The Origin of Sin

We’ve been studying what the Bible teaches about man, and we have just two more studies on this subject, both of which deal with sin and how it affected mankind.

Tonight we are going to look at the origin of sin and why it is important that we understand where it came from. Notice first where...

Sin Began

It did not begin on earth in the garden with Adam and Eve, but in Heaven with Satan.

You will see that it was his pride which led him to self-exaltation rather than exalting God:

Isaiah 14:4–17 KJV 1900

4 That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! 5 The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. 6 He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. 7 The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. 8 Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid down, no feller is come up against us. 9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: It stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; It hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. 10 All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? 11 Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee. 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. 15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; 17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; That opened not the house of his prisoners?

Notice also Ezekiel 28:11-19

Ezekiel 28:11–19 KJV 1900

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. 18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. 19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Both of these prophecies are addressed to earthly kings, but there are aspects of these prophecies that cannot be attributed to ANY HUMAN KING. They are references to Satan before his fall.

With Satan’s sin came what we call the “sin principle”

This principle has controlled Satan every since “iniquity was found” in him.

This sin principle was also created in the other fallen angels at the time they chose to follow Satan

Matthew 25:41 KJV 1900

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Revelation 12:4 KJV 1900

4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:7–9 KJV 1900

7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

But, what about...

Sin in the Human Race?

The skeptic would say: “If God is all-knowing, then didn’t He know man would sin? If He knew man would sin, why did He create man in the first place? God is cruel, creating man and then making promises He never intended to keep.”

However, the skeptic does not understand the God of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 2:14

1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV 1900

14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

God, created man, placed him in the garden, gave him responsibility and then gave him a test to see if he would obey

Adam was given just ONE prohibition - “Do not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

If Adam had obeyed, it would have proven for all generations his love and loyalty to God his Creator.

However, Adam failed the test and then entered the transgression...

Eve was decieved and sinned before God Genesis 3:1-6

Genesis 3:1–6 KJV 1900

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? 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: 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. 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.

Satan convinced her that God did not have their best intentions in mind, that He was withholding them from something good.

Eve was, in fact, the first human to sin, but it was Adam’s sin which transmitted the sin nature to the rest of the human race. Why?

Becasue Adam’s sin was deliberate!

Eve was deceived, but not Adam. He chose to disobey God. His disobedience created in him the sin principle and nature. The consequences of Adam’s in are far-reaching Genesis 5:3

Genesis 5:3 KJV 1900

3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

His sin nature has been passed down to all his descendants.

How Do We View This Account?

There are three ways to view what we read in Genesis 3: -

It’s a myth. It never really happened.

It’s a legend. There is no truth in it whatsoever.

It’s historical fact. It is the only way to explain why and how man became sinful. Romans 5:12

Romans 5:12 KJV 1900

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:

2 Corinthians 11:3 KJV 1900

3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

1 Timothy 2:14–15 KJV 1900

14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

This is where sin came from, next week we will look how far-reaching sin is as we discuss the final lesson in the study of man, the fall of man.