Why we need Good Friday

I. Introduction

1/29/14

I. Introduction

1. Catch-

i. Cancer

1. It is the name of about 100 different diseases each having to do with your own cells fighting against the rest

2. They begin by normal cells have their DNA damaged and they begin to grow out of control

3. Sadly, what makes it even more difficult is that they just don’t stay in one spot, they spread and attack the body around them, they enter the blood supply and move from one part of your body to the complete other end

4. But each of these 100 versions require different treatments, so you have to identify not just where the cancer is, but where it came from.

5. See, cancer that starts in your liver, is very different from cancer that starts in your skin. to treat it, you must identify the source

ii. In case you didn’t notice… every society on the earth has a cancer

1. We have wars, stealing, murder, lust, temptation, evils of all kinds

2. And there is something wrong with the relationships of men and women.

a. There are many cases of abuse

b. There is discord between even loving husbands and wives.

iii. Today we’re talking about why we need good Friday. Why do we need the death of perfectly good God man?

- 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—

1. Our cancer is sin

2. Identifying the disease will make the cure seem sweet.

2. Review of

i. first two chapters of Genesis have show us about God’s design and missions for humanity

ii. In genesis 1:27- we see that God made man in his image, male and female he created them

Prop: In the fall, God’s truthfulness and goodness are attacked, leading to faith in the wrong place, and ending in God’s judgment.

II. Body of sermon- We need the death of Christ because our problems are just like our first parents

The 1st attack:

1. The serpent’s lies (3:1-5)

We know this serpent is Satan, the devil, because of

- And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world

He has already fallen into sin and now wants to bring others down by starting with…

i. A question about God’s truth (v1-3)

1. He doesn’t outright challenge God, but subtlety attacks his character & trustworthiness

2. Notice the differences between what God said and what the serpent now says?

a. Read 2:16-17

b. He uses the name “God” rather than the covenant name “Lord,” *possibly an attempt to show God as the mean rule enforcer, not the kind protector that he is

c. He adds the small word “not” to god’s statement of eating from any tree

d. The you here in plural, “you all” rather than you singular Taking the priority given to her husband

3. Eve responds, but she gets it so wrong (v2)

a. She says we may eat of any tree instead that God commanded her to eat any and freely from the trees *Taking God’s generosity and turning it into mere permission.

b. The tree is at the center of the garden, rather than the tree of the knowledge of good and evil… she ignores why the tree is forbidden.

c. Less you die at the end, instead of the dire warning you will surely die

d. And adds a restriction of you shall not touch instead of just not eating

4. Satan is drawing her away from what God said to her husband and to another interpretation.

Trans: and so the serpent becomes more bold and begins

ii. An attack on God’s goodness (v4-5)

1. He claims that God is a liar. They will not die

2. And this implies that God’s law is selfish, even repressive

3. You can almost imagine the serpent Queen Eve, you cannot really believe what this distant creator has said to you. He is trying to keep you underneath him. He doesn’t love you, he is threatened by you and knows that by doing this, you will be just like him. So go ahead queen Eve, take a bite. Be equal with God.

iii. Illus

1. The problems of the world cannot just be fixed by some moral persuasion because they are rooted in lies

2. Pastor JC Ryle, wrote, “What would you expect? Sin will not come to you, saying, "I am sin." It would do little harm if it did. Sin always seems "good, and pleasant, and desirable," at the time of commission.”

iv. Application

1. Let us learn from this… there are lies about God out there & we believe them

2. Good Friday blasts those lies to pieces, because we do not just have a God who merely commands… we have a good God who dies to rescue those who were his enemies

a. If you ever doubt God’s goodness remember… he died for sinners just like you. A cruel God doesn’t do that

The attack hits to the heart of our first parents.

2. The humans’ wrong faith (6-8)

i. Explanation- the woman and the man both mistep

1. Woman trusts her perspective over God (6a)

a. The garden no longer looks the same…

b. Back in 2:9- the tree of life is in the center of the garden with the forbidden tree next to it.

i. But now v3- IT is the tree in the center of the garden

c. 2:9- Every other tree was pleasant to the sight and good to food

d. God goes from her kind provider to being someone she knows better than.

e. she only has eyes for this tree… everything else is grey… only what is forbidden is in color & she wants it & she takes it.. and she eats it.

Trans: Then, right away… the next action, is she gives it to her husband and

2. Man obeys his wife over God (6b)

a. “Gave” means handed over and suggested

b. But v17- God explains that “You have listened” means he obeyed.

c. See scripture is clear that Eve was misled 2 cor 11:3- the serpent deceived Eve.

i. “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.”

d. Adam was given the task of working the garden and keep it safe -But here is the ultimate danger, the one thing he was warned about -and he abdicates his role

i. He follows the words of his wife over the words of God when he should have stopped it

e. No reason is stated why he went along, but the failed responsibility is clear.

