1998 Sermons
Cain and Abel: Brother’s Keeper or Killer 5/17/98
Genesis 4:1-16
Page 5 Come Alive Bible
JESUS CHRIST wants to take you with your background and any bitterness it might have produced and turn it into blessings.
He takes us with our differences and diversity and works to produce through us that which gives gladness to us and glory to God. This is a clear cut, classic example of diversity found in Genesis 4. It is the story of the first two persons given natural birth on planet earth.
Science has overlooked the fourth chapter of Genesis and thus is misreading our history of origins. Homo Sapiens did not start off as cavemen and evolve upward. We did not begin on a low anthropoid or simian state as is commonly assumed. Our human ancestors were on a very high physical and intellectual level. Sin resulted in degradation. Instead of evolution there was devolution, the down- grading of man intellectually and physically.
Eve conceived from Adam but knew the child was “from the Lord.” “From” means “with the help of.” Thus, the sanctity of life is staked out in the first conception in the Bible. She knew this child was a token of God’s faithfulness for He had promised a “seed of woman” would deliver her and all who trusted in Him.
In Genesis 3: 15 God declared that two seed would emerge and be in conflict until the “seed of the serpent” was ultimately overcome by the “Seed of woman.” In Genesis 4 these two distinctly different seeds emerge as prototypes of humankind.
I. THE CHARACTER OF THE TWO SONS
A. CAIN, the name means “acquisition.” His birth brought such joy to Eve that she exclaimed “I have gotten a man from the Lord (4:1). It just may be that in her naivete she thought this was to be her Redeemer.
The seed, Cain, grew an immediate root of bitterness. Out of a root comes a shoot which produces fruit. Everything in his life evidenced the true root of bitterness. This bitterness produced:
1) Anger (4: 5, 6). Perhaps he resented his parents for having enjoyed the blessings of Eden and having robbed him of it. This anger took command of his total personality.
2) Blaming Others. From the beginning he blamed others for his unhappiness. He had a “Why me?” complex.
3) Murder (4:8). His anger expressed itself ultimately in the murder of his brother. Jesus warned that anger is a prelude to murder (Matt. 5: 21, 22).
4) A Smart Mouth (4:9). Cain even wised off to God. He is impudent and hardened. He lied by saying he didn’t know where his brother was and then he seeks to exonerate himself by asking God a question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
5) Self-exoneration (4:13). He even protested God’s justice.
6) Forsaking God (4:16 – 24). He even walked away from God and started his own civilization. This was the emergence of humanism.
I John 3:12 is a summary of Cain’s disposition:
a. He was of the wicked one.
b. His works were evil.
c. He hated his brother’s righteous works.
Cain was religious but not righteous.
B. ABEL, means “frail.” For a better understanding of this shepherd boy we can look to the New Testament.
1) Jesus described him as “righteous” (Matthew 23: 35).
2) His works were righteous (I John 3:12).
We need to remember he was reared by the same parents in the same home. The only difference in him and Cain was their attitude and responses.
Do you have a root of bitterness as is spoken of in Hebrews 12: 15 as being defiling? If so admit it. Confess it to God. Share it with the person or persons toward which you hold it and ask their forgiveness. Deal with your bitterness.
II. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TWO SACRIFICES
A. CAIN’S SACRIFICE was “the fruit of the ground.” This suggests a casual sacrifice. In Eden God had set in motion the standard for worshipful sacrifices in that era as being a living sacrifice. Cain asserted his will to worship as he pleased.
However, it was not the nature of the offering that made it unacceptable, but the spirit. Later the Law of Moses specifies many different kinds of vegetable and meal offerings as natural offerings of grateful people. In the sacrificial system the blood offering always came first. Cain wanted to do it his way. He was willing to engage in ritualistic worship as long as it was done in his way.
Notice the sequence. God did not “respect Cain” is first. The fact that Cain’s motivation and attitude was unacceptable is what made his sacrifice unacceptable. The Hebrew word translated “respect” is SHA’AH and means “to regard with favor.”
