how sin affects us
Genesis 3:1-13
We know that life was perfect in the garden. 1 Cor. 15:21-22 “So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, Adam, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man, Christ. Everyone dies because all of us are related to Adam, the first man. But all who are related to Christ, the other man, will be given new life.”
We have some rich truths to proclaim this morning as we look into His word.
1. We find that Satan has his teaching. “Has God really said that? Well I want you to know you will not die.” The devil does not say there is no God he merely suggests that God does not mean what He says or that He will show mercy. His purpose is to destroy the purpose of God for mankind. We have the choice to change the Devil’s plans by choosing Christ.
2. We have reasoning of the flesh or we call it carnal reasoning. Carnal is opposed to spiritual reasoning. “The woman saw that the tree had fruit that was good to eat, nice to look at, and desirable for making one wise.” She looked at the fruit and judging by it appearance it did not look bad. She kept looking and her desire became bigger and grew into a deliberate act of her will. She was not satisfied with just taking for herself and so gave also to her husband. We can see the process in seven steps. 1. She gave paid attention to the temper. 2. She forgot God’s mercies. 3. She kept her eyes on what was forbidden. 4. She did not like it that God had not said it was forbidden. 5. She doubted God’s Word. 6. She believed what Satan told her. 7. She took and ate of the fruit. James 1:13-15 “And remember, no one who wants to do wrong should ever say, "God is tempting me." God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else either. Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death.” 1 John 2:15-17 “Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love the world, you show that you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only the lust for physical pleasure, the lust for everything we see, and pride in our possessions. These are not from the Father. They are from this evil world. And this world is fading away, along with everything it craves. But if you do the will of God, you will live forever.” The Bible says that man was made to think and act. When we go along with the thoughts of this world we cannot please God.
The Parable of the Ducks. Søren Kierkegaard, told a story about ducks that came from an imaginary country where only ducks live.
One Sunday morning, all the mother and father ducks headed to church with their children waddling behind them. They entered the doors and sat in their duck pews, sang songs from their duck hymnals, and gave to underprivileged ducks at the offering time.
When the duck preacher got up to proclaim the message, he was very dynamic. He opened his duck Bible and screamed, "Ducks, you can fly! You have wings and you can fly like eagles." The ducks all chanted, "We can fly, we can fly!" He asked, "Do you believe you can fly?" Again, they shouted back, "We can fly, we can fly." He screamed again, "We can soar through the skies!" They all shouted, "Amen." With that the pastor closed his duck Bible and dismissed his congregation of ducks. Then they all waddled back home.
Just a simple reminder today that while your words are important, they can only go so far. So much of the work of passing on our faith takes place when we model it ourselves. To do that, we must make sure that we are working on the issues in our own lives. If we do not, the message we proclaim to others will be very similar to that of the duck pastor. After he told them they could fly, he needed to show them by spreading his own wings and soaring above the clouds. As we live out what we believe in our lives, we can lead the way for others and make a difference for lifetimes to come.
3. This was the first time man tried to do works for salvation. 3:7 “At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves.” The Bible says their eyes were opened. They were innocent before this time. If we commit sin it opens our eyes to our weaknesses. When the ungodly sins it blinds their hearts to the truth. In vain they tried to cover up their sinful hearts with fig leaves. The Bible says Jer. 17:9 "The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” Matthew 15:8-11 ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. Their worship is a charade, for they replace God's commands with their own man-made teachings.' “Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, "Listen to what I say and try to understand. You are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you say and do." Acts 5:3 Then Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit.” Pro 28:13 “People who cover over their sins will not prosper.” I am sure you have seen a picture of this covering that they made with fig leaves. The only thing they covered was of the flesh. They could not cover their hearts. Your Tongue: The tongue can be your worst enemy. Your words, your dreams, and your thoughts have power to create conditions in your life. What you speak about, you can bring about. If you keep saying you can't stand your job, you might lose your job. If you keep saying you can't stand your body, your body can become sick. If you keep saying you can't stand your car, your car could be stolen or just stop operating. If you keep saying you're broke, guess what? You'll always be broke. If you keep saying you can't trust a man or trust a woman, you will always find someone in your life to hurt and betray you. If you keep saying you can't find a job, you will remain unemployed. If you keep saying you can't find someone to love you or believe in you, your very thought will attract more experiences to confirm your beliefs. If you keep talking about a divorce or break up in a relationship, then you might end up with it. Turn your thoughts and conversations around to be more positive and power packed with faith, hope, love and action. Don't be afraid to believe that you can have what you want and deserve. Watch your thoughts, they become words. Watch your words, they become actions Watch your actions they become habits. Watch your habits they become character. Watch your character for it becomes your Life.
