← ArchiveGenesis (Foundations)Sunday, April 24, 2016DateApril 24, 2016Speaker—TextGenesis 3Passages in this sermonGenesis 30:00Genesis 21:23Psalms 191:23TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00turn to Genesis 3. Now let me warn you, as I was preparing this sermon, spending most of my adult life in school, and most of that schooling in seminary in the Old Testament, I asked myself this question, what in Genesis 3 am I going to preach? And as I was praying through that, I began to realize, why do I have to choose? So we are going to walk through the entire chapter this morning. You say, well, how are we going to do that? We have a lot of spiritual work to do. So open your Bibles. We are going to dig in, and we will be transformed by the0:28renewing of our minds because of God's Word and His faithfulness. We have been working through Genesis. And why is that important to us? Because what we see in Genesis as a people and as God's Word is that Genesis lays the foundation for us, for the rest of the Bible and the rest of what the Lord is doing. So we're going to look in depth at sin. And you say, well, I don't want to do that. Too bad.0:53Because God's Word is very clear at what sin is. It's very clear at what sin does in your life. It's very clear that you have it. And it's very clear that Jesus Christ is the only answer from it. So Genesis 3 this morning, and may God's Word convert our souls, and may it make wise the simple. That's what Psalm 19 says. For introduction, I want to read Genesis 2, 15, 16, 17, because these three1:23verses are going to lay for us the foundation of what we see in Genesis 3. Genesis 2, 15, the Lord took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden, you may freely eat. So let's1:48just kind of remind ourselves what the Lord says. So man is put in the garden, and what tree is available for food, for consumption? All, right? Okay. 17, 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. A couple quick things as we transition2:15here. One, man is not indigenous to the garden. Look at verse 15. What does the Lord do for Adam? The Lord God, it's almost as if he plucks him with his divine fingers and places him in the garden. It is, if it was not for the grace of God, Adam would have never been there. If it was not for the Lord, where would we be? It is for the grace of God that Adam is even in this2:45garden, communing with the Lord. And it's but through his grace that we can enter back into a relationship. Secondly, I want us to point out this, verse 17. In the day that you eat of this one tree that's forbidden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die. Here's the problem Adam has. At this point, he has never seen anything die. But something's very clear. Even though Adam3:13doesn't know what death necessarily is, what does he surely know? That whatever it is, I don't want it. So we can't say, well, Adam didn't really understand the full consequences, so he gets a break, he gets a bye, he gets a pass through this. It's very clear that by eating of this fruit, he was in defiance of a holy God, and there will be some type of consequence. Are you with me there? We've never seen death, but3:42there's something not good in sin. So before we raise our hand and say, Lord, I just didn't know, we see enough in creation the invisible nature and character of our Lord to know that sin is rebellion against the king. And with that, Genesis 3 is going to give us a devastating critique against our sin. So we are going to unfold this passage in a way that we are going to look at our hearts. And it's not4:12going to be nice. It's not going to be easy or pretty. But I pray that as we look at Genesis 3, when we hear the sound of the Lord, we do not hide from him, but that we seek his face. Let's pray together. Father, Father, you are a gracious, loving God who sent your son to die on the cross so that whoever believes in you4:34will not perish but have everlasting life. Lord, if it was not for your grace, Adam would not have been put in the garden. Father, if it was not for your grace, we would have no hope at a relationship with the Savior. But Lord, you freely offer us your grace and your mercy that we, if we believe and we put our5:00trust in Jesus Christ, we may find forgiveness of our sins. The wrath of God will be satisfied and that we can experience life and life more full. That is the power of the good news of Jesus. Lord, as we look at our sin, as we look at sin and the consequences thereof, Father, change us in a way that we will not be content to sit idly by, but that we will respond to your grace in a way that is appropriate. And I pray this in5:30Jesus' name. Amen and amen. With that, let's look at our text. So verse 1, chapter 3. Keep your Bibles out. We're going to walk systematically through this passage together. Verse 1, Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the fields which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, so he is the