Man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker, but by voluntary transgression, fell from his sinless and happy state, in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint, but of choice; and therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse.
Man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker
Innocence – Freedom from guilt or sin through being unacquainted with evil.
Adam and Eve were in the garden and never knew what evil was. They knew what good was. Everything was good. It was very good. Adam was the perfect husband and Eve was the perfect wife. Everything was perfect and good and that is all they knew. They were in a state of innocence because they lacked the knowledge of evil.
They truly had the lack of knowledge as children are innocent from the lack of knowledge.
Birds were flying and singing all around the garden, herds filled the fields, and all the animals living in harmony. the earth was beautiful and alive!
There was a river running through the garden full of fish and full of life.
The trees were full of life and every branch I could imagine was full of leaves.
They were only given one law. Not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good or evil.
The age of innocence is from the time Adam was created and put in the garden up to the time he ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and was expelled from the garden.
Genesis 1:26-31
Behold it was very good and man was given authority over it. There was no need to kill and eat the animals, they lived on a vegetarian diet. All life lived in perfect harmony.
Genesis 2:7-8 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
God created Adam first and breathed into his nostrils and gave him life.
Genesis 2:15-20
God creates him that day and puts him in the garden and creates all the animals and has Adam name them. How much intellect Adam must have had and it must have been great.
Genesis 2:21-25
Love at first sight – The moment Adam saw Eve he immediately fell in love with her. They were created in innocence and completely sinless.
They were naked and were not ashamed. They were innocent and living in utopia.
Fell By Voluntary Transgression From His Sinless And Happy State
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
“Now” The serpent showed up very quickly. They probably weren’t in the garden very long, maybe weeks or months.
Genesis 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
The serpent starts immediately questioning the word of God. Sin always says God doesn’t know and he is keeping something from you.
Genesis 2:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Satan uses the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life to coerce and trick Eve.
Genesis 2:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Adam had to make a decision and he knew she was going to die spiritually and they were immediately separated by sin. Now Adam has to decide, does he love God’s commandments more or does he love Eve more? He was so connected to Eve. He makes a voluntary decision to eat from the tree. Eve was tricked, Adam made a decision. Satan got to Adam through eve.
Genesis 2:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Adam was the family head. He was created first, so all enmity went back to Adam
The temptation begins with the devil questioning the word of God. Verse 4
Verse 6 shows the lust of the eye
She is still in innocence. They never knew evil.
Genesis 3:23-24 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Why man was driven out of the garden
If they would never have eaten from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and went on to eat from the tree of life, they would live forever sinless in a human bodies.
After eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, If they would have eaten from the tree of life they would have lived in a sinful human body for eternity.
God had a bigger plan for all of us. The fall of man was a blessing to us. We are to experience redemption and be resurrected into a new perfect body that never grows old.
The knowledge of evil hit them suddenly and the first thing they did was hide. Right away they were hit with shame and guilt. They went from complete innocence to full knowledge of evil immediately. They were condemned and lost. The first thing they did was hide. When a child does something wrong, they hide from mom and dad.
In consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint, but of choice
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
By one man (Adam) all sin passes from the man. because of that, the verse says all have sinned, not all will sin. Because Adam sinned, we all have sinned in Adam.
You don’t have to teach a child to sin, they are all born sinners.
Genesis 5:1-3 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth:
This is the generations of Adam. We are all made in God’s image. Adam begat a son in his own likeness. Seth was born a sinner.
Romans 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
By one we are sinners and lost and by one we are made righteous and are saved. We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners.
Romans 3:9-20
Ephesians 2:1-3 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
That’s what you were before you got saved.
Therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse
God is justified in condemning us because we broke his law and are without excuse.
When Adam ate the fruit, you ate the fruit.
Romans 1:18-19 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
The wrath of God is revealed
Romans 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
God has put it in everyone and everyone knows there is a judgement. But they don’t care and they are going to live their lives that way anyways.
Even though they know its not right, they take pleasure in their sin.
They continue to try and convince you their sin is ok. They are really trying to convince themselves and sooth the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
Self righteous is even worse than a sinner, it is inexcusable.
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Creation itself clearly reveals God and there is a Godhead, even everyone that has never heard the gospel are without excuse.
Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
The scripture concludes all are under sin and it is our job to give this knowledge to the sinners that Jesus Christ saves them and they cannot save themselves.
Share your faith
We were all sinners were lost once. This should motivate you to share your faith with the lost that are all justly condemned to hell. They are sinners and chose to be sinners and have violated Gods law voluntarily.