Let’s assume that the Adam and Eve story isn’t to be understood literally. What would be the result? Would Christianity remain the same with a non-literal understanding of Adam and Eve’s story? No. In fact, it would have severe implications for almost every doctrine and tenet of the Christian faith. If Adam wasn’t a real man, then sin didn’t enter the world through one man, as we read in Romans 5:12. So, how did sin enter the world? Also, if the New Testament is wrong about how sin came into creation, what else is it wrong about? If Romans 5:12 is wrong, how can we be sure that all of Romans 5:8-15 isn’t wrong? If Adam and Eve’s story isn’t to be taken literally, if they didn’t really exist, then there was no one to rebel and no fall into sin.
The great deceiver, Satan, would like nothing better than for people to think that the Bible shouldn’t be taken literally and the tale of the fall of man is a fairytale. Why? Because once we start denying pieces of the Bible, we lose trust in it. Why should we believe anything the Bible says if we can’t trust everything it says? Mark 10:6 tells us that Jesus said God created one man and one woman and mentioned Abel, Adam and Eve’s son, in Luke 11:51. Was Jesus wrong in His opinions, or did He know there was no literal Adam and Eve, and He was accommodating His teachings to the thoughts of the people? If Jesus is wrong in His thoughts, He isn’t God. If Jesus was deceiving people intentionally, He’s sinning and, therefore, can’t be the Savior.
That’s why this is a severe problem. To deny the genuineness of Adam and Eve is to put oneself in opposition to Jesus and Paul. If one dares to claim he’s right and Paul and Jesus are wrong, then Jesus is a sinner, not the Savior and God, and the apostle Paul is a fake prophet, and the Bible isn’t inerrant, inspired, or trustworthy. The Bible clearly exhibits Adam and Eve as literal people who existed in the Garden of Eden. They rebelled against God, believed Satan’s lie, and were cast out of the Garden, as we read in Genesis 3:24. They had children, all of whom inherited the sinful nature and that nature was passed down to generations to this very day. Fortunately, God promised a Savior to save us from that sinful nature, as detailed in Genesis 3:15.
That Savior is Jesus, also called the “last Adam” in 1 Corinthians 15:45, who died on the cross and rose again. Those who believe in Jesus will have salvation and spend forever in heaven. Christians who deny Adam and Eve’s story deny their faith. Rejecting the genuineness of the Bible’s historical narrative is a slippery slope. If Adam and Eve didn’t exist, then were Cain and Abel fake? Was Seth real, and did he father a line that led to Abraham and eventually to Jesus? Where in Luke’s genealogy do the names stop referring to people and start referring to mystical characters? To dismiss Adam and Eve as fake is to deny the accuracy of Luke’s gospel, cast aspersions on Moses’ record, and remove the foundation of the rest of the Bible.
In Psalms 119:160, we read that God’s Word claims to be true. Jesus declared God’s Word to be truth in John 17:17. All of God’s Word is God-breathed, as we read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and these declarations include the biblical story of Adam and Eve.
Why is Adam blamed for the fall of humanity if Eve sinned first?
Eve indeed sinned before Adam chronologically. She was tempted, picked the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and ate it. After that, she gave the fruit to Adam, and he ate it, as detailed in Genesis 3:1-6. However, the Bible blames Adam as the responsible party for the fall of humanity. Adam is held responsible in Romans 5 with no mention of Eve. The “one man” that Paul refers to is Adam, as Romans 5:14 states. The Bible states that it was Adam, not Eve, who sinned against God and brought isolation from God and death to humanity. In Genesis 3:12, Adam tried to blame Eve indirectly, but he’s the one credited with bringing sin into the world.
There are numerous reasons why Adam is to blame for the fall of humanity. He was created first, and his wife was created as a “suitable helper,” as we read in Genesis 2:18, so God held Adam responsible for his family, as seen in the fact that He sought out Adam specifically, as we read in Genesis 3:9. Also, in His discussion with Adam and Eve, God questioned Adam first even though Eve sinned before him. As the leader of the family, Adam was held responsible for what transpired in his family. Also, the original command wasn’t to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was told to Adam before Eve was formed. She knew the restriction because Adam told her, but it was Adam who heard it straight from God’s mouth.
In 1 Timothy 2:14, Paul distinguishes between the sin of Adam and the sin of Eve. It says that Adam wasn’t deceived, but it was the woman who was misled and became a sinner. Eve fell into sin because of deception, but Adam wasn’t deceived, which means he chose to sin. When Adam took the fruit from Eve, he knew what he was doing. He wasn’t misled or misinformed but decided to rebel against God’s command. Instead, he chose to listen to his wife, not God, as we read in Genesis 3:17. The New Testament teaches that Adam represented all humanity as the first man. He was the head of the human race, and everyone dies because we belong to Adam, as detailed in 1 Corinthians 15:22. The suffering and death that came from Adam’s sin highlights our need for a Savior, whom the Bible calls the “last Adam.” That title for Jesus and the multiple links of Adam to Jesus wouldn’t make sense if original sin came through Eve.
Although Eve sinned first, the solution to sin came through “her Seed,” as detailed in Genesis 3:15. The Seed, Jesus Christ, was born from a virgin named Mary. He paid the ultimate price for sin and will restore those who receive the salvation He gives. So, as sin and death came through one man, Adam, it’s also through one man, Jesus, that righteousness and grace are given as gifts to believing sinners. Through Adam, we received a curse, but we receive a blessing through Jesus.
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