Treed

There is sin in the world because one person sinned. That sin nature has been passed on to us all, and thus, all are sinners. We call this “original sin.” Many do not believe there is such a thing as total depravity of human nature, such as Eastern Orthodox and many Baptist traditions, but ironically not some holiness denominations such as Wesleyans.

Nonetheless, I would say that the people who struggle most with the notion of original sin—the underlying corruption of human nature that we all inherited from Adam—are the Christians who imagine that Christ Jesus is necessary for our salvation but that what he did on the cross is actually insufficient. When it comes down to it, they believe he needs our help. They believe that we sinners must add some good to the work of Christ, even if that good is our faith—faith that somehow springs from depraved hearts.

To be sure, this is not a litmus test, since Rome believes in original sin. But it is a slippery slope built on the notion of personal responsibility and free will. When you do not believe you are in bondage to sin and cannot free yourself, you are setting yourself up for a lifetime of insecurity. You will never have real peace with God because you will discover, if you are honest, that you will also never stop sinning. Then you will begin to rely on your reason which will surely ask, How much good do I need to do in order to be at peace with my sinful self?

You are not simply predisposed to sin but are born in it—or rather, it is born in you. Our New Testament reading tells us this, echoing the psalmist who insists we are all brought forth in iniquity. (Psalm 51:5)

Romans 5:12 ESV

Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Romans 5:17 ESV

Because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man...

The consequences of this natural condition of humanity are both guilt and death. All sinners will suffer guilt and most certainly be guilty. And they shall surely die, no matter what the serpent says.

But there is hope, a sure and certain hope, that just as the one trespass brought this condemnation of death for everyone, the one free gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ brings life to everyone who believes. Those who have faith in Christ and his payment for their sin, are justified to God and made righteous because of Christ. 

Let us pray. Holy Father, we are surrounded by temptation and a world filled with that which would lure us away from you. Save us from the power of sin and death; bring us to the life that comes through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, your Son and our Savior. We ask that your Holy Spirit would bring to our remembrance his word and promises, and give us a focus on the Savior instead of the sinner, on his forgiveness rather than our trespasses. Amen

Our Lenten journey begins in the trees. Since the story is about the fruit of trees, I like to think of the tempter coming to the mother of us all while slithering in one of those trees, perhaps even the tree of knowledge itself. As he slithers, he uses God’s word to tempt this—for the moment—perfect creation of God. But first, he sets up the temptation, based on sowing distrust in that same word of God.

Eve seems to smell something wrong when, seemingly out of nowhere, the crafty serpent asks her a direct question.

Genesis 3:1 ESV

“Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Eve counters with God’s word, yet not just his word. She adds her own word to God’s—as though his word alone is not enough for her or for the serpent. God said that they were not to eat the fruit of that tree. Eve added, or even touch it.

You may think this a slight thing. Some of you may even consider her addition a helpful clarification. Be careful. We must not add, or for that matter, subtract from God’s word. The admonition of John about Revelation may, and I think, should be applied to God’s Word in general.

Revelation 22:18–19 ESV

I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Eve was trying to make the simple command of God stronger by adding her own message to it. And thus, religion was born.

The serpent sows more distrust in the already staggering Eve, insisting that God’s word is not true. In other words, God is the liar, not me. You won’t die if you eat the fruit of the tree that God forbade. Then he adds the clincher: In fact, if you eat of that fruit you will become like God.

Now Eve looks past the serpent, past the trees, past that particular tree, to its fruit. And what did she determine? That it was obviously good for food. And it was beautiful; how can that be a bad thing? Furthermore, it would make her wise if she ate it. I mean what’s wrong with being wise? Doesn’t God want me to be wise? You can hear the questions she asked herself because you’ve asked yourself the same questions.

So, let’s answer her questions—our questions. There is a fundamental truth about wisdom: it begins with a fear of the Lord. Whereas “fools despise wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7), the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).

To be truly wise begins with believing what is written. We are to trust what God says over and above what others say or what we reason. Here is a perfect example of Luther’s teaching that reason is the devil’s whore. In the last sermon he preached in Wittenberg, Dr. Luther preached...

Luther’s Works, Volume 51 The Last Sermon in Wittenberg, Rom. 12:3, January 17, 1546

But the devil’s bride, reason, the lovely whore comes in and wants to be wise, and what she says, she thinks, is the Holy Spirit. Who can be of any help then? Neither jurist, physician, nor king, nor emperor; for she is the foremost whore the devil has. The other gross sins can be seen, but nobody can control reason. It walks about, cooks up fanaticism

What a great transgression was Eve’s and Adam’s distrust and disobedience. But ours is no less great. For we too are told what we may and may not do, yet we, too, gladly listen to the reason of the Tempter: “You will not surely die.” When we give in to such reasoning, we value God’s grace less in our hearts.

Yet, God’s grace has not departed. Though the devil will never stop trying to draw us away from God’s pure will and word, we have a trustworthy guide for faith where the gospel is purely preached, and we are able to, if not always avoid sin, at least be forgiven.

For David does not say, blessed is the one who never sins. Instead, with the understanding that all are sinners, he proceeds to the blessing of the forgiveness of those very people—you and me: sinners. The most pious among us is nonetheless a poor, unrighteous sinner, born and shaped by sin. Blessed is he if his God is the one who loves sinners and forgives their sin.

The psalmist does not suggest that blessing comes to the one who tries harder, or who makes Lenten sacrifices, or tithes, or goes on a short-term mission trip, or has perfect church attendance—or who is so talented at reasoning away his sinfulness that it does not plague him with guilt.

Instead, he says, the blessed person is the one who knows his guilt, and confesses, and is thereby forgiven. It is best, therefore, for us to ask forgiveness when we feel the first pang of guilt. This is when God may be found. Later, we may not “find” him since, in our ensuing wisdom of forgetfulness, we will cease to sense our need of God or his forgiveness.

All this, Satan accomplished with a few words while hanging in a tree. Imagine the audacity of Satan, that he would also tempt the Son of Man. He knew that if he could get Jesus to listen to his word instead of the Father’s, all would be lost. Indeed, we sinners would remain lost forever.

Thanks be to God that our Lord, though weak in this flesh, was strong in the word of God. All of those beguiling promises of the devil were trumped by the written and living word of God. “It is written” was all that was needed to send Satan packing for the moment.

But he will be back. And hanging from another tree, Jesus would conquer the serpent, as well as sin and death, with a different few words: “It is finished” (John 19:30).