MPC, 16th March 2003.Genesis 2:4-3:24 - "Forbidden Fruit"
Doug Wannenburgh MPC, 16th March 2003.
In an episode of Seinfeld, Jerry Seinfeld opens the door of his apartment to find all-time hopeless case George Costanza spread out on the couch reading. Reading a book entitled, I'm OK - You're OK. Written in 1967 by Thomas Harris, the book's sold over 10 million copies.
I'm OK - You're OK. The title sums up what's behind popular thinking. That human nature is essentially good - we're naturally... ok. You and me - we're good guys. There's a rough edge here and there... a slip up now and then... but over all - we're basically ok. We keep our lives neat and tidy, so a little error on the odd occasion is easily swept under the carpet of our basic goodness. Being good is good enough. We pass the test. You and me - we're... ok.
But are we really good? Or... is something wrong? Something fundamentally flawed? Something wrong with you and me? And with this world?
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Created man in His image. And created everything good. And all for the purpose of rest.
Remember the seventh day - the climax of creation. It's a rest day. A blessed day. God rules over God's people in God's world. Everything as it should be. As God wants it to be. The world enjoying God's rule. Blessed and at rest.
In chapter 2 God plants a garden... the Garden of Eden. And puts Adam there. In a garden full of trees... trees which are pleasing to the eye and good for food. Adam is to work and take care of the garden. Not alone though. God makes him a woman. A suitable helpmate. Someone made "from his side", who will work "by his side". At first sight Adam bursts into history's first love poem. And they are both naked, and feel no shame. Perfect relationship in a perfect world.
And together they are to rule the world. Rule over the fish of the sea. The birds of the air. The livestock. Rule over all the earth. But Adam and Eve's authority and rule is delegated. Given by God. Made in His image they're to rule on God's behalf over His world. That's a privilege to enjoy and a responsibility to fulfil.
They're not free to live as they please. They're responsible to God. God is to determine how they are to relate and how they are to rule. Their Maker is their Master, and He knows and wants what's best for them. And what's best is that they... trust Him and obey Him. Willingly. Thankfully.
And they'll need to trust and obey, because some things are off limits.
For my last birthday friends gave me some slabs of chocolates. No sooner had my attention turned to the thought of devouring the creamy smooth milk chocolate when.... my wife took them from me. And promptly hid them in the cupboard. In the chocolate bowl. Which is strictly off limits... to me.
Although there are many trees in the garden, there is one tree God declares off limits. You'll see it there in verse 16. They're free to eat from any tree in the garden, except one. Verse 16. The Lord God commands the man... "...You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" Why not? Verse 17. "...for when you eat of it you will surely die."
It's God's world. Adam and Eve are God's people. And they're responsible to do things God's way. To trust and obey Him... because God knows best. The alternative is certain death.
Yet so far, it's a perfect world. God rules over God's people in God's place. Blessed and at rest.
But into this perfect world - chapter 3 verse 1 - slithers a serpent. A cunning crafty snake. Bent on... disturbing the peace. Disrupting a world at rest. The book of Revelation speaks of the... "...ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan..."
What's the serpent's strategy? His tactic is temptation. And how he will entice and entrap Adam and Eve? The serpent's simple strategy is to get them to... doubt, deny and distrust... the word of God.
First of all, the serpent casts doubt on God's Word. Look in verse 1 with me. The serpent approaches the woman - says to her. "Did God really say..." Are you sure you heard right? Is that what he said? And then he deliberately misquotes God. "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden?'" But that's not what God said. Only one tree is off limits.
How does the woman respond? Verse 2. She corrects the serpent. The woman says... "We may eat from the trees in the garden..." But note what she then says. Verse 3. "...but God did say, 'You must not eat from the tree that is in the middle of the garden... and you must not touch it... or you will die.'" God never said not to touch. She overstates.
The serpent goes on to deny God's Word. In verse 4, he tells the woman... "You will not... surely... die." God got it wrong. You won't be punished. You won't die. Surely not.
The crafty serpent doubts and denies God's Word. And now. In verse 5. He distrusts God's Word. God lied. You're not going to die, because. Verse 5... "[because]... God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
It's true what he says, but behind it he is questioning God's character. Satan, which means the accuser, lives up to his name. He accuses God. Behind his back of course. And tells Eve. "God's a killjoy. His not got your best interests at heart. He's keeping you back. Don't trust him. He just wants to stop you becoming like Him."
The serpent's strategy. doubt, deny and distrust God's word.
How then does Eve respond? Verse 6. Satan's laid the trap. The trap of not taking God at His Word. Of not trusting and obeying. Verse 6. "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."
Good for food. Pleasing to the eye. Desirable for gaining wisdom. Eve takes and eats. And so enters sin into the human race.
