It’s commonly believed that Cain was Adam and Eve’s firstborn. But not everybody remembers that before Cain, Eve had twins. Scary twins. Their names are Sin and Death.
In Scripture we can read about the process of these twins’ birth. “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:15) Here James provides a chronologically accurate description of the drama in the Garden of Eden. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable (the moment when desire was conceived)…, she took some (the moment when sin was conceived) and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (a sin, when committed, gives birth to death).” (Genesis 3:6)
We won’t dwell into endless hypotheses such as: what would have happened if Adam hadn’t eaten the forbidden fruit and had remained faithful to God’s command? Would God have had to create another Eve or do something else? There are a lot of theories. For example, Milton writes that Adam loved Eve so much that he decided to die with her and deliberately tasted the forbidden fruit. Either way, the sad fact is that it did take place and today the whole earth is reaping the fruits of original sin.
The Law of Sin of the Universe reads: “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23) Thus, sin becomes the sting of death. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” (1Corinthians 15:56) Since then, every time a person commits a sin, death sticks its stinger into them. This person becomes its prey. So time after time, for every new sin, death like a devilish scorpion stings people, leaving the seal of death on them.
Today we see a lot of flourishing, prosperous people around us; we can see them on TV screens and computer monitors, in colorful magazines and newspapers. They are successful performers, entrepreneurs, politicians, athletes and many others. But if our spiritual eyes were opened, we would see how damaged these people are and close our eyes in horror. Thousands of times the sting of death left its seal on them, although for many people they are the embodiment of happiness and success.
The Apostle Paul describes in detail the effect of sin in Romans and calls it the Law of Sin (Romans 8:2). Sin has power. It doesn’t just lie on the doorstep of the house wagging its tail like a mutt, but sin draws a person to itself (Genesis 4:7). One famous doctor, who treats addicted people, said: it’s extremely difficult to cure a drug addict or an alcoholic not because they are weak-willed, but because they have a powerful enemy. Dear friends, don’t play with sin. The price of our redemption is very high. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)