If God Can See in the Future, Why Did He Let Adam and Eve Sin?

Riley W. (age 10) asked,

“If God can see in the future, why did he let Adam and Eve sin?”

Good question, Riley!

First, God does not see from a specific point of time into the future because he exists outside of time. He sees all points in time all at once! God knows the end from the beginning. A thousand years and a day are all the same to him. So God doesn’t experience time like we do, but you’re correct that God knew Adam and Eve would sin before he even created the world from a human’s view of time. So why did he let them sin?

God created human beings in his image. That means he created us to be like him and to reflect who he is in some ways. Before the fall, one aspect of the image of God was that Adam and Eve could decide to obey or disobey God.

God told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit from one tree. That was a very easy command to obey! They were surrounded by lots of other fruit trees that they could eat from as much as they wanted!

When Adam and Eve sinned, they showed that human beings, even without a sinful nature and with a genuinely free will, could very easily be tempted and fall into sin. God immediately set into motion his plan to save us by Jesus’ perfect life on earth, death on the cross, and resurrection on the third day. When we trust in him for salvation, we are adopted into God’s family and have the promise of being raised when Jesus returns.

God allowed Adam and Eve to sin because he already had a plan for salvation that, in the long run, would glorify him and bring us into an even closer relationship with him.

Do you have a question about God’s Word or his world that you want us to answer? Is there a topic you want to learn more about? Ask your parents to help you submit your question today. Watch for our answer here on the blog or in Kids Answers magazine. We’d love to hear from you!