The Beginning of Sin on Earth
Book of Genesis
Chapter 3
What is the truth of
humanity? The world believes that humans are basically good. We may
do some bad things, but we all have a good nature and just need to
educate ourselves so our good nature will rule our lives.
This sounds good but
it is a total lie!
The truth is we all
have a sinful and evil nature and we may all do some things good, but
we are all sinners in need of a Savior.
This is the theme of
the Bible with the Lord Jesus Christ being that One and Only Savior!
Rom 3:10 As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:23 For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 6:23 For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
1Jn 2:15 Love not
the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
1Jn 2:16 For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
1Jn 2:17 And the
world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will
of God abideth for ever.
The Book of Genesis
being the Book of the Beginnings, explains to us where and how sin
began.
We must understand
sin is any and all things that go against the written Word of God or
we could say the "commands" of our Creator, Elohim!
In this chapter we
will meet the source of all sin, Satan who is alive and even more
evil today.
*****Gen 3:1 Now
the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the
LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye
shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
It is important that
we believe that Adam and Eve are real people in most all ways just as
we are today.
At this time in
their lives they were just totally innocent and did not know sin.
God had created
innocent people who knew no sin and all they knew was that they were
to obey the words spoken by our Creator.
What was one of the
things God had commanded Adam?
Gen 2:16 And the
LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17 But of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for
in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
God explained to
Adam that there was one tree in the Garden of Eden that he was not to
eat from. Seems simple enough.
Adam was not denied
anything that was good for him. He was "commanded" not to
do this one thing that would harm him.
Now as we meet
Satan, we will see why the Bible uses that word "subtil".
That word "subtil"
means being artful in cunning; being sly; being crafty; being wiley;
insinuating and skillful at executing these things.
What will we find
out about Satan? He is Lucifer, the leader of a pack of angels who
rebelled against God, and was tossed out of Heaven to become the
prince of darkness upon this earth.
Luk 10:18 And he
said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in
time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in
the children of disobedience:
What else did Jesus
say?
Joh 8:44 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.
Joh 8:45 And
because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Let us just see how
this wicked angel operates as he transforms himself into a serpent?
2Co 11:3 But I
fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that
is in Christ.
2Co 11:13 For such
are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into
the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
First, we see he
does not go after Adam, but instead he first attacks the woman.
As far as we know
God did not give Eve the command about this tree but to Adam who
should have informed Eve which he did.
Eve got her
information second handed but she did understand she was not to eat
of the fruit of this tree.
Now watch as Satan
will twist the Word of God to cause confusion. "Did God say
these things or did your husband say these things?"
*****Gen 3:2 And
the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees
of the garden:
Gen 3:3 But of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said,
Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
First Eve answered
correctly. She knew she could eat from all the trees in the Garden of
Eden but this one tree.
Do you notice that
just like many do today, Eve tried to add to the Word of God!
She did get her
information second handed because Adam was commanded by God not to
eat of the tree in the midst of the Garden known as "the tree of
knowledge of good and evil".
We can see that Adam
passed this knowledge on to his wife Eve.
God did not tell
Adam not to touch this tree but just the opposite, God told Adam to
dress all the trees in the Garden of Eden.
To dress could mean
to prune, or cultivate, or other things along this line.
We can probably see
that neither Adam nor Eve really understood what this "death"
would mean just as those who are lost do not understand it today!
Most of the world
sees "death" as the cessation of life.
Since humans are
both physical and spiritual then this definition is only partially
true.
We could say that
death is the separation of the soul from the body.
What did Jesus say
just before His death?
Luk 23:46 And when
Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
Jesus was not dead
until His Spirit left His body!
Remember God is
Spirit and Jesus had only taken up the flesh of a human to be with us
here on Earth.
But this is the same
for all humans, we are not dead until our spirit leaves our body.
Ecc 12:7 Then shall
the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return
unto God who gave it.
This is the death
that the Church accepts.
Heb 9:27 And as it
is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look
for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Still this is not
the complete definition of death.
Notice every human
will suffer this death, but we must not miss that phrase "but
after this the judgment".
We must understand
that physical death is the result of sin and that sin through Adam in
the Garden of Eden.
Rom 5:12 Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
But then that
"Judgment".
It is in the power
of this "judgment" when our Heavenly Father determines true
death!
