It’s no secret that we live in a cruel and sinful world. You just have to turn on the news or take a scroll down Twitter to catch a glimpse of the terrible events and horrific headlines that are happening every single day. Countries are being demolished by war, natural disasters, and political tensions. Inflation rises as people can no longer afford their basic necessities, like food, housing, and baby formula. Criminals are going virtually unpunished while everyday citizens are being targeted and attacked for what they believe in. Our children are being inundated with godless ideologies at every turn, and the evangelical church is moving farther and farther away from biblical Christianity.
Our world is a dark place, full of wicked men and evil schemes. Sin abounds in every corner and crevice of the earth. And all this death and destruction we see on a daily basis stems from the actions of one man: a man named Adam.
If you’ve ever read the first few pages of your Bible, you know who Adam is. Adam, whose name literally means “man,” was the first man and the first human being to ever be created by God (Genesis 2:7). He was created in God’s image, after God’s likeness as a son of God. And he was created to live in obedience to his Heavenly Father by being fruitful and subduing the earth (Genesis 1:27-28). Sadly, Adam was not obedient to the Lord.
When Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden, he was told that he could eat from any tree in the garden—any tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God forbade Adam and his wife, Eve, from eating of this tree (Genesis 2:16-17). But Satan slithered into the garden in the form of a serpent and suggested that they should do exactly that—eat of the tree. Eating the tree’s fruit would not surely kill them! In fact, doing so would make them more like God. Adam gave into the serpent’s deceptions and temptations, rebelled against the commands of his Creator, and took a bite of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:4-7).
At that very moment, sin entered the heart of man, causing every man and woman who has ever existed since Adam to have a sin nature (Romans 3:23). We are all inherently sinful from the day we enter the world, and we will struggle with sin and temptations until the day we leave it (Psalm 51:5, Romans 7:18-20). Sin not only affects the human heart, but it also affects the world we live in. The Bible tells us that all of creation has been groaning since this day (Romans 8:20-22). This means every hurricane, tornado, earthquake, tsunami, wildfire, and flood is a result of Adam’s actions in the garden.
Thankfully, God did not leave us in our sin—leave us to forever deal with the consequences of Adam’s grave mistake.
God sent another Man to earth, the Son of God who was the exact imprint of His nature (Hebrews 1:3). This Man was named Jesus, and He came to earth to reverse the curse and live the righteous life that neither Adam nor any other human being could live. He remained obedient to His Heavenly Father, even to death (Philippians 2:8). When faced with temptation, Jesus refused to give in and refuted Satan’s lies with the truths of God’s Word. Like Adam, He was promised illegitimate means of sustenance, godlike status, and no sudden death by that conniving snake (Matthew 4:1-11). But Jesus remained faithful to the Father and obtained salvation for every sinful soul who would submit their life to Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Through Adam’s act of disobedience and sin, we became condemned sinners, destined for death and eternal separation from the Father. But Jesus, the Better Adam, came down, and through His obedience, we can be made righteous by His grace. We can be justified and forgiven of all our sins and reconciled to the Father (Romans 5:15-19). And we can look forward to a future resurrection, where we will enjoy eternal life with Him (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Right now, we are in the image of Adam—sinful and rebellious. But one day, we will be made into the image of the Better Adam, Jesus Christ—holy and righteous forever (1 Corinthians 15:48-49).
We’re all broken sinners—each and every one of us. And we live in a sinful, broken world. But Jesus has come to make us righteous, and He is coming again soon to make all things right. Let us not follow the ways of our forefather, Adam. Let us not rebel against the commands of God and disobey His Word. Let us instead follow the Better Adam, submit our lives to Him, and look forward to a day when sin will be no more.
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 John 2:1-6, ESV
