Fall of Adam?

Fall of Adam? August 9, 2010

Did Adam “fall” into sin?  If we follow the strict language of Scripture, it would seem not.  So far as I can find, Adam is never said to have “fallen.”  Adam sinners, transgressed, committed an act of transgression, and by his action sin and death entered the world (Romans 5:12-21).  But the only reference to a Genesis 3 “fall” is to the “fall” of Eve: “it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Timothy 2:15).

Perhaps this is because the image of a “fall” suggests a sin of inadvertency as opposed to a high-handed sin.  Adam didn’t fall because he knew full well that he was disobeying God by not intervening to stop Eve from eating and by eating the fruit himself.  Eve was the one who “fell” into sin, misled by the serpent and stumbling because of her husband’s neglect and selfishness.


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