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Psalm 22:1-18

¹ “To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? ² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. ³ Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. ⁴ In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. ⁵ To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. ⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. ⁷ All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; ⁸  “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” ⁹ Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. ¹⁰ On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. ¹¹ Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. ¹² Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; ¹³ they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. ¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; ¹⁵ my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. ¹⁶ For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet — ¹⁷ I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; ¹⁸ they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

This is the 9^th Easter Sermon that the Lord has allowed me to preach to you! Easter is the highlight of the year for Churches and their Pastors. I am no exception to that rule!

Over the previous eight sermons, I have tried to present you with major aspects of the Easter Story. I am not worried; if the Lord allows me to preach 99 more Easter Sermons here… don’t panic, HE won’t… but, if HE did, I could still not exhaust the goldmine of theological truth contained in God’s Word about this event!

All four of the Gospels cover these events in great detail! And each of them adds some distinct observations… For example:

Matthew and Peter (Peter’s observations are preserved in Mark’s Gospel) give us the most comprehensive overview of these events!

Only Luke gives us the account of Jesus speaking to the weeping women and the conversion of the thief on the cross!

Only John gives us the conversation between the soldiers who gambled for HIS garments; the fact that the accusation written over HIM was in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek; that the Chief Priests tried to get Pilate to change the wording of it; and, the account of Jesus giving the care of HIS mother to him.

The one thing they do all have in common is that they are all eyewitness testimonies of what was said and done!

But, both they – and we – have the actual thoughts of Jesus on the cross because God inspired King David to write them in Psalm 22.

As the Lord allows, this coming Easter Morning, I will preach from Psalm 22 on the subject: “The Crucifixion through the Eyes of Jesus!”

I hope you will read over, think over, and pray over this Psalm in the coming days as you prepare your mind and spirit to hear the Living Word of the Living God!

Here are some things to ponder…

Why would Jesus cry out that HIS Father had forsaken HIM?

What did Jesus think about the fact that HIS Father has delivered others but would not deliver HIM?

How did HE describe HIMSELF on the Cross?

What on earth does that mean?

Did Jesus remember all of the many times HIS Father had delivered HIM before this event?

Why was God the Father unmoved by the desperate cries of HIS SON?

Did Jesus really suffer the pains of hell on the Cross?

Why?

What happened later that changes everything?

As the Lord allows, I hope to answer each of these questions biblically on Sunday. I hope to see you with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!

REMEMBER! A much higher percentage of people you invite this week will attend church with you than on any other Sunday of the year!

Matthew 21:1-11

¹ “Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Beth-phage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 

⁵ “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”
⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” ¹⁰ And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Including my Interim Pastorate here in 1999-2000, this will be my 9^th Palm Sunday Sermon at our Church! As I have looked back over my sermons on those occasions, I am mindful that I have really already said just about all that I know to say about this event.

But, next Sunday is Palm Sunday and I need to speak to you again from this very familiar passage on this very familiar subject… so, I have decided to focus on an aspect of these events that I have overlooked before: the blessing received by the followers of Jesus because they were there “in the right place and at the right time” to be part of this great event!

I think every regenerated person wants to be used by the Lord and be an effective part of HIS Kingdom work! I surely know that I do!

All of us realize that 99% + of what God does HE does through ordinary people involved in the ordinary circumstances of life. Week in and week out, we live and love and serve HIM through what can fairly be called our “routine” activities.

BUT ONCE IN A WHILE God does something unexpected; something magnificent; something life and world changing! And when HE does it is a joy to be part of what HE is doing.

This is what happened here on the road to Jerusalem in the Spring of 32 AD. Certainly, the excitement had been building for some time and everyone knew that things were “coming to a head.” Jesus had started talking about dying and being raised from the dead – and while the disciples did not fully get all that HE was telling them, they did catch enough of it to be excited about it.

Suddenly – out of the blue – come the words, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.” While they did not fully understand this at the time, God had started “The Countdown to Calvary” and things would change dramatically for all of them in a very few hours.