Trans: Then right away again, v7 then

3. Their unexpected consequences come upon them (7-8)

a. Notice that they didn’t see anything different when Eve ate

i. Only then are they aware of their sin and the shame of their nakedness.

b. They attempt to cover it up

c. Their lack of innocence, lack of knowledge of sin, is gone only leaving them embarrassed.

d. God walks into the garden, they hear him moving and in terror or shame they hide.

e. Fascinating, isn’t it? They wanted so to be like God, but rather than making them equal with God, their knowledge only made them afraid to come even near him.

ii. Illustration

1. sins are never an absence of faith, but faith in the wrong thing

a. An Avianca Airlines jet crashed in 1984. The information gathered from the little black box proved insightful and alarming. Shortly before the accident, the automatic warning said in English, “Pull up, pull up, pull up, pull up, pull up!” The pilot responded, “Shut up, Gringo,” as he turned off the automatic warning system.

b. Minutes later, the giant plane crashed into the side of a mountain. No one survived. The black box proved valuable in how pilots are now trained with a renewed emphasis to not ignore automatic warning systems. Ignoring them could prove disastrous.

c. The pilot trusted his understanding of the situation more than the instruments… in essence he put his faith in the wrong place

2. Thus, there are not people of faith and people of not There are only those who trust in the good God who knows all And those who trust sources that will faith

iii. App

1. Brothers, sisters, we need Resurrection Sunday because we put our faith in other things rather than God than cannot come through.

a. People are no strong enough

b. The world lies to us

c. And our own heart… our emotions give us a lens of the world filled with pride that when we get what we want, we’re still not happy

2. But next week we will celebrate the God who you can trust because he did the impossible… he came back from dead

Trans: Adam and Eve hide, but God is not fooled and he goes after them.

3. God judgment: giving them over to their sins (3:9-19)

i. God questions the new sinners. (9-13)

1. Explanation

Notice this, he seeks out the individuals, treating the man and woman in a distinct manner, and even though the judgments affect both, God tailors his response by

a. 1st off: God addresses the man (9-12)

i. He calls to the Man and the man responds

1. Scripture tells us that Adam is blamed from the fall in

“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

2. God calls out to Adam now because he was the one ultimately responsible.

3. Satan didn’t go after Eve because she was weaker, no, he went after her because Adam was her head, and she was the helper…

ii. Picture Adam hiding behind a bush in his leaves with his feet sticking out underneath the bush god saying… “Adam, Adam, where are you.”

iii. Adam’s responds, God I hid because of my nakedness, but God knows that it was because he was afraid of God’s presence.

1. it’s not the nakedness, it is who will see your shame.

iv. He asks Adam too rhetorical questions in v11 allowing Adam’s guilt to come forward

v. And Adam responds… it was this woman You gave me God

1. How quickly had things changed.

2. He sang a love song earlier… now she is the cause of his problems

3. And he is blaming the one who gave her… God

4. See how all our relational problems are rooted here… how quickly we go from deeply in love to blaming the person?

Trans: God then turns to the woman

b. God addresses the woman (13)

i. Not up till this point has the bible said God spoke with Eve.

ii. He looks at this woman, who he created to be Adam’s delight and helper in ruling the world… now becoming Adam’s partner in crime

iii. “what is this you have done my daughter” She responds only, the serpent deceived me.

iv. And while that may be blame shifting again, the rest of scripture says that is true. She at least has the decency to not blame God

1. In the end though, she gave her faith to the creation rather than the creator

2. Thus creation now rights against us

2. App- Why do we need good Friday and easter?

a. Because we do not have a God in heaven who looks at us in our sin and says… figure out how to make me happy

b. Nor does he simply say, here are my requirements, you can come to me when you’ve completed them

c. NO, God goes searching for Adam and Eve, and God sends his son to save us while we are still sinners

Trans: But God, having hear the confession declares a just punishment for them

But could you imagine what would happen if God allowed them to continue on as it were, thinking life was ok now?

