Kenneth D. Boa - Once-A-Day 25 Days of Advent Devotional

You will not certainly die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat from [the tree] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Then the eyes of both [the woman and her husband] were opened, and they realized they were naked and they hid from the L ORD God among the trees of the garden.

So the L ORD God said to the serpent, Because you have done this I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

And the L ORD God said, The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil So the L ORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden.

Surely the arm of the L ORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned

To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyones account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did Gods grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one mans sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive Gods abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

All people are important to God. But all are deeply fallen. Gods original perfect creation included flawless creatures with a spiritual and moral capacity. In the garden, they were given the ability to choose, so that they would be responding to God in a meaningful relationship. But choice always involves responsibility, and they were warned there would be consequences if they chose to disobey. Despite the richness of their relationship with God, they listened to a powerful evil being who came into their home. They fell to his tactics of doubt and deception. And they fell into sin by choosing their will over the Creators. It is a mystery how beings who were created as moral and rational could succumb to the immorality of sin. But it happened, and it has left us in a constant battle and lifelong enmity with that serpent, that dragon, the devil.