From that moment till HIS resurrection eight days later, HIS followers would be caught up in a whirlwind of activity. One would betray HIM, one would deny HIM, and both HE and Judas would be dead before the week was over!

If they had not been close HIM on that Sunday morning, they would not have seen, or been part of, any of these events.

But, they were there!

They were there and a couple of them actually went and brought back the foal just as prophesied in Zechariah 9:9; they were there and they heard HIM called the One who, “Comes in the Name of the Lord”; further, they would be there over the next eight days and personally witness the most amazing events to ever take place on earth!

Why? They were there!

How about me? How about you? Do we desperately want to be present when Jesus does remarkable things? Of course we do!

So the answer is… Get Close and Stay Close to Jesus!

As you prepare to hear the Word of God on this coming Lord’s Day, think about these things…

Is it enough for us to be part of what HE is doing when what HE is doing is “merely” the normal, routine, and seemingly mundane things that HE always does? It should be!

Do we truly expect HIM to do the miraculous and prophesied things that HE will do one day in the world? We should!

Are we willing to be faithful on the multitude of “normal” days… even if we never see the “amazing” days? Of course!

But, do we long to see and be part of a mighty move of God? Amen!

I hope that you will carefully read over this passage in Matthew 21 and that you will seek to understand what God did at that time in the history of HIS Kingdom work.

REMEMBER: the following Sunday, April 20^th, is Easter and a much higher percentage of people will respond positively to an invitation to worship with you on Easter than on any other day of the year!

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

Genesis 4:1-17

¹ “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” ² And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. ³ In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, ⁴ and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, ⁵ but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. ⁶ The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? ⁷  If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” ⁸ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. ⁹ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. ¹¹ And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. ¹² When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” ¹³ Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. ¹⁴ Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” ¹⁵ Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. ¹⁶ Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. ¹⁷ Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.”

James 1:15 “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

There are at least seven profound theological principles given in these fourteen verses. As the Lord allows, I plan to work through all seven of them next Sunday morning!

Here are some of the key questions that come to mind as I read through these verses:

Why does God allow people to be born and live in the world who are going to commit horrific crimes later in their life?

Even though God knew full well what Cain was going to do; God allowed him to be born and grow up – and, God did not stop him from doing what he did. But, God still held Cain accountable for (and punished him for) what he did!

Why is it that not every child of godly parents turns out to be a godly person?

God both commands and demands to be worshiped the way HE desires. Why will HE not accept any other form of worship?

Whether we like to accept this or not, this is a fallen, broken, and sin cursed world; and in this fallen, broken, and sin cursed world people really do horrific things to one another!

What will happen to those who do not repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as their Savior?

Are the repercussions upon the sins of sinners something that only occurs in this present life?

If someone is going to die and go to hell, is it true that God’s continuing goodness to unsaved people as long as they live another form of HIS righteous judgment upon them?

This is a very informative and foundational passage of Scripture. I hope you will take the time to read over, pray over, and think through these seventeen verses as you prepare your mind to hear God’s Word on Sunday!

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and you family and friends by your side!

Genesis 3:21 “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”

Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”

Hebrews 9:11-14 “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Hebrews 9:22 “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

1^st Peter 1:18-21 “Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

1^st John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Philosophers, and Sociologists have spent hundreds of years, millions of dollars, and a billion gallons of printer’s ink trying to figure out the answer to the human dilemma. How do we change the broken nature of humans?

Of course, they are still arguing over the source of the human problem; is it nature, or is it nurture? Well, we know the human problem is our fallen, broken, sinful condition. Nothing that humans research, affirm, and apply to the problem is going to succeed because our problem is a spiritual one and not a psychological or emotional one.

Our problem is sin! Therefore, repentance from our sins and an active faith in Jesus Christ is the one and only cure!

It is not surprising to me at all that God defines both the cause and the cure in just a few verses in the Book of Genesis! Man thinks he has his own answer. From (3:7) what is Adam’s answer to their problem? HINT: It is the basic framework of the largest world-wide false religion on earth!

