At the conclusion of the sixth day of creation, God examined his work, “and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
This description not only applied to the physical properties of the universe but also to the moral purity of the first man and woman—Adam and Eve.
Man is Given the Freedom to Choose
When they were created, Adam and Eve were sinless but were also endowed with free will. This fact is implied by the warning God issued against their eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17).
If Adam and Eve could not control their actions, such a prohibition would have been unnecessary.
Nevertheless, the prohibition was issued.
Man Chose to Disobey God
Because Adam and Eve possessed free will, they were capable of either obeying God or rejecting Him. Sadly, they chose to disobey God.
This conscious choice occurred when Eve gave in to temptation and subsequently bid her husband to do the same (Genesis 3:6). The account of this fateful event, found in Genesis 3, describes the power of temptation perhaps as well as any other in Scripture.
It also helps explain why the creation, which was said to be very good at its inception, is now filled with pain and sorrow.
Through the actions of Adam and Eve, sin entered the world. And when man fell, everything changed. The purity of the world was lost. Consequently, the fall of man affected not only Adam and Eve but also all who would live afterward. Paul summarized this by writing:
“through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
The Temptation to Sin
The depiction of the temptation process in Genesis 3:1-6 is especially powerful. Standing far too close to the forbidden tree, Eve “saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
The power of this passage is especially seen when we realize that this event included all three basic types of temptation—“the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Given the presence of all three categories, one might wonder whether the pull of temptation was too strong for Eve to resist.
Scripture, however, is clear in its assertion that she could have resisted the temptation, for God “will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Eve gave in to temptation because she chose to yield to her desires. Although she was deceived, she was still culpable. When one gives in to temptation, sin, as James 1:15 notes, results, “and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
Adam, who apparently was not deceived (1 Timothy 2:14), joined Eve in sin. Consequently, Adam’s guilt is undeniable.
Chad Ramsey preaches for the Gloster Street Church of Christ in Tupelo, Mississippi. You can access their Bible classes and Chad’s sermons on Gloster Street’s YouTube page.
Chad was - and still is - “my preacher” from when I spent my high school and early college years at Gloster Street. I’m thankful to be able to share some of his writings with you.
