The Beginning of Sin


Everyone can see that there is injustice and wickedness in the world. Some say this proves that there is no God, or that, if He does exist, He must be either evil or unable to change things. The Bible tells us that the world’s problems lie with man, not God. Man was created good, but Genesis 3 explains how he became a sinner and why there is so much evil in the world. This chapter is of great importance as it is the only adequate explanation of the origin of evil in man. It shows why we need to be saved. James reminds us that sin does not appear suddenly but follows a clearly discernible pattern: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jam.1:13-15). This pattern may be traced in Genesis 3.

The Tempter
It was a real snake that came to Eve in the garden, not something present only to Eve’s mind. It was a snake “which the Lord God had made”. But it was more than that. She should have been alerted to this by its ability to speak and by its questioning of God's Word. It was a creature possessed by Satan. John notes later: “The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev.12:9). Jesus warned the Jews: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (Jn.8:44). We should notice that Satan was not allowed to tempt our first parents as an angel of light but only through a creature. Adam and Eve, having authority over the animals were in a position to resist the temptation had they so wished.
There are a number of very important lessons that we can derive from these facts. In the first place ordinary things may be used to tempt us to sin: family, friends, sports, desires and dislikes and often the most deadly things look the most harmless. Secondly, God is not the author of sin. The Bible makes it clear that God made man sinless and sin came into the world from outside. How it originated outside the world is not revealed in Scripture and it is futile for us to speculate. What is clear is that sin was not part of the original creation which was declared by God to be “very good”. Thirdly, we are responsible for our sin. We cannot blame either God or Satan. “The devil made me do it” is no excuse. We are not forced to do evil. Men do it because they want to.

The Temptation
Satan develops the temptation in three phases. He often works like this today as it has proved very successful for him in the past. First he seeks to exaggerate the restrictions, “Hath God (really) said, Ye shall not eat of every tree”. There is ambiguity and mock surprise in the words of Satan. God had said they could eat from every tree except one. Satan stressed that they could not eat from all the trees. It was his aim to make the restriction seem unfair by shifting the focus from the abundant provision of the many trees in the garden to the one tree which was forbidden. The result was that Eve entered into dialogue with Satan. She was now listening to his words. He had managed to cast doubt on God's Word by his question and Eve's reply shows the doubt had taken root in her mind. Her explanation of God’s prohibition underwent a subtle change. God had stated with certainty that in the day they ate the forbidden fruit they would “surely die” but Eve changes this word of certainty to a mere possibly, “lest ye die”.
Satan often tempts today by exaggerating God’s restrictions. His law is portrayed as too restrictive. The young Christian couple deeply in love may feel that it is not fair that God requires them to wait until they are married before they have sexual relations. The covenant child may be tempted to think God’s command to honour father and mother is like having to submit to tyranny.
Next he seeks to minimise the consequences: “Ye shall not surely die”. This is an outright denial of God’s Word. It was only possible because Eve had already set herself up as a judge over that Word by questioning it and modifying it. She had adopted what people today like to call an objective or neutral stance but in reality it is trusting human reason more than God’s Word. She was determined to do what she pleased without reference to God. Satan’s words suggested at least three things: “You don’t need to take God’s threats seriously; sin is not really as bad as God makes it out to be; and you will be able to avoid the consequences of your sins”. Satan gives no evidence for what he says. He cannot because he is a liar. This sort of temptation is common today. How often have you heard folk say: “Every one does it, so it can’t be that bad”, “No one will see you doing it”, and “You won’t get caught”? All these arguments show sin and its consequences are being minimised. God’s view of sin is not being taken seriously.
Further Satan re-labelled the actions, “For God doth know...”. He twisted God’s Word and motives. He makes sin appear to be something else. It was true their eyes would be opened but not the way he led Eve to think. God’s care in warning them against eating the forbidden fruit is re-labelled jealousy. Satan claims God is trying to protect His own interests and not those of Adam and Eve. He pretends he is man’s friend and that his temptation is wisdom superior to God’s Word. He suggests disobedience will not harm Eve but will actually be beneficial as a means of developing and enlarging her consciousness. Today there is much re-labelling of sin. Lying becomes “being economical with the truth”. Drunkenness becomes “having a good time”. The same Satanic arguments are used today for indulging in sin: “You need to experience sin before you can say it is wrong. It won’t harm you. It is good for you to do what you want, to be liberated and free”.

