to doubt God and to think I know better.
2) If it were up to me I wouldn’t know what penalty to give Adam and Eve, because I cannot fathom the greatness of their sin.
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By: Pat Mingarelli on November 23, 2015
at 12:50 pm