The Fall of Man

What is the source of all the hatred, crime, greed, and violence that so abounds in our society? It's fashionable to blame man's wicked actions on environmental factors such as poverty or ignorance, but the Bible points us in another direction. It tells us that there's something terribly wrong with man himself--something deep-seated and pervasive. In short, it tells us that man is a sinner, not only committing sin (Rom. 3:23), but with a nature inclined towards sin. Though he will be judged for what he does, his real problem is what he is.

How did we get into this state? The Bible points us back to the rebellious actions of our first parents (Gen. 3). Though created upright and innocent, they willfully believed Satan's slanderous lie, and rebelled against God, their Maker. The penalty of death, both spiritual and physical, passed upon them. Instead of enjoying God's fellowship, they now are estranged and alienated from Him. Instead of enjoying His blessing, they now are under His curse. Further, their fallen condition is inherited by all those who spring from them (Rom. 5:12-21).

We are not born into that innocent state in which Adam and Eve were created, but into that awful, sinful condition into which they fell. We do not become sinners when we sin--we are born sinners, and, therefore, sin as a consequence of what we are. Consider a newborn babe: We may call the infant a little "angel", but, in fact, he's just a little "sinner". Put him in a playpen with another infant and before you know it, he's trying to take the other child's rattle or toy away from him! Who taught him to be selfish? No one! It just comes naturally! You have to teach him to share, but you don't have to teach him to take. Or, to give another example, you see him do something he shouldn't have and ask him if he did it. He'll look you right in the eye and tell a barefaced lie! Who taught him to do that? No one! It just comes naturally! You must teach him to tell the truth, but you don't have to teach him to lie. Consider the truth of Psalm 58:3--"The wicked are estranged from the womb; they goastray as soon as they are born, speaking lies."

Simply put, man is a mess, and no amount of money, social reform, political change, treatment programs, or psychological counseling will straighten him out. The first Adam has left his mark. Man's only hope is in the deliverance given through Jesus Christ, God's Son, the "last Adam" (I Cor. 15:45).