Some are mistaken about the account of Adam and Eve, and what it means for our eternal destination.
In the Garden of Eden, it was Eve, not Adam, that sinned and ran away from the Lord. After eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, Eve immediately knew that she had disobeyed God. The Lord had told her not to eat the forbidden fruit from one particular tree, but Eve listened to the serpent and ate anyway, and subsequently even tried to place the blame on Adam for her sin.
The serpent (Satan), acting as a tempter, convinced Eve to disobey God's command, lieing to her like he does to us, convincing her that the Lord did not mean what he said, and that surely, she would not die from simply eating fruit from a tree, so she ate from it, then shared the fruit with Adam. When Satan lies to us and tries to get us to sin against God, he always makes the sin very enticing and convinces us that sin is "not so bad". He makes it seem perfectly harmless, yet he will never tell us the consequences. This is why God gave us a conscience.
Temptation is the battle within each of us. Our conscience communicates with God, which teaches us right from wrong, and so when we do something we know we shouldn't, it makes us feel guilty and horrible. God wants to save us from the sorrow and heartache temptation brings. He said to resist temptation and the devil, by turning away from it, and He does give us the willpower to say "yes or no" to temptation. We are not helpless in this! He gave us the capacity to say no! As we are being tempted, we must first ask ourselves, "If I give in to this temptation, will I be sinning against God?" and if your answer is Yes, then refuse to allow it! By doing so, you have exercised control in taking back your power! Every time you say NO to temptation, you are taking control of the situation and we all know when we're being tempted, we can't kid ourselves about that. Some, run to sin. It is best to stay away from persons and places that you know will tempt you to sin against God.
Just as God tries to keep us from harm, by warning us not to do certain things or take part in certain things, Adam and Eve knew beforehand, that they were not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because God warned them that if they did, it would cause them to die, both physically and spiritually.
Physically, because sin always brings about death. That is a spiritual law. Spiritually speaking, sin always separates us from God until we genuinely repent and ask for forgiveness. If one does not repent, it is not God that caused the temptation or "will" to sin, but by our own choice, above God's will. Therefore, if we refuse to confess our sins before God, those same sins we chose to do, shall keep us forever separated from our Holy, Heavenly Father in heaven, until we repent. Jesus said today is the day of salvation. That is, He wants us to confess our sins today, so that should eternity come today or tomorrow, we will have safeguarded our soul and it's destination. Our soul is much too precious to leave to chance.
God the Father approved and appointed Jesus Christ as the sole Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), and Savior of the world, so that when we turn to Jesus and ask him to forgive us of our sins, he is more than willing to do so. He turns no one away, no matter who they are. This means that through faith in Jesus, individuals can be reconciled to God the Father, as Jesus bridged the gap, created by sin, by forgiving us of our sins and restoring our relationship with God the Father.
God does not categorize sin. Sin is Sin, and all sin separates us from God, and this is why we need to invite Jesus into our hearts and lives as Savior. This involves personal commitment, which shows God that we are sincere in our love for him and that we do not wish to sin against him. If you love someone, you don't want to hurt them. After all Jesus has done for me in the 52 years I have known and followed him, I know that He gave me his best on the cross, in saving my soul from hell. I love him for that which I could never have done myself, and cannot give him less than my best, as well.
Deep inside, a Believer will know when they have sinned and will ask forgiveness of God. If you are fleeing from Him, you may feel it is time to turn to Jesus and ask Him for forgiveness. He is merciful and will forgive you. God is loving and forgiving and when we make mistakes, it's a wonderful thing because it teaches us that when we know better, we can do better. God forgives and forgets. He does not hold grudges. His love will never stop for you.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