4. They tried to hide their shame. “They hid themselves.” They tried to hide among the trees, the very blessings God had given them. How many try to hide from God? How many have come to church and yet hide the blessing they could be if they would give of the talents God has given them. They heard the voice of God and then they hid. He is crying out to you today are you hiding? God is everywhere and we cannot hide from Him. The Bible says PS 139:1-12, 17-18 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my every thought when far away. 3 You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. 5 You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know! 7 I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence! 8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there. 9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me and your strength will support me. 11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night—12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! 18 I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me! When we read these words how do we think we can hide from God? It is sin that separates us from God. God loves you!
5. God came seeking and still does today. “Where are you?” God is the seeker of us in our sin. Adam and Eve wanted to be hid from God. God is the good Shepherd and He is seeking the sheep. When He speaks it brings conviction. Peter said, “I am unclean and undone. I am a sinful man.” Paul said, “What would you have me to do?” The jailer said, “What must I do to be saved?” The Bible says JN 16:8-9 “He will come to convict the world of sin, to show the world what has God's approval, and to convince the world that God judges it. He will convict the world of sin, because people don't believe in me.” PS 32:1-5 “Blessed is the person whose disobedience is forgiven and whose sin is pardoned. Blessed is the person whom the Lord no longer accuses of sin and who has no deceitful thoughts.
When I kept silent {about my sins}, my bones began to weaken because of my groaning all day long. Day and night your hand lay heavily on me. My strength shriveled in the summer heat.
I made my sins known to you, and I did not cover up my guilt. I decided to confess them to you, O Lord. Then you forgave all my sins.” It is up to you where you are with God. You can keep sinning or you can be forgiven.
6. We find all trying to make excuses. “The woman you gave me, she gave to me.” RM 3:19 “Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses and to bring the entire world into judgment before God.” God knows the boaster from the believer. The Bible says LK 18:10-14 "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a dishonest tax collector. The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: 'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don't sin, I don't commit adultery, I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, 'O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.' I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored."
Do we have an excuse for doubting God? The Bible says PS 14:1-3 “Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God." They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; no one does good! The Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if there is even one with real understanding, one who seeks for God. But no, all have turned away from God; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not even one!” Ps 10:4 “These wicked people are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.” PS 53:1 The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that does good. We can make excuses or we can confess our wrong. Adam blamed his wife. Eve blamed the serpent.
“God made coats of skin and clothed them.” No one even at their best can cover their heart from the sight of God. This is the first record of atonement for sin. Atonement means covering. Our covering only comes as we put our trust in Jesus Christ. What is your covering today?
A RESOLUTION WORTH KEEPING by Jon Walker
If you're thinking about making some New Year's Resolutions, consider this one, "This year I resolve to know nothing but Christ and him crucified." Paul's message is radically simple: Salvation is in Christ alone. What does this mean? It's not Christ plus your good behavior. It's not Christ plus the years you taught a Bible study. It's not Christ plus your tithe. It's not Christ plus the church you attend. It's not Christ plus the number of verses you memorize. It's not Christ plus your title in the church. It's not Christ plus wisdom from the latest Christian seminar. It's not Christ plus a fast. It's not Christ plus a good driving record. It's not Christ plus well-behaved children. It's not Christ plus the right job. It's not Christ plus the right spouse. It's not Christ plus the latest technology. It's simply Christ. Christ plus nothing.
