Preface

The descent of man started with a simple question posed to Eve by Satan - “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden (Gen.3:1)?”  Then he followed up the question by challenging God’s Word and misrepresenting God’s intention - “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 (Gen.3:4b-5).”  This was very appealing to Eve and to Adam, who was also present.  The appeal is the possibility of being like God - autonomous; self-governing; and self-determining.  It’s being free to redraw moral boundaries and determine what is right and wrong apart from God’s law.  This is the shared source of all human evil; it’s at the root of all the issues of sin that separate us from God’s favor.  Sin has impacted all by bringing us under the wrath of God.  We no longer enjoy life in favored fellowship with God.  We died spiritually, but sin has also impacted the very heart of God’s social ordering by distorting the biblical understanding of marriage and family.

Stan Way