CHAPTER 4
From Sin to Redemption
But For the Love of God
“… but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”” (Ge 2:17 NAS95)
When people stray from the truth, ignoring the Law of God, there are consequences. God has never withheld the knowledge of what those consequences would be. From the first instance of Man’s rebellion against God’s Law, Man knew the consequences. So why do people rebel? What compels people to participate in self-destructive behavior? What will it take to wake us up to the inevitable consequences?
I remember one time I was trying to get something from the joists in my barn. In an attempt to get high enough to reach it, I stepped onto something that could not hold my weight. In that split second before I landed on the ground the thought flashed through my brain, “that was sure stupid”. In this particular case I did not suffer the full consequences of my foolish actions because a couple of boxes of old newspapers cushioned my fall; nevertheless, I did not repeat my foolish action. I got a ladder for safer access to my goal, thanking God for old newspapers strategically positioned, and mercy.
Honesty was necessary to be protected from a repeat performance that may have had more dire consequence. I had to admit that it was my actions that needed to be adjusted because the law of gravity is not a respecter of persons, and I was not exempt. We need to be honest with ourselves, if we are to take advantage of God’s grace and mercy. Just as the ladder was my tool to overcome the law of gravity, what Jesus did for us on the cross is necessary for us to overcome the consequences of the law of sin and death.
The Scripture tells us that all of us have sinned and the consequence of sin is death; however, in the unfolding story of man, we find in the Bible there are two underlying themes, “but God”, and “If we will”. I fell in my barn, but there was a ladder. If I would have used it, I would not have fallen. Man fell in the Garden of Eden, but God has provided a way of redemption, if we are willing.
How many times the story of Man would have come to an abrupt end had it not been for God’s intervention; but for the love of God, but for the grace of God, but for God’s mercy that has endured from generation to generation. How often on a personal level, a national level, or as it was in the days of Noah on a global level, would life have ended, but for the love of God.
Honesty
“Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”” (Ge 3:13 NAS95)
“Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’ … ” (Ge 3:17 NAS95)
Since we have become the recipients of the knowledge of good and evil, and since we can throughout our history see the consequences of violating the laws that govern the Universe; why do people continue to disregard those laws in spite of the consequences? Are people not repeating the same mistakes that were made in the Garden when Man first sinned?
Eve was deceived by a lie. Adam listened to the voice of his wife. It is clear that their failure came about because they did not trust God. Satan had succeeded in convincing them to question the love of God in spite of the fact that they had no reason to question God. They lacked nothing. The whole earth was given to them. What more could they desire? Satan’s lure was to express his own desire that to be like God was something to be achieved. The lie was that God had withheld something from them and they were not truly free.
One bite of the forbidden fruit and they knew that they had been duped. They had failed to trust in the love of God that had provided for them all things. Trusting in the lie had not made them like God nor had it given them freedom. They had indeed lost their freedom and had blemished their likeness to God. Their sin was exposed and they stood naked, fearing the ominous, inevitable meeting with God.
Everything is clear as one stands in the presence of the God of the Universe. Everything is exposed in the light of His presence. The voice of the Serpent is silent. Eve blames the Serpent. Adam blames the woman that God has given him, but God simply addresses their actions. Judgment is imposed because of what each of them has done. The Serpent is cursed. Eve will suffer in childbirth, and is subjected to the rule of her husband. Adam had brought a curse upon the Earth and was bound to a life of sweat and toil.
Adam and Eve had sinned and there were consequences. Standing before God there were no pretenses, nothing was hidden. Even the Serpent was silent. There is no place for hiding, for lies, or for pretense, as one stands in the light of God’s presence where everything is revealed in its entirety.
In this winding path, I have brought you up until this point. I am aiming for an honest evaluation of who we are and where we stand. It is only when we are honest with ourselves and God, that we can assess our condition and our standing before God. When all is said and done, what really matters is our standing before God, the Creator of the Universe.
The Fallen State of Mankind
“… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Ro 3:23 NAS95)
Ray Comfort is a street evangelist. Often he will ask people on the street if they are good people. In most cases the person will answer, “Yes, I am a good person.” As the conversation progresses, Ray will present them with the Ten Commandments, the Laws of God. Their defense of their “good person” status begins to falter as they confess their violation of God’s moral code.
Most people want to be perceived as good people; however, their defense of that status is based upon what they think, or feel, or maybe even what someone else thinks. Their defense falters when it is confronted with the Word of God. If we are honest, we will admit that none of us naturally holds the high moral ground. We all have sinned and violated God’s moral standard.
Adam and Eve occupied the high moral ground, for they were created good and were living in harmony with the Law of God. When Satan challenged Eve, questioning her moral standing, Eve folded. She fell for Satan’s lie in spite of the fact that she had knowledge of the truth. In essence, she allowed Satan to lure her down from the high ground to defend her status from his level. If she had stood her ground and defended her status from there, she would have simply said, “God has said … “.