Sinful Response
Eve’s response was to justify her sin which she tried to do in three ways. She did so on the grounds that it was natural. Eve saw it was “good for food”. What could be more natural than to eat what was good for food? It did not look sinful or evil and could satisfy a natural need. God made it so surely it cannot be wrong to eat it. Today’s self-indulgent society often justifies sin in this way. People say: “What is more natural than to be promiscuous, or angry, or greedy? It’s natural to want to feel good so whatever makes me feel good can’t be wrong?”
Again she justified herself on the grounds that it was beautiful. It was “pleasant to the eyes”. How can something so beautiful be sinful? This line of reasoning is used to excuse many of the sins of art and fashion which are fornication and idolatry (2Kg.16:10). This reminds us how important the eyes are in temptation. One picture is worth a thousand words. We must be careful what we view. Television, magazines and films will affect us despite claims to the contrary. We need to set a watch over our eyes because much that is beautiful to look at can also lead to sinful thoughts or deeds.
Further, she did so on the grounds that it would help her development. It was “to be desired to make one wise”. Sin is often embraced on the grounds that it will help growth in experience, wisdom, knowledge or status. There is however much experience that we can well do without. Many have a knowledge of sinful things which they wish with all their heart they knew nothing about. Eve's capitulation to temptation was appalling but Adam's sinning was worse. “With her” in verse 6 suggests he witnessed the whole thing between Satan and Eve. Why did he not intervene? Is it possible he was adopting a “neutral position”, waiting to see what would happen to Eve? If so then Adam’s position was the position of the agnostic today, “I don’t have sufficient data to judge the truth of God’s word so I will wait and see”. This is not neutrality. It is rebellion against God’s clear word. It was no excuse for Adam and will provide no excuse for men today. You can’t sit on the fence where sin is concerned. It is not only our actual sin that condemns us but our standing by while sin is committed.

The Consequences of Sin
Firstly, Adam and Eve now experienced sin from the inside. “The eyes of them both were opened”. Satan had promised they would be as gods knowing good and evil. The first part of his promise was a lie but the second part was only too true. But not as they expected. They had known what it was like to be good and holy but now they had sinned and fallen. They knew something had changed. Their conscience condemned them as did the Word which God had spoken.
Secondly, they felt exposed and sewed fig leaves together to hide their nakedness. But it was not their nudity of which they were ashamed, so much as their spiritual nakedness before God. It involved the defacement of God’s image in them, the absence of righteousness and an awareness of mortality. Notice however that they were more concerned about how they appeared before each other than before God. Their remedy dealt only with guilt feelings and not with the real guilt. They tried to hide from God when He came walking in the garden. Their fallen response was to conceal, not to confess. This is interesting because to begin with they were satisfied with their own remedy for sin (the fig leaves) and were quite content in each other’s company. But their own remedy failed when they had to face God. How true this is of all of us by nature. We are content with our own self-righteousness until we are made to face God. This was true of Paul on the Damascus Road. Our own remedy for sin is always inadequate.
Thirdly, they suffered as a result of the curse of God. The woman in childbearing and the man in connection with his daily work. This is too involved to go into here but the consequences of the curse of God were of cosmic significance as can be seen in Romans 8:20-22.
Fourthly, they were cast out of God's Garden. They could no longer enjoy His blessed presence and were no longer fit to do so. In future they would only be able to draw near to God through a bloody sacrifice. What terrible effects sin had on man! If we are still in any doubt as to the seriousness of sin, we need only look to the Cross of Christ. The death of the Son of God was needed to deal with sin and its consequences. How evil sin is!


Any comments or questions please E-Mail me or Rev William Macleod the editor.

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