Adam knowingly ate the forbidden fruit, and his disobedience brought sin and death into the human race.
Les Feldick teaches that Adam made a deliberate choice: rather than lose Eve and remain obedient, he knowingly ate. At that moment, the process of physical death began, he lost fellowship with God, and his soul became a sin nature. Romans 5:12 explains that through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin.
Genesis 3:6 — Records the actual moment Adam took the fruit from Eve and ate.
Romans 5:12 — Explains that by one man sin entered the world and death passed upon all men.
Genesis 2:17 — Shows the command Adam violated: eating the fruit would bring death.
God commanded Adam, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). After the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, "and he did eat" (Genesis 3:6). Romans 5:12 explains the consequence: "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Thus, Scripture identifies Adam's eating as the point at which sin and death entered the human race.
Les Feldick teaches that Adam was not forced into eating the fruit. When Eve had already taken her stand, Adam had a choice: he could lose her and remain obedient, or stay with her and eat. Les says Adam "knowingly, of his own free will and choice, chose to stay with Eve" and ate, even though it was in absolute violation of the Word of God [Clip 2]. At that very moment, the physical process of death began—cells started dying faster than they were produced. Adam immediately lost fellowship with his Creator, and his soul, which Les describes as the mind, will, and emotions, immediately became a sin nature [Clip 1]. He died spiritually at once, though physical death came about nine hundred years later [Clip 3]. Les also emphasizes that Adam's act did not merely add one more individual sin to the human record. Through one man, sin and death entered the world [Clip 4]. Before Adam sinned, nothing died; when the curse fell on the whole creation, death came with it [Clip 5]. Because death passed upon all men, all have sinned—everyone is a sinner because it started with Adam [Clip 6]. God's mandate remains: the soul that sinneth shall die [Clip 7].
Les Feldick explains that Adam had to choose between his wife, "this beautiful creature" God had given him, and obedience to God. Rather than lose Eve, Adam knowingly, of his own free will and choice, chose to stay with her and ate the fruit. It was not a moment of ignorance or an accident—it was a deliberate choice to violate God's Word.
When Adam ate, the whole working of cells began to die faster than they were produced—the process of physical death began. He immediately lost fellowship with his Creator. At the same moment, his soul, the mind, will, and emotion part of him, immediately became a sin nature. He died spiritually immediately, though physical death came about nine hundred years later.
Les teaches that through one man Adam, sin entered the world, and death came with it. Nothing died in the Garden before Adam sinned; but as soon as Adam sinned, the curse fell not only on Adam and Eve but on the whole creation, and with the curse came death. As Romans 5:12 says, death passed upon all men, and all have sinned because it started with Adam.
God gave Adam one command: "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Les points to this as the first fundamental law in Scripture and connects it to the principle that the soul that sinneth shall die. As soon as Adam sinned, and as soon as every son of Adam sins, death is the mandated result.
The Moment Death Entered the World: Genesis 3 & Romans 5 Explained
Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has taught home-style Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les' teaching is so interesting, people say, the time seems to fly by. And now, here's Les Feldick.
Immediate Results of Adam's Eating
Les teaches that the moment Adam ate, the physical process of death began, he lost fellowship with God, and his soul became a sin nature.
Adam's Deliberate Choice
Les explains that Adam knowingly chose to eat rather than lose Eve, exercising his own free will even though it violated God's Word.
Spiritual and Physical Death
Les teaches that Adam died spiritually immediately but physically about nine hundred years later, showing that by Adam came death.
Sin and Death Enter Through One Man
Les teaches that through one man, Adam, sin entered the world and death came with it; nothing died in Eden before Adam sinned.
Death Came With the Curse
Les teaches that the curse on creation brought death; until Adam sinned, death was an unknown entity.
Death Passed Upon All Men
Les teaches that death passed upon all men and all are sinners because sin started with Adam.
The Death Mandate
Les teaches that God's first fundamental law was 'thou shalt surely die' on the day of eating, and the soul that sinneth must die.
Genesis 2:17: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
This is the command Adam violated, with the promised consequence of death.
Genesis 3:6: 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.
This records the actual act of Adam eating the forbidden fruit.
Romans 5:12: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
This explains the result of Adam's sin: sin and death entered the world through one man.
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
This shows that everyone is a sinner, which Les connects to Adam's sin.
Ezekiel 18:20: The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
This echoes the principle that the soul that sinneth shall die, which Les cites when explaining Adam's death mandate.
Yes. Les explains that Adam knowingly, of his own free will and choice, chose to stay with Eve and ate the fruit rather than lose her and remain obedient.
The physical process of death began in his body, he immediately lost fellowship with God, and his soul became a sin nature.
He died spiritually immediately, but his physical death came about nine hundred years later.
Watch the Teaching: The Moment Death Entered the World: Genesis 3 & Romans 5 Explained