There are many forms of this basic error, but they all have one thing in common – they do not work. There is of course only one single thing on earth that can make right what has gone wrong in the lives of Adam and Eve! That is what our sermon this coming Lord’s is all about! Think about the fact that after 6,000 years of human experience on earth and 6,000 years of man dealing with God, the answer to our problem has not changed. It has not changed.

God’s answer to our problem is simple – (3/21)

As we think about “God’s Simple Plan of Salvation” we will trace God’s provision for our salvation throughout both the Old and New Testaments.

– We will follow it from Eden to Egypt;

– We will follow it from Egypt to Jericho;

– We will follow it from Jericho to the Tabernacle;

– We will follow it from the Tabernacle to the Temple in Jesus’ day;

– In Jesus’ day it goes from another Garden, to Gabbatha, to the Guardhouse, to Golgotha, to a Grave, and then on to Glory!

Since man’s problem doesn’t change, neither does God’s answer and provision change! God’s answer and provision has often and rightly been called “The Scarlet Thread of Redemption.” And – as the LORD allows – we will follow that thread from Eden to Heaven in one sermon! (At least I hope and plan to do this in one sermon…)

Here is God’s simple plan and provision for salvation:

“The B__________ of the I___________ is shed to pay for the S________ of the G____________________!”

I hope you will take time to read through and think through these verses and my comments as you prepare to hear the Word of God this coming LORD’S DAY…

As my dear friend Tom Rains always says, “I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!”

Genesis 3:14-24

14 “The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” 20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”

As I have shared with you on several occasions, while I was growing up in the Appalachian Highlands of Eastern Kentucky I had almost zero contact with (or knowledge of) anything to do God, or religion, or Church.

My Grandfather’s Mother went to a Primitive Baptist Church in the County Seat, and he often drove my Mom’s younger sister to the Church of God in the same town. I used to love to ride up town with Granddad in his old Pontiac and pick her up after Church.

Before I joined the Air Force at 19, I never saw either of my Grandparents in a Church building; and, I only remember seeing my Parents in a Church twice. (Once was my other Grandma’s funeral and the other time was some kind of a revival meeting – I think that is what it was – up in the mountains.)

I can recall a couple of other little things… including a small plaque (maybe 8” x 4”) that hung on my Grandmother’s living room wall. It was really old – probably Victorian – with these words written on it in calligraphy:

“Life is Short; Death is Sure; Sin the Curse; Christ the Cure!”

I barely noticed it; and, I barely remember it. At the time, I had no idea what it meant. I have only thought about it a time or two over the years. I have mentioned it once or twice in funeral sermons. I thought about it again this week when I started thinking about this sermon. Certainly, the last two lines form a natural outline for the message today. In these 11 verses, we clearly see two profound Biblical truths… “The Curse and the Cure!” 

First, we see the Curse!

In these verses, we will see the four-fold curse: upon the Serpent; upon Eve; upon Adam; and upon Adam and Eve together (and therefore upon the whole human race)!

Thankfully, we also see the Cure!

What is the cure for the curse? The cure is a Person and that Person is Jesus Christ. And the process by which the cure is applied is by the suffering of the Innocent One in the place of the guilty one!

2,000 years after Christ died on the cross that formula has not changed and it will never change!

I hope you will read over and think through these verses and these notes. I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!

March 18^th, one week from next Tuesday, is Primary Election Day in Illinois. If this year is like most “off year” primary elections, about 1,600,000 citizens will vote. This is about 22.5% of the 7,300,000 registered voters in our State.

Pat Quinn will be the Democrat candidate for Governor; and, either Bill Brady, Kirk Dillard, Bruce Rauner, or Dan Rutherford will become the Republican nominee. Both Democrats and Republicans (and a few Independents) will elect candidates to run for several other Offices.

Have you ever thought how great it would be if you could elect a person who would represent you perfectly? Someone who is for everything you are for and against everything you are against; someone who thinks exactly like you think and will always vote exactly the same way that you would vote on every issue.