Rom 5:21 That as
sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:23 For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
True death comes to
all those who reject the free gift of "Grace", which comes
by the knowledge of the Work that Christ Jesus has done to provide
that "Grace".
That spirit given to
us by our Creator will not ever die!
Death for the
believer is actually spectacular.
2Co 5:8 We are
confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and
to be present with the Lord.
2Co 5:9 Wherefore
we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of
him.
Death to the
unbeliever is very sad, because they allowed it to happen to
themselves!
Mat 26:24 The Son
of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom
the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had
not been born.
Psa 18:5 The
sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
True death comes,
when to be absent from the body "is not" to be present with
the Lord!
Luk 16:22 And it
came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
Luk 16:23 And in
hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Notice till this
day, this man is still in that same position looking up toward
Heaven, a place he will never see.
This the death of
living in torments throughout eternity!
This is the death to
avoid!
This is the death
that Adam and Eve did not understand.
This is the death
that Old Serpent desires for every human, an eternal separation from
our Creator
*****Gen 3:4 And
the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For God
doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be
opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Many take these
things for granted but these two people Adam and Eve are our
historical parents and Satan wasted no time in going after them to
cause them to die so the Messiah could never come.
Satan went after the
first family and he tries his best to destroy all families today!
What is the greatest
lie of sin? That sin will somehow make us better, that there is some
great benefit to sin.
The truth is, sin
brings death just like our Creator said it would!
Rom 6:23 For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
This is the same
thing God told Adam.
We know that God had
made this command to Adam and Adam had relayed this to his wife.
We see that Satan
that old serpent, begins to twist the Word of God to make it seem
that our Creator was keeping secrets from us, which He never does.
Sin will cause all
of us to believe that we can be as God, but this will never be true!
Sin will cause us to
believe we have needs that cannot be met in any other way.
Sin will cause us to
believe that our eyes will be opened to some new reality.
Sin will cause us to
believe that we can do as God does.
Sin will cause us to
believe that we know more about our needs than our Creator ever did.
All these things are
illusions.
What do little gods
do, make people think they do not need God!
What was the
downfall of the people before the Great Flood of Noah's day?
Gen 6:5 And GOD saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
This is what sin
accomplishes and we see this more today than we ever have!
If we took a good
look around us, we would see that our world has reached this place
again!
Our Creator God is
the God of the living not the God of the dead because Satan is the
god of the dead!
Joh 8:44 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.
Eve did not stand a
chance against Satan and Adam stood by and allowed this to happen to
his wife because in his eyes, his wife could do no wrong because of
his great love for her.
*****Gen 3:6 And
when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her; and he did eat.
How did the Apostle
John describe these things?
1Jn_2:16 For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
These things
perfectly describe Eve's actions because this statement is true for
all of us when it comes to sin!
Eve saw that this
was a healthy tree and the fruit good or better than all the other
trees, (the lust of the eyes).
Eve felt that if she
ate of the fruit it would be just like Satan had said, (the lust of
the flesh).
Eve felt she would
become wise, even as wise as Jehovah, Elohim, (the pride of life).
Eve was deceived by
her own lust while she was enticed and tempted by Satan.
I keep saying Satan
because it was Satan who had used a snake as a disguise in his
deception and his conquest of Eve.
Rev 12:9 And the
great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and
Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
We do not know what
was going in Adam's mind while Satan was tempting Eve, but it appears
that Adam was standing right beside Eve during this whole thing.
1Ti 2:13 For Adam
was first formed, then Eve.
1Ti 2:14 And Adam
was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression.
1Ti 2:15
Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue
in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.
We must understand
there are some things that we do not need to know!
There are many
things that we do not need in our lives.
The one thing we
must do, to keep doing our best is to obey the written Word of God.
The Bible is not a
Book of suggestions, but a book of commandments!
The Bible is a Book
of Truth!
We must obey the
commandments of God rightly divided.
There are three
groups in the Bible. The Hebrew children, the Church, and the lost
world.
We should know who
God is speaking to, knowing that the entire Bible is written for the
Christian.
The entire Bible is
the Word of God!
So what happened
when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit?
*****Gen 3:7 And
the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were
naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves
aprons.
We must realize that
there was a time on this earth that there was no sin, but it did not
last long.
The day sin entered
into humanity was the very first day our world began to die!
