Bible Basics

Where did sin come from?

By Pastor Ben Berger

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned," (Romans 5:12).

"Through one man? I thought sin entered the world through one woman, Eve?" "I thought sin entered the world through the Devil." "I think it's God's fault because he gave the command." Where did sin come from anyway?

Genesis Three gives us the full story about how sin entered the world. It is true; God gave Adam and Eve the command to not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. He threatened that the result would be death. If God had not given the command, Adam and Eve could not have disobeyed. Of course, without the command Adam and Eve could not have shown their love for God either. Every time they obeyed God's command, they worshipped him. God's command is not the blame for sin.

Who is to blame then? The Devil? Yes, the Devil is partly responsible for sin. The Devil rebelled against God, trying to assume authority God had not given him. As punishment God prepared hell for the devil and all of the other rebellious angels who followed him (2 Peter 2:4). As the saying goes, "Misery loves company." The Devil made it his goal to bring as many as possible to hell with him. And so, the Devil tempted Adam and Eve to doubt God. He deceived them into believing that they too could be like God, and he succeeded.

Adam and Eve deserve some responsibility for sin as well. When Eve thought that God was withholding some of his blessings from her, she took it upon herself to obtain them, and she ate. Then she passed on the fruit to Adam, and he too ate, falsely believing the Devil's lies. As a result, Adam and Eve brought sin into this world and passed it on to every human after them.

The consequences of sin are great and many. God's threat came true; with sin death entered the world. Death now reigns over plant and animal, over all the earth and especially over humans. Along with death came pain, hard work, broken relationships, grief and all kinds of troubles in our lives.

Is it fair that we suffer all of these consequences for someone else's sin? Yes, it is because all have sinned. I have sinned; you have sinned. We are born in a sinful condition and we commit sin everyday of our lives, continuously disobeying God's commands. We too are responsible for sin and we are always dealing with the consequences.

However, we don't have to deal with the consequences of sin forever. Someone else has dealt with sin for us, Jesus Christ. Although we deserve death, both physically and eternally - although we deserve to live forever in hell and apart from God, we don't have to. God sent his son, Jesus, to suffer the consequences of sin for us. He died - physically on the cross. And he suffered through hell. Jesus Christ has removed our sins and all of their consequences. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord," (Romans 6:23).