3 8-24 The Birth Of Blameshifting
liberty bible church 10/29/06 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“The birth of blame-shifting”
Genesis 3:8-24
introduction
Illus. of “Center Field” In Discipleship Journal, Don McCullough wrote: “John Killinger tells about the manager of a minor league baseball team who was so disgusted with his center fielder’s performance that he ordered him to the dugout and assumed the position himself. The first ball that came into center field took a bad hop and hit the manager in the mouth. The next one was a high fly ball, which he lost in the glare of the sun—until it bounced off his forehead. The third was a hard line drive that he charged with outstretched arms; unfortunately, it flew between his hands and smacked his eye. Furious, he ran back to the dugout, grabbed the center fielder by the uniform, and shouted. ‘You idiot! You’ve got center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!’
Blaming others for your own faults and failures is not something that we have to learn. It comes to us naturally in our sin nature. Blame-shifting is very destructive and can ruin relationships permanently. What is it that leads us to blame-shifting and what are the results if we fail to keep this sin in check?
OPEN to passage.
Prop. In this passage, we see the hazards of blame-shifting and see how we can overcome the temptation to blame others for our failures.
Open in PRAYER.
PREVIEW the passage. It’s been since April 23rd that we were last in Genesis. Let’s recap briefly what has taken place so far. We have seen the creation of everything in the universe and specifically the capstone of that creation being man and woman. All of creation took place in six literal days. Adam and Eve had been placed in a perfect environment in the Garden of Eden, shortly after which they got into trouble. How much time has passed since the creation week, we aren’t given. It could have been anywhere from hours to days to maybe a few months. It is apparent that no children were born to them yet. Enough time had passed for the fall of Satan, when he desired to be like God and sit on His throne and soon he and 1/3 of the angels fell from heaven and God’s presence. That gets us to chapter 3 where we see the origin of sin, at least in respect to mankind. Cf. 3:1-7 to get the context. Adam and Eve questioned God’s Word, then disbelieved God’s Word; now they have to live with the ramifications of their sin. That’s where we begin tonight with…
i. the first case of blame-shifting vs. 8-13
Illus. of someone once said, “Don’t find fault, find a remedy.” There was no remedy for Adam and Eve’s problem at this point. So, they shifted the blame.
A. Adam’s Blame-shift
V 8a 1. How did they hear the sound of God walking in the Garden in the heat of the day? Perhaps it was a Christophony. At any rate…
V 8b 2. They hid themselves. Why? They were convicted the moment they fell into sin. They once had life, now they were to have death; pleasure, now pain; they once had abundance, now a meager subsistence by hard work; they once were in perfect fellowship with God, now they were alienated and in conflict.
V 9-10 3. For the first time, Adam felt shame. Do you think that God did not know where he was? God wanted him to think about what he had done and the ramifications of it. It’s the same process that we still go through today when we need to be forgiven. God wants us to recognize what we have done, confession, and then seek to overcome it.
V 11 4. There was only one way that Adam could have sinned and known that he was naked.
V 12 5. Rather than take responsibility as the leader of his home, he blames his wife…and God. “The woman YOU gave me…” That’s one bad meal she served up. At this point, God lets Adam off the hook and moves to dealing with Eve.
b. Eve’s Blame-shift
V 13a 1. God knew everything that happened, but once again wants Eve to recognize what happened, as He did with Adam.
V 13b 2. She passes the buck as well. She told the truth, but that does not release her from accountability. Even though she was deceived, she was still accountable for her sin.
Trans. THE FIRST CASE OF BLAME-SHIFTING was clearly evident in the first sin than mankind ever committed. However, shifting blame, even though justifiable, does not release us from responsibility. That brings us to…
ii. the curses of blame-shifting vs. 14-19
Illus. of Harry Truman’s most famous saying…”The buck stops here.” There was no one else for the devil to blame, so the curses begin with him.
A. Satan and the creature he used were cursed
V 14 1. The serpent must eat crawl on its belly and eat dust. This was to be a perpetual reminder to mankind of temptation and the fall. Every time we see a snake, we can be reminded of temptation and the fall.
V 15a 2. There would be a perpetual struggle between the serpent and the woman and their offspring. The capital “S” of Seed here refers to Christ. Satan’s offspring refers to the demons and any who are enslaved and serving him.
V 15b 3. Satan would bruise the heel of mankind by crippling him with a sin nature. But, Christ would crush Satan’s head by defeating him on the cross and rising from the dead.
b. the woman is cursed
Besides suffering the pain of death, there were more curses.
V 16a 1. She would have pain in childbearing. How it was going to happen prior to this, we will never know. But, it is painful now.