Cain did not offer “in faith” (Hebrews 11: 4). God offered Cain an opportunity for a new and right relationship with Him (4: 7). This was an appeal for him to stop the progressive steps away from His love. This reveals that bitterness can be overcome and anger can be conquered. People can change.
Genesis 4: 7 is God’s way of saying “I love you Cain as much as I do Abel. It is your attitude and actions that are unacceptable.” The same is true of us today. This verse does not imply that our works make us acceptable to God. What it actually questions is “have you forfeited your acceptability by sin?”
It was not only the sacrifice of Cain that was unacceptable. Cain himself was unacceptable. “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord…” (Proverbs 15: 8).
Thus, Cain started the world’s first false religion. It, as is true of all false religions was characterized by:
a) Falsehood (4:9) “I don’t know.”
b) Futility (4: 10 – 12) “A fugitive and a vagabond.”
c) Fear (4:13 – 15) “My punishment is too great.”
B. ABEL’S OFFERING was acceptable because Abel himself was acceptable because of his motivation and spirit. Abel gave with the attitude and spirit God demanded. Cain did not.
Abel gave the blood offering first as an indication of his awareness of and desire for sin to be forgiven. He gave what God wanted with the spirit He demanded.
Abel’s sacrifice was better because it represented the obedience of faith. Obedience does not bring faith but faith always brings obedience. A sacrifice is acceptable only if it is an outward expression of a devoted and obedient heart.
III. THE CONSEQUENCE OF THE TWO SEED
A. CAIN started with a root of bitterness which developed into resentment of his parents, rejection of God, and reached its culmination in the murder of his brother. He refused any form of repentance.
Cain feared vengeance from people. Who were these people? Genesis 5: 19 clearly states that Adam and Eve had many other sons and daughters. At the time Cain murdered Abel he was likely 129 years old. Statisticians have concluded that the world population by this time could well have been about 32,000.
In Genesis 4: 17 the wife of Cain is spoken of. Who was she? She had to be one of these many other sisters. There is no other answer.
As Cain walks off the pages of the Old Testament, he travels through a land called Nod (4:16) which means “flight and banishment.”
He left behind a rebellious prodigy which is the model for all sinners apart from God. They are representative of the “seed of the serpent.”
B. ABEL was the first human being to be murdered. Being cut off he had “no generation” physically. However, Abel lost his life because he chose to serve the Lord and manifest righteousness.
God honored Abel by providing a spiritual seed in the person of Seth (Gen 4: 25). The name Seth means “the appointed.” He was appointed to pick up the fallen banner of righteousness carried by Abel. The line of Seth is described as “calling upon the Lord” (4:26). According to Luke 3: 38 Jesus Christ descended from Seth and is the true “Seed of the woman” (Galatians 3: 16, 19 & 4:4).
Don’t Play the Blame Game 8/23/98
Genesis 3:1-7
Page 4 Come Alive Bible
Jesus Christ said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
Later, before Pilate the inquisitor asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). There should be no criticism of Pilate asking the question. The lament is he didn’t stay around to get the answer.
To the believer the Bible is distilled truth. It is the objective truth revealed by God. As such it becomes the standard of faith and practice of followers of Christ.
John Calvin said of the Bible, “It obtains the same complete credit and authority with believers, when they are satisfied of its divine origin, as if they heard the very words pronounced by God Himself.”
Most persons know the part of a verse which says, “Man shall not live by bread alone…” However, many don’t know the rest of the verse which says, “…but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4: 4).
The Greek word for our word “inspiration,” THEOPNEUSTOS, means “breathed out by God.” Every word proceeds from the mouth of God.
The first question asked in the Bible related to the validity, authority, and reliability of God’s Word: “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden…” (Genesis 3:1).
Loss of confidence in the authority of the Bible has caused a loss of respect for all authority. Without its absolute truths to guide us we establish our own self as authority.