serpent, now which is not explicitly laid out here in Genesis, but we understand5:58throughout the rest of Scripture that the serpent is hasatan, the adversary, the Satan. So this isn't just some random rattlesnake that decided to slither by. This is a, there's a demonic spiritual undertone here. This serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field. And he, the serpent, said to the woman, Eve, excellent job, Eve. That is exactly what God said. Verse 3, but of the fruit of the tree which is6:28in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat it. Eve, excellent job. When we are confronted with temptation, you run to God's Word. Verse 3, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Now that's6:54interesting for several reasons because we haven't guys, we do not have in God's prohibition this command not to touch. So where does that come from? But we see specifically that the serpent comes to who comes to the woman. Now women, before you get angry at me for saying this, there's a reason that the7:18snake serpent comes to the woman. And it's not because you're the weaker vessel, which the New Testament clearly says, why does the serpent come to Eve? Who was the command not to touch given? Adam. So how does Eve know about God's Word? From Adam. So I believe that the serpent comes to Eve because7:46she's the most vulnerable because she did not directly receive the command of the Lord. And she gets it right. Did the Lord really say, and probably the best way in the Hebrew is not to translate that indeed or surely God has said. Probably the best way is this. It's a half sentence. It is, though God said to you dot, dot, dot, and the serpent just waits. Right? Pastor, though God said, there's the bait. And Eve8:13takes that. So you say, God said, God said that we should not eat. God said that we can eat of anything but this. But what does that tell us about our vulnerability? It tells us this. When we are vulnerable, the world wants nothing more than to destroy you when you are vulnerable. Satan wants8:38nothing more than to get you alone, get you sick, get you hungry, get you tired, and say, here's the bait. Take it. Take it. That is what sin does. When we are vulnerable, the world leads us down a road of destruction. Where was Adam? Anyone see that in verse one? Now, we know later that he was there.9:03He's just what? Silent. Man, pay attention to that. Right? When he should have said, you know what, Satan, when you want to come to my family, you come through me? Silence. When you are vulnerable, your sin has a greater delight in your life. But here's the beauty of the good news of Jesus Christ.9:28We're going to look at sin. We're going to look at the Savior. Sin says when you're vulnerable, eat, take. The Savior says when you lay your heart bare to me, when you get vulnerable with the Lord God, I will lift your head. Sin will crush you, but the Savior will lift you. So if you're here today and you are struggling and you say, I can't tell anyone that I am struggling. No, you can tell your heavenly9:54Father and he will lift you up. Our sin will destroy us in our vulnerability. We see this in verse one also. So the Lord God had made every animal, but none more cunning than the serpent. And he, the serpent, said to the woman, why would the serpent say to the woman? Why not sign language? Youth, right? Why not text?10:20Why not fire off on Instagram? I believe we're going to, there's going to be a day where we have ultra-reality where we can just think and send a message. Why didn't he use Siri? Why would, why would the serpent say to Eve? Now think about this. What has already gone on in Genesis? How does the Lord God create?10:46By speaking things. So the Lord God speaks things into existence. God speaks and makes disorder and chaos, gives it purpose in life. God said, let there be light. And there was, and it was good. God said, let the, the waters teem with living things. And there was, and it was good. Over and over and over again,11:13God says, God says and creates. And what does, what does a serpent do? What does the world do? It uses God's word and subtly distorts it. So if God speaks things and gives life, sin speaks things and brings death and chaos in your life. So how do we, how do we live that out? Be careful when anything comes in your life11:43and subtly tries to make you doubt your faith. Be careful when anything comes in your life and says, are you sure? I know God says that when you give your life to Christ, that your, your inheritance is kept in heaven, incorruptible, undefiled. But are you sure? Be aware when that subtle shift comes.12:12The Lord God speaks into our lives and speaks truth and hope and redemption and the world, Satan, the serpent will come and speak chaos. And how slippery a slope is that? If you are in a relationship and you are not yet married, if that relationship is not leading you constantly to Jesus Christ, beware. And you say, well, that's harsh.12:43There's a reason the Bible says, do not be unequally yoked. It is better to get out now than for someone to lead you away from your Savior. And I have walked with families that they're on this side of marriage and they speak truth to me. And they say, counsel those, tell them, run, seek Christ, find redemption. Be careful when empty philosophies come and subtly make you question your faith.13:07Are you sure the Bible is true? Well, yes, I am. Well, are you sure all of the Bible is true? See how quickly that shift can come? Be careful when empty words make you challenge your trust in the Savior. That is the devastating slope of sin.13:32It challenges us. It finds us in our vulnerability. May we run to the Savior. May we run to the Savior. Verse six. Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food. What does that mean? That the tree was good for food? We're going to come back to that. And it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise.14:01So she took of his fruit and she ate. She also gave to her husband with her and he ate. So for those of you who think Adam wasn't there, he was standing right beside her. Let's look at that again. Then, verse seven, the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and they made themselves coverings.14:29They made themselves coverings. Here's what sin does. The allure of forbidden fruit makes us now challenge what is good in our life. Sin will make you challenge what is good. Look at verse six. The woman saw that the tree was good for food. Now you say, well, I've heard that before. I've heard that word good. God speaks things into existence and speaks things to life.14:58We also see not only did he speak, but that when God created everything, what does he say at the end? Verse nine, he called seas in chapter one and he saw that it was good. Verse 12 of chapter one, the earth brought forth grass and God saw that it was good. We have light and God said that it was good. Verse 17, over and over again, God is creating verse 21 and he sees that it is good.15:24And now Eve is looking at this sin. And what does she say about her sin? Verse six, the woman saw that the tree was good for food. Big problem here. Because sin in our lives will make you look at things that are not good, that are harmful. And you will look at that and say, that might be good.15:52And not only does it make things look good, but how does Eve now define what is good? Now, if this is not going to hit home, nothing is. What does she now say is good? Not the absolute of what God says is good. God creates light and he looks at light and says, it is good. It is done. Eve now looks at this tree that's delightful. And what does she say? It is good. Why is it good? It is good. One, it's not.16:22But why does Eve think this tree is good? Because it makes me feel good. May we not be people who look at dangerous things and say, if it feels good, I should do it. Because how dangerous is the path to sin when we ask the question, what makes me feel good?16:45Instead of saying, Lord, what is good? So when we take now the foundation of absolute and what is good and what is moral and put it upon our hearts, how dangerous is that? Because what makes you feel good? Because what makes you feel good and what makes me feel good are two different things. And this is what sin does.17:14Now we live in a world where we don't know what's good because now we have hundreds of different good things and it changes daily. This is the devastating effects and consequences of sin. Because now, because of our sin, we look at each other and we say, you know what? Get out of my life because it's none of your business. Ever said that? Well, you know what? I just need to do what's best for me.17:43Instead of saying, Lord, you know best. What do you want in my life? And we live in a world where we are living the life of Adam and Eve, where we look at things and we say, well, that is desirable. It must be good for me. Lord, give it. And yet we should be looking at our sin and it should be breaking our hearts and we should say, God, if it is not good for me, Lord, make me lose my appetite.18:07Goodness is not defined by what you think. It is defined by God's holy word. May we not be so arrogant to say it is about Josh. Verse six again. Not only does she see the tree is good for food, she sees that it is pleasant to the eye. That could also be translated this way. That it was lust to her eyes.18:37Now, it doesn't just mean this was the best fruit she's ever seen. It is now meaning that she has set her eyes upon it and now her heart is beginning to lust after it. So, by the way, whatever your eyes look at, your heart will soon follow. And if your eyes are set upon the king of kings, your heart will be there. If your eyes are set upon things that you want and that you desire and that you think are good, your heart will soon follow.19:00Men, especially, be careful what you look at. You say, well, it doesn't matter what I look at. It will destroy your heart. Be careful what you look at. Youth, you live in a world where you are bombarded with images constantly. Be careful what people say is good.19:29If you are past the youth age, you are bombarded with images constantly. Be careful what you see because your heart will soon lust after that. Beware of our sin. Verse 8. