What were the two sins committed by Adam?
There is only ONE SIN that was committed by Adam which will always be remembered. It introduced sin into the race of men, resulting in rebellion towards God and death to every man, woman, boy and girl. Adam was created in a state of pure INNOCENCE and as such he rendered simple obedience to his Creator. Yet to test Adam’s continual obedience God gave him one commandment. We read of this command in Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” In the next chapter we read that Adam failed the test and disobeyed God: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and HE ATE” (3:6). Ever since that fateful day men have referred to this act of disobedience as the FALL OF MAN, for Adam’s act affected the whole human race. Romans 5:12 declares, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death, through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” The very moment Adam SINNED he became a SINNER and this state of SINNERHOOD was passed on to all men, as we see in Romans 5:19, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were MADE SINNERS…” Thus, we see that it was Adam’s ONE SIN that plunged the whole world into SIN. All the violence and corruption, and every other act of depravity that we see in the world today can be traced back to that sole act when the woman “gave to her husband with her, and HE ATE.”
I’m not sure what made you think of “the two sins committed by Adam,” for as we have seen it was his ONE SIN that has brought his name to infamy. I’m quite sure Adam committed MANY SINS from that point on but God chose to focus only on the SIN that brought about “his fall” and the “fall of mankind.” I do believe we see several sins that quickly followed his “original sin.” Immediately after Adam (and his wife) “ate of the forbidden fruit” we read, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and THEY SEWED FIG LEAVES TOGETHER AND MADE THEMSELVES COVERINGS. And they heard the sound 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 among the trees of the garden.” Adam and his wife were no longer in a state of innocence for “they knew they were naked.” They were ashamed (as they should be!), but instead of calling out to the LORD God and confessing their sin, they TRIED TO COVER UP THEIR GUILT AND SHAME by clothing themselves with “fig leaves.” This too was a sin! And later, when they heard the LORD God in the garden they sinned once again by HIDING THEMSELVES from God. Did their attempts to cover their guilt and to hide from God work? No! For God sought them out and drew them out of their hiding place. He asked Adam a very pointed question, “Where are you?” Adam’s answer was telling, for he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I WAS AFRAID because I WAS NAKED; and I HID MYSELF.” For the first time Adam was AFRAID; sin had brought about a fear that God was going to punish him. Then Adam said “I was naked” which means his attempts to “cover his nakedness with fig leaves” were in vain; he still FELT NAKED before God! He HID HIMSELF because sin caused him to retreat from God’s holy Presence. Later, Adam sinned again by trying to shift the blame of his sin of eating the forbidden fruit on his wife AND on God for giving him his wife, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12).
In closing, Adam’s sins have been duplicated by everyone of us. Before one is saved (through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ…see Acts 16:31), they too try to “cover up their guilt with own works” (by “attending church,” “living by the Golden Rule,” “trying to keep the Ten Commandments,” etc.) Yet we are told in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all like an unclean thing, and ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE LIKE FILTHY RAGS.” Like Adam and Eve’s fig leaves, our so-called “righteous acts” still leave us NAKED BEFORE GOD! We too try to “hide from God” (in many ways), yet God faithfully seeks us out to draw us out of our “hiding place.” Jesus said, “For the Son of Man has come TO SEEK AND TO SAVE that which was lost.” Even then, we try, as Adam did, to BLAME GOD for our sin. I often hear people say, “I can’t help it I was born a sinner; God made me that way.” No, God did NOT “make you that way,” for as we saw it was “Adam’s sin” that caused us to be “made sinners.” Yet God, in love and grace, has provided a way of salvation where He can cover your guilt and shame (as he did to Adam…see Genesis 3:21). The moment you “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” as your Savior, you will be able to say, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has CLOTHED ME WITH THE GARMENTS OF SALVATION, HE HAS COVERED ME WITH THE ROBE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Isaiah 61:10). Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior? (477.3) (DO)