Admit Your Sin Problem
“So far, God, I've done all right today. I haven't gossiped, I haven't lost my temper. I haven't been grumpy, nasty or selfish. I haven’t lied, cheated, or stolen anything from anybody. Nor have I yielded to temptations of lust, greed, pride or ambition, and I'm really glad of that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed; and from then on, I'll need a lot of help."
This is a prayer that we all can say every morning when we wake up. We can hardly start to even think before the sin kicks in. And we certainly can’t get out of bed, walk in the dark to the coffee pot, and stump our toe without sin kicking in! We all have a sin problem…we must admit that we have a sin problem. Many times we try to use our own volition to correct or cover our sin problem, but like Adam and Eve, God will not accept our covering. We must accept His.
Temptation Lures Us
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
The word subtle here means cunning or crafty. Satan was deceitful to Eve. His appearance to her didn’t frighten her. Instead it lured her. Can you imagine if a snake lured her and was attractive to Eve, how evil Satan’s true appearance is? Satan can’t approach us in the light of truth because there is no truth in him. Jesus says in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Don’t we wish that Satan came to us like the old pictures of the devil and a pitch fork? He would be easy to recognize. But the devil tempts and lures us even to the point of making us question God’s own word; he cast doubts on the Word of God.
***Q: Why do you think Satan approached Eve instead of Adam? A: Because God had not approached Eve directly therefore it was easier for Satan to cast doubts about what God had really said. ***
Genesis 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Genesis 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Eve seems to be correcting Satan when she tells him that she and Adam could eat of the trees except the one in the middle of the garden. But then, Eve tries to make God’s word say what she wants it to say. Eve says, “…neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” When did God say that? He didn’t! Again, Eve tried to add to God’s plan of salvation which is through grace and we are justified through faith.
Romans 1:17 says, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written. The just shall live by faith.” Eve needed to see something…to touch something in order for it to be real to her. Remember Thomas? John 20:27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (YLT `Dying, ye do not die,)
Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Once again, Satan is trying to cast doubt about what God had told Adam. He is also trying to make God into a selfish, non-caring, and non-loving God, telling Eve that God just doesn’t’ want her to be like He is. Because if she eats of the tree, she would have the same knowledge as God does. In addition to trying to make God the “Bad Guy”, Satan is trying to make himself as the “Good Guy”. He tries to imply that he wants Eve to be free, to get the things she wants, and to live forever. This is the lie that Satan told Eve and lures the disobedience by her and Adam. This is exactly the same thing we do when we sin. We believe the lie that being disobedient to God brings greater pleasure and fulfillment than believing God. Again, Paul in Romans refers to this very act of disobedience and its consequences…Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Sin Alienates Us
Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Here again, Eve sees the glitz and glimmer of sin. She and Adam have all the trees of the garden to partake of. We are given all we need to sustain us. Jesus tells us, “My grace is sufficient for thee…” (2 Corinthians 12:9) We must believe that. God has given us everything that we need. Here’s the thing; But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33) We must put God FIRST! Adam and Eve were in paradise…it all was pleasant to the eyes. They doubt God now because Satan has convinced them that God just doesn’t want them to do any better or be any smarter than He is. This temptation of the flesh is the same temptation that Jesus faced in the wilderness in Luke chapter 4. It was an appeal to the lust of the flesh.
Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
This was the beginning of the end of innocence. Before the fall, man had no conscience. But now, his eyes were open and he is no longer innocent. Man’s conscience allows him to see and to know evil. Before the fall, man could only see God. Now, we see it all. Adam tries to take it upon himself to “fix it”. He could see that they were naked and he could also see the absence of innocence in their nakedness. So, he tried to use his own wits and his own works to cover himself and Eve. But, Adam couldn’t cover his own sins by “doing” anything, just like we can’t cover our own sins by “doing”. We need God’s covering that only comes from the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary.
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Genesis 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Genesis 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Adam heard God and was ashamed. Have you ever sinned and did every thing possible to stay away from the word of God? I have. I was ashamed to be near God’s holy Word because of my sin. Adam and Eve try to hide among God’s creation. Many times we immerse ourselves in “church stuff”. When what we’re really trying to do is hide from God. We have to admit our sins so that God will forgive our sins. 1John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The only way that our righteousness can cover sin, is to have our sin covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
Verse 9 confused me for a long time. Surely, I thought, God knows where everybody is all the time! Think of it this way...God looked at Adam and said, “Now that you’ve disobeyed me, where are you?” Where are you now? Where has what you have done gotten you? Just like us when we try to do things “our” way, look where we are then. No closer to God’s righteousness than we were before.
God Confronts us
Genesis 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
By God’s question, we see that He already knew what had happened. God knew that the only way Adam could know that he was naked was to have eaten from the tree of knowledge. Just like our sins. God already knows them. He just wants to hear us confess them. But, He wants to hear the real story, the truth, not excuses or putting the blame on someone else like Adam and Eve do in the next verses.
Genesis 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Genesis 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Isn’t this just like us? We want to blame someone else for our mistakes, our errors, our bad decisions. When the easiest thing for us to do is face it, we try to blame everybody else. Adam tries to blame Eve. “She did it, she gave it to me, and she enticed me. Now don’t forget what verse 6 says, “…and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Adam was there. He could have rebuked Satan regarding what he was telling Eve, but he didn’t. He didn’t stand up for God’s true word, what God had actually said.
Eve, on the other hand, tried to blame Satan by saying that the serpent had deceived her. She is acknowledging now that the tree of knowledge and wisdom didn’t give her much. (Knowledge and wisdom, that is.) She now knows that she was deceived but now, Adam, Eve, and even the serpent must face the consequences of her decisions and her actions. The serpent will be cursed above all cattle, crawl on his belly, and eat of the dust of the Earth for the rest of his life. Eve will now suffer with labor pains. And man will always have dominion over woman. And Adam, because of his sin, the ground is cursed and man will now have to deal with the thorns and thistles instead of just the roses. The fruit of our efforts here on Earth will be by sweat and toil. Remember that at first, God put Adam in the garden “to dress and to keep it”, not to sweat in it.
Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever:
Genesis 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
God says here that Adam now does know the difference between good and evil. But, man will now more often choose his way instead of God’s way. But God still says that the tree of life, eternal life, is accessible only through His way…through Christ. This is paradise lost. One day, when we receive our heavenly reward, we will once again have paradise with no more sin, or sorry, or pain, or evil.
None of us are worth to be in the presence of the Lord. Because of Adams fall, we are ashamed of ourselves and try to cover up the things that we have done. We must accept responsibility for our sins and ask for God’s forgiveness. Then, with the snow-white covering of Christ’s sacrifice, we can then be in the presence of God.
I asked for strength that I might achieve, He made me weak that I might obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things, I was given grace that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy; I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of man, I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life; I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I received nothing that I had asked for; given all that I had hoped for.
My prayer was answered.