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden. And in my opinion, one of the most heartbreaking verses in all the Bible.19:57They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called to Adam and he said to him, where are you? And by the way, that was God being nice. He didn't have to ask that. And so he said, Adam says, verse 10, I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.20:24And the Lord God said, who told you you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? And every parent gets that question. Son, did you eat that with chocolate around his face? No, I wouldn't do that. Verse 12. And the man said, the woman you gave me.20:54And the man said, the woman you gave me.21:03She gave me of the tree and I just, that thing jumped in my mouth. I ate it. How ridiculous and absurd is that? And unless we think this is just Adam, we're going to look at our blame. How dangerous is our sin? How heartbreaking. And this is what sin does to us. Verse eight. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden. And when we have sin in our life, and the Bible says that all have sinned, all have fallen short.21:31What should be a joyous sound? When we hear God coming, it should bring joy to our hearts. And because of sin, when we are living in sin, the sound of God does the opposite. It causes us to hide. And so if you are here today in the sound of God, the sound of singing songs to the King of Kings, if that makes you cringe, that is a very, very blatant sign that you are living in sin.21:59Because when we hide from God, we are hiding from the one thing that can give us healing. How broken a people are we that when we hide from God? One of the most joyous things that warms my heart is a father. So when I come home at 5, 5.30, and when the kids hear me, sometimes it's not the kids, sometimes it's the dog, but they hear the car pull up, and I come to the back door,22:29usually the dog or the baby is one of the first ones to greet me. How joyous of a time is that? That they just want to be with me. Because they hear the sound of Dad. That is the heart of your Heavenly Father. That the sound of our good, good Father should bring us to the back door and say, Lord, we're here. Father, commune with me. Your presence is here. And sin does the opposite. Sin makes us go hide.22:59And not only does it make us go hide, look at verse 9 and 10. Sin does this in our life. Verse 10. So Adam says, I heard the voice in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. And God said, who told you you were naked? And why have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, that you should not eat? And the man said, the woman who you gave to me. And we're going to see that Eve says,23:28it was the serpent's fault. This is what sin does in our life. It makes us point the finger. And here's what Adam does. He doesn't just point the finger to his wife or to Eve. He doesn't just say the woman. What does he say? He said, Lord, the woman that, by the way, in case you didn't get it, Lord, this is the woman you gave. And how many times have we pointed fingers at our heavenly father23:56and we say, Lord, if you would not have put me in this situation, I wouldn't have sinned. God, you know, I'm weak. God, if you would not have let me been tempted, I wouldn't have sinned. God, you know, I like fruit. If you would have put me in the garden, God, if you would not have created that tree, God, you know, I'm struggling. God,24:27God, if you would just make the internet crash, I would not have opened that. I would have not sent that. I would have not have looked at that. God, if you would have just kind of destroyed the TV, I wouldn't have entered into that movie. I should not have been watching. God, I can't believe you did this. That is nothing but sin talking. And until we get to a point where we can own our sin, you will never find forgiveness. Until we can get to a point, Adam,24:57Adam, where you point the finger and say, it wasn't Eve. It wasn't the serpent. Lord, it was me. I ate it. God, I've sinned. I've fallen short. God, I need you. We will never find forgiveness. If you have never gotten to that point in your life, I don't care if you've joined this church. I don't care if you built this church. If you have not gotten to a point in your life where you can humble yourself and find forgiveness, you are not saved because you do not know the sacrifice that Jesus went through for you.25:23May we not run from the voice of the Lord. May we seek him. May we find him. Who told you, Lord, we need you. Verse 14. Sorry, we're going to pass that. Verse 17. Then to Adam, he said, now God is bringing his consequences