Why Do We Get Punished For What Adam Did?
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, April 29, 2025 (Donate)
When Adam sinned, his punishment was death (Genesis 2:17).
The punishment for sin is a real punishment. This was evident for Adam and Eve,
and they are no longer alive today.
Because of Adam’s sin, death came upon all men—because all of his descendants were born into this sin. This is called “sin nature”. Some have said that this is harsh for God to punish all of Adam’s descendants for something Adam did. But is it?
The answer is simple—we are without excuse since we sin
too (Roman 5:12, Romans 3:23). To assume Adam’s descendants are innocent is a
false assumption fallacy.
Due to the sin nature received from Adam, death is coming
for all since all have sinned anyway (Romans 3:23). So, no one has any excuse
and equally deserve to be punished which is death.
Therefore, just as through one
man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all
men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12, NKJV)
One cannot blame Adam entirely since we sin too. So, the
real question is why would God permit sin
nature to pass along to Adam descendants, doesn’t that seem harsh? Recall,
the Bible says:
Even Levi, who receives tithes,
paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his
father when Melchizedek met him. (Hebrews 7:9-10, NKJV)
Consider what the Holy Spirit says in Hebrews when He
points out that Levi was in the loins (body) of his ancestor Abraham when he
paid tithes to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20).
If we extend this a little further, we can say Abraham was
in the body of Noah before the Flood.
And Noah was in the body of his ancestor Adam when he sinned! In other
words, we were all in Adam and the Woman (Eve) when they sinned! This explains
why we inherit a sin nature. When Adam and Woman sinned, a sin nature came over
them and since we were in them and our life came from them, so we inherit this
nature as well.
So far, this all sounds like bad news, and it is bad, but
there is good news. Consider
For since by man came
death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (1
Corinthians 15:21-22, NKJV)
Through Adam, death came into the world but in the same
fashion, Christ showed that He holds power over death. Those in Christ will be
saved and death will have no sting:
“O Death, where is your
sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is
sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,
who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1
Corinthians 15:55-57, NKJV)
Knowing this, there is something to look forward to. Now look back even further. The life that we have came through Adam but it ultimately originated from God (Genesis 2:7; Luke 3:38). He owns us and gives us our very being (Hebrews 1:3), and it is He whom we should follow instead of sin.
For since the first sin in Adam, we need a Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God who stepped into history to take on flesh and become a
man and take the punishment for sin. Such a loving feat shows that God truly
loves mankind and wants to see us return to Him. God, being the author of life,
the sustainer of life, and redeemer of life, is truly the One to whom all
things are owed.
