Adam and Eve were created by God good, sinless, and innocent of evil. In this state they had the ability to choose according to their nature as God's creatures. Like the angels, they could choose to sin or to obey. Unlike the angels, Adam and Eve were not elected to remain sinless as the elect angels were.
These facts bring up some important questions:
Did God ordain Adam and Eve to sin?
Would Adam and Eve had sinned if Satan had not tempted them?
Did Adam and Eve have it in themselves innately by nature to remain sinless forever?
How was Adam and Eve's volition limited compared to God's sovereign freedom to will as He pleases?
God is good, so He would not have caused Adam and Eve to sin. But for the greater good of His glory and grace, He may have ordained creation history to involve sinning on the part of mankind. The wisdom of this is truly beyond what we could understand.
In our humanness, we would have done the opposite of what God ordained. We would have not allowed sin to enter creation in any way. But we are the creature, not the creator and we should humbly believe that God's ways are right and true and beyond questioning. We should have reverence in this matter because we are unable to see the whole of what God has purposed, willed, and ordained sovereignly.
Since Lucifer was able to create sinful desires in himself without outside temptation, I think that likewise, Adam and Eve could create sinful desires in themselves without outside temptation. But God allowed sinful temptation to come to Adam and Eve through Satan. In this way, Satan's condemnation and eternal judgment is greater than Adam and Eve and all of sinful mankind. Yet, even so, Adam and Eve chose to freely sin on their own according to their desire and most dominant preference.
HUMANITY:
Adam and Eve were created by God good, sinless, and innocent of evil. In this state they had the ability to choose according to their nature as God's creatures. Like the angels, they could choose to sin or to obey. Unlike the angels, Adam and Eve were not elected to remain sinless as the elect angels were.
These facts bring up some important questions:
Did God ordain Adam and Eve to sin?
Would Adam and Eve had sinned if Satan had not tempted them?
Did Adam and Eve have it in themselves innately by nature to remain sinless forever?
How was Adam and Eve's volition limited compared to God's sovereign freedom to will as He pleases?
God is good, so He would not have caused Adam and Eve to sin. But for the greater good of His glory and grace, He may have ordained creation history to involve sinning on the part of mankind. The wisdom of this is truly beyond what we could understand.
In our humanness, we would have done the opposite of what God ordained. We would have not allowed sin to enter creation in any way. But we are the creature, not the creator and we should humbly believe that God's ways are right and true and beyond questioning. We should have reverence in this matter because we are unable to see the whole of what God has purposed, willed, and ordained sovereignly.
Since Lucifer was able to create sinful desires in himself without outside temptation, I think that likewise, Adam and Eve could create sinful desires in themselves without outside temptation. But God allowed sinful temptation to come to Adam and Eve through Satan. In this way, Satan's condemnation and eternal judgment is greater than Adam and Eve and all of sinful mankind. Yet, even so, Adam and Eve chose to freely sin on their own according to their desire and most dominant preference.
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