The good order God created is reversed. Humanity's meant to rule the animals, and yet it's an animal that deceives humanity. The woman, created to be man's helpmate and to follow his lead, leads him astray. Order is turned upside down.
Sin is wilful. Adam and Eve choose to eat. Choose to wilfully disobey the Lord God.
They desire to be God, knowing good and evil. That's not knowing the difference between good and evil. It's deciding for themselves what is good and evil. That make up the rules. Sin is rebellion against God's authority. Dissatisfied with delegated authority. Adam and Eve clutch at ultimate authority for themselves. They reject... God's rule. And assert... self rule. Choosing for themselves what's right and wrong.
We stayed with friends in Sydney who told us of a friend of theirs who got a high paying new job with a prestigious company. They bumped into each other, and this bloke persuaded my friend to take a look at his new office. They travelled up several floors. And then my friend was ushered through a large door into an incredibly spacious office. The view was magnificent - overlooking the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Beneath their feet lay a plush carpet. Expensive paintings hung on the walls. The desk was hand crafted. And the enormous leather chair behind it oozed power and importance.
My friend was impressed... until the bloke, with a bit of a grin, confessed it was his boss' office. A level down lay an enormous open plan office with hundreds of workers, no view and small desks. That's where he worked.
We're somewhat like that aren't we? We're not satisfied with being an employee. We want to be boss. We want top job. We want God's job. We want to run life our own way. To call the shots. To determine for ourselves what is right and wrong.
What if you were sent on an errand to the office of the owner and CEO of a large powerful company like that? What if you meekly enter the offices to find the secretary has stepped out, and the door of CEO's office is wide open. Curiosity gets the better of you. You quietly, quickly, creep into his office. You're amazed at the view. You admire the paintings. You run your fingers along the hand crafted desk. And then you settle down into the large leather chair. You feel strangely powerful. Important. You begin to have illusions of grandeur. But then... in walks the CEO. You're in his seat. His chair. It's no joke. You've got no right to be there. No right at all.
Well, you're sitting on God's throne. And it's no joke. You've got no right to be there. No right to rebel against God's rule. And assert self-rule. To set yourself up as the King. To call the shots. To determine what's good and bad, right and wrong. And to sing along with old blue eyes, "I did it my way."
But rebellion has consequences. Treason will not go unchecked! So what are the results?
The consequences are catastrophic. Rebellion brings punishment. There's music to face. And it's the music of death. God did say; "disobey and die." And in chapter 3 verse 19 - God pronounces the death sentence. The death penalty. Verse 19, at the end. Adam will "return to the ground...for dust you are...and to dust you will return." Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust.
No sooner has God pronounced judgement, than death invades the world. Chapter 4. Adam and Eve have two sons - Cain and Abel. Cain's full of anger and envy. So he plots and murders his own brother. First degree murder. Death's arrived.
And then in chapter 5 death runs amok. At first glance you may think to skip over the genealogy, but look closely. We're introduced to several men, the children they fathered, the years they lived and what else? What does each little paragraph end with. Look at verse 5. "Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then...he died." Verse 8. "...Seth lived 912 years, and then...he died." Verse 11. "...Enosh lived 905 years, and then...he died." Verse 14. "...Kenan lived 910 years, and then...he died."
When only two chapters ago death was completely foreign to God's perfect world. Now the stench of death is everywhere. Two chapters ago life is there to be enjoyed. Now death is here to be feared. This world is littered with graveyards - reminders to us that God does not tolerate your treason. He will not sweep your sin under the carpet. As rebels we've received the death penalty. We're living on death row.
Those who have lost a loved one. They know death's sting. They know the pain of turning to talk to someone, only to remember that the person is no longer there. Death's an abomination. It's awful. Because it destroys what we hold most valuable. It terminates relationships. It ends life.
So physical death acts as a potent symbol of our shattered relationships. Our relationships with this world, with other people, and with God Himself. We're created for life - for relationship. Made to be friends with God and each other. But now relationships are terminated. Now we lose friends, and make enemies.
Firstly, our rule or relationship with this world is shattered. Verse 17. Work will be "hard work". The environment's no longer friendly. Cursed is the ground. Thorns and thistles. Through painful toil and by the sweat of your brow you will eat. What's more - verse 23 - Adam and Eve are banished from the garden. Driven out. No more perfect world.
And relationships with one another are shattered. In chapter 2 - Adam and Eve - they're naked, yet feel no shame. Now. Chapter 3 verse 7. They feel shame. Their eyes are opened. They realise they're naked. And what do they do? They sew fig leaves together. The fashion industry is born. They make coverings to hide themselves... from each other.
