Disobedience Leads To Death
In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam one rule: avoid the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil or face death. This command, detailed in Genesis 2:15-17, introduces the original tale of human disobedience. After the serpent's temptation, both Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit, then shifted blame instead of accepting responsibility, marking the beginning of pride and sin, which leads to a spiritual death.
After God created the Garden of Eden, he placed Adam in the garden and told him that he could eat of every tree in the garden, except for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God told him that he would die if he ate from that tree. Eve had not yet been created when God told him this.
We all know the story of how the serpent tempted the woman to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent told her that she would not die, instead, her eyes would be opened and she would be like a god, knowing the difference between good and evil. She then ate the fruit and gave it to Adam, and he also ate the fruit.
Adam was in the garden with Eve when she was tempted by the serpent. At any time, he could have stepped in and stopped her from eating the fruit. Instead, he waited to see what would happen to her, and seeing that nothing bad happened, he too ate the fruit.
When God came looking for Adam and Eve, they hid because they were naked and afraid. When God asked Adam if he had eaten fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam admitted that he did but he did not take the blame for his actions. First, he blamed God for creating the woman and giving her to him, then he blamed the woman for giving him the fruit. From the very beginning, man has tried to blame his mistakes on others.
When God turned to Eve and asked her why she did it, she also did not take the blame and said that she was beguiled by the serpent. The word beguiled comes from the Hebrew word Nasha (naw-shaw) which translates to lead astray, delude, seduce, or deceive.
The first sin that they committed was disobedience. By eating the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve disobeyed a commandment of God.
The second sin they committed was pride. They were too proud to take the blame for the first sin, so they shifted the blame to someone else. In Proverbs, we are told that pride comes before destruction.
Had Adam and Eve accepted the blame for their disobedience, things might have been different for us. Instead, they allowed their pride to lead them to their destruction. We know from 1 John that if we confess our sins, God will forgive us and cleanse us from our unrighteousness.
Sin and death were never a part of God's original plan. It was through the disobedience of Adam and Eve that we now face a world full of sin, disease, and death. Today, everyone still blames others for their own mistakes and refuses to take responsibility for their own actions. Paul tells us in Romans that the wage of sin is death.
Here are a few of the ways that we blame others for our failings and sins:
- Anger – I would not lose my temper if the kids would not misbehave so much.
- Impatience – I would be a patient person if I did not have to sit here in rush hour traffic because people do not know how to drive.
- Lust – I would not lust after her if she did not walk around wearing those clothes.
- Anxiety – I would be calmer if my boss would get off my back and let me do my job.
- Critical Spirit – It is not my fault I am surrounded by people who are not intelligent.
- Bitterness – How can I forgive him for doing what he did to me?
- Selfishness – I would give more to the needy, but I have to save up for my vacation.