Rom 5:12 Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The very first thing
that was lost was innocence.
Innocence is the
freedom from guilt.
Innocence is the
freedom from evil intentions. (This is a biggie today)
Innocence is the
untainted purity of heart and life.
Adam and Eve lost
these things and so did the world that would come from their lineage!
Isa 30:1 Woe to the
rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of
me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they
may add sin to sin:
And the woes began!
They immediately
felt guilty for what they had done.
They immediately
knew something was wrong, they had changed in their heart and mind.
It was not those
eyes in their head that was opened! It was the eyes of their heart
and their mind.
They had eaten from
the fruit of evil and turned against God!
What was their first
thought? Let us hide this from God! (Which is impossible)
Most all of us have
been guilty of trying to hide our sin from God.
Even as Christians,
we will try to hang on to that pet sin we have for as long as
possible.
Job 31:33 If I
covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my
bosom:
There is absolutely
nothing of this earth that can hide our sin from the Almighty God.
When we turn away
from God, He will turn away from us.
While they were
trying to hide their sin, God called out to them.
You see up until
this time God would walk with Adam.
*****Gen 3:8 And
they heard the voice 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 God amongst the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:9 And the
LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Here we see the
philosophy of most all humans. They believe that Jehovah God does not
have the power to see what we are doing.
Adam and Eve would
find out that we cannot hide the things we do from God our Creator!
Pro 15:3 The eyes
of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Yes, we must feel
shame for not being obedient to the Word of God!
Yahweh would come
down to this earth and walk amongst His creation up until this day
and talk to Adam and Eve face to face, but this would now end.
Now it cannot be
said that Elohim does not still come and walk upon this earth when He
so chooses or why would there be flowers and beautiful landscapes
where humans cannot travel, but he does not talk face to face with
humans after this event, at least until Jesus was upon this earth.
To restore that
fellowship we must accept the work that the Lord Jesus did for our
salvation in faith!
Corruption had
entered into the creation of our Holy God!
Most of this world
still tries to run away from God!
Most of this world
still refuse to listen to what God has to say!
Most of this world
does not seek the true God, Jehovah!
Most of this world
denies the existence of our Creator!
Most of this world
denies sin!
Most of this world
ignores the truth and listen to heretics!
God called out to
Adam and Adam responded.
*****Gen 3:10 And
he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I
was naked; and I hid myself.
Gen 3:11 And he
said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the
tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
When we respond to
God's questions, He is not seeking information from us.
God has perfect
knowledge and perfect perception and we are all guilty before Him!
Rom 3:19 Now we
know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are
under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
become guilty before God.
There is the sin of
commission and then the sin of omission. We are guilty of one or the
other or most times of both every day!
Adam had been
disobedient, and he knew it!
Adam did not know
what death really meant!
Adam was afraid with
real fear, something humanity has forgotten, just how powerful God
truly is.
Adam knew that what
he had done had made a real impact on his relationship with his
Creator!
Adam knew he was no
longer innocent!
Adam knew he was no
longer in the image of God!
Adam had been
created in original righteousness, knowledge, righteousness, and
holiness.
All these things
lost in the fall of Adam, have been restored in Jesus Christ, if we
have "faith" in Him!
Eph 4:20 But ye
have not so learned Christ;
Eph 4:21 If so be
that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is
in Jesus:
Eph 4:22 That ye
put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is
corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23 And be
renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that
ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness.
Col 3:10 And have
put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of
him that created him:
God said: "who
told you, you are naked", but He did not wait for the answer
because He already knew the answer.
God then confronted
Adam's guilt. Adam had disobeyed the commands of His Creator and He
wanted Adam to admit to his sin.
This is something we
must all do!
We must admit we are
sinners and then we can realize we need a Savior!
We have learned in
this one chapter the origin of sin in humanity.
If Adam is not a
real person who brought sin into humanity, then there is no need for
Jesus to take away that sin!
This is the theme of the lie of evolution!
There is a reason
God gives us commands because sin brings real harmful consequences to
human beings!
What did Satan do to
achieve his success?
1) Satan raised
doubt concerning the Word of God and God's commands.
2) Satan lied and He
is the father of all liars.
3) Satan twisted the
Word of God into a lie.
Satan told Eve she
would be like God with the knowledge