Impossible? Of course it is… unless, God Himself would design that person to represent you.

In the case of Adam, that is exactly what God did! God created Adam and designed him to not only perfectly represent you; but, to perfectly represent every human who would ever live!

Why did God do this? HE did this because HE chose Adam to be the “Federal Head” of the human race. “Federalism” is the idea of government where one person is chosen to represent others. Our National government was originally designed to operate as a Federal Republic.

Have you ever wondered how our founding Fathers chose that system of government? They got that from John Calvin who reorganized the government of Geneva Switzerland to operate on that principle. Where did John Calvin get that idea? He got it from the Bible – and specifically from the Federal Headship of Adam over the human race.

Genesis 3:11-12

¹¹ “He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

First, we must understand the biblical doctrine of Federal Headship:

Here is the deal: (listen carefully) we are all sinners because Adam voted to sin on behalf of us all; and, Adam sinned because he perfectly represented us – and we are all sinners!

That is why the Bible says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1^st Corinthians 15:22)

And, the Bible also says,  “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…” (Romans 5:12)

Give me a minute here – this is really important stuff!

God created Adam as the Federal Head of the Human Race and when he was tempted to sin he did exactly what every human would do. We would have sinned; therefore, he sinned. God immediately passed the sentence of death upon all people because all have sinned.

By our very nature, we do not like this! This is God’s design and decree and the fact that we do not like it demonstrates how perfectly Adam represented us!

BUT! Remember that 1^st Corinthians 15:22 also says, “so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” Just as the guilt of Adam’s sin was imputed to us, in exactly the same way the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to us and that is how God can declare us innocent and still be holy and just.

Jesus is the “Second” or “New” Adam; and, therefore HE represents us on the cross and our sins are put to death in HIM and we are made the righteousness of God in HIM! We are not; are not; are not saved because we are righteous – we are not – we are saved because HE is righteous.

“Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (1^st Corinthians 15:45)

IMPUTATION: our sins are accounted to Jesus; and, when we repent of our sins and trust HIM as our Savior HIS righteousness is accounted to us.

Second, we must understand the biblical doctrine of Original Sin:

(Ligonier.org) “The doctrine of original sin teaches that people sin because we are sinners. It’s not that we are sinners because we sin, but rather, we sin because we are sinners; that is, since the fall of man, we have inherited a corrupted condition of sinfulness. We now have a sin nature. The New Testament says we are under sin; we have a disposition toward wickedness, so that we all do, in fact, commit sins because it is our nature to commit sins. But that’s not the nature that was originally given to us by God. We were originally innocent, but now the race has been plummeted into a state of corruption.”

(CARM.org) “Original sin is not a physical corruption, but a moral and spiritual corruption.  It could be compared to the Reformed Doctrine of Total Depravity which states that sin has touched all parts of what a person is:  heart, mind, soul, will, thoughts, desires, etc.”

Because Adam sinned, every one descended from him (and that is all of us) are guilty of sin from the moment we are conceived:

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalms 51:5)

“The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.” (Psalms 58:3)

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”             (1^st Corinthians 15:22)

* We know that humans are already sinners in the womb because some humans die in the womb and death is the penalty for sin!

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned…” (Romans 5:12)

¹³ “for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” (Romans 5:13-14)

 So what?

We are sinners because Adam, our perfect representative, sinned!

We can be saved because Jesus, the “Last Adam” represented us when HE died on the cross and took upon HIMSELF the guilt of our sin!

When we repent of our sins and trust Jesus as our Savior, the righteousness of Jesus is imputed to us and we are declared to be innocent because the penalty of our sins has been paid!

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2^nd Corinthians 5:21)

Amen! I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!

Genesis 3:7-13

⁷ “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. ⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Eden was perfect!

Everyone would like to have a perfect life. To be a perfect person; have perfect parents; be married to a perfect person; have perfect children; a perfect home; a perfect job; and a driveway that shovels itself. We all dream about perfection!

Adam and Even had perfection and could have had all of these perfect things in a perfect world! They “did” have that; and, they “could” have kept all of that!

