January 2
Gen 3-4 | PS 2:1-12 | Prov 1:7-9 | Matt 2:13-3:6
Sin is an archery term which means to miss the mark. What we must all understand is that the "mark" or standard has been set by God. As you move through the pages of Scripture you will notice that God speaks in "black and white" terms: "You shall" or "You shall not". There is no gray or middle ground in God's holy standard. Sin usually starts subtly. We take absolute standards, and replace words like "can't" with "shouldn't". We weaken absolute stands, such as "don't cross this line" to "it's not a good idea", or even weaker, "perhaps this would not be your best plan". So it goes, from the original sin seen in Genesis 3 to our current cesspool that we call America, or in a larger context, our world. If you embarked on a voyage on a ship and were only one degree off, over miles and miles you would wind up on another continent. Sin might seem harmless at first, almost innocent, but over time it can take you to places you would have never imagined. The truth is we all do it, but this doesn't make it okay. We had better get a clear picture of the difference between God's absolute standards and the morally relativistic society that we now find ourselves in. Individuals, societies, institutions of learning, governments, and rulers do not have the authority to adjust God's standards. When you immerse yourselves in God's Word you will soon realize that over time, we have not evolved but devolved, as our consciences have become more calloused, and sin has become more and more acceptable, to the point where in our current climate God's standards are deemed wrong, cold, and not understanding while societal sinful standards are deemed open-minded and acceptable.
We get to explore the anatomy of a sin in Genesis 3. We read in Genesis 3:1, "The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”" The first step is to shed doubt on God's clear holy statement. We read Eve's reply in 3:3, “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” God never said anything about touching the tree, when we add to God's Word it is religion. Religion places a cloud over God's clear words. Next, we read in 3:4-5, "“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”" Satan both lies and throws out the thought that perhaps God is unfair, that He is holding you back from something better. We see the consequences of shame in 3:7, trying to cover up our tracks in our own strength in 3:7 by sewing together the fig leaves, hiding from God in 3:8, then making excuses and blaming others rather than accepting responsibility in 3:12-13. When there is sin there are consequences to our actions as seen in 3:16-19. But with God there is grace and mercy, as we read of God performing the first sacrifice on their behalf to provide them with animal skins in 3:21. See the future prophecy in 3:15 of Jesus crushing Satan and see the foreshadowing of Jesus, the Lamb of God, atoning or covering our sins as He offered Himself on the cross, in the act of God in covering over their nakedness in 3:21.
Notice the shift in mentality, the shamelessness, the brazenness just one generation later after Cain not only murders his brother, Abel, but shows no remorse in Genesis 4:9, "Afterward the Lord asked Cain, "Where is your brother? Where is Abel?" "I don't know," Cain responded. "Am I my brother's guardian?" Over time, God who is infinitely holy, perfectly good, completely just becomes the enemy in the eyes of society, as we read the mentality in Psalm 2:3, "Let us break their chains," they cry, "and free ourselves from slavery to God." We feel we must understand things completely, but that is not faith. When we read the account of Jesus' stepfather, Joseph in both Matthew 2:13-14, and 19-21, Joseph is given a direct message in a dream which he follows without questioning. May this be our model for total dependence upon God. We read in Romans 3:10-12, that none of us are good and righteous. We acknowledge in 1 John 1:8-10, that we all have and all will sin. We understand that Satan's playbook has never changed from that first encounter in the garden, as we read in 1 John 2:15-17, "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever." This mirrors the temptation to Eve in Genesis 3:6. The truth is we must see sin for what it is and not explain it away. We must confess it before God and repent of it (change our minds about it, accepting God's holy standard as authoritative and correct), and rest on the grace and mercy that God freely extends to any who come to Him in humility. Thank you, God!
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: