Adam's Sin

ADAM'S SIN

Gary McDade

In the Roman letter the apostle Paul dealt with the origin of sin in the world through Adam and one particular consequence resulting from that sin as he unfolded the theme of justification by faith. A verse that has posed no small problem concerning interpretation among students and scholars of the Bible in general and the book of Romans in particular is Romans 5:12. Paul wrote, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” The origin of sin is with “one man,” Adam. That one sin has yielded the state of death being “passed upon all men.” Appended to the statement is the phrase “for that all have sinned.” The fundamental topics suggested within this verse are of sufficient magnitude as to warrant a careful investigation.

All men suffer death as a result of Adam’s sin. In order to know why the punishment for sin goes to such a phenomenal extent, the concept of sin must be explored. In a compilation of fifty years of scholarly lectures, Hugo McCord, retired professor of Bible from Oklahoma Christian College, discussed the Old and New Testament word for “sin” beginning with its etymology in a non-religious setting. “If an archer missed his target with an arrow, or a warrior failed in spearing an enemy, the Hebrew would use hata’, and the Greek hamartia. Seven hundred left-handed Benjamites were so skillful in slinging stones they could hit a hair and not hata’, miss (Judg. 20:16). As ‘haste makes waste,’ so ‘he who hastes with his feet misses (hata’) his way,’ or ‘stumbles’ (Prov. 19:2). Likewise, when one disobeys God, he misses a righteous target. He stumbles at the word, being disobedient (II Pet. 2:8). The stumbler, the sinner, falls, is broken, is snared, and captured (Isa. 8:15).”¹

Four elements are involved in Adam’s sin: God, his law, Satan, and, of course, Adam. God authored the law he gave Adam which was clear in meaning and simple in its demands. God said, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17). Adam and Eve fully comprehended the law of God (Gen. 3:3). But, Satan, the father of lies, beguiled Eve saying, “Ye shall not surely die” (John 8:44; Gen. 3:3-4). Adam was not deceived as was Eve, but “he did eat” (I Tim. 2:14; Gen. 3:6). Adam sinned by committing an act which violated God’s law for him. This principle remains true even today, for John the apostle taught, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4).

As a result of Adam’s sin death is passed upon all men. This is the word thanatos, the common Greek word for death. J. H. Thayer defined the word “death . . . all the miseries arising from sin . . . physical death.”² Arndt and Gingrich say it refers to “natural death as divine punishment.”³Moses E. Lard in his commentary on Romans wrote, “Nor must the word death be here taken in any unusual sense. By it simple ordinary death is meant, no more.”⁴ The penalty for Adam’s sin was that he and his descendants would die (Heb. 9:27). The phrase “for that all have sinned” is not to be taken on an individual basis. Adam is the father of the human race. Representatively, all sinned through him. (cf. also: Josh. 7:16-26; Gen. 14:18-20; and Heb. 7:9-10). J.W. Shepherd in his notes on Romans said, “Adam, in committing the first sin, stood for and represented the whole of his posterity” (p. 101). “Adam was both the individual and the race. His posterity are looked upon as acting with him because they are his posterity.”⁵

ENDNOTES

¹Hugo McCord,Volume Two: Fifty Years Of Lectures, p. 260.
^²p. 283.
^{³p. 351.}
^{⁴p. 165.}
^{⁵A. Berkeley Mickelsen in
The Wycliff Bible Commentary, p. 1198.}

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