They lived in a Perfect Place! You and I have never experienced perfection so we cannot imagine that – but, it was perfect. The air and water were perfectly clean; flora and fauna did exactly whatever they commanded it to do… and, the bluegrass in their yard grew to be 2 ¼ inches high and no higher. There were no weeds anywhere on earth!

They had Perfect Pets! The animal kingdom was in complete submission to them. Nothing to fear; no yapping dogs and no hair-shedding cats; and no skunks. No getting up from the couch to let them outside. Perfect!

They were Perfect People! He was a perfect man and she was a perfect woman. No flaws, no problems, and neither of them had parents or siblings… perfect! No sickness; no suffering; and no funerals!

They were a Perfect Pair! They had a perfect marriage. No baggage; no hang-ups; no bad habits; no credit card debt; and no one else with whom to be compared!

Then, disaster! In order to taste the fruit of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they sinned it all away!

And what did they get in return?

As the Lord allows this coming Lord’s Day morning, I will go verse-by-verse (surprise, surprise!) through these seven verses and take an in-depth look at what happened to Adam and Eve because of their rebellion and sin.

REMEMBER: Their sin not only affected them; it affected all of their progeny, including you and me!

What does it mean that, “the eyes of both were opened…” and they now knew by personal experience what it was like to sin?

What role did this sin play in God’s dreadful judgment in the days of Noah?

What does it mean that they were “naked” before God and what does that mean to us today?

The most instructive lesson in these verses is the fact that the first – the very first – thing they did was to “work” on a way to “cover up” their sin! Mankind has spent the last 6,000 years trying to work on a way to cover up our sins. It did not work for them and it will not work for us!

“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20

The birth of man-made self-help religion marks the beginning of the most damnable error in the history of the world! Multitudes, (multitudes!) of professing Christians will find themselves cut off from God because they fell into this ancient trap. Their baptism, their church membership, their giving, and all of their other “good works” cannot cover up the nakedness of their guilt before God.

And what else did they get in return for the experience of knowing good and evil? Separation and alienation from God and the reality of lostness!

They also got a life of fearing and avoiding God. From that day to this humans spend untold effort, time, and resources trying to put off their personal confrontation with the One True and Living God. That day of confrontation is surely coming to every person – both saved and unsaved. How awful the future that awaits the unbeliever in the presence of God.

And, with what are they armed to face HIM? Excuses. Mere excuses. “The woman… the serpent…” Excuses.

Genesis 3 is one of the most pivotal Chapters in God’s Word. We have already spent three weeks here and “we ain’t done yet!” I hope you will read through, pray through, and think over these verses as you prepare to hear the Word of the Lord on Sunday.

I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!

Genesis 3:1-13

¹ “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³ but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” ⁴  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. ⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹² The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

I often hear people ask, “Why didn’t God create a perfect world where there would be no sin, suffering, sorrow, and death?” I always use Genesis 1 – 2 to remind them that HE did just that! The original creation was indeed perfect.

The more pertinent question is, “Why did God create a perfect world and then put into that world humans who had the ability to choose to sin and bring suffering, sorrow, and death into the world?”

By the way, I answered that last week. I hope you were paying close attention. (See Rule #1) If you are not satisfied with that answer, see Rule #2.

The good news is (and it is very good news indeed) that one day God will replace this present fallen world with a New Heaven and a New Earth in which no sin, suffering, sorrow, or death will exist!

I believe the more practical and therefore more useful issue is how did the temptation take place, and how does that apply to our life today? We all face temptation and the “Satanic Strategy of Temptation” has not changed in the past 6,000 years! If we can understand the temptation in the Garden of Eden, we can understand the temptation we face in the 21^st Century…

Here it is:

In 3:1a, we see that the sources of temptation are still the same. Eve and Adam faced five specific sources of temptation with which we are still faced today:

Before I write anything else, let me be clear: God is never a source of temptation! The Word of God is clear when it says, ““Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13 ESV). God does not tempt us to test us!