against the serpent. You eat dust.25:53Some of you hate snakes. You're like, thank you, Lord, for cursing those wicked creatures. To add to Eve, some of you ladies who have carried forth children, I will increase your labor pains. You will have now desire for your husband, but he will rule over. Verse 17. To Adam, he said, because you have heeded the voice of your wife, you have eaten from the tree which I commanded you, saying you shall not eat. Cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life, but thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you.26:23You shall eat the herb of the field, and sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, from dust you are, and dust you shall return. This is a consequence of sin. Our sin will always, listen to this, your sin will always lead to pain, curse, toil, and hurt. There's no other road. The fruit that's good,26:54pleasing to your eyes, that is now giving delight in your heart, it will only lead to a stomachache, and that stomachache will only lead to death. And look what it brings forth now, the world we live in. Cursed is the ground and toil you shall eat of it. The very thing that now gives Adam food is a thing that is cursed. As if God was saying, you know what, you want to sin? Now the thing that you sinned,27:24now the way you eat, because you ate of this, now the way you eat will be difficult. And we now live in a world that is broken and hurting. We now live in a world where some of you have already, and will hear the word, cancer in your life at some point. We now live in a broken world where we will hear the words, Alzheimer's or dementia. And just personally, as I walk through people with that,27:53that is one of the most ugly diseases we have on the planet. That we now experience death and broken relationships because we have sin in our life. We now live in a world where I moved to New Orleans, and two weeks later is the hurricane to break all hurricanes. And before we point a finger to New Orleans and say, I can't believe your sin caused that hurricane, we need to point a finger to us28:23and say, Lord, we live in a broken world and we're at fault because our sin will always lead to curse, to pain, to sweat, and to turmoil. And not only that, what Genesis says, your sin will always lead, my sin will always lead to thorn and thistles. Now, what do thorn and thistles do in our life? What do they do naturally? Thorns and thistles, they do what for the grass, for gardens? They compete for the good resources.28:53So what sin does when it takes root in your life, it competes for the righteousness in your life. And not only does it compete for the nutrients, what do thorns do when you get close? They hurt. But here's a struggle. Growing up in Mississippi, growing up in Alabama, some of those thorns have fruit on them, don't they? So although they're hurtful, sometimes we keep going back29:22for those blackberries, for that fruit. We say, Lord, I know that might sting me for a little bit, but it is good for the eyes, it is pleasing to the heart. Your sin will compete for righteousness in your life. It will choke out godly habits. It will compete for godly patterns. It will choke out your good relationships. This is a consequence of our sin,29:49and it is a product of the fall. Verse 20, Adam said to his wife, I will now call you Eve, because she was a mother of all living. Also for Adam and his wife, the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them. And the Lord God said, behold, the man has become like one of us, to know good and evil. And before we think that's a great thing,30:18man, we're like, God, we know good and evil. This is not good, because if we know, we are prone to do evil. So you and I are not predisposed to good. Any of you have little ones. You know, they often default towards fighting, biting, crying. There are times in their life where we look at our children and say, why are you crying? Why are you throwing a fit? And you know the answer? I don't know. But is that not what sin does in our life?30:48We're prone to evil. We're prone to fits of ungodliness. And God will say, Josh, why are you doing what you're doing? And we say, I don't know, but there's sin in there. Lord, remove it. How sad it is that our sin can destroy our life. And as sad as it was when Adam and Eve heard the voice of God and hid, and they made for themselves inadequate clothing.31:18The fig leaves they made for themselves, I don't know how big a fig leaf it was, but it was not big enough. Some of you who are modest, you're thinking, there's no fig leaf in the world that I would wear out in public. Here's the graciousness of God. God tells Adam and Eve, if you eat of the tree of good and evil,31:46you will die. And look at verse 21. All that sin does is bring shame and hurt and ugliness in our life. It brings us to a point where we see our nakedness and all that we have is shame. And even in the midst of our shame, look at verse 21. Also for