Which Bible story do you wish you could have been recorded on tape as it actually happened? Would it be the creation story? Would it be Jonah and the whale? Or what about the crucifixion and/or resurrection of Christ?
Unfortunately we do not have video records of Bible events and may be for good reason. If we saw it, what would happen to the place of faith?
But what if, what if, we could have recorded the situation between Eve, the serpent, Adam, and God? Would it have sounded like this? (Track 4 of Fall 2002 FW Friends Skit CD)
This story always raises a lot of questions. For example the snake or serpent fascinates us. We have been told that it walked on legs, was very beautiful, but, because of its role in this situation, it was forced, as stated in verse 14, to crawl on its belly for the rest of its life.
Another question that has been asked a lot is what kind of fruit was on the tree? Was it apples? Was it bananas? Was it coconuts? What kind of fruit did they eat?
These questions though, miss the main point. And the main point is the decision that Eve, and then Adam, made to disobey God. An important question to ask is, "Why?" "Why did they choose to disobey God?" "Why did they sin?" "Why do we sin?"
"Why" questions drive us crazy sometimes, don’t they? Kids ask lots of why questions. Why? One reason is because they are trying to understand this big ol’ world that they live in. "Why" questions deal with purpose. "Why" questions deal with reasons for why or how something happens.
Why is it that Adam and Eve choose to do something that was prohibited by God? Why did they sin?
Sin is a politically incorrect term these days. We don’t like the term "sin." It makes us feel uncomfortable. How many of us now are squirming in our seats? How many of us are looking at our watches and wondering when are we going to be done? How many of us are wondering, why do we have to preach about his Jim? Sin makes us feel "old fashion." It makes us feel "judgmental."
We substitute terms for sin: dysfunction, failure, and mistake. But, the Bible calls the choice made by Adam and Eve "sin." And that’s what it is.
"Sin" however is a theological term. It describes our spiritual condition and our relationship with God as broken and flawed. But, not because God has a problem but because we do.
In article entitled, "Ten Things We Should Have Learned Since September 11, 2001," that was posted on Christianity Today’s website, Jim Tonkowich says one of those ten things is that "Evil is real." And he shares a story that really tells us just how far some go to justify evil which is part of our problem today.
Tonkowich notes, "Following the attacks of 9/11, the morality of the attacks was debated at a major American university. One professor talked about being uncomfortable calling the terrorists evil. "After all," she reasoned, "we’ve sinned too." A student asked the professor whether or not the Nazis were evil. She responded, "That’s a difficult question."
Tonkowich goes on to state, "We in the West have done our best to move "beyond good and evil." And then he says this, "Even in the church we refrain from using the word evil, have softened the meaning of sin, and shy away from calling people to repentance."
Why do we sin? Why do we do what is evil? Why do we do what is wrong?
Last week I e-mailed the question, "What do you think that it would have been like to be Adam and Eve?" to some friends as part of the preparation for last Sunday’s sermon. One of them also wrote in her response something to the effect, "I probably would have gotten bored and done something to mess everything thing up."
Could Adam and Eve have become bored with Eden? Could they have become bored with their relationship with God? Could Satan have sensed the boredom and saw an opportunity to cause evil?
Boredom is a major problem for us. It is not a modern problem even though we are bored in spite of all the gizmos and gadgets that are supposed to "entertain" us.
Boredom is a spiritual issue. It influences our choices. It makes us venerable to choosing wrong. Consider this situation: David and Bathsheba.
2 Samuel 11:1 says "The following spring, the time of year when kings go to war; David sent Joab and the Israelite Army to destroy the Ammonites. In the process the laid siege to the city of Rabbah. But David stayed behind in Jerusalem."
David should have been with his troops. But, something caused him to make the decision to stay home and as verse 2 says, "take an late afternoon nap then get up and go for a stroll on the roof." Where he saw a beautiful woman bathing. And things go down hill from there.
Was David bored? He could have been and it could have made him venerable. But, the truth is that he sinned. He disobeyed God. He disobeyed by having an affair with Bathsheba, he sinned by trying to cover it up, and he sinned when he had her husband murdered. But, I also wonder if he did not sin, he did not obey God when he did not go with his troops when kings are supposed to go.
Another spiritual tripwire is impatience. Case study? King Saul in 1 Samuel 13.
