Genesis 3:4-7

The Reality of Sin

Introduction

Assumption that man is mostly good

Started w/ debate b/w Pelagius and Augustine

Moved to Luther and Erasmus

Synod of Dordt and followers of Arminius

Not actually “Calvin’s” doctrine so to speak

5 points were a refutal

Continues in modern discussions

Ligonier “State of Theology” (out of 3011 adult respondents)

“Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature”

66% agree

“Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God”

71% agree

“Even the smallest sin deserves eternal damnation”

69% disagree (58% strongly)

The serpent’s lies are still being sold as gospel

Galatians 1:6–8 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”

But what does it matter?

If we don’t need to be saved from something, we don’t need a Saviour

Problem with modern “gospel”, what do you need saved from?

If you have money, you don’t need Christ for “more money” (error to think this way but many do)

Anything other than what the Bible articulates clearly is a one-way ticket to eternal torment, punishment, and wrath

Gen 3:4-7 reminds us our greatest need is the Lord Jesus Christ

Text

vv. 4-5

Thomas Brooks “Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices”

Calls Satan’s device in vv. 4-5, “Present the bait and hide the hook”

Going fishing, the hook should be well hidden, the trap should look just like what is to be desired

(The Bait) “you will not surely die”

Reversing the exact curse given in 2.17

First direction was questioning God’s Word

“Did God really say”

Second direction on God’s inner thoughts

“you will be like God”

Blame shifting to God

God is withholding from you

God is preventing you from living best life

God is so restrictive

He’s holding back a special knowledge for you

Serpent is positing, “Disobedience will bring positive blessing”

You will be like God

Being created in His image is not enough

Now you will be just like Him

The Hook - shame, wrath, and loss which follows

Intermission

Break in between to see what would happen

Will they give in?

Will Adam crush its head?

Profound nature of sin

We would have fallen similarly

vv. 6-7: The Eternal Consequences

Full realization of sin

Thomas Watson, “Sin hath the devil for its father, shame for its companion, and death for its wages”

Father of lies

If you have no shame when you sin, you must repent and believe in Christ

Sin is certainly bad

Shame is like an extension of grace wherein the HS reminds us of where our affections should lie.

Actions speak louder than words

Eve’s second response is an action

Samuel Rutherford, “To want temptations is the greatest temptation of all”

Three ways deceitful desire of sin manifests

All summed up in 1 John 2:16 “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Physical Satisfaction: Saw … good for food (lust of the flesh)

Genesis 2:9 “And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”

Every other tree was good for food

Beautiful Possession: Delight (lust of the eyes)

Once again, contra Gen 2.9.

Godlike Greatness: “make one wise” (pride of life)

Root of covetousness

“I need something I do not now have in order to be happy”

Contrary to “every good and perfect gift is given from above”

Sad reality/state of our own lives

How often do we pursue things in discontentment?

If I only had, x, y, z… then I would be happy

Happiness becomes contingent upon what we do not have

Should come from what we have = God

Adam and Eve had everything they needed and more

Satan’s promise in v. 5 becomes a reality in v. 7

Reverse of Genesis 2:25 “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

The crafty has caused the shame

The intimate nature of marriage has been shattered

Guilt is associated with nakedness

Works-righteousness/atonement

Knowledge of sin

Necessity of covering

Their works in covering were insufficient and ineffective (next week)

Doctrine - Imputation

“Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression”

The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself but for his posterity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation sinned in him and fell with him, in his first transgression

Covenant made with Adam

CW, Genesis 2:15–17 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.””

Federal representative of all mankind

Gov’t analogy

“descending from him”

Romans 5:12 “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—”

Back to nature of man from last week

Commonly called original sin

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

Debacle that all mankind finds themselves in

Glorious truth is the reverse of Adam’s sin

All in Christ are imputed His righteousness

Christ fulfills where Adam and Eve failed

What was Christ’s situation when tempted?

