From the Very Start
A Look at the Ancient Text of Genesis that speaks with Amazing Present-day Relevance
A Tale of Two Sins
This is one of those stories which everyone seems to know a little about. Yet it amazes me how skewed of a picture we sometimes have. Let’s walk through this story and see what we discover about the two sins shown in this story – and how they affect humanity’s relationship with God.
Genesis 3: 1-24
The serpent casts doubt
(The serpent) said to the woman, "Did God really say, ’You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?" - verse 1
- Jesus’ temptations in Matthew (If you are the Son of God)
The serpent contradicts
“‘You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’” vs. 4-5
- He couches his lie in good sounding reason, and something that from a certain viewpoint even sounds true…
The woman compromises
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it” –verse 6
- make no mistake… no one made Eve bite into the fruit. She traded her convictions for a compromise. She did what she wanted to do.
Eve’s mistake is a sin of seduction.
- Now that sin is fairly obvious. And most people stop there. In fact, often the assumption is that Eve then takes fruit and gives it to her husband. I heard someone once suggest that Adam didn’t know what he was eating, he just bit into it unaware. But that’s not the story, is it? Look again.
But notice also…
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree …She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” – verse 6
- where is Adam? He’s right there all along.
- Why doesn’t he speak up? Is he afraid? Is he interested?
- I wish Adam had cut the snake off and said something like, “If you talk to my wife like that again, I’m going to make myself a pair of Snake skin boots!” But he doesn’t. He stands there and lets his wife be seduced.
Adam’s mistake is a sin of silence.
- we think, ‘oh its just a phase’
- we think, ‘its not that big a deal’
- And all the while we are giving implicit permission for our mate, our loved ones, our friends to fall into seduction. Adam and Eve are there to help one another stay on course, not to be silent while the other is struggling.
But now, Notice how they respond to their sins!
They Covered Up
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves –verse 7
They Hid from God
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” – verse 8
This is Satan’s true agenda – if he can tempt you into failure, if he can get you to give in to a craving, if he can convince you that you’re trapped… He wins. His goal is not for you to eat another piece of cake and fall off your diet. His goal is not to get you look at some picture you shouldn’t see so you’ll feel guilty.
He’s trying to shame you – to convince you that you are beyond hope! That you’ve got no chance! That God could never use someone like.
The question is not if we will sin. We will.
Do everything you can to not
Jump away from the Serpent when he comes to seduce
Jump in when you see the Serpent trying to seduce someone you love.
But when you do fail,
So how do we respond to our struggles with sin?
Confess
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Confront
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” Acts 3:19
- “You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” Margaret Thatcher.
Commit
“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” Romans 6:11
What is this really about?
Where Adam and Eve covered up, we have to learn to uncover our sins.
Where Adam and Eve hid from God, we have to learn to reach out for Him.
The Bible says so much about sin…
My message today is this: Sin is bad, I’m against it.
Don’t let it have another day of hold on you.
- Not another moment under seduction
- Not another minute of silence.
“So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.” James 4:7-10 [Msg]
Act now.
– You don’t have to cover anything up…
– You don’t have to hide from God.
Two options – run away, or run home!
God isn’t waiting, he’s chasing behind you. God has ventured into the far country of sin: He who knew no sin became sin…