There are (as I said earlier) five sources of temptation and God is not one of them:

The primary source of our temptation is our self! In 1:14-15, James explains this clearly when he writes, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” I realize that comedian Flip Wilson made a fortune by saying, “The Devil made me do it” but, the reality is that he was tragically wrong about that.

Almost all of my temptation finds its source in me and almost all of your temptation finds its source in you!

While he is not the primary source of temptation, we see in this passage that Satan is still “a” source of temptation. In 2^nd Corinthians 11:3, Paul warns the Corinthians and all believers of this reality when he says, “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

I am sure that Satan (who cannot be in more than one place at one time) spends his efforts on men and women whose temptation and fall will do the maximum harm to the Kingdom and only some PFC demon is assigned to me. Yet, since 2^nd Corinthians 11:3 is true, we must admit and be aware of the fact that satanic temptation is real and does still exist.

* By the way, I am guilty of not praying nearly enough for our Christian Leaders that they will be protected from temptation! I hope you will join me in taking time to pray for Christian men and women to whom God has given a national or international platform that they will remain pure and faithful to God and His Word.

Satan is a source of temptation!

In 3:1b, we see that the subjects of temptation are still them same. Those who are tempted in the Garden are a woman and a man; humans are still the subject of temptations today.

It is vitally important that you and I understand that as we see in 3:1c-6, the strategy of temptation is still the same! I have often heard it said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”  Satan obviously believes in this because over the past 6,000 years he has not “fixed” the system of temptation. It works well; so, he just keeps using it over and over and over again…

Here is the strategy: (These are the three other Sources of Temptation)

In 3:6, we see “The Lust (or cravings) of the Flesh” “The Lust (or cravings) of the Eye” and “The Pride of Life.” The fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was… “good for food” “a delight to the eye” and “desired to make one wise.”

In the locus classicus of verses on temptation, John the Apostle tells us in 1^st John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Please take careful note that “all that is in the world…” consists of these three areas of temptation: “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions…”

When we hear Bible teachers of the past and present talking about “worldliness” this is to what they refer! When we hear these teachers speak of “worldlings” (a very British word not heard much here in the Colonies) they speak of people who are focused on these three things, rather than being focused on God and the things of God!

The final illustration is powerful: this is the very same strategy of temptation the Devil used when tempting Jesus! The temptation of Jesus is recorded in Matthew 4:1-11. “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.”

Read over these verses carefully and see if you can find each of the three primary areas of temptation that Eve and Adam and you and I also face!

Think about how Jesus overcame these temptations and think about how you and I can use that same method to overcome the temptations we face from day to day.

Finally, notice in Genesis 3:7-13, that the shame of giving into temptation is still the same today as it was then. In sin, both they and we stand naked before God! Both they and we have nothing to offer God but excuses.

I hope you will carefully, prayerfully, and frequently read through and think over these verses as your prepare to hear the Word of God preached on this coming Lord’s Day… as the LORD allows!

As Pastor Tom Rains often says, “I hope to see you Sunday with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!”

Beyond any and all doubt, the Fall of Adam and Eve into sin is the greatest catastrophe to occur in all of time and eternity:

The destruction of the Created Universe is a direct result of this event!

All crime, injustice, sorrow, and brokenness is the direct result of this event!

All sin, sickness, suffering, and death is the direct result of this event!

The damnation of millions of eternal souls is the direct result of this event!

The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the direct result of this event!

But, we cannot possibly understand this catastrophic event unless we understand the events that preceded it:

It appears that at some point prior to the Creation of the physical universe God created angelic beings in the spiritual universe. Among these angelic beings, God created three “Archangels” named Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer.

After the Creation of the physical universe, these angelic beings had access to the physical universe; and at some point after the Creation of the physical universe, (either before or after the Creation of Mankind) God assigned these angelic beings the task of serving humans.

It appears that at the time God assigned these angelic beings the task of serving humans, the Archangel Lucifer and a legion of other angels, (possibly as many as one-third of them) rebelled against God and were cast out of heaven! These fallen angels are now called “demons.”

