Sin is painful! Even a cursory glance at the world around us reveals much about the tragic results of sin in terms of human misery and heartache. In Genesis, “the Book of Beginnings”, God detailed the sad and painful consequences of having listened to the deceptive voice of Satan (Gen. 3:16-19, 24). Centuries later, the apostle Paul commented on what had happened in the Garden, saying, “just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned…” (Rm. 5:12). The history of the world can be viewed as a record of humanity’s persistent effort to do things contrary to God’s will and Heaven’s redemptive work in bringing us back to our loving Creator through the blood of the cross.
The deceptive words of Satan have not been silenced–he still calls us away from God through the same avenues of temptations–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life (1 Jn. 2:15-17). Implied in Satan’s words, spoken to Eve in the Garden, was that God was somehow withholding something good and desirable (Gen. 3:5-6). How could God forbid them to eat a piece of fruit which was so obviously desirable and beneficial? Did God really love them if He would ask them to abstain from eating the fruit of such a tree? Questioning the love of God is one of the first steps on a journey away from the Lord. Imagine the forbidden fruit shared by Adam and Eve. It must have been beautiful and delicious. But, like some exotic poisonous berry, this fruit would kill them if they ate it. Sin is like that–it takes away the life of its participant (Rm. 6:23).
Are there really pleasures connected to sin? How does God’s prohibitions demonstrate His faithful love? We plan on discussing these and other questions in next week’s bulletin.
— Glen Elliott —