No. Sin came into the world as a result of man’s choice. When God created man, He made him without sin. The Bible says, “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen. 1:27). But God did not want robots to serve Him. He wanted a being that would choose to serve Him. So He gave man the ability to choose. God gave man one prohibition in the Garden. “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:16-17). All man had to do was obey. Then he would forever live in the presence of his Creator.
We learn from Scripture that God walked in the Garden with man (Gen. 3:8). I cannot image what that must have been like, strolling next to the Creator of the world engaging in conversation. Unfortunately, it did not last. There came a day when Satan tempted Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit, claiming that God was holding back knowledge from them (v.5). At that moment Adam and Eve started thinking more about their selfish desires than the desires of God. And it appears without much discussion, they ate of the fruit and immediately realized their mistake. They had sinned. This selfish act brought sin into the world (Rom. 5:12,17). Have you ever done something that you wish you hadn’t?
Because of their sin, they were sent out of the Garden. Their exile was not because God did not love them anymore. On the contrary, it was because He did! God cannot be near sin because He is holy (Hab. 1:13). He must judge sin in His presence. In Ezekiel 33:11a, God says, “As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.” But He respects man’s choices. With Adam and Eve, He still wanted the opportunity to have a relationship with them. But if they stayed in the Garden and ate from the tree of life, then they would forever remain in their sin, forever separated from the love of God. They needed someone to pay the penalty for their act of disobedience. They needed a Savior; someone without sin. God already knew Adam and Eve would sin. He knows all things (Ps. 139:1-6). So God already had a plan. He was prepared. My next blog shares the provision found in Genesis 3.