II Peter 2: 16 – 21 indicates how reliable God’s Word really is.
Verse 16 states it does not consist of “cunningly devised fables.”
Reference is made to being “eyewitnesses of His [Christ] majesty.” Have you ever thought how wonderful it would have been to have seen Christ in action.
In a court of law a witness under oath who says, “Yes, your honor I was there and saw what happened” is considered a creditable witness. Peter and others there with him were creditable eyewitnesses.
Verse 17 reveals God said, “This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.” Peter said “We heard this voice.” In a court of law a sworn witness who says, “Yes, your honor I was there and I heard it when it was said…” is considered a creditable witness.
Verse 19 refers to a more creditable witness than an eye or ear witness. We have “the prophetic word made more sure…” That is a reference to the Bible.
The text goes on to tell how we got the Bible: “prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
My friend Zig Ziegler said, “A perfect God would not have any trouble producing a perfect Bible.”
Confidence in God’s word is elemental to spiritual stability. If you don’t believe Genesis 1: 1 you can’t believe anything else, Believe that and you can believe all else. There is a new scholarly book out entitled, The Theory of Everything which underscores the concept of creation from the perspective of science. The Christian scientific community was tardy in gleaning evidence to support creation having accepted it by faith. Now faith is being joined by volumes of creditable scientific evidence. Regardless of what concept one holds of origins it must be by faith. For a matter to be considered scientifically creditable it must meet two tests. It must be:
1. Observable. No one saw creation.
2. Repeatable. No one can replicate creation.
Counterfeit concepts of origins continue to crop up. A relatively new group claiming 40,000 adherents showed up on Miami’s chic South Beach recently to raise funds for a new embassy. The embassy is for aliens from our galaxy but not our solar system. The aliens called Elohim have promised the cults leader they will come to earth if provided an embassy. They would like to visit earth to examine their creating. According to the groups leader these aliens created human beings in their laboratories. So far the group has raised over $7 million for the embassy.
Satan has to be subtle to pull that one off.
“Now the serpent was more subtle” (Genesis 3:1) that is, clever, smart.
We should never feel we are clever enough to match wits with the devil. He is the fourth ranking super power in the universe. Therefore, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Corinthians 11:3).
Every generation has to defend itself from counterfeit religions. To help encourage our diligence to the subtlety of Satan it is revealed he often deceives by “transforming himself into an angel of light” (II Corinthians 11: 14). Such ones often represent themselves as “super Christians” knowing more than anyone because of a fuller revelation.
Note what God said: “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
I. THREEFOLD ADAPTATION
ADDED SOME: “ye shall not touch it.” God never said that. They could have hung an old tier by a rope and made a swing in the tree and that would not have violated the command. They could have built a tree house in it, but they could not eat of it.
The Bible’s plus is the basis of most cults.
ALTERED SOME: She changed God’s “surely” to a “maybe” (“lest ye die”).
OMITTED SOME: She left out, “thou shalt surely die.”
Satan began by planting a doubt about God’s word followed by a denial resulting in a delusion: “You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
How very subtle this was. Until then they had known only good. Now Satan presented evil as being as good or better than good.
II. THREEFOLD APPEAL
BODY: “saw that the tree was good for food”
SOUL: An aesthetic appeal, “pleasant to the eye”
SPIRITUAL: “A tree to be desired to make one wise”
In salvation these 3 steps are reversed.
There is the immediate justification of the spirit.
The progressive sanctification of the soul.
The ultimate glorification of the body.
Once Adam and Eve ate of the tree in the midst of the garden they began to play the blame game. Adam said, “the woman you gave me she…” He blamed not only “the woman” but God for giving her to him.
Eve responded, “the serpent he tricked me.”
When you foul-up, goof-off, or sin take the hit. Accept the blame. Members of our society have become master players of the blame game.
A teen recently shot a friend and blamed Celine Dion for singing the theme song from the “Titanic.” He said every time he heard it he was moved to violence.
