Sin: Responses of Adam and Eve Are Typical

Immediately after Adam and Eve ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they knew something was very wrong. Their act of disobedience against God gave them a knowledge they’d have been better off without. The Bible says “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves” (Gen. 3:7). When they heard “God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze,…they hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (v. 8).

• When God confronted Adam about his sin, Adam admitted to God that he was hiding because he knew he was naked, and he was afraid. God then asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (v. 11).
  Adam responded by saying, “The woman You gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate” (v. 12).
• Then God confronted Eve, who replied, “It was the serpent. He deceived me, and I ate” (v. 13).

We therefore see that the guilty pair first responded to their sin by hiding. They obviously hoped that by hiding they could bury their guilt and leave it behind forever. That didn’t work, for God confronted them about their disobedience. In response (and this was the second response) each one sought to blame someone else. Adam blamed Eve, yes; but he actually blamed God! He reminded God that He—God—had given the woman to him! For her part, Eve blamed the serpent.

So the natural response to human sin and guilt is to hide, then to hurl. What is the right response? Humbling oneself before the Lord and admitting one’s guilt outright. David did this when Nathan the prophet confronted him about his sins of adultery and murder. David said, “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Sam. 12:13; see also Ps. 51).

Sin corrupts and destroys, but confession of sin to God and reliance on Him for forgiveness brings healing and restoration. God doesn’t remove all sin’s consequences, but He does remove the worst. As Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, so He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will freely forgive.”

Here, therefore, is how to deal with guilt. Stop hiding. Stop blaming someone else. Accept responsibility and confess your sins to God. Humble yourself before Him, and He will cancel your debt—freeing you to willingly choose to serve Him forever. After all, who wouldn’t want to serve such a gracious God?