Escaping The Mess Series

Last year (2020), as Christmas approached, Amir Fakharian, CEO of RexRoi manufacturing, decided to create an ornament which reflected the year. As you remember, that’s when the Corona pandemic terrorized the world. There were riots in the streets, and it ended with a contested election, which 59% of the US electorate today believe was a fraud according to a recent Rasmussen pole (12/23/2021). Now, whether you agree with three-fifths of the country, I think most would agree that 2020 was a terrible year, and 2021 seemed to descend into further chaos.

The popular ornament captured the mood of the moment. It was a literal dumpster fire, complete with battery-operated flames lighting up one side (Hannah Frishberg, “Dumpster fire Christmas ornaments are ‘a perfect way to commemorate 2020,’” New York Post, 11-13-20; www.PreachingToday.com).

Our world is in a mess! So how did we get here and how do we get out of it? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Genesis 5, Genesis 5, where we find the reason for the mess and How to get out of it.

Genesis 5:1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God (ESV).

God made Adam like Himself, righteous and holy.

Genesis 5:2-3 Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created. When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth (ESV).

Adam was created in the likeness of God – righteous and holy. Seth was born in the likeness of Adam, and therein lies the problem. After God created Adam, Adam sinned. Adam chose to rebel against God. And now, Adam bears a son like himself, not someone who’s righteous and holy, but someone who is a sinner and a rebel, and the same is true of all of Adam’s descendants.

WE ARE CORRUPT.

All of us are depraved. All of us are sinners, born in the image and likeness of our father, Adam.

Romans 5:12 says, “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

That’s the problem, my friends. We are NOT sinners, because we sin. We SIN, because we are sinners. Even in our sleep, we are still sinners. We are sinners by nature, because we inherited that nature from our father, Adam.

Now, this is no little irritation, no little annoyance. On the contrary, it is a HUGE problem.

Several years ago (January 2005), Patrick Lawler thought he had a toothache. So, for a week, he tried painkillers and ice packs to reduce the swelling, but nothing he did brought relief. Finally, he went to the dentist, who took an x-ray of his mouth. Do you know what he found? Patrick didn’t have a little toothache. He had a four-inch nail in his head.

As it turns out, six days earlier, Patrick was working with a nail gun that backfired. A nail shot into his mouth and embedded itself, just missing his right eye, but Patrick didn’t realize it. All he knew was that all of a sudden he had a toothache and blurry vision. He even tried ice cream to soothe the pain.

Fortunately, surgeons at a Denver hospital were able to remove the nail in four hours of surgery. Later, one of the surgeons commented, “This is a pretty rare injury,” but “this is the second one we've seen in this hospital where the person was injured by a nail gun and didn't actually realize the nail had been embedded in their skull” ("It's a Pretty Rare Injury," Sydney Morning Herald, 1-17-05; www.PreachingToday.com)

A lot of people deal with their problems like they’re a minor toothache. They buy self-help books, go to seminars, or listen to podcasts. Others say, “Fix the 2020 election,” “Vote the bums out,” or “Get a vaccine.” But the problem is much bigger than any of that. Everyone has a four-inch nail in his or her head, so to speak. Everyone has a sin nature, which is killing all of us. We are not only corrupt…

WE ARE CONDEMNED.

There is a death sentence in all of us. Look at the record.

Genesis 5:4-5 The days of Adam after he fathered Seth were 800 years; and he had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died (ESV).

Adam died because of his sin, and so did the rest of his descendents.

Genesis 5:6-8 When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh. Seth lived after he fathered Enosh 807 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.