A student snatched $10.00 from the hand of a student waiting in the lunch room line and ran. When caught the student said, “It was her fault, she shouldn’t have been holding it out.”
Locally a student was arrested for buying marijuana. When arrested his mother said it wasn’t his fault the person shouldn’t have been there selling it.
The German soccer team lost to Croatia in the World Cup. A member of the German team blamed the Chancellor for the loss saying he advocated the creation of the nation of Croatia and if he had not there would not have been such a nation and they would not have lost.
Adam said,”the woman,” the woman said, “the serpent.” The serpent looked the other way.
III. THREEFOLD AFFECT
HEAD: He hid from God. He had a wrong concept of God.
Often it is said of a well educated person involved in a cult, “How can such a brilliant person believe that?”
Before Satan’s fall he was an angel known as Lucifer. He was “full of wisdom” (Ezek. 28:12). Next to God he was the most brilliant being in the universe. As a fallen angel he retained the highest of all created intelligence. Though he retained that wisdom it was now warped and perverted. Intelligence is no guarantee of faith. Some of the greatest people of faith have been people of great intelligence.
Johan Kepler the founder of physical astronomy discovered the laws of planetary motion and demonstrated the heliocentricity of the solar system was a man of great faith. He wrote:
“Since we astronomers are priests of the highest God in regard to the book of nature, it befits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God.”
Francis Bacon the man responsible for the establishment of what is known as the “scientific method,” a devout believer of the Bible wrote: “There are two books laid before us to study, to prevent us from falling into error; first, the volume of Scriptures, which reveal the will of God; then the volume of the Creatures, which expresses His power.”
Blaise Pascal the great mathematician established the science of hydrostatics and laid the foundation for differential calculus was a man of great faith. He was also a brilliant philosopher and wrote: “How can anyone lose who chooses to become a Christian? If, when he dies, there turns out to be no God and his faith was in vain, he has lost nothing — in fact he has been happier in life than his nonbelieving friends. If, however, there is a God and a heaven and hell, then he had gained heaven and his skeptical friends will have lost everything in hell.”
Churches in scientific communities such as Huntsville, Alabama, Houston, Texas, and the area around Cape Canaveral are populated with thousands of scientists of great intellect and faith.
Teddy Roosevelt speaking of the evil within persons said an ignorant man may steal from a boxcar. Educate him and he will steal the railroad. Intellectual brilliance is influenced by sin.
HEART: “The heart is ‘deceitful about all things, and desperately wicked'” (Jeremiah 17:9). Satan’s deception causes a wrong concept of God. When God came looking for Adam and Eve after their sin they thought God wanted to destroy them, that He hated them. For the first time after their sin they feared God. Until then theirs was a rewarding fellowship with God.
HANDS: Went out and sewed leaves together in an attempt to cover the evidence of their sin. By this means they sought to make themselves acceptable to God. They, by their works, sought God’s approval. Every system of religion based on works salvation is in keeping with this false concept. Every attempt to make ones self acceptable to God is a counterfeit religion based on the false concept of salvation by works. Ours is a salvation that works, but it is not by works.
IV. THREEFOLD ACTION
SALVATION IS A GIFT – God provided skins as a covering.
SUBSTITUTIONARY SACRIFICE WAS REQUIRED. The lamb was slain.
SALVATION IS BY THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD.
‘Till He Appeared 12/6/98
I John 3:5, 8 & 4:9
Page 1777 Come Alive Bible
Jesus Christ laid aside His robes of eternal glory and became enshrouded in swaddling clothes for a purpose. This was the greatest extraterrestrial rescue mission ever attempted. It had more peril programmed into the mission than Apollo 13 multiplied a thousandfold. There was no escape vehicle for the cosmic Christ.
His mission had been pre-programmed and chronicled over a period of 1500 years. More than 330 exact details were penned by Old Testament prophets. There was to be no lack of understanding of the mission.