The curses are very much a gift, because the world shows that only a proper relationship with God will satisfy.

ii. God curses the serpent (3:14-15)

1. for his temptation and makes him the most disregarded of all animals

iii. Woman’s relationship to children and husband is disordered (16)

After cursing the serpent, God turns to the woman, and tells her what will happen,

1. He tells her there will be Pain in childbirth

a. She had attempted to decide what was right on her own so her pregnancy will now be painful

b. God directs this punishment at her role as a mother, because this is one important way women are supposed to help fulfill God’s command to fill the earth.

c. But God tells her she will bring forth children!

i. Her role as a mother promised in 2:24 will still be accomplished.

ii. And note only that, v15 states her offspring will ultimately defeat the one behind the serpent, Satan

iii. God’s very punishment is kind to her because it nurtures hope

d. She wanted to be like God and now the consequence she would have to watch all her children grow up and die in a sin filled world with sin filled hearts.

Trans: God then gives her a second judgment due to her leading her husband..

2. There will be conflict with her husband

a. “desire” is only found 3x in the OT

b. Read. 4:7… both desire and rule are present.

i. Cain is warned that sin is trying to control him, but he must fight against it.

ii. He ultimately loses and anger consumes him causing him to kill his brother

iii. But clearly desire he is one of wanting to conquer

c. So God is saying, Daughter, your will want to rule over your husband and all of your daughter will see the stupidity of men and want to change them But he will be in charge of you.

d. This is measure for measure response to her sin. Just like , God gives her over to her very desire knowing it will cause pain

e. Rule could be a kind rule or a harsh rule depending on context, but what is clear, is her husband is supposed to have authority

3. App

a. Sisters… this identifies one type of cancer

i. Every young lady who likes the badboy and thinks she can change him

ii. Every wife who struggles with her husband not doing what she thinks should be done

iii. It all comes from Eve

b. And yes, many men over the years and responded to that with harsh and abusive rule.

i. but the solution is not increase the conflict, but to make our relationships match what God designed them to be.

c. We need Good Friday because our relationships reflect the sin in our hearts and we’ve made it worse

i. So we need the gospel to forgive us….

ii. Explain Gospel

Trans: God then turns to the man telling him his judgment:

iv. Man’s work is made difficult. (17-19)

1. Explanation

a. The reason for his curse is given

i. I can imagine some man saying, ya know, this is exactly why I should never listen to my wife… But that is not what God says.

ii. The word means obey…. And if a man’s wife tell him to do something against what the bible says… then no, she shouldn’t listen to her

iii. Instead, A man is called to understand and hear his wife, but the responsibility of the sin is his

iv. Adam tried to blame others… God reminds him it was his sin and responsibility.

Trans: and because the leader of the world fell into sin

b. The creation is cursed because of him

i. God tells him, you didn’t want to lead huh?

ii. The ground and the woman will now fight back making your job take a lot the sweat of your face (v19)

iii. The ground you were to work Adam will be cursed and it shall grow painful things because of you

1. Disease, dangerous animals, natural disasters, even breakdown of equipment is from this curse

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” (, ESV)

c. Death is waiting for him

i. Adam is also to die.. After a lifetime of simply survival by his hard work, he will be swallowed up in defeat, he will die and become ground again.

2. App

a. men, You need to believe that your work is going to be hard and you will be tired.

i. And that is the way it should be. See, this judgment also has hope because it forces the man to rely upon God for his provision to fulfill his purpose now.

b. You will have to work hard, but as Ecclesiastes tells us, it will all be for nothing if you do not fear God.

c. Only Adam is said to die, but as goes the head, so goes the parts… Eve too will return to the dust.

i. But v20-Adams responds in Faith. He believes God that they will have children and continue on, naming her Eve.

d. Wow… guys, take that as a lesson, after the biggest failure in all eternity… respond in faith, trusting God’s forgiveness and provision.

III. Conclusion

1. Cohesion

i. Satan’s lying plan was very ingenious

1. He questioned God’s truthfulness, seeding doubt in Eve’s mind

2. Then he attacked God’s goodness, encouraging her to trust herself over God

ii. Our first parents then put their faith or trust into themselves, denying the creator-creature difference

iii. God’s response gives them what they wanted

1. Adam receives the blame as the leader and assigned protector

2. Each has sinned and each judgment is tailor designed for their particular role and responsibilities.

2. Resolution

i. A number of times a doctor has walked into a room rattling off what they’re going to do

1. Alright, we’re going to fly you to this specialists in san Francisco and he’s going to put you on this chemo therapy cocktail the odds are not great, but if we start on this right away, there is a chance…

2. And the patient just stares with a wide open face until the doctor pauses and asks… you were informed you have stage 4 cancer, right?

3. And clearly the man hasn’t heard anything

ii. Friends… the gospel has some high costs

1. Good Friday calls us to deny ourselves, give up our lives to follow Christ

2. & the gospel is only good news if we understand the bad news first.