Suppose Adam refused to eat the forbidden fruit presented to him by his wife, what would have happened to Adam? What would have been the reaction of Eve? And, if Eve was the only person found victim of eating the forbidden fruit, would it be that God would have spared Adam and punished Eve alone?
It is difficult to deal specifically with ‘what if’ questions. Speculations are hard to answer because often, the Bible just does not give an answer.
I suppose that if Adam had not eaten of the “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:9), that he would have continued in his state of innocence. It is hard to speculate about what Eve would have done if Adam had not eaten of the forbidden fruit. Let’s read 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.” From these words, it appears that Adam was in his wife’s presence and watched her partake of the forbidden fruit. It is not recorded that Adam tried to persuade Eve to stay away from that fruit. Perhaps his heart was like hers. Perhaps he also wanted to taste of that fruit. After Eve ate the fruit, she “gave also unto her husband with her.” Doesn’t it look like Adam stood there and when Eve offered him the fruit, he happily accepted it and ate it?
Let’s look at one thing that did happen once Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. We read in Genesis 3:7, “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.” With their innocence lost, Adam and Eve realized they were naked and covered themselves with fig leaves. Yet, when the Lord began to look for the guilty pair, Adam said to Him, “I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Verse 10). Even though they had sewed fig leaves together and made aprons for themselves, they still felt naked in the sight of God.
After telling them of the consequences of their actions, we read in verse 21, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make COATS OF SKINS, and clothed them.” No longer to be clothed with fig leaves, the Lord made them coats out of the skins of animals. Of course, in order to do that, the Lord had to KILL those animals to make the coats. This is such a beautiful type, or illustration, of the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:3 that, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.” He did not die to simply cover our sins as the animal skins covered the nakedness of Adam and Eve. Much more than that, Christ died to put away our sins from us and give us peace with God. (Read Romans 5:1).
Adam and Eve sinned. You and I have sinned, too. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Each one of us stands guilty before a God who hates sin, yet who also loves people. Romans 5:6 and 8 says, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ died for the ungodly. Christ died for us. God sent forth His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die as payment of a sin debt we all owe. 1 Peter 2:24 says that “(Christ) his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” Christ took our sins upon Himself and suffered God’s wrath for those sins so that we might be forgiven. Have you been forgiven for your sins? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your savior? We do not have to speculate about those who die without putting their faith in the Lord Jesus. The Lord said in John 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (366.4)