Because God is a just and holy being it only stands to reason there would be a natural law of cause and effect in place to correct that which is out of His character.

We were created in His image and likeness.

Because we were created in His image and likeness, this allows Him perfect access to the deepest parts of ourselves. As soon as we allowed the enemy’s advice to move us to act on our own ideas we shut God out of our hearts by hiding away from Him. You can be certain that this break from our fellowship with Him grieved God greatly. Our likeness now resembled the enemy and our disobedience tainted our image.

We now stood condemned to a separation from God. Not because He wanted this, but as a natural effect of our tainted nature.

Doing what we wanted to do in spite of what God said not to do tainted us.

He had to remove us from His presence in order to not infect His holiness and order.

As a result of this effect, all of creation came under the control of the enemy and our fallen condition.

The good and evil that was contained in one place under grace was now released into life, giving us the opportunity to create our own unique destinies, becoming as the deceiver said, “As gods.”

The very nature of the forbidden fruit was something God reserved for Himself, because only in a spirit of holiness could it be contained.

The knowledge of good and evil released into flesh can only corrupt its nature. Flesh must be subject to Spirit in order to have eternal life, but by releasing the knowledge to our flesh we subjected the spirit to the flesh.

The original holy order was lost, thereby opening the way for sin to control us (instead of God’s original holy order lovingly taking care of us).

The enemy now had a foot hold into our life and God was forced out of our hearts as we made decisions based on our own desires.

We live in this condition now, naturally from birth. No one escapes this corruption, no matter how many good decisions they make.

God, however, did provide a way to allow us to escape this corruption, by a simple, yet challenging, act of faith. Coming to a saving knowledge of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, we find in this, a promise of freedom from the bondage of our fallen nature.

Until we come to this place, God provides the cause and effect of law to break us down and lead us to repentance.

All people must come to a place where they are broken enough to realize their condition, turn to the Lord and so be saved. Sin will always reap destruction, and once we get a grip on this truth, we have no choice but to either choose life or death. Not choosing is still a choice.

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Joshua 24:15