Day 106

Of the fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof.

Chapter 6, Paragraph 2.

“Our first Parents by this sin, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and we in them, whereby death came upon all;…“

Scripture Lookup

Romans 3:23

Reflection

We have a personal stake in what happened in the Garden of Eden. More than just a story of origins, the events recorded in Genesis 2 and 3 relate an essential truth: you are not good. No one is. Because Adam sinned, we have inherited death.

You see, Adam and Eve were not just the first human beings who also happened to sin. Adam had a particular role as the representative of humanity. God’s command to not eat of the tree was not in the same vein as a parent telling their child to not take a cookie. It was a covenant. Adam was promised life if he obeyed; death if he did not. As humanity’s representative, Adam’s action in disobeying meant that all of the human race suffered the consequences.

When Adam and Eve sinned, human nature was scared, marred, shattered, twisted, distorted, mangled, and made unfit to be what it was made to be.

-Richard C. Barcellos, Better Than The Beginning

This is the fundamental reason why we sin. Our nature is corrupt – it no longer has the righteousness that our first parents originally had. We all fall short of the glory of God, and without intervention are unable to have communion with Him. The effects of the Fall affect us universally and personally.

Questions to Consider

• Have you ever reflected on how Adam’s disobedience affects you personally?