Adam and his wife, the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them.32:15And there's several points to this verse, I believe. One is that what Adam and Eve had that was insignificant, that could not cover their shame. They felt naked and they felt afraid. They felt cold and disposed to the world around them. God said, I will cover you. You don't deserve it. But because of my mercy, I will offer you protection and clothes that you do not deserve.32:44And in verse 21, look at the clothes God makes for them. He makes them tunics of skin. Where does that come from? We don't know necessarily what animal, but it came from some animal. That some animal had to die that Adam and Eve might be clothed. And yet the greatest sacrifice33:11that we were given in the form of Jesus Christ, God looks at us in our sin and says, Josh, you do not deserve it. You deserve death. But I sent my son to die on the cross for you. That if you trust in him, if you believe that he will cover you and his blood will take away your shame. So if you're here and you are struggling with your sin and the shame that you have, maybe from a long, long ago,33:40or maybe from this week, if you have walked in these doors of shame and you've walked in with a little fig leaf trying to cover, by the way, your religion is fig leaves. And it's not even a big one. It's a little one. If that makes you uncomfortable, good. Everyone's looking at your shame and nakedness. And yet God looks at you and says, but I have made new clothes. Clothes that will cover you. Clothes that will redeem you. Clothes that will take away my wrath34:10and clothes that will bring you into a relationship with me again. And we long for the day because of Jesus Christ that we can hear the voice of our Savior and not run, but that we can run to God, not away. This is what sin does. It brings shame, hurt, and regrets. We're going to have a time of invitation shortly. But before we do, I want to read probably34:39one of the most glorious verses in all the Bible. Verse 15. The Lord God looks at the serpents and says this, I will put enmity, which is strife, between you and the woman. And between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. Another translation says this, he will boot your head,35:07you will bite his heel. Now here's something interesting about this verse. This is not seed plural. This is seed singular. So this is not just Adam, your babies, plural, are going to fight snakes the rest of your life. And this is not God saying to Satan, look, your demonic little babies, they're going to fight with the angels of God. This is God looking at Satan and saying, Satan, one day there is a child that will come from Adam and Eve. And although you will bite his heel,35:38he is going to stomp your head into the dust. And his name is Jesus Christ. And the joy that we see in God's word is this. When we enter into sin and you and I have all done it, we find nakedness, we find shame, we point fingers, we point fingers at each other, we point fingers at God, we say, God, people from the church have hurt me,36:08I will never go back. And God says, don't you realize if you're a believer, you're part of that church? We say, God, if you would not have put me in that situation, I would not have sinned. God, if you had not put that girl in my life, we would not have walked down those roads. God, if you would not put that man in my life, I would not have straying away from you. God, why did you cut that out? The Lord says, because I have offered you redemption36:37and his name is Jesus. And the only way that we can find forgiveness of sins is for us not to say, you, you, you. It's to say, Lord, it was me. God, I don't deserve tunics of grace. God, I don't deserve your son. God, I don't know why I sinned. God, I don't deserve your mercy, but I know in Jesus Christ, I have it.37:06And if you are here this morning and you have never fully trusted in God and you say, well, I just don't know if I can believe the Bible fully. Beware when subtle words change your trust in God. That's sin. Well, if God would just show these things to me, then I would believe. Beware when subtle philosophies change your trust in the creator. May you see your sin37:35and may you repent of that this morning. And I pray that you would find in Jesus Christ the only place of grace. Maybe you're here and you are a believer and you have been beaten down by your sin. You feel naked. You feel ashamed and you feel exposed. I want you to know that your heavenly father has created clothes of glory for you if you've put your trust in him. Maybe you just need38:04a time of restoration and healing. Maybe you just need to say, God, I need you. I don't know how you can fix this, but Lord, I know you can and I trust in you. If God has moved your heart, do not miss a chance to respond. Let's pray. Father,← Previous in Genesis (Foundations)Sunday, April 17, 2016Next in Genesis (Foundations) →Sunday, May 1, 2016More sermons on Genesis →
