Is Satan Responsible for Sin?

Question: Is Satan responsible for sin?

Answer:

The short is answer is no, he is not.

It does appear from the hints we get in scripture that Satan was a high ranking angel and that he fell from grace sometime after Genesis 1:31, when God called creation “very good.” He also must have fallen before Genesis 3:1 where we see the temptation of Eve. Since Satan tempted Eve, and deceived her, it would seem like he is responsible for sin, but that is simply not supported by scripture. First, it was by Adam’s action that sin entered the world (not Eve’s):

²Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned (Rom 5:12)

So if you are going to blame anyone, Adam is a better candidate then Satan, for Adam was not deceived like Eve was by Satan, he sinned willingly and knowingly.

However, that does not really answer the question. The question of “who is responsible for sin?” is simply answered, the person that sinned is.  Take a look at James 1:13-14

¹³When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. (James 1:13-14, NIV)

As you can see, each is tempted by his OWN EVIL desire. Furthermore, there is always a way to not sin:

¹³No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Cor 10:13, NIV)

So as you can see, everyone is responsible for their own sin. The only way around that is to accept Jesus’ substitutionary death in your place, otherwise all who die in their own sin will have to pay that penalty themselves.

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