23 | January | 2016 | For What Saith the Scriptures?

DID ADAM DIE A SAVED MAN?

by Shawn Brasseaux

Friend, we gladly share with you what the Word of God says about that.

Throughout human history, faith is always the first and foremost issue when having a right relationship with the Creator God: “But without faith it is impossible to please [God]; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). And, contrary to popular myth, no person was ever saved unto eternal life merely by doing good deeds in religion. Whatever truths God had revealed to mankind at any particular time, God expected contemporary people to believe and obey those instructions in order to fellowship with Him. The first Scriptural example of this is the eternal life of Adam and Eve. Their performance had merited wrath and judgment, true, but they eventually came to believe God’s Word to and about them post-Fall.

Genesis chapter 3: “[1] Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? [2] And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: [3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. [4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. [6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. [7] And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and then tried to cover up their sin—their naked bodies—with fig leaves. This was utterly useless because they were still spiritually naked before God. They had lost His righteousness, and so they hid in the bushes. Note: “[8] And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. [9] And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? [10] And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. [11] And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? [12] And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. [13] And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”

We will refrain from commenting on the following verses for brevity’s sake. They are provided merely for contextual purposes: “[14] And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: [15] And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. [16] Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. [17] And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; [18] Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; [19] In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

Now, friend, we have arrived at the verses pertaining to your question: “[20] And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. [21] Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” The Bible says that the LORD God “made coats of skins” and “clothed” Adam and Eve. This has a dual application. God killed some animals, shed their blood to atone for Adam and Eve’s sins, and then He covered this husband and wife with coats of skin—a spiritual covering followed by a physical covering. Verse 20 is Adam’s profession of faith. He called his wife “Eve” because “she was the mother of all living.” God had told them that they would both die because of their disobedience. Yet, Adam said Eve would live to be a “mother.” Why and how? In verse 15, God told Eve that she would live to bear at least one child, someone who would fight and defeat the Devil and undo what she and Adam had done in Eden. We know this “seed” as Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16; Galatians 4:4). While Adam and Eve did not know of the name of “Jesus Christ,” they at least knew “the seed of the woman” (some man) would come one day and do God’s will on their behalf since they had failed.

Adam was most definitely a saved man. He died “in Christ.” What information God had revealed at that point in human history, Adam believed it. Adam trusted in God’s promise of Genesis 3:15, and according to Genesis 4:1, Eve believed that Gospel message as well. Adam also realized that his fig-leaf apron (religion) was embarrassingly insufficient to cover him and Eve. Thus, he let God clothe him and his wife with His righteousness. Most definitely, Adam died a redeemed man, as saved unto eternal life as we are in Jesus Christ. The same is true of Eve. (When you get to heaven one day, brother or sister in Christ, please be sure to talk to them!)

Here is a lesson we can learn. If we are unsaved today, God is not looking for us to “clean up our lives” so He can then welcome us into His heaven. Oh, no. Our works can do nothing to do save us. We must come to the Creator God by faith, simple truth in the fact that “Jesus Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). That is the Gospel by which we are saved today—no “sinner’s prayer,” no walking an aisle, no shaking a preacher’s hand, no keeping commandments, no signing a church membership form, no turning from your sins, nothing that you do. As Adam believed God’s Word to him, so believe God’s Word to you. God has not shed an animal’s blood for you. Rather, He gave up His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of that animal blood that was shed in the Garden of Eden ever so long ago. My precious reader, please delay no longer, if you have not relied exclusively on Jesus Christ. Death may come sooner than you think, and then you will not have another chance. Come by simple faith to Calvary’s cross and trust Jesus Christ, so that you too, as Adam and Eve, will one day die a saved person.