by Frank Luke
FCF – Though we were created morally perfect, we have chosen to sin and have fallen.
Sermon Introduction: How the mighty have fallen. CS Lewis said that each and every one of us should remember we are children of Lord Adam and Lady Eve. That heritage, he said, is grand enough to raise the head of the poorest beggar yet humbling enough to bow the head of the mightiest king on earth. How did we, human beings, end up where we are? What does it mean that we are the top dog on earth, but why can’t we treat one another better? The fourth Fundamental Truth of the Assemblies of God states this clearly and succinctly.
Man was created good and upright; for God said, “Let us make man in our own image, after our likeness.” However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God. (Gen 1:26,27; 2:17; 3:6; Rom 5:12-19)
There’s an old story about Adam walking outside Eden with Abel one day. Because of the angels guarding the entrance, they can’t go in. Abel asks what this place is. Adam answers, “Son, that’s where your mother ate us out of house and home.”
Scripture Introduction: Most of the passages this morning come from Genesis. Genesis, whose Hebrew name means “beginning” and Greek name likewise means “origins.” The first book in the Bible sets the stage for what follows. Within its pages, we read the following beginnings: 1) heaven and earth, 2) plant life, 3) the sun, moon, and stars, 4) animal life including birds and fish, 5) people, 6) sin, 7) the chosen family, and 8) the twelve tribes. These are just a few of the firsts within Genesis.
Not only do we read about the origins of these things, those who came before us did also. Paul, like any good Jewish teacher, was very familiar with Genesis. He made links from Genesis to Christ and tied them together very tightly.
Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 2:17 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.”
Genesis 3:6 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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Romans 5:12-19 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned– 13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
Point 1: We were created morally perfect
Genesis 1:26-27 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Imagine perfection. Not just spiritual perfection but moral, intellectual, and physical perfection. The person you imagine would look better than anyone else. The reigning Mr. Universe and Miss Universe would pale in comparison. He would act better, always helping those who needed help. Any time there was a choice to make, he would make the right one. He could solve any problem.
It’s very difficult to imagine. We are so marred by sin that thinking of a perfect person is almost beyond our capabilities. We can think of Jesus, but even imagining how He would act righteously in all situations almost goes beyond us. To think that every choice is made correctly. Every right decision known as soon as the choices are laid out. It boggles my mind.
And yet, this is how Adam and Eve started. They were perfect physically, morally, and intellectually. The time they spent in the garden together before taking of the tree was like that. Adam always lifted vines out of Eve’s way. She always had a salad ready for him when the day was done. He was able to name every kind of animal near the garden.
They had to work the garden, but it was not toil. They worked to keep from being idle.
Do you ever wonder if the serpent tried to tempt them at other times? Maybe he had tempted Adam before and been run off. Maybe he had waited, biding his time for when one of the two might be weakened.
One the other hand, maybe this was the first time he had attempted to talk to either of them. That would explain why neither ran away from him or chased him away. Surely, if he was a known problem, the first couple would have sent him away.
Why is it that all humans are affected by Adam’s sin? What is the Bible teaching? Remember that we all come from these two. They are the first parents. No one on earth has been born or will be born that is not descended from them. Paul’s speech in Acts 17:26 repeats that all on earth share their blood, we are “of one blood.” When Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus, he goes all the way back to Adam because Jesus is the savior of all mankind.
Something else we learn from this verse is that we are all created in the image of God, after his likeness. Image means that in some way we reflect God. Likeness refers to us being like what we portray. The Bible teaches us that we are like God in moral and spiritual ways. We are not like him in physical ways. God has no physical form by nature. The Israelites were forbidden from making graven images because nothing could look like God.
In the image of God’s moral nature means that we all have the ability to make decisions and exercise self-determination. We are capable of love and responding to love. It gives us responsibility. It is this image and likeness that give us the awesome potential for good and evil.
Point 2: We chose to separate from God
Genesis 2:17 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.”
Genesis 3:6 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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
That day, near the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the first couple fell into sin. Eve was deceived, but Adam ate knowingly. Eve had not yet been created when God gave the command to not eat of this tree. Adam relayed the command to her. We notice that Eve’s version of the command has added words to it. If she added them right then or if Adam added them when he first told her, we do not know.
