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? 12 And the man said, The woman
whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 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.
Adam
and Eve, before this, knew no significance to being naked. There was nothing
shocking or shameful about their natural state. The first couple not only knew
no shame but walking around naked was not remarkable at all. The realization
that there was some importance about their state of undress did not come about
until they had disobeyed God. Sin might make a person more knowledgeable, even
though it won’t make them wiser until they suffer its dreadful consequences.
Then
God requires an honest answer from Adam, which He does not get. There is no
falling on the knees pleading for forgiveness here. There is only passing the
blame to Eve and then even to God Himself. Here is a prime example of not
taking responsibility for your actions, a choice mankind will suffer from for
thousands of years afterward.
The
woman also plays the pass the blame game and there is a clear warning here for
us. I cannot blame Satan for my sin. I know what is wrong so my being tricked
into something is not an excuse. As an example, many people are scammed by a
desire to get rich without expending any effort or thought. Their own
wickedness brings them down as the person or persons who deceived them merely
reveal their sinful state.
Clearly,
Adam and Eve had free will. The capacity to sin was always there because they
had free will but the willingness to sin was only revealed when Satan exposed a
human desire for certain things, mainly the three things mentioned earlier; the
lust of flesh and eyes, and pride. We desire to see certain things, to
experience certain things, and to boast of certain things, all of which destroy
us in the end.
Were
Adam and Eve created sinners or sinless? Clearly, Satan didn’t impart sin to
them as he only revealed the capacity in them. Christian fundamentalist leaders
like to add layer upon layer on what sin is in order to control their
congregations; to serve them and to follow their convictions. But, they often
take us away from God’s clearer messages. Adam and Eve were born with the
capacity to sin, revealed by Satan. But, it took them to willfully disobey God
for them to be blamed.
Before
a person hears of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to satisfy God’s wrath
against sin and trusts in His resurrection for salvation here are the
conditions God lays out as spoken by Peter referring to a Roman who had not yet
heard of redemption through Christ.
Acts
10:34 ¶ Then Peter opened his mouth, and
said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
These
will hear Christ. God will somehow provide them with some level of truth by
which their belief will be tested. If they reject what Jesus said about
Himself, and the following verse defines what it means to believe on by way of
parallel phrasing, while the verse after it reveals what Jesus said about
Himself;
John
3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath
everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the
wrath of God abideth on him.
John
14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me….9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long
time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me
hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
….or
if they believe what Christ said and in His resurrection;
Acts
16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Romans
10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh
thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we
preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth
on him shall not be ashamed.
…their
salvation is predicated upon belief in Christ, what He said and what He did.
Damnation is predicated upon rejecting Christ, thereby disobeying God. God
loved you at the Cross and He loves you now if you will believe Him and be
given faith. He is furious if you reject the offer of amnesty He presented to
you out of that love. This has nothing to do with what branch of Christianity
you are in, your denomination, any creed, or your church attendance, your
giving, or how pious and spiritual you pretend to be.
The
moment you, knowing there is a God and that He has claims on you, choose to
reject the free gift of salvation you have chosen disobedience and are
condemned until or unless you are given the opportunity again to believe.
The
moment you receive Christ you are forever beyond condemnation. Praying a 1-2-3
prayer in an emotionally charged church meeting is not proof of your salvation.
Proof of the Holy Ghost’s indwelling is clearly stated.
Galatians
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is
no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in
the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of
vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
And
your religion is not simply how many people you have gotten to repeat the
prayer because they feel terribly guilty for letting their mother down, or
their family, or depressed because their lives are trashed by sin, a feeling
which can leave at the next good time or happy feeling. This has been the dogma
of fundamentalism since Dwight L. Moody and Billy Sunday. But your religion, the expression of your
faith is;
James
1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before
God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
And
you are called to a specific attitude and hope;
Titus
2:11 ¶ For the grace of God that
bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem
us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of
good works.
Do
not commit the fundamentalist and Eve’s error by adding to God’s commands or
Satan’s and the religious liberal’s error by denying it is true;
Deuteronomy
4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which
I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the
commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.
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