Genesis 2: 16 – 17 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

In Chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis we read that God planted a garden he called Eden. He created the beasts of the field and birds of the air from the ground.  He gave Adam the pleasure of naming every living creature and then made him a wife named Eve. He provided for their food and physical comfort and gave them responsibility for the care of everything in their surroundings.

God set a single boundary for their conduct.  Of the fruit of one tree the Lord had said do not eat:  “For when you eat of it, you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17). Ninety-nine percent freedom, one percent obedience required!  But when challenged by the serpent (Satan) – another creature which asked:  “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?”  (See Genesis 3:1) they chose to listen to the wrong voice and disobeyed God. They knew ahead what the consequence would be, but the serpent’s take on this was: “You will not surely die,”  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3: 4 – 5). The truth is they were already “like” God because he had made them in his image and he had given them access to pure pleasure with none of the responsibility for evil. They were precious to him.

This act of disobedience destroyed the relationship God wanted to have with man so the next time God came to walk with them in the garden they went into hiding. And we have been hiding ever since.  We are children of Adam and have his nature – so we are born rebellious, defiant and unbelieving. This is called the “sin nature”. The verdict is: “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10) and “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). There is no wiggle room here. We each have to own up to this failure to come to a point where we can be restored to a right relationship with God.