We were all born in sin, as sin entered the world through one man, Adam. Also, through one man, Jesus Christ, has come redemption from sin. We can through Christ regain the high moral ground, and when we do, we need to stand fast on that ground. From that position we can defend the righteousness that we have found in Christ Jesus.
Regaining the High Ground Through Faith
“The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.” (Ge 3:21 NAS95)
God had a plan. Through sacrifice, He provided a covering for Man’s exposed nakedness. Man could now regain that moral high ground through faith that was based on the promise of God to provide a way of salvation. This faith is anchored in hope of the restoration of all things. Our faith is revealed through obedience to God’s Word.
“By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.” (Heb 11:4 NAS)
Adam and Eve had their beginning on the high ground. Because of their sin, mankind must regain that standing. “If we will, we can regain that standing through faith. If we are unwilling as Cain was, then sin waits at the door. In rejecting the path to acceptance, Cain became jealous that his brother had found acceptance. He killed his brother Abel and was banished from the presence of God.
“And Adam had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for, she said, “God has appointed me another offspring in place of Abel; for Cain killed him.” (Ge 4:25 NAS)
Again we see how that it is God who keeps faith and hope alive through the seed of righteousness. The fulfillment of that seed we find in Christ Jesus, who takes away the sins of the world. It is in God’s provision that we have a path back to the moral high ground, so that we once again can be in right standing with God. Once again we can be reconciled to our Creator and stand in his presence unashamed.
A New Birth, A New Man
Arriving on the high ground is not a process of a lifetime of striving and climbing. The high ground is achieved by putting our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This may be a little hard for us to understand because it is not how our finite minds work. Right standing before God is based upon our being righteous. It is not even based upon our spiritual maturity. Maybe it would be easier to understand, if we viewed righteousness as being clean. Cleanliness is not contingent upon our age. At any age from newborn to aged we can cleanse ourselves from the filth that surrounds us by washing.
“Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God [as] a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” (Joh 3:1-7 NAS95)
“Born Again,” has become a phrase that is now used in reference to a new beginning, a new way of thinking, or a new direction in our lives. Biblically speaking, it is literally a new birth, not a physical or mental renewing, but a spiritual birth. This birth is the result of our interaction with God’s Spirit. God is then the father of this new person. It is only after this takes place that we can actually say that we are the sons of God, because before this we were spiritually dead.
Jesus said we must be born of the water and the Spirit. Nicodemus was obviously struggling to understand what all this meant and how it was to come about.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Joh 3:16 AV)
This verse that so many of us memorized from an early age, really sums up this whole chapter that reveals a foundational understanding of God’s plan to reconcile Man unto Himself. I won’t take the time here to go verse by verse through this passage, but I want to point out that it is through the water and the Spirit that we receive our new birth.
Later on after Jesus had accomplished his work on the cross, the understanding of how this was to be accomplished was explained. It was on the day of Pentecost that the Spirit of God fell on the disciples in such a way that it could be observed by those around them. This public display created a platform to present the way of salvation to those gathered in Jerusalem. Upon the explanation of the death of Jesus on the cross, and the revelation of the sin of those standing there, they were convicted and cried out, “What must we do?” The answer was that they needed to repent of their sins, be baptized, and then God would fill them with His Spirit.
I think that these instructions are so simple that sometimes people miss the fundamental process that leads to our salvation. We are sinners. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin. Godly sorrow brings forth repentance. Through the sacrificial death of Jesus we can be forgiven of our sins. Baptism in water is the testimonial of our being cleansed from all unrighteousness. A clean vessel is now open to the presence of God’s Spirit. He fills us and makes us alive through a new birth.
We have just arrived at that high plane, the high moral ground where we are in right standing before God. We are not alone here, but are surrounded with the Saints of all ages. We have become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. He is the head and we are the body, individual members of this vast assembly of God’s children.
A Safe Place
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ro 8:38-39 NAS95)
There is no safer place than when we abide in Christ, fully trusting in Him. The process I just explained culminates in a new birth and, spiritually speaking, the person becomes a new babe in Christ. Everybody knows how helpless and vulnerable new babies are. Left to themselves all babies would simply die; however, they do not die because we create a safe space for them. Nestled in our homes in our most favorable environment, we protect and nurture our young ones. Even more important than the place, are the people that surround this babe: the God-designed family of a mother, father, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, to provide a bulwark that stands between this little one and the worldly elements. As it is in the physical, it is even more so in the spiritual. God as our father provides all things for the safety, comfort, and nutritional needs of His little children.
In spite of all that God has done to protect His children there still lies one grave danger, a vulnerability that exists because of who we are. That vulnerability is our will and the ability to choose. This is where Satan attacked in the Garden and this is where the attack comes today. We need to understand where our safety lies. As long as we continue to trust God, there is nothing that can harm us. We are safe, if we keep faith. We acquired the high ground by faith and we remain here by faith.
As we continue this discussion concerning the high ground, I want to keep reminding you that our standing on the moral high ground is not contingent upon our level of spiritual maturity. Neither is it contingent upon any talent that God may bestow upon us, or our expertise at using that talent. Our standing on this place is always based upon our faith and trust in God and His Word.