Donald MacLeod writes:-

Do not forget that God pronounced man, the apex of his creation ‘very good’ too. Modern theories of sin, in so far as they deal with the origin of sin at all, assume that man must have been sinful from the very beginning. It is, according to such theories, ‘only natural’ to sin. Sin is inevitable; a central and unavoidable part of our nature. But Scripture does not teach this at all.

The Bible’s story of the Fall is, apart from all else, a relief from the problems inherent in such a doctrine. According to modern theology, man, as created by God, was a sinner. According to the Bible, man, as made by God, was upright. He was made in God’s image. He was absolutely sinless. Apart from any other argument in its favour, the doctrine of the Fall relieves God of the guilt of creating a sinner. In most modern forms of non-evangelical theology man is a sinner at his origin; and that means that the responsibility for his sinfulness devolves upon his Creator. In the Bible, by contrast, God creates man upright.

I have a horror of anything which reflects adversely on Adam. I do not like to hear him in any way belittled. I even hesitate to contrast him too unfavourably with Christ. There is a contrast, of course. But Adam was glorious. He was holy. He was not neutral, ambivalent between good and evil. He had a positive bias and inclination to the good. He was a magnificent example of the creativity of God. Let us resist, then, any suggestion that belittles him, or detracts from his intelligence, his blessedness and his power. Whatever man is today he is by virtue not of his creation but of his fall.

The Fall is a reminder, first of all, that sin began in Heaven among the angels. It came into our human existence only through this fallen angel, Satan, the great tempter. He got at Adam through Eve, and he got at Eve through deception. The attack on Adam was not frontal. It was devious. So often, temptation comes to us in the same way: through those we respect and love. More solemnly still, we ourselves often become temptations to those we love. Whenever we command affection, we have it in our power to become a spiritual danger to others, as Eve did to Adam.

McLeod, A Faith to Live By