Fall in the Garden [Theological Rationalism, Part 7]

When Adam was created by God, God looked at him [and all that he made] and said it was very good. Adam did not have a sinful nature. He did not struggle with the battle that goes on in the regenerated man's heart today. There was no flesh warring with the spirit and the spirit against the flesh.

Adam had no sinful taint in him. But God had created him with the ability to choose.

When one thinks about the fall of Adam it should cause his brain to hurt a little, like when one begins to stretch the tight muscles in his legs.

I can remember reading Saint Augustine years ago and he spoke of the mystery of the garden. He quotes the words of Jesus when He said "that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit" [Matt 7] and then asked how did Adam fall?

God made Adam upright, but He also made Adam with the ability to choose, and therefore with the ability to choose wrongly.

Adam was tempted to sin by Satan [who had just deceived his wife] and with no sinful taint to his soul, gave in to that temptation and plunged the human race into sin.

The mystery? Adam "freely" chose to sin against God. And God from all eternity foreordained that he would "freely" do so.

Now enters a man who is born again. His eyes have been opened, his mind freed from Satan's blinders. He can now see the glory of Christ. But we are told that he is not in a sinless state as Adam was before the fall. Even as a regenerate person he still struggles with the flesh and its sinful tendancies.

So why is it then that when he [the regenerated man] sees the glory of Christ he does not choose to reject God, as the fountain of every blessing, and continue to follow Satan?

Adam fellowshipped with God! And Adam didn't have the sinful taint! And Adam fell!

It is true that if a man is not regenerate that he will never choose Christ, because in his bondage he sees Christ and the gospel as foolishness.

But Adam didn't have on Satan's blinders and yet he fell.


Yes God must regenerate the sinner in order for the sinner to see Christ in all His glory!

Then the sinner must freely choose Christ as His Savior and Lord!

In the end, why it that every sinner, who is regenerated by God [and still struggles with sinful tendancies that Adam never had], chooses to cling to Christ as his Master, when Adam who did not have their sinful taint did not choose this end?

Mystery! Because every regenerated person has been foreordained by God to "freely" choose Christ.
And Adam had been foreordained to "freely" fall into sin.