After the accomplishment of His mission to liberate and extricate doomed human beings one of His earthly companions wrote of the reason for it. John, who shared His earth walk gave three reasons for this daring undertaking.
I. TO PARDON I JOHN 3: 5
“And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” The word “manifested” or “appeared” translates the Greek word PHANEROO, which means to remove a lid, or pull a curtain. It speaks of divine revelation. That is what happened in Bethlehem. God was unveiled and revealed as never before.
John 1: 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Persons who master more than one language know that in some languages you can say things you can’t say in certain other languages. There are no words by which certain words can be translated.
Literally, the Greek structure says, “Before time began to begin the Word was…” Time was a part of creation. Creation involved time, matter, and space – all three. Before time began to begin Christ existed.
The word “Word” translates the Greek word Logos. “In the beginning was the Logos.” Or, “Before time began to begin was the Logos.”
To find the meaning of a word look to see how it was used during the time it was employed. At the time of John’s writings “Logos” was used of Philo meaning, “all that is known or knowable about God.” John used it as a reference to Christ meaning, “All that is known or knowable about God is in the person of Christ.”
When the virgin Mary pulled back the cover and let persons see her new born baby she was manifesting, unveiling God.
There is a complex rule of Greek grammar when applied asserts emphatically that Jesus is God. The rule is: When two nouns in the same case are connected by the Greek word “and” and the second noun is not preceded by the article, the second noun refers to the same person or thing as the first noun, and is a further description of it.
Titus 2: 13 refers to “the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” The rule of grammar identifies Jesus Christ at God.
This is further emphasized by the fact the Greek word for “and” can be translated “even.”
II Peter 1: 1 also refers to Christ as “God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” He is God.
When applied to Titus 2: 13 it is even clearer: “the great God even our Savior Jesus Christ.”
In Bethlehem the unveiling began.
The purpose of this unveiling of God was to take away sins.
He did this for every infant that dies before reaching an age of reasoning. We are all born with an old sin nature variously called our Adamic nature. Jesus Christ being born of the virgin had no old sin nature. Therefore, when He died on the cross He acquitted all of us of our old sin nature.
He lived without any personal sin. We all have personal sins. He died without any personal sins for our personal sins. For His gift of salvation to be applied we must respond to Him in loving acceptance.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21).
He came to – – – – –
II. PROTECT I JOHN 3: 8
“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).
The word destroy means “to render ineffective, to rob of power.”
A missionary in Africa returned to his house to find in it a large python. He retreated to his truck and got his 45 pistol. Quietly he got as near the snake as possible and fired a mortal round right between the snakes eyes. The python didn’t die instantly. The missionary ran outside as the monstrous snake began to thrash around. The missionary heard things crashing, falling, and breaking. Soon all was quiet. Upon returning to the house he found the place in a mess. In dying the snake had caused a lot of damage. Christ mortally wounded Satan on the cross but he continues to do damage. Christ wants to repair that.
Is there a work of Satan in your life presently that you need to enlist Christ’s help in destroying? In these moments I want to deal with the one considered by some to be the number one sin of church going Christians. It is bitterness.
Guilt is what we feel when we hurt someone.
Bitterness is what we experience when someone hurts us.
Bitterness comes from within us. If a container of sweet water is jolted sweet water comes out. If a container of bitter water is jolted bitter water comes out. What is within is what comes out of us.
If you keep bitterness inside you it will make you sick.
If you vent it on others it will make them sick —– of you.
Get rid of it.
Admit you have been wronged.
Concede the person who wronged you deserves to be punished.
Resolve to release the offender of his or her debt.
You get rid of bitterness unilaterally. It doesn’t matter what the other person did or that they don’t seek forgiveness. Don’t concentrate on the offender. What he or she did is her problem. What you do about it is your problem. When you refuse to rid your life of bitterness you are the puppet of the offended. That person controls your emotions. Let Christ control them instead.
