Where Do We Come From?Sample

The Poison of Sin Works Through

“Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, ‘With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.’ Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.” (Genesis 4:1-2, NIV)

After Adam and Eve were sent away from the Garden of Eden, they lived for hundreds more years. We read of Adam in Genesis 5:5 that he lived to be 930 years old. During that time, many things happened. Adam and Eve had children. This was a highlight for them, as we can see from Eve's words. But these children were just like their parents: sinful. Adam and Eve's transgression in the Garden of Eden was not a one-time, isolated mistake. On the contrary, sin had affected them completely. Their hearts were henceforth “inclined to all evil.” They passed this brokenness on to their descendants. Their children and grandchildren were also sinful, all generations through to this day. Romans 5:12 succinctly concludes that “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

Eating a forbidden fruit seemed like only a minor offense. But in the family of Adam and Eve, it became clear how the poison of sin worked through and had terrible consequences. Their son Cain beat his brother Abel to death out of misplaced jealousy. The first human child ever born became a murderer.

How do you see the poison of sin working through around you? How does that affect you?