Request 32 Discussing the Truth and Lies of Sin. (406)

Or, The Rebellion Begins

Originally published in: Sep 2015. at 13:28

We depart once again from our usual format, but just a little. The main topic is to look at where sin comes from, and what it’s all about. The first passage where this idea can be found in Genesis, chapter 3.

The Players:

The snake. Whether a regular garden variety kind of snake or something else, it is the agent of Satan. He takes the truth that God has clearly stated and spins a web of doubt and temptation.

The woman. Though well-meaning, she easily fell prey to the beguiling, charming beauty of the temptations. Disobedience was appealing to the eye, the body, and the ego.

The man. A seemingly neutral observer, and immune to the subtle temptation of the snake. However, he was a pushover for the woman, and the precedence she set.

God. Previously able to commune in complete unity with his creation in the garden, he now separates himself, but not without both consequences, and a plan for people to be reconciled to him.

The Deed:

The fruit wasn’t an apple or any known fruit. Despite the belief of some, it wasn’t poisoned and was never claimed to be. The first sin was one of rebellion, not about eating. It was about trusting God, and obedience to him.

A consequence was given, they would die. Not an immediate physical death, but one where the body began a slow decline. However, their spiritual death was immediate. Even before God entered the scene, the man and woman already knew they were different. Something changed that was irreversible.

The Aftermath:

God asked the man what happened, not because he didn’t already know, but to cause the man to confront the sin, and process it in his way. The blame game begins, but all that proves is that each person played their part, and each had their unique punishment.

Was the punishment harsh, and far-reaching? Yes. Was it fair? Yes, because it addressed the personality and weaknesses of the man and woman.

Matthew 18:7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

Matthew 26:41 “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
NASB

The Good News:

A plan to be set right was given. The woman would give birth to a man who would strike a blow to the head of the serpent. This is the first indication God gives to his people that a savior would be born.

Challenges:

Some people take the entire bible, including this passage as being literal. That means it says exactly what happened, and it happened exactly the way the text is written. Others say it’s an allegory or a story that may not have happened, but the ideas behind it are represented. The literal understanding can make some teachings difficult to process because they can sound so miraculous. Trying to say the bible stories are some kind of parable can open the interpretation up to all kinds of corruption, especially when taken out of the context of the bible. The bible isn’t a broken set of unrelated stories. They are all part of one story, God’s story.

The bible isn’t necessarily a book about how to live life to fit into a worldly culture, but how to fit into God’s culture. Part of that is learning to play well with others, but above all, it is about relating to god.

Some passages use poetry, metaphors, and symbolism. Even if you want to push off a hard to grasp passage into the realm of symbols and parable, the unifying factor to all the bible is that God is the main character. He’s the hero of his book. That’s the one truth that you can count on at all times. The whole book fits, even the hard to understand parts. When you take God out of this position as the hero and the main character, all you’ll end up with is a corrupted mess.

When you start making men, or a culture, or a social pet peeve the main character and the main focus, by ripping stories out of context, you’re sure to find more confusion and conflicting ideas.

Are you trying to find support in the bible for what you’re doing? Not willing to change, or be confronted by the rebellious behavior that you don’t want to give up? You’ll need to look somewhere else.

If your brave enough to recognize that sin is real, that you have it in your life, and it’s time to stop blaming and start taking responsibility, then you’re on the right track. There are still consequences, but there’s also hope.

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