Adam’s Lack of Vigilance
Beyond mere passivity, his naive innocence resulted in a fundamental failure to recognize evil and protect others from it.
We often rightly criticize Adam, our federal head, for his fearful acquiescence to Satan’s temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden. In the beginning, he knew God commanded him not to eat from one tree in the center of the Garden of Eden. But, he stood by while the serpent tempted his wife and did not defend her from the wiles of the Devil.
“Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 1:8-9).”
God’s law requires our obedience. Disobedience, for any reason, misses the mark of his righteousness. This is sin. God allowed humanity to live for Him and gave us the chance to fall away from Him. We choose poorly.
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die (Genesis 1:15-17).”
But was Adam well prepared for the encounter with the serpent? He was told what to do and what not to do. He could eat any of the fruit in the garden, including from the Tree of Life. God made one exception: the fruit from one tree, which would expose them to the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was given charge over the animals and the land.
Later in scripture, we read, "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8)."
The Bible is understood more fully with the gospels in mind. Did God warn Adam about the deceptive creatures roaming about? Did God tell Adam to be on guard? A warning is not in the text of Genesis. Later in scripture, we get many warnings about Satan. Adam was left to learn firsthand about this wicked liar who preys on young women. He had never encountered a villain before. He was not trained for battle. In fact, his innocence and ignorance may have been part of his undoing.
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves (Genesis 3:1-7).”
This event is often called The Fall of mankind. Sin is introduced into humanity in the way a little poison infects an entire bottle of water, slowly and pervasively. So Augustine reasoned, “We do not say that God is the author of evil, and yet we can correctly say that human beings are born evil as a result of the bond of original sin with God alone as their creator.” St. Augustine also wrote, “The deliberate sin of the first man is the cause of original sin.” He continues that Adam, “in whom we all have sinned, not all our actual sins, but only original sin," made the decision that led to our own sin.
This is also referred to as the federal headship of Adam, meaning he represented all of mankind in Genesis. This concept explains the relationship between Adam, Jesus Christ, and all humanity. This is primarily drawn from a passage in Romans. Adam's disobedience brought sin, death, and misery to all of humanity, while Jesus Christ's obedience earned eternal life and blessedness for all people. Through faith in Jesus Christ, people are redeemed from sin and receive the righteousness of Christ. This demonstrates God's justice and sovereignty through Christ reconciling his relationship with humanity.
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:12-21).”
So Christ fixed the problem created by Adam and exacerbated by us. Sometimes Adam’s sin is linked to his timidity in the Genesis account. If he had rejected the serpent’s lies, protected his wife, and attacked the dragon tearing off its head, then humanity would have been spared the scars of sin… for a while. But what if Adam’s problem was not only passivity but a failure to see evil for what it was? Eve’s disobedience was novel because Satan’s deception was unexpected. But Adam did not see the lies for what they were, nor did he react with the proper vigilance and anger in the face of the serpent’s temptation.
God gave our first parents a garden of plants and animals to sustain life. A parent who provides their children with good things limits their chances of searching for bad things. If you tell an obedient child not to eat the cookies, they will smile and acknowledge your command, then go on playing with their toy soldiers. Your orders are a proper restriction on an activity that is not in the option set. Your rule is not an invitation to eat cookies. But, sinful children take the introduction of restrictions as a curiosity and may be tempted to sin by the mere presence of the law.
We may all ask ourselves: what is on the other side of the fence?
Likewise, a parent who wants his children to be prepared for temptation tells them about the threats they may face. To raise a young man into a protector and provider, fathers must teach their sons how to handle themselves. Adam is responsible for his sin. And his sin affects us all. He not only disobeyed God but compounded his sin when he failed to protect his wife and even stood idly by as she was harmed. This goes beyond mere passivity and into a lack of moral imagination that could conceive of this kind of threat. Only after eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then Adam could understand the threat he faced.
We now experience the stain of sin. Because of Adam’s fall, we also know how malicious and malevolent our enemy is.
Stay on guard, take care of your family, hold fast to the truth, and be ready when your enemy strikes.