Adam and Even chose to disobey God thereby falling from their state of “Unconfirmed Holiness” and bringing about the curse of God upon them, their progeny, and the physical universe!

Years ago in school, I learned that anyone doing an investigation should answer five key questions: who, what, when, where, and why!

Who? This story involves two Spirit Beings: God, and Lucifer. It also involves two key human beings: Adam and Eve.

What? The “Drama of Redemption” begins when God allows Lucifer to possess a serpent and tempt Adam and Eve to sin. Once Adam and Eve disobey God and fall under the curse of sin, God immediately promises them that One Who will be the Offspring of the woman will come into the world to redeem them by crushing the power of sin and Satan! This is called, “The Proto-euangelion” or “The First Gospel.”

When? These events took place following the Six Days of Creation and the Fall of Lucifer and his demons!

Where? These events took place in the Garden of Eden, which was most likely located somewhere in Mesopotamia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Why? THE BIG QUESTION! (ACTUALLY FIVE BIG QUESTIONS)

1. Why did God allow Lucifer and his host of demons live after they rebelled against HIM?

2. Why did God allow Lucifer to have access to the Garden of Eden after he rebelled against HIM?

3. Why did God allow Lucifer to tempt Adam and Eve?

4. Why did God allow Adam and Eve to disobey HIM?

5. Why did God bring judgment upon the entire human race because of the sin of Adam and Eve?

ANSWER:

RULE #1: ________________________________________

RULE #2: ________________________________________

(I cannot tell you everything!)

I hope you will read over Genesis 3 and these thoughts as you prepare your mind and spirit to hear the Word of God on Sunday!

I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side! 

Genesis 2:1-3

¹ “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

² “And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

As the LORD allows, we will continue through the first eleven Chapters of Genesis this coming Sunday morning with a sermon from 2:1-3 on the subject, “Understanding the Sabbath.”

Christians are not exempt from the inclination to disagree and even divide over deeply held opinions! Biblical doctrine is often an area of passionate disagreement. I have often said, “Doctrine does not cause division among Christians, doctrinal error is the cause of division among Christians!” When two or more Christians disagree about doctrine, both cannot be right – they may both be wrong – but, both cannot be right!

One area of disagreement is “The Sabbath.”

Christians disagree over which day is the appropriate day for worship;

Christians disagree over what they must do (or not do) on whatever day they set aside for their “Sabbath”;

Christians disagree over what they may do (or not do) on whatever day they set aside for their “Sabbath.”

I will endeavor to use this sermon to help you understand what day is the Sabbath; what we “must” do on the Sabbath; and, what we “may” do on the Sabbath. One of the great tragedies about this disagreement is that while many have a traditional view of this issue, they miss the true intent of the Sabbath in the life of Christians and the Church.

Southern Baptists have adopted an “Official” Doctrinal Statement that we call “The Baptist Faith and Message” (2000) and in that statement we take the following doctrinal stand of the issue of the Sabbath:

Article VIII: The Lord’s Day

“The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private.

Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.”

Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-12; 28:1ff.; Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3,33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1,19-28; Acts 20:7; Romans 14:5-10; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Colossians 2:16; 3:16; Revelation 1:10.

No statement, including this one, will satisfy all Southern Baptists. In this last update, (2000) the second paragraph was re-worded and was, in my opinion, watered down from previous statements. Christians usually fall into one of two philosophies about worship and ministry including the issue of the Sabbath. Those two competing philosophies are called:

1. The Regulative Principle: “We may do only on the Sabbath that which is explicitly prescribed in Scripture on the Lord’s Day.”

2. The Normative Principle: “We may do anything on the Sabbath that is not explicitly prohibited in the Scripture.”

I plan to conclude the sermon with an application of why God cares what we do on the Sabbath (Lord’s Day) and how that works out in our daily living. I hope you will read over, think over, and pray over these verses as you prepare your mind to hear the sermon on Sunday.

I hope to see you Sunday morning with your Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!