"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen.2:17).

Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote that Adam "became subject to both spiritual and physical death. God had said, 'In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die' (Gen. 2:17); and this divine declaration was fulfilled. Adam and Eve passed immediately into spiritual death, which means separation from God" (Chafer, Major Bible Themes, Chapter 24; Part 2).

This "spiritual death" is spoken of by the Apostle Paul speaks here:

"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ" (Eph.2:1-5).

This spiritual death comes to a man when he sins. Paul states in no uncertain terms that the unsaved are dead in their own sins:

"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses" (Col.2:13).

This completely contradicts the following statement found in The Westminster Confession of Faith:

"They (Adam & Eve) being the root of mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by original generation" (The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter VI., Number 3).

If a person is born dead in Adam and Eve's sins then it is obvious that he cannot become dead as a result of his own sins. That is because a person must first be alive spiritually before he can die spiritually.

The following also demonstrates than a man is "dead in sin" because of his own actions and not because the sins of Adam and Eve are conveyed to him when he is born:

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth and behold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth" (Gen. 6:11-12).

The Hebrew word shachath is translated "corrupted",and it means "to pervert, corrupt, deal corruptly (morally)" (Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Lexicon).