V 16b 2. She will be mastered by her husband and she will cause her husband to sin, just as Eve did. “Your desire shall be for or toward your husband” means that the woman would attempt to get her husband to sin. Cf. Gen. 4:6-7 The woman becomes a source of temptation for the husband, but he should be able to overcome it. Cain could not.
c. the man is cursed
V 17a 1. Adam’s failure was heeding the voice of his wife, rather than ruling over her, overcoming the temptation to sin.
V 17b 2. The earth is cursed and so man must toil to scratch out a meager existence. “toil” translates the same word used in verse 16 for the woman’s pain in child birth. It may not be as intense, but it is life long. It’s used only one other time in the OT in Gen. 5:29.
V 18 3. Weeds are a result of the curse. Farmers still battle them today. In these last days, we have found more sophisticated ways to deal with them.
V 19 4. We are to work until we die. We were made from dust and to dust we return. And the serpent will crawl through us. So much for being like God. That concept was crushed to powder, as it were.
d. God’s justice
1. They sinned by eating, now they would suffer to eat.
2. Eve manipulated her husband, now she would be ruled by him.
3. The serpent attempted to destroy mankind, now he will be destroyed.
e. God’s grace
1. Death is better than living in sin forever.
2. Children are given to perpetuate the human race until ultimate victory comes through the woman’s Seed, Jesus. Cf. Gal. 3:16; 4:4
Trans. THE FIRST CASE OF BLAME-SHIFTING resulted THE CURSES OF BLAME-SHIFTING. No matter how much mankind tries to do away with male dominion or pain in child birth or death, these curses will continue as a result of sin. If this were not enough…
iii. the cost of blame-shifting vs. 20-24
Illus. of I’ll bet you thought the curses were the cost. Not hardly.
a. someone has to pay a price
V 20 1. Adam’s faith is seen here in the naming of his wife. Eve means life or living. Adam demonstrates his faith in God in trusting that there would be a future for mankind. Eve demonstrates her faith in 4:1 when she recognizes that her first born is from the Lord.
V 21 2. God pays the price for their sin. Fig leaves could not cover their sin. There must be a blood sacrifice. Someone or some thing has to die for sin to be atoned for. Of course Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice and through Him we are clothed in righteousness.
b. life is never the same
V 22a 1. Who is the Us? Man now must pay the price of the sinful life…death. What’s the danger?
V 22b 2. Man was not yet ready for eternal life. He could not enter an eternal state as a sinner. So…
V 23 3. God removes him from where he could eat of the wrong tree again. He will commence to going about his business until the end of time.
V 24 4. There are guards there. Where that is, we can only speculate. God has protected man from further damage and has provided a way out of the mess we have created.
conclusion
THE FIRST CASE OF BLAME-SHIFTING resulted THE CURSES OF BLAME-SHIFTING. No matter how much mankind tries to do away with male dominion or pain in child birth or death, these curses will continue as a result of sin. If this were not enough, there is THE COST OF BLAME-SHIFTING. God paid it. He provided a blood sacrifice to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. How are we affected by blame-shifting today?
1. Too many fail to shift the blame of their sin to Christ. He paid the cost, but we must trust in Him. GOSPEL
2. Too many shift the blame of sins to other people. We want to blame parents, spouse, children, or disease or whatever or whomever for our problems. Illus. of “Waste of Time” All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty of something by blaming him, but you won’t succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy.
Wayne W. Dyer, “Your Erroneous Zones”
3. We need to learn to take responsibility for our own problems and deal with them as God prescribes. Consult the Scriptures and Godly counsel.
Illus. of some once said, “People who are out to find fault seldom find anything else.”
If we all took responsibility for our own problems, the world would be a better place. Blame-shifting comes naturally; taking responsibility is to be like Christ. Followers of Christ do not blame-shift.
pray
liberty bible church 10/29/06 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“The birth of blame-shifting”
Genesis 3:8-24
introduction
Blaming others for your own faults and failures is not something that we have to learn. It comes to us naturally in our sin nature. Blame-shifting is very destructive and can ruin relationships permanently. What is it that leads us to blame-shifting and what are the results if we fail to keep this sin in check?
i. the of blame-shifting vs. 8-13
a. Adam’s Blame-shift
b. Eve’s Blame-shift
ii. the of blame-shifting vs. 14-19
a. Satan and the creature he used were cursed
b. the woman is cursed
Cf. Gen. 4:6-7
c. the man is cursed
Cf. Gen. 5:29.
d. God’s justice
e. God’s grace
Cf. Gal. 3:16; 4:4
iii. the of blame-shifting vs. 20-24
a. someone has to pay a price
b. ______________________ is never the same
conclusion
How are we affected by blame-shifting today?
1.
2.
3.