If you were to competitively run a race for a prize had you rather run alone or strapped to the leg of another as in a three legged race. When you refuse to get bitterness out of your life you are strapped to the offender and limited by that person.
Let Jesus destroy the word of Satan in your life. Get all bitterness out.
III. PROVIDE I JOHN 4: 9
“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (I John 4:9).
He gives us strength by which to live.
He gives us peace in which to live.
He becomes the object for which to live.
This life is a reference to the fullest development of our highest powers, both of understanding and enjoyment.
Life with Christ gives even adversity purpose. Cripple such a person and you have Sir Walter Scott. Put him in a prison cell and you have a John Bunyan. Nearly bury him in snow at a place like Valley Forge and you have a George Washington. Have him born in abject poverty and you have a Lincoln. Put him in a grease pit in a train roundhouse and you have a Walter Chrysler. Make him second fiddle in an obscure South Africa orchestra and you have a Toscanini. Hardships with Christ as our companion don’t crush us they challenge us.
Christmas is not just the story of a baby born. It is the story about the person into whom the baby grew, who came to redeem us from our sins and to call us into partnership with His great and mighty purpose. That’s living.
Adam or Eve: The Child in All of Us 2/22/98
Genesis 3:1-7
Page 1 Come Alive Bible
JESUS CHRIST, a literal historical figure, is called “the second Adam.” The first Adam was also a literal historical figure. There was an actual historical homo sapien named Adam who had a helpmate named Eve.
The word “Adam” is used in the Book of Genesis generically for “mankind,” such as in Genesis 5: 2. However, it is also used as a name of the individual man first created by God.
Gay Rights Activists try to twist this verse to imply unisex. As used in this verse, it is a generic term for mankind. God created them Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve.
The name “Adam” meant “of the earth,” a reference to God making him from the earth. Adam gave a name to his wife (3:20). He chose “Eve” which means “life” or “life giver.”
Scripture says God “formed” Adam from the “ground.” The Hebrew word for “formed” is YASAR (2:7). It describes the work of an artist. Mankind was made from the earth by a divine plan. The Hebrew word for “ground” is ADAMAH (3:17). The Hebrew word for “man” is ADAM. Thus, man, ADAM, came from the ground, ADAMAH.
The Lord God took approximately fifty- eight pounds of oxygen, two ounces of salt, fifty quarts of water, three pounds of calcium, twenty-four pounds of carbon, some chlorine, phosphorous, iron, sulphur, and glycerine from the earth and made Adam.
The average person has enough fat to make seven bars of soap,
—Enough iron to make a medium-sized nail.
—Enough lime to whitewash a small building.
—Enough phosphorus to make 24 hundred matchtips.
—Enough magnesium for a single dose of “Milk of Magnesia.”
—Enough potassium to explode a toy cannon.
—And a little sulphur added.
The chemical components of a rocket scientists, brain surgeon, migrant laborer, or third world peasant are worth approximately $10.00. That will deflate your ego.
Skeptics scoff at the idea of God creating. Some conscientious inquirers are confused over the complex arguments opposing this concept. I believe, and I believe with reason — God created.
The intent of this message is not to deal with the concept of creation vs. evolution, but I want to share one simple reason why evolution is impossible.
Creditable evolutionists say for life to evolve from non-life over 30 billion years would have been required for the simplest life form to evolve: 30 billion years. They speculate it took over 250 million years for human beings to evolve after that. An old earth is essential for evolution to be possible according to studious evolutionists.
Consider our sun. It burns up about four billion tons of itself every second. Knowing its mass and this rate of consumption scientists estimate it will burn out in about five million years.
Using this same rate and reversing this process by adding four billion tons a second the size of the sun can be estimated. It would have been twice its size one million years ago. With a surface temperature of 6093 degrees Celsius, that would have boiled any primordial soup on earth. Remember 30 billion years would have been required for life to evolve from non-life and another 250 million years for human beings to evolve.
