Faith and Science: Death Before Sin

Last week, we discussed worldviews. How our worldview will interpret available data to match what we believe to be true. This often leads us to mishandle information and distorting the truth.

Selective attention will cause one to pay special attention to the data that lines up with their worldview or belief system and skip over all other information — causing one to have a distorted view of truth and reality.

We must look at life through the lens of the Bible. Not using other thoughts or theories to interpret the Bible, but using the Bible to interpret and evaluate various thoughts and theories.

That is looking at life through the lens of a Biblical worldview.

Last week, I gave you all a challenge.

Let’s look at scripture, God’s message to us, with new eyes.

The next two weeks, I want to focus on two main points.

Death before sin & the evolution of races

Let’s begin death before sin with a quick video.

Pain and Suffering video

Regarding creation, no matter what you choose to believe (young earth, old earth, big bang, billions of years), you cannot have death before sin in a proper biblical worldview. As soon as you place death before sin, Jesus is no longer needed, and the New Testament can be tossed away. Seriously.

Sin brought death, disease, pain, and suffering.

If your worldview has any of this before sin, there is no need for a savior. Jesus is irrelevant.

Death before sin places the punishment before the crime. This logic is absurd.

Romans 5:1–5 NLT

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:12–15 NLT

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:21 NLT

So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Death is a Result of Sin

If we let scripture interpret scripture, death is a result of sin. This means, there was no death before sin. Adam was the first person in history to sin.

I believe that any interpretation of creation week in Genesis outside of 7 literal days requires death before sin.

Some might ask the question, If God made the world and everything in it perfect, where did evil come from? Did God create evil? That’s a good question.

I don’t believe that God created evil. Here’s why.

Genesis 1:31 NLT

Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.

Everything was very good. No evil.

I believe that God created the possibility of evil?

The Possibility of Evil

Choice, free will, is the possibility of evil. God has given us the ability to choose option b, not God.

You can choose me, or you can choose not me.

You can choose God, or you can choose not God.

Just as darkness is the absence of light, evil is the absence of good.

We can have light without darkness, just as we can have good without evil. But once you remove light, the only option is darkness. Once you remove good, you have evil.

Just by instructing man to not eat of a specific tree, God created a tree of the knowledge, or understanding, of good and evil. It wasn’t necessarily the tree that opened the understanding of good and evil, rather the choice to disobey or rebel.

Not eating from this tree is keeping the light on. Eating from this tree is removing the light. Without light, you have darkness. Without good, you have evil.

This represents the alternative to accepting the rule of the Creator.

God created the possibility of evil by creating a choice. He gave humanity the option to obey or disobey.

Here is one quote that I read about this topic that sums it up pretty well.

“Prohibiting people from eating of the tree could have been a test to see if they would be content to stay in their proper place or if they would try to ascend to God’s level...

Isaiah 14:13 NLT

For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north.

...The people’s sin is pride and disrespect for God’s authority, seeking to obtain that which was forbidden—wisdom that would make them like God.”

If God is good and everything he created is good, then evil being the opposite of good must be the opposite of God.

When Adam and Eve sinned by choosing to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they chose to understand evil. They chose the opposite of God; they chose separation from God.

You’ve got to get this.

Evil is Separation From God.

Every day we get to make a choice; to choose God or the absence of God.

Let’s go back to the light and dark analogy.

Do you find it interesting that you can’t turn on dark?

Think about it.

We don’t have a dark switch; we have a light switch.

We don’t turn on the dark; we turn off the light.

Dark can never overpower light. To get a shadow, you must block or hide the light.

As soon as there is light, darkness is gone

Just as when we sin, we’re choosing the absence of God. We’re choosing to step out, away from God. Almost like we’re turning off our access to God.

Adam and Eve walked with God. They had direct access to his throne in Eden.

This is a devastating ordeal.

Genesis 3:6–7 NLT

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

Picture the Moment

Put yourself in their place.

You’re faced with a decision to make; it looks good and probably tastes good too. You go for it, only to find yourself buck naked, covered in shame, looking for something to cover up a misguided choice.

I know, we’ve all been there. (Hopefully not literally naked.) But spiritually naked and full of shame from some wrong decision. And we try to cover this naked shame. We make coverings to wear, hoping that no one will notice; that no one will see our shame. We pretend that everything is good and try to live a lie. And we’re good actors; most people are fooled.

But not everyone.

Here’s where they get caught.

Genesis 3:8 ESV

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

A couple of questions come to mind when I read this.

First, they “heard” the Lord God walking in the garden? Was he in physical form?

I believe so. This is what theologians call a theophany; a visible manifestation of God in human form. This actually happens several times throughout the Old Testament. But, not to be confused with the incarnation of Jesus.

The Lord God is approaching Adam and Eve, so they hide themselves from his presence. Where do they hide themselves? Among the trees.

Among the trees? They are covered in fig leaves, and they hid among the trees. Did they think they could blend in with the trees? Are they using their “shame covering” leaves as camouflage? It sounds like it to me.

Quick, Eve, let’s hid over by those trees and try to blend in. He won’t see us.

Genesis 3:9 ESV

But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

It’s like playing hide-and-seek with a three-year-old.

You’ve been there. They think if they put a blanket over their head, no one will see them. If I can’t see you, you can’t see me.

Not only do Adam and Eve behave like a three-year-old by trying to hide from God, they also start shifting the blame on each other when confronted.

It’s not my fault. You know the woman you created for me? Yeah, well she gave me the fruit. Talk to her.

The woman shifts the blame to the serpent; he deceived me, so I ate it.

After God pronounces judgment for their disobedience, he actively begins reconciliation.

I love this next verse.

Genesis 3:21 ESV

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Death is a Result of Sin

This is the first recorded death. A sacrifice. The innocent for the guilty.

God sacrificed an animal to make garments of skin to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness of shame.

No matter how far we stray. No matter how bad we mess up.

The Lord God Offers Forgiveness

Not based on anything we can do. We can’t earn it. We don’t deserve it.

Sin brought death, and death brought salvation. The very curse of sin has become the very blessing of salvation.

As Paul was writing to the believers in Rome, he challenged them with right living.

Romans 13:12 NLT

The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.

Romans 13:14 NLT

Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

As we stand in a time of reflection, will you allow God to cover your sin and shame with the presence of Christ

Cover your sin and shame with the presence of Christ