The prophet Samuel is telling King Saul, the first king of Israel to wait at Gilgal where they would worship God by offering a burnt offering. Saul, who saw his men slipping away because they got tired of waiting, got impatient after a 7 day wait and decided to take matters into his own hands and do the offering himself.
His decision would prove fateful. Samuel, as we read in verses 13 and 14, rebukes Saul and tells him that his dynasty, his line of descendents, would end and God would select a new man for the throne.
In looking at these two stories are we any closer to understanding why we sin? Yes and no.
One common thread runs through both these stories however. They both disobeyed God’s directives.
When He gave Moses the 10 Commandments, one of them dealt with your neighbor’s wife - off limits. David broke that one. Along with the one on murder as well.
Saul broke one of God’s directives of that time that only certain persons could offer sacrifices. It was off limits to others.
Disobedience is at the core of sin. Instead of doing it God’s way, we want to do it our way so we disobey.
Thursday afternoon as I was working on this message I began to realize in a new way that I find that time is more precious as the years go by. And I also find that some things that used to occupy my time don’t anymore.
I found myself thinking what is the bottom line about this faith called Christianity? I came to the conclusion, and it ties into today’s theme, it comes down to one basic question: "Am I truly and honestly trying to live for God or not?"
The question raises the issue of obedience. If I am truly and honestly trying to live for God then I must obey Him. Period. And everything else about life becomes secondary.
And as I thought about all the secondary issues that seem to be so important, I mentally drew a big circle around these secondary issues and asked, "Is the resolution of these issues helping us truly and honestly walk with God with His power and help or not?"
The past couple of weeks have likewise been a time of reflection. I buried an uncle, the second one to die in as many months, almost three weeks ago. I have a third one who I expect to pass on at any minute. With all three, I asked them about their relationship with God. Why? Because I wanted them in the eternal presence of God and I wanted to make sure that they had done what they had needed to do to insure that they would be in the eternal presence of God. All three said they were right with God.
Then came this past week, the one-year anniversary of September 11th. I know that many of us dreaded its coming. I know that many of us did not turn on the TV this past week and see the media overload of this traumatic event played out all over again. And I understand that. And I know that many of us are glad to have had it come and go.
But it has changed us even though studies done by people like George Barna have indicated that very little has changed in our behavior regarding church attendance or our devotional life. It has brought the reality of death closer to us in a very uncomfortable way.
As I thought about the still growing implications of the events of one year ago this past week, I mentally drew another circle around all of this as well and asked, "Is my response to all of this going to help me live more truly and honestly for God with His help or not?"
The reality of sin, the truth of evil requires of us a response. One response is denial and a decision to not do anything about it. We can do that. But there is a consequence to that choice.
Another response is to argue about it. A lot of people do that. Some of the argument comes in the form of saying, “that’s between me and God and how dare you raise the issue. You have no right to pass judgment on me besides, what about the history of Christianity? People have done things and said things in the name of God that have been terrible. So what do you say to that?”
I say, “You’re right. There have been some terrible things done in the name of God and Christianity. But, just as those persons will stand before God and give an accounting of what they have done, so will all of us stand before God and also give an account of our own lives.”
A third response is to take Jesus up on His offer. We can’t cure sin. We can’t pass a law and make it illegal. Time does not make sin less powerful.
C.S. Lewis, a wonderful Christian author, has written, "We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin... But, mere time does nothing either to the fact or guilt of sin. The guilt is washed out not by time but by repentance and the blood of Christ."
Why do we sin? Because we want to live our life our own way. God gave us that choice. We can, and we do but we pay a price for that course of action.
What is the alternative? Repentance. To repent is to "turn from sin and resolve to reform one’s life." God offers us to be forgiven of our past, of those things that we have said, thought, and done wrong. We don’t have to live with all of that anymore. We can be forgiven and clean. But only as we ask for and accept God’s forgiveness.
I want to see you in the eternal presence of God. I want to see all you in heaven. There are, and there have been family members who want to see you in heaven. But, more important than that, God himself wants to see you in heaven. As Jesus himself said, "God did not send his son into the world to condemn it, but to save it."
If you have never experienced the freedom and the joy of having your past set right, then I invite you to ask for and accept the forgiveness of God through Christ this morning. The altar is open for that commitment to be made. Respond as you need to. Amen.