If four billion tons per second were added to the sun, 250 million years ago it would have been one Astronomical Unit (AU) larger. That would have made it large enough to fill the space between where it is now and where we are on Earth.
The clock of time has run out on evolution. This is but one of many indications the universe is not old enough to support the theory of evolution. There is no way to prove creation or evolution. Either concept has to be accepted by faith. Though creation not evolution can be proven scientifically there are ways to disprove evolution.
One basic difference in creationists and the evolutionists is that a creationist believes what he reads in the Bible and an evolutionists believes what he thinks.
The Lord God placed His created human beings in a Garden named Eden. Eden is a Hebrew word meaning “delight.” Eden was a place of absolute delight. God gave them an ideal environment.
In our consideration of what happened to Adam and Eve in this setting we will see mirrored our own nature. The drama of their lives is a representation of your life.
God’s first commandment is recorded in Genesis 2: 16. As with all subsequent commandments, it contained a negative prohibition and a positive blessing. God, thus, made man by special design with the capacity for moral decisions.
The “serpent” is identified in Revelation 20: 2 as Satan in disguise. The word of God brought life and harmony. The word of the serpent brought chaos and death. God spoke and produced the cosmos. Satan spoke and it resulted in chaos. Satan came in a disguise. Temptation always does. Satan is a liar (John 8:44) and his big lie is that you can sin and get away with it.
The story begins with – – –
I. THREEFOLD ANARCHY
A. It starts with a questioning of authority. The Bible does not indicate Adam had any contact with the tempter. The serpent that beguiled Eve was not a slithering snake in the form we know them today. The Bible describes the creature used to beguile Eve as beautiful. In Genesis 3: 1 the serpent is described as “cunning.” The Hebrew word literally means “prudent.” The New Testament notes “the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety” (II Cor. 11:3). With trickery he cunningly out smarted her.
In three gospels Christ gives us signs of the end of the ages. We are impressed with such things as Israel’s return to the land, earthquakes, wars, the rise of Russia, etc. However, the first sign mentioned by each of the gospel writers was “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matt. 24:4; Mark 13:5; Luke 21:8).
Three things are definite about the serpent: 1) it was created by God, 2) it was intended to serve man, 3) Satan used its brilliance for his own nefarious purpose of deception.
The tempter began by questioning the authority of God’s Word. “Has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (3:1).
A loss of respect for the Word of God is a principle cause of the erosion of respect for any and all authority today.
Satan has the authority of the Bible under constant attack. He began with an assault on Genesis, and he is still keeping up his pressure on it. There are those who declare the first seven chapters of Genesis to be a mere allegory.
B. The second aspect of this anarchy was Adam doubting God’s sense of justice. God demanded of Adam and Eve justice. In effect He said, “You take the Tree of Life and I will take the Tree of Knowledge.”
In creation God made every creature to operate in a limited sphere. To the birds He granted the sphere of the atmosphere with the limiting boundaries of the stratosphere and the solid earth. To the fish He bequeathed the waters as an environment limited by the shoreline. Adam and Eve had a virtually unlimited boundary but there was nevertheless a boundary. Adam and Eve questioned the justice of such limitations. Adam and Eve questioned God’s sense of fair play.
The fact was the tree didn’t belong to Adam and Eve. Much of mankind’s misery today begins at this point. A lack of respect for property rights creates much misery.
C. The third factor involved in this anarchy was a lack of obedience.
This questioning of God’s Word resulted in a – – –
II. THREEFOLD AMENDMENT
A. They added to the Word of God.
Eve said God said of the tree “…you shall not touch it…” (Vs. 3). Not so! They could have climbed up in it, tied a rope to it, and made a tire swing from it and God would not have cared. God simply said “don’t eat of it.”
The Bible P-L-U-S anything as a final authority is wrong.
B. They altered the Word of God.
God has said they would “surely die” if they ate of the tree. Eve said God said, “lest you die.” The expression means “you may die.” God’s “surely” was changed to a “maybe.” The serpent picked up on this at once and took it a step further saying “You shall not surely die.” (Vs. 4). This promise was a lie that never came true.
