God placed man under law, as an indispensable condition of his very existence. He was a subject of the divine government, and there can be no government without law. God might have created man without the power to transgress His law; He might have withheld the hand of Adam from touching the forbidden fruit; but in that case man would have been, not a free moral agent, but a mere automaton. Without freedom of choice, his obedience would not have been voluntary, but forced. There could have been no development of character. Such a course would have been contrary to God's plan in dealing with the inhabitants of other worlds. It would have been unworthy of man as an intelligent being, and would have sustained Satan's charge of God's arbitrary rule.

Gud forpligtede menneskene til at holde loven som en nødvendig betingelse for selve deres eksistens. De stod under Guds regering, og ingen regering kan bestå uden lov. Gud kunne have skabt mennesket således, at det ikke kunne overtræde hans lov; han kunne have holdt Adams hånd tilbage fra den forbudne frugt, men i så fald ville mennesket ikke have været et væsen med en fri vilje, men blot en automat. Uden frihed til at vælge ville lydigheden ikke have været frivillig, men tvungen. Der kunne ikke være sket nogen karakterudvikling. Dette ville have været i strid med den måde, Gud behandlede andre kloders beboere på. Det ville have været uværdigt for mennesket som fornuftvæsen, og det ville have støttet Satans anklage mod Gud for vilkårligt styre.