Judaism has an old tradition called fence building. This is an excellent example of fence building. When fence building, the speaker adds further restrictions to a command from God. By obeying the fence, you are guaranteed to never break the command. Did Adam build the fence around Torah or did Eve? We’ll never know. What we do know is that Eve listened to the Serpent, chose to break God’s instructions, and brought sin into the world.
Notice with heartbreak how Adam is with Eve right then. She didn’t have to go get him and bring him to the tree. He was there with her when she was tempted, and he did nothing. They chose to disobey God, and every one of us has done the same thing.
Whether big or small, we have all sinned. We know from the New Testament that all except Jesus have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We know that only Jesus can bring us back to the glory of God.
The day we live in hates to hear this. They believe half a truth, and thus a whole lie. I have been told many times that Jesus loves us (true), therefore, we can do anything we want (false). That’s absurd, and they know it! To demonstrate, think of the most evil act a person can commit. Would you really think that Jesus would let that go? No! Every sin can be forgiven, but only if we repent and ask for it.
Jesus wants what is best for us, therefore, He wants us to live rightly and holy. We are to hunger for holiness and pursue it. King David reminds us that goodness and mercy pursue him all the days of his life. That happens to the believer who follows God with everything and pursues holiness from the shepherd.
The opposite of sinful behavior is holiness. We do choose to sin; we can choose to pursue holiness. Imagine getting to the point where temptations no longer tempt. Not just that one temptation replaces another but that no temptation ever tempts again. I think all of us would love to be in that situation. One day, in God’s eternal Kingdom, we will be there.
In the meantime, remember God’s absolute hatred of sin. Sin comes from an abuse of the freedom we have being in the image of God. Evil is a matter of relationship, not a thing. It disregards the glory of God; it breaks away from a relationship of faith and obedience to God.
Having a relationship with God requires that we be able to break that relationship. Risk require the possibility of failure. For us to truly succeed we have to be able to truly fail.
Point 3: The separation has both physical and spiritual consequences
Romans 5:12-19 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned– 13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
In economics, they refer to “opportunity cost.” When you make one choice, others are closed to you. What you give up from those closed doors is the opportunity cost. The goal in economics is to make sure the profit from the choice you make is greater than the opportunity cost.
When we make choices in life, we accept the consequences of each one, and the consequences from those untaken choices are the opportunity cost. Now not every consequence is foreseen. You can’t predict them all. You choose to help your elderly neighbor by trimming her tree. She brings over an apple pie that night to say thank you. Awesome unforeseen consequence!
When Adam and Eve took from the tree, they knew it meant they would one day die. They did not know it would bring on pain in childbirth or laboring to eat.
After the expulsion from Eden, one of the first consequences of sin is seen in the relationship between Cain and Able. Nature itself was cursed. Moral evil also brought natural evil. “The wages of sin is death.” No sin is too small. Every sin leads to death and separation from God. The final consequence of sin is the second death where those whose names are not in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be banished to the Lake of Fire.
To be tempted to sin is not sin itself. Dwelling on that temptation and acting on it is. The way to overcome this is to obey the Bible. “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). When the fleeting thought comes, call upon the Holy Spirit to reject the sin and win the victory.
Conclusion:
They say you can never get back to where you started. The sin of Adam and Eve set us back, and only by the grace of God can we overcome it. But by that faith in Him and His Son, we can be redeemed. Taken to new heights of spirit. God can restore what we let slip away from us. Don’t think that every consequence is because of Adam and Eve’s sin. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Consequences also come on us because of those sins of our own.
If that faith isn’t yours, this is the day to take hold of it and make it yours. God gives faith to those who want it. You can be made righteous through the obedience of One.
If that faith is already yours, take time today to thank God for giving it to you. Praise Him and then look at the things you have done. Odds are you’ve done something recently that would be a letdown to Him. This is the time to confess and seek forgiveness for that sin.
For both those who renew their commitment and those who are newly committed, resolve to live righteously. Make a plan for it and put it in action. Live right by daily calling on Christ to lead and guide you. The Father does not want you to sin and will strengthen you. The Holy Spirit will bring to mind all things that you need in the fight against sin.
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Please visit Frank Luke’s Blog where this sermon is also posted.