The Effects of Adam's Sin

What are some of the effects of humanity's fall into sin?

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Answer

As we open up our Bibles and turn to the third chapter of Genesis and see the decision that Adam and Eve made to eat the forbidden fruit, it's hard not to read that passage with a deep sense of sadness because we live in a world that is broken, and it's broken because of the consequences of sin. And there are all kinds of consequences of sin. We see that already in Genesis 3. We see Adam and Eve ashamed of what they've done, which is why they hide from God. They are guilty of sin, which is why they don't have a good answer when God comes to correct them for their sin and they feel guilty about what they've done. They are alienated from one another. One of Adam's first impulses is to blame Eve for the fact that she was the first to sin. We're also estranged from God. And that's evident as well in what Adam says because he doesn't just blame Eve, he blames God for giving him Eve and there's a sense already that there's an alienation from God that's a consequence of sin. And then as you continue on in the Scriptures and you see Cain murdering his brother Abel, and as you see lying and deception and greed and lust and pride and all of the other sins that flow from that first sin. And even creation itself, the very physical world around us, is burdened by the sin of humanity, and it's longing for a day of redemption. And it's a great sadness that has come into the human race because of sin. But I also want to say that that sadness is not without hope because God has a plan of redemption that deals with all of the consequences of sin, and God deals with the consequences of sin in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Answer by Dr. Philip Ryken

Dr. Philip Ryken is the President of Wheaton College. Dr. Ryken earned a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary and a doctorate in historical theology from the University of Oxford. He preached at Philadelphia’s historic Tenth Presbyterian Church from 1995 until his appointment at Wheaton in 2010.

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