Romans 5:13-14 says, "Before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come."
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve broke God's command not to eat of a particular tree. But from that point on, until God's giving of the law through Moses, there was no law so sin was "not taken into account." It almost sounds like everything was okay then. However, we know that sin results in death (Romans 6:23), and Paul tells us "death reigned" during this same time period. What was going on?
The People's Bible explains, "To be sure, the record-keeping is different when there are no specific laws to measure people's disobedience . . . But quite apart from the individual infractions of specific rules, there was something else at work after the fall. That something is what has come to be called inherited sin, or original sin. With his sin Adam gave sinfulness to all people, so that all people are born in a sinful condition."
However, while we inherit sin through Adam's act of disobedience, we inherit righteousness through Jesus' act of obedience! "Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:18-19).
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