Question:
What exactly was the sin Adam and Eve committed?
Answer:
If you were to ask most people, you would hear “they ate the apple God told them they couldn’t have.” This is about as silly as the pictures of Noah’s toy “boat” with little cute animals hanging out the windows.
First, the basic sins they were guilty of were disobedience (doing something God said not to do); rebellion (going against God); idolatry (they place their own choice higher than God’s command); and finally, the cornerstone of ALL sin: pride.
Pride can be summed as “I am equal to God”. It was the original sin that got Satan booted from heaven:
Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ (NKJV)
Luke 10:18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (NKJV)
Everytime we choose our own way in contradiction to God’s, we are in essence saying, “I am equal to God.”
Interestingly, gentlemen, Paul points out something we should take note of:
1 Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (NKJV)
Eve was tricked. She still had a choice when it came down to the act of disobedience. She knew it was wrong. But Satan crafted his argument in such a way as to confuse and deceive her.
No such luck for Adam. He just flat out jumped in with both feet and thumbed his nose at God.
In plain English, Adam and Eve sinned by saying, “we’re going to do what we want, what we think is best, what we think is desirable; God is trying to keep us from being like Him, and we CAN be like Him”.
This is the foundation of all false religion: “MAN IS GOD, CAN BECOME GOD OR IS LIKE GOD”. Only Christianity stands alone denying this premise. All other religions ultimately teach this, because all other religions teaching you can earn, secure or somehow manage your own salvation.
If you can save yourself, then you are God.