C. They omitted part of the Word of God.
God’s “surely die” was now omitted from the record.
Minimizing the result of sin is an encouragement to sin. The least doubt about the consequence of sin makes one more bold to sin.
III. A THREEFOLD APPEAL
A. An appeal to the body – “the tree was good for food.”
B. An appeal to the soul – “pleasant to the eyes.”
C. An appeal to the spirit – “to make one wise.”
This appeal to be like God has always been an allurement to mankind. The New Age movement today is capitalizing on it. It is the primary thesis of their beliefs. Genesis 3: 5 “…you will be like God” is the ground of their philosophy. This lie never came true. Satan’s promises never do. Wisdom is never obtained by disobeying God’s Word.
By restricting one tree God is revealing there must be a limitation to the gratification of the senses. As servants, our senses are blessings. As sovereigns, they are a burden.
We should be cautious about any organization, institution, or event that appeals primarily to the senses. Satan always has a connection with it.
The fact our senses yield pleasure is an evidence of the goodness of God. Monitor our body and enjoy the many normal pleasures you most often overlook, such as, a warm shower, the first sip of cool water, taking off your shoes, sitting down after standing for sometime, etc. Seeking our primary source of pleasure through our senses is an evidence of depravity.
IV. A THREEFOLD AFFECT
There are two words in our vocabulary that often get confused. “Affect” means “to act upon.” “Effect” means “the end result.”
The affect of Eve’s decision, that is, how it acted upon them is distinct. It affected their – –
A. Head
“The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2: 14).
B. Heart
Having been deceived they now developed a wrong impression of God. They thought He hated them so they sought to hide. Satan promised them they would be gods, but their disobedience actually caused them to flee and hide from God.
Mankind’s heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17: 9).
C. Hands
They sewed fig leaves together to make coverings for themselves (Vs. 7). Ever since then man has been trying by his works to make himself worthy of being in God’s presence.
Notice verse 21, “the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” That verse is hard for animal right’s activists to explain. Animals don’t have rights, they have worth.
This provision of clothing is symbolical of the spiritual truth noted in Romans 3: 21 – 26 where we are told that based on the atoning sacrifice of Christ He clothed believers in righteousness.
V. THREEFOLD EFFECT
Remember, “effect” means the result.
A. They died spiritually immediately.
B. They died soulfully progressively.
C. They died bodily ultimately.
When God saves us He saves us:
Spiritually He justifies us immediately.
Soulfully He sanctifies us progressively.
Bodily He glorifies us ultimately.
To do this there is required a – – –
VI. THREEFOLD ATONEMENT
What followed in Eden is a picture of Calvary.
A. Salvation is a gift of God not a labor of man’s hands.
“We conclude that man is justified by faith without the deeds” (Rom. 3: 28).
B. Salvation is by the substitutionary death of an innocent sacrifice. “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53: 6).
C. Salvation is by blood.
“The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1: 7).
It is important to observe the Word of God came to Adam. The prohibition by God was spoken to Adam before Eve was made.
Satan came to Eve. She only had the Word of God second hand. It was not personal to her.
With a first-hand knowledge of the Word of God in mind Satan knew he could not successfully tempt Adam. Without it he knew Eve was vulnerable.
I Timothy 2: 14 notes an important fact: ‘And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”
Adam was not deceived but knew what he was doing. Why did he do it? After disobeying God Eve was a fallen sinner. At this point Adam was not. Thus, sin had separated them as it had Eve from God.
Redemption of Eve, as is true for all humankind, must come from the seed of woman. Therefore, Adam willfully and with full knowledge took the fruit from the hand of Eve and ate. He took part in her sin that he might be a party in providing the redemptive seed of woman which ultimately was Jesus Christ.
Likewise, Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, on Calvary willfully and knowingly took our sin.