Are You Fit To Be Tied? Part Iv

All across this nation we have lost our fear of sin. Fear will cause us to protect ourselves and avoid what is harmful to us.

Illus: Most of us have a real healthy fear of snakes. This is a healthy fear because it keeps us from being harmed. If we were not afraid of snakes we might carry them around in our pockets, and if that were the case, we would hear about people all over the place being poisoned by snakebite.

Sin is more deadly than all the snakes put together, and we should not be surprised when we hear that homes are being broken up all over the world because of it. The first married couple, in the garden of Eden, discovered that one can play with sin if he so chooses, but he will soon find out there is a penalty to pay.

Illus: Samson played with wicked Delilah. She toyed with him, but one day he woke up and found out Delilah was not playing. He soon found out sin carries a high price tag!

Galations 6:7 says this, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." God tells us that we cannot sow seeds of sin in our marriage and not reap them. If you actually think you can, you are doing two things:

(1) You are being deceived.

(2) You are mocking the Word of God.

You will soon find out that you cannot mock God, the seed of sin will sprout! You are deceived if you think otherwise. Couples all over this nation are deceiving one another. They actually think they can live in sin and their marriage will turn out alright. There are multitudes of broken homes that testify to the fallacy of this kind of thinking!

Illus: Someone said, "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and will cost you more than you want to pay!"

Let us look at the first married couple in Genesis, chapter 3. We have to remember that when God made marriage He said, "It is not good that man should be alone." I'm sure a lot of women will also say, "It is not good that woman should be alone.”

Illus: Did you know there is medical data that confirms that it is not good for a man to be alone. That is, statistics have proven that married men live longer than single men. It could be that it is not healthy for single men to eat their own cooking, but whatever the reason, it has been established that married men do live longer than single men. So, if you're looking for a long life, get married!

Illus: One single man protested, saying that data was not accurate. He said, "Married men do not live longer than single men, it just seems longer!"

Seriously, the happiest people on earth are those who are married and are living for the Lord. Those who try to live without the Lord Jesus will often find their marriages are not successful. God, Who ordained marriage, knows what it takes to make it work successfully.

Illus: Years ago, when automobiles had just been invented, a man bought one and was going down a country road when it broke down. He had no idea what was wrong with his new vehicle. In a few minutes a man came along and asked if he could be of any help. The man said, "I hope so, I certainly do not know what to do with this thing. Do you know how to get it going?" The man got out of his car and in a few minutes he had the stalled car fixed. The man was so thankful he did not know how to express his gratitude. He said, "I sure do want to thank you; by the way, what is your name?" The man replied, "Henry Ford."

Jesus knows what it takes for a marriage to make it. We see in Genesis, a good example of what happens when a couple

disobeys God. Notice Adam and Eve, they both have just sinned, now let us see what sin does to this couple. First, we

see…

I. SIN TURNED TO SHAME - GENESIS 3. VERSE 7.

"And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked..."

Illus: It has been said that Adam and Eve had the ideal marriage. He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married, and she didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked.

Actually Adam and Eve had had an ideal marriage. They lived in the perfect environment, the garden of Eden, before they sinned. We cannot imagine what it would be like to live in such a wonderful place because sin has so marred this world today. However, when Adam and Eve sinned, they discovered something. They discovered that sin leads to SHAME. In chapter 2 they were not ashamed, but in chapter 3, after they sinned, they were. The Bible says that their "eyes...were opened, and they (both) KNEW THAT THEY WERE NAKED." Before sin, Adam and Eve were covered with God's shekinah glory, as God was and is. Psalm 104:2, says, "Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment..." Remember, they only committed one sin and that sin made Adam and Eve sinners. Many people think it takes an accumulation of sins to make a person a sinner. Once Adam and Eve committed that ONE SIN they KNEW they were sinners. Sin brings shame. Shame creates a guilt complex. Our conscience inside of us says, "You have done a terrible, wrong thing." Now, if the result of sin is guilt, how can a couple who are living in sin, expect to be happy. You cannot BUILD A HAPPY MARRIAGE on a foundation of SHAME. They sinned and the Bible says their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked. That is, God saw them and they knew that God saw them. What did they do? They should have let that shame lead them to repentance, but instead, verse 7 says, "......and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." The fig tree is the only tree in the garden of Eden that was mentioned by name. Some say the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was an apple tree, but the Bible does not say it was an apple tree. It could have been a fig tree. That is not important. What is important here is not what kind of tree it was, but the fact they sinned by taking the forbidden fruit and eating it. Then, instead of repenting, they tried to cover up. People have done some very intelligent things, but one of the dumbest things they have done, and continue to do, is think they can sin and then cover it up so God cannot see it.