Genesis 3 explains how humans lost their moral innocence by rebelling against God. What God called "very good" was no longer perfect (Genesis 1:31). The man and woman ate the fruit that promised knowledge of good and evil, disobeying God's command (2:16–17). They tried to become like God (see 3:5). By doing this, they gave up their sinless state. They became separated from God, each other, and creation. They also experienced death.
As a result, all humans are "fallen," meaning they are born into a corrupt world that causes a tendency to sin (Genesis 8:21; Job 4:17–21; Psalms 51:5; 103:10; 143:2; Proverbs 20:9). All humans also now experience death. When the first man and woman disobeyed God by eating the fruit, they lost their innocence. Their descendants and the entire human race now inherit a cursed world (Romans 5:12–14; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22, 45–49).
The term "original sin" describes how the effects of the first sin of Adam and Eve have spread into individual lives and society because of human rebellion. As people submit to their tendency to sin, they become accountable for their own actions (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23).
The first man, Adam, brought sin into the world, but the "second Adam," Jesus Christ, is the solution to sin (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21). When Christ died as redeemer, he offered God's salvation from sin to everyone (John 3:16; Romans 1:16)
Passages for Further Study
Genesis 3:1–19; 8:21; Exodus 34:7; Job 4:17–21; Psalm 51:5; Proverbs 22:15; Ezekiel 36:16–36; John 8:1–11; Romans 1:18–3:20; 5:12–21; 1 Corinthians 15:21–22; Galatians 3:22; 5:17–24; Ephesians 2:1–10; 1 John 3:14