How did sin enter the world?

Into this beautiful picture of a creative, benevolent, loving, caring, and relational God overseeing His creation, comes the first problem. Of all the trees and vegetation that Adam and Eve were allowed to eat from and enjoy, one tree was off limits (Gen. 2:16, 17). Though the tree may not have been particularly special, it was used as a testing device to see if Adam and Eve would really trust the love and provision of God. While Adam and Eve were together in the garden, Eve is deceived by Satan who shows up as a serpent distorting God's word and gets Eve to believe God is keeping goodness from her (Gen. 3:1). Instead of seeking wisdom or counseling from her husband, she eats of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. After finding no immediate consequence, she gives some to her husband. Adam listens to his wife and, though knowing it is wrong, disobeys God and eats. As the authority and representative of humanity, Adam is cursed by God to die bringing relational dysfunction and universal deterioration (Gen. 3:17-19). From this point, 'sin' (Gr. hamartano 'missing the mark of perfection') enters the world and all humanity inherits the guilt of Adam's sin-a sinful nature (Rom. 3:23). All people are spiritually dead and alienated from God so everyone is a sinner both by nature and choice. Man, of himself, is unable to fix his lost and depraved condition, needing a Savior (Eph. 2:1-3).