After Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit in Genesis 3, Adam was questioned by God. He told God “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (verse 12). When God asked Eve about this, she replied, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (verse 13).
While both rightly confessed “I ate,” their confessions were prefaced by noting the role someone else had in their choice to eat. With Adam, it was the woman who God gave him. With Eve, it was the serpent.
Eve was a negative influence on Adam, and the serpent was a negative influence on Eve. Yet, Adam himself chose to sin, and so did Eve. Their disobedience was encouraged by others, but it was their disobedience. As a creature created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27), mankind has the ability to reason according to God’s truth. We have the ability to distinguish between what God says is right and what God says is wrong. Moreover, we have the ability to choose to do what He says is right.
God could have created us as “robots” that merely act as they are forced to, but He did not. Instead, He created people who have “free will” to obey or disobey.
While God chooses not to force us to obey Him, Satan cannot force us to disobey God. Satan tempts and deceives, but our “free will” allows us to say “no” (1 Cor. 10:13).
This brings us back to Adam and Eve. Even before eating the fruit, the two had enough reasoning capacity to decide to do right or decide to do wrong. They were each responsible for the path they chose. Eve did not force Adam to sin, and Satan did not force Eve to sin.
Following a bad influence, as Adam did, will not be an acceptable excuse on the Day of Judgment. Yes, “many” are headed down the broad path that leads to destruction (Matt. 7:13), but reasoning, “everybody else was doing it” will not be acceptable when we stand before Christ. Others can have a tremendous influence on us, just as we can have a tremendous influence on others. But no one can force us to sin. We do so willfully.
Giving into deceitful lust and pride, as Eve did, will not be an acceptable excuse on the Day of Judgment either. Yes, Satan is vicious (1 Pet. 5:8). He was punished for his role in Eve’s sin (Gen. 3:14-15), and will not “get away” with his lies and deception in the long run (cf. Rev. 20:10). But we must not merely blame Satan every time we sin. God urges us to resist Satan (Jas. 4:7).
The point is that we have the ability to choose obedience, and we therefore have the responsibility to choose to obey God.
No matter what the majority does, and no matter what the wisdom of the world promotes, we have no excuse if we fail to heed God’s message. May we each personally accept the responsibility we have for obeying God.
– Michael Hickox