READ: Gen. 3:1-6
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. – Rom. 5:12
The fall into sin is the most dreadful event in the history of humanity. The man, so wonderfully created, could have communion with God together with his wife, living in paradise with the tree of life in their midst, without a Mediator. However, when God tests the man being regarding truth, love, and faithfulness, the man commits a heinous crime of willful disobedience against their Creator.
God’s test commandment was meant to reveal whether the man would continue to do what he should and could do in faith when faced with temptation. God did not create a robot but a man with a will. The covenant that He unilaterally established with the man is meant to exist from both sides. If God shows love and favor to the man within that covenant, it is His right to ask for love and faithfulness in return.
In addition to His covenant requirement, God uses the covenant threat of death if the man was to take and eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
With full knowledge of the consequences, Adam and Eve commit the sin of death. They want – as the serpent suggests – to be like God. They consciously and arrogantly choose against God and in favor of His adversary. In doing so, they fall away from God and drag their entire future offspring into death.
It is crucial to hold on to the historical reliability of this account. It teaches us to truly understand the nature of every sin. In that first sin, it was about looking, grasping, touching, and eating a desirable fruit for which no effort was required. An everyday occurrence! But far from innocent: a sin against the highest majesty of God!
How do you view the seriousness of your daily sins?
Singing: Ps. 51:3