I did not eat the fruit in the garden of Eden so why do I suffer the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin?

I did not eat the fruit in the garden of Eden so why do I suffer the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin? from Compelling Truth

The answer to the question of why we, who were not present in the garden of Eden and did not commit the first sin of eating the forbidden fruit, still suffer the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin, is multifaceted.

First of all we need to understand that Adam, as the first man, was God’s designated representative of all who would descend from him. The theological term for this is federal headship. Adam acted as the representative of all of his progeny. Therefore, the Scriptures speak of all of mankind as being in Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22). Our modern individualistic mindset may balk at this notion. However, we would do well to remember that we did not and would not exist apart from Adam. We are all descended from him (Acts 17:26). Without Adam, we would not exist. It is impossible for you or I to have been tested as Adam because we did not exist. There is no pre-fall you or pre-fall me. There are myriad of other things that we inherit from our ancestors that we had no say or control over. Does this make God unjust? Of course not. We are mere created beings and God is the sovereign Creator (Romans 9:20). What have we given to God that He owes us anything (Job 41:11)?

We may vainly imagine that if we were in Adam’s position then we would have chosen to obey and not eat the fruit. However, that position is misguided on at least two accounts. Firstly, Adam, having been born in paradise and without a predisposition toward sin, was in a much more advantageous position to resist than we are now and yet he succumbed to Satan’s temptation. Given similar circumstances, why would we assume we would be any different from Adam? Secondly, God is omniscient. Therefore, He knows not only everything that was, is, and is to come; but He also knows everything that is possible. If it were unjust for God to allow Adam’s descendants to be punished for his sin then God would not have done it. If it were possible that a sinless you or I (hypothetical and imaginative creatures) were to have remained obedient to God in the face of temptation then God would not have allowed us to be punished for Adam’s sin. However, this is to enter the realm of the absurd because there cannot logically be descendants of Adam who preceded him. We are what we are, not what we wish we had been. Just as we had no control over our physical characteristics, our mental capacities, our place of birth, and numerous other things; we have no control over the fact that we are born with a sin nature (Psalm 51:5; 139:13–16).

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