Adam - in Garden; Christ - in desert

Adam - all trees but one and four rivers for water; Christ - no food/drink 40 days/40 nights

Adam - helpmate, companion; Christ - alone

Adam - gave into temptation; Christ - rebuked tempter

Adam - imputed sin to all mankind; Christ - imputes righteousness to all His sheep

Similar pattern in Luke 4:1-13.

Physical Satisfaction “command this stone that it be made bread” / Saw … good for food (lust of the flesh)

Beautiful Possessions “showed him all the kingdoms of the world” / Delight (lust of the eyes)

Godlike Greatness “pinnacle of the temple” / “make one wise” (pride of life)

Application - How is something like the Fall a benefit to us? Contrast the Fall with Redemption

Use 1. When sin comes knocking, ask God for aid

Seems very obvious, why is this an application?

But do you actually do it?

Do you seek God instantly for help, aid, support?

Remember the sinful inventory of how we are tempted?

Pride often overshadows our desire to seek the Lord

James 4:2 “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.”

“Lead us not into temptation”

Ask God and pray for his aid against such temptations to sin.

Use 2. When sin comes knocking, don’t entertain an invitation.

Encouragement for introverts

Acts like you do when anyone knocks on your door, just don’t answer

Treat it like the door salesman

Sin wants an entry point, it will explore all the weaknesses of your defences to come in

Like Eve who received the invitation, we must be aware of our propensity to follow sin’s path into destruction

If invited in, it will show you the bait at the expense of the hook

Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress was led away in a similar fashion

Worldly Wiseman allures Christian to stray from path

“But why wilt thou seek for ease this way, seeing so many dangers attend it? Especially, since (hadst thou but patience to hear me) I could direct thee to the obtaining of what thou desirest, without the dangers that thou in this way wilt run thyself into”

Use 3. When sin comes knocking, come out on the offensive

How does Jesus respond to temptation? (back to Luke)

Does he entertain the idea? Does he twist the Word?

No, he goes on the offensive

The Word is sufficient for you

Sufficient in salvation

Sufficient in sanctification

Sufficient in mortification

Use 4. When sin comes knocking, remember its destruction.

Reflect on just how bad the nature of sin is and its effects

Thomas Brooks in “Precious Remedies”

“Seriously consider that the giving way to a less sin makes way for the committing of a greater.”

It always has a destructive path

Sin = wrath of God

Eternal punishment

Think of most heinous criminals who are given several life sentences

Our crimes against God = cosmic treason

There are no amount of lifetimes we can be given to pay the debt

Use 5. When sin comes knocking, remember Christ who Redeemed you from it

Where sin puts all mankind on equal ground, so also does redemption

Galatians 3:28–29 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

Not an “egalitarian” concept; but the universality in terms of the scope of Christ’s atonement

It is for all who call upon the name of the Lord, Jew, Gentile, male, female, rich, poor, American, African, Asian, European

You are considered Abraham’s spiritual seed, by faith

Benefits of redemption

Adoption

Justification

Sanctification

No partiality in God’s redemptive plan

Redemption provides what mankind does not deserve

Truth of redemption

We do not deserve it

God doesn’t foresee your faith and think you are worthy

God doesn’t wait for you to clean up your sinful life

God doesn’t owe you anything

But how beautiful is the gift of redemption?

The Fall shows how insufficient our works are in redemption

“they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”

Man’s biggest problem is trying to redeem himself when he cannot

Cannot clothe ourselves to atone for sin

God slaughtered an animal

AnE died spiritually and something innocent died temporally

Something else paid for Adam and Eve’s sin

An innocent animal, freely roaming Eden, minding its own business

You can imagine the punishment of death was like the knife that Abraham put to Isaac’s throat

And as God provided a ram for Abraham so also does God provide atonement for AnE

Redemption shows how sufficient Christ’s works are

His are completely sufficient

Only through Christ

Ephesians 2:1–9 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Sin has been conquered by Christ

“O death, where is your sting”

Because of our new natures, we resist and refuse

Christ’s work is sufficient in all aspects of redemption

Christ is sufficient in sanctification

Gift of HS

Romans 7:24–25 “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”