Shame leads to blame. Shifting the blame. When they're found out, Adam and Eve fall over themselves trying to pass the buck. The finger points everywhere, but at themselves. Adam even manages to point away from himself in two directions at once. He cries, "The woman... you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
If India or any other team beat Australia in the World Cup they'll be sure to thank Shane Warne's mom. Warne got banned after testing positive for a diuretic. Shane admitted taking the tablet, but said his mother Brigitte had given it to him. He shifted the blame... onto his mom, who alledgedly "nagged" him about his appearance, convincing him to take the tablet in order to "look his best".
Shane Warne dobbed on his mom. I'm told that's really "un-Australian". Not so! It's very "Australian". Very "South African" too... very "American", very "Italian", very "Russian", very human. We all shift the blame. When it comes to the blame game - you and me - we're professionals.
Shame. Blame. And what's more, marriage is a mess. Verse 16. No happy ever after here. Now there's a power struggle. Wives will desire to usurp their husband's authority, and husbands, instead of leading gently, will laud it over them.
And most important of all, their relationship with God is shattered.
Take a look at verse 8. They've just covered themselves to hide from one another. Now they hear God. Verse 8. "The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden." But then - verse 9. "...the Lord God called to the man, 'Where are you?'" And Adam answers - verse 10. "... 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'"
Friendship with God is replaced by fear and flight. They run and hide. They're now God's enemies.
If you made a line-up of all great rugby union players - I'd guess you and I won't be in. No surprises with me - I played two games of rugby union in my life. And both times they used me as the ball, and both times I was stretchered off. I'd certainly not make a line-up of rugby greats. But John Eales would.
Legendary captain of the Wallabies, John Eales was nicknamed "nobody." Apparently his fellow teammates had great difficulty finding any weakness in his game. So they nicknamed him "nobody"... ‘cos "nobody's"... perfect.
Now I'd never stand next to him in a line-up of rugby greats, but there is one line-up John and I would both make. The line-up of rebels. John and I would stand shoulder to shoulder. So would you. Because nobody is perfect. Not John, not you, not me. We've all messed up. I'm a mess, you're a mess.
Turn with me to Romans chapter 5 verse 12. Paul's comparing Adam to Jesus. His writing about how sin entered this world through Adam, and how Jesus deals with sin. Read with me from verse 12. "...sin entered the world through one man [...Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned..."
In Adam we've all sinned. His our true representative. And the "gene" of rebellion is passed on from generation to generation. You never have to teach a child to be naughty. It's inbuilt, inborn. If you think you're not sinner. I dare say, ask for a second opinion. Ask someone else. Your wife. Your parents. Ask the person next to you. They'll tell you. You're a mess. You miss the mark!
The mark? Now you may think you're "good enough". But you're measuring by whose standard? Your own! You need 50% to pass a maths exam, but God requires 100% perfect trust and obedience. Anything less makes you a failure, a rebel against God.
And it's all because you're sitting in God's seat. God's throne. Rejecting God's rightful rule. Asserting self rule. Singing your song, "I'll do it my way."
I'm a mess... you're a mess... and... that's not ok!!!
Romans 5 verse 12 reminds us rebellion is deadly. "...sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned..." Chapter 6 verse 23 tells us... "The wages of sin is death..." Rebels die. We're on death row. And there's hell to pay.
The first Adam failed to trust and obey. But the good news is there's a second Adam. A second representative. Jesus - the Son of God. In our first representative we all sinned. In the second we're saved.
Look at what it says in Romans 5 verse 15. God's gracious gift of salvation comes to us through Jesus. Verse 15. "For if the many died by the trespass of the one man [Adam], how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!" Through Jesus Christ we receive the gift of eternal life. As Romans 6 verse 23 declares... "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." And again in verse 19. "For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man [Jesus] the many will be made righteous."
To what was Jesus obedient, so you may be made righteous? Philippians 2 verse 8 tells us... "[Jesus]...being found in appearance as a man, ...humbled Himself and became obedient... to death - even death... on a cross."
Jesus, the perfect Son of God. Takes the sentence of sinners upon Himself - the death sentence. He pays our penalty - dies our death.
That's great news for you and me. It means what's wrong can be fixed. Our rebellion can be forgiven. We can be friends with God. And eternal life can be enjoyed - Heaven, instead of Hell.
How ought you then to respond? First, you've got to... get off ... God's throne. It's off limits. And you must bow the knee before Jesus, submitting to the rightful ruler of the world. And then you'll want to thank Jesus for dying on the cross. You'll want to thank Him with your lips and with your life. You'll be singing "I'll do it God's way." Taking God at His Word. Trusting Him to know what's best. And obeying Him. So that you're not led astray by the ancient serpent. And so that you may walk with God in the Heavenly city.
Amen.