Sin, Separation, and Grace

Introduction

The story is told of Mark Twain coming back from a three week stay in Maine. Riding the train to New York, a man sat down next to Twain and the two began talking. The man asked Twain what had brought him to Maine. Twain began to talk about spending time in the woods relaxing and fishing. Boasting that even though it wasn’t fishing season, he was headed home with a couple hundred pounds of rock bass iced down in the baggage car. Twain realizing he had been talking too much about himself asked the man who he was. The man replied, “I’m the state game warden. Who are you?” Said Twain, “Who am I? Only the biggest liar in these United States.”

Robert Thornton, a professor at Lehigh University, admits that writing letters of recommendation can be very challenging. If you tell the truth you might get sued. So Thornton has put together a set of phrases that he calls the Lexicon of Intentionally Ambiguous Recommendations or LIAR:

To describe an inept person—“I enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications whatsoever.”

To describe an ex-employee who had problems getting along with fellow workers—“I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine.”

To describe an unproductive candidate—“I can assure you that no person would be better for the job.”

To describe an applicant not worth consideration—“I would urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of employment.”

To get good at telling lies, one has to practice. You have to learn how to control your breathing, your facial expressions, your tone of voice, and your eye movement. Additionally, you have to have a good memory so you can remember not only what the lie was but to whom you told it. Today’s lesson is not about teaching us to lie well. It is to remind us that lying became a part of our world early on. Satan knows how to lie well. He has been doing it for a long time and as a result, as followers of Jesus we have to stay alert to his lies. Today we are reminded of sin and its consequences. But we are also reminded that with the consequences of sin God’s grace is present. And it is his grace that eases the pain of the consequences.

A Conversation

Into the beautiful setting of Eden, a conversation ensues. It is a conversation between the woman and Satan. This isn’t chit chat. The woman could not possibly know the importance of this conversation. Satan attacks the woman’s mind. Let’s see the progression of sin.

First, God’s goodness is questioned. “Did God really say.” One can hear the intent of the words. “Can you believe a good God would limit you like this. Did he really say that you can’t eat from any tree in the garden? God isn’t really very good to you treating you this way.”

Satan says to our minds “you are being treated differently from someone else. If God were really good, you wouldn’t be limited this way. How can a good God deny you what you really want?” Satan attacks our faith and questions God’s consistency.

The woman walked right into Satan’s trap by trying to defend God. She suddenly is focused now on the one negative in the garden. One tree. Why didn’t she focus on the hundreds of positives. Think about it. There was only one tree; one law; one command which God had given which would break relationship with him and the woman focuses on that one because Satan has opened her mind to the idea of unfairness.

Second, Satan denies God’s word. It is a natural progression. Doubt God’s goodness and then you find it easy to doubt his word. Listen to our thinking: Why did God make me so ugly? Why is my life so difficult? Why am I unhappy? I’m not sure about my salvation any longer? Sin begins in the mind. It may be conscious or unconscious, but it begins with wrong thinking.

Every one of those ideas are covered in God’s word. God assures us about who we are and his place in our lives and our salvation. Those doubts are not from God; they are from the evil one whose main weapon is deception.

If we begin to think that we are being treated unfairly, then the next step is to question God’s promises. This is Satan’s work.

Third, Satan questions God’s motives. “God is trying to keep you in the dark so you can’t know everything. God is trying to control you. You don’t want to be controlled. There is so much more to life than this little garden. There is something better and eating this fruit will prove God to be wrong. God is afraid that you will know as much as he does. He just doesn’t want you to enjoy life as much as you can.”

This is the deception of the ego. This desire to be our own god kicks in. We want to call the shots. We want to be in control. We do not want to submit to anyone.

What a great lie. You can be like God. You can see things more clearly if you will listen to Satan. It is such a believable lie.

Fourth, the woman focuses on the temptation rather than fleeing from it. The woman can still say no, but the desires aroused by Satan through deception are so powerful. She can still say no, but the longer she looks at the fruit; the longer she thinks about Satan’s alternatives; the longer she thinks she is missing out on something and that this piece of fruit may be the link to her total happiness, the more likely she is to say yes. This is the idea of coveting something. It is the attitude that says “I need something I do not now have in order to be happy.” She yields to her defiled mind. The battle was fought. War was going on in her mind. She yields to the physical desire (food), emotional delight (pleasant), and intellectual pride (wise).

She now willfully disobeys God. She believes she will be released from her doubts. She will be a truly independent person. She will be her own god. And for a while it is true. But her independence gives way to bondage. She believed the lie that freedom is found in having the right to choose. Real freedom is found when we choose to follow God.

She leads the man to join her in the pleasures of sin. Sin hurts not only the person but others who are connected to that person. The woman seduces the man to sin. This is why in later passages in 1 Timothy and 1 Corinthians that the creation order is upheld as God’s intention for the husband-wife relationship. The sin comes because the mind is deceived.

Consequences

First, there is shame. According to 2:25, they had been unashamed in seeing each other naked. They didn’t know what it was. Innocence is shattered. What was once innocent is now seen to be evil.

Second, there is separation from God. They seek to hide themselves from God’s presence. They hide behind trees hoping God can’t find them.

Third, there is a lack of accepting responsibility. The man blames the woman and God. The woman blames the serpent. What did the woman recognize about the serpent? “He deceived me.” That is Satan’s number one weapon.

Fourth, there is judgment upon man and woman separately and as a unit. This judgment affects harmony between the couple and between them and nature.

Fifth, life is disrupted. The couple are forced to leave Paradise. This is for their own good for if they eat of the tree of life they will live forever and who wants to live forever with eternal death knowing our own sin. This isn’t living.

Sixth, there is an on-going war revealed.

So what?

Two lessons. First, all sin begins with the desire to question God and to believe that we can be God. We have all chosen at some point and continue to choose to be our own god. We continue to believe the lies that freedom is found in the right to choose our own way and that God has somehow kept things from us and that we know better than Him what is best for us. These lies originate with Satan and will always be the basis for our sinful choices. The temptations we experience are always about who we are going to follow.

Second, even when we choose to not follow God, God loves us and expresses grace.

The man and the woman sinned leading to shame. They no longer were innocent and needed clothes. Who gave them clothes to wear?

The man and woman sinned leading to separation from each other. They needed reconciliation. Who allowed them to find comfort in each other?

The man and the woman sinned leading to the possibility of living forever if they ate of the tree of life. Who allowed them to escape the forever shame of their sin so that they could have a forever life?

The man and woman sinned producing brokenness in their relationship and between creation. Who set things in motion so that spiritual battle between good and evil would eventually result in good winning forever?

With the sin and consequences that comes from human beings, God is still gracious. Nothing has changed. God is still at work in the lives of people. We sin; God brings back into relationship. We choose selfishly; God patiently waits for us to come to our senses. We push God away and he pursues us. Even while we are sinning, God still loves and wants us.

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