Was sex the sin committed by Adam and Eve in Eden?

Tue, Jan 17. 2012

Editor: For years now many persons believe that the sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden was sex. Does the Bible support that view? Was it wrong for Adam and Eve to have sex?{{more}}

That cannot be the case. Note Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply…” To multiply meant that Adam and Eve were to have children. To have children meant that they were to have sex. Would a loving God tell Adam and Eve to do something and when they did it punish them for it? Think of this: A loving father tells a child: “Sweep the yard for me please.” The child sweeps the yard. The father then punishes the child for sweeping the yard. Would that be just or fair on the father’s part? So, God would never punish Adam and Eve for carrying out something he instructed them to do. Also, Eve was Adam’s wife, as clearly shown at Genesis 2:25. Thus, Adam and Eve would not have been guilty of fornication in God’s eyes if they had sex.

Note too God’s command at Genesis 2:16: “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.” What did that mean? If eating from the forbidden tree meant the serpent having sex with Eve, (Genesis 2:17) then are we to say that Adam eating of every tree, as mentioned in verse 16, meant that God permitted Adam to have sex with every other woman that did not even exist, since Eve was the first and only woman created then? Absurd! So the clear indication in the Scriptures is that the trees mentioned in Genesis were literal trees with literal fruits. Eve picked and ate literal fruits, which she later gave to Adam, who joined her in eating, Genesis 3:6. Hence, their sin was one of disobedience in eating literal fruits that were forbidden to them. God was simply and rightfully testing Adam and Eve’s love for Him, whether or not they appreciated all the love He showed them by creating them and providing all their needs. Adam and Eve failed that simple test, Eve being deceived by the serpent that represented the Devil, 1 Timothy 2:14; Revelation 12:9.

Therefore, both Adam and Eve did not demonstrate love for God. Nowhere in the Scriptures does it indicate that the sin committed by Adam and Eve was sex. That view is one promoted by Satan the Devil, one of his misleading tactics to deceive people, Revelation 12:9. Do not be fooled into believing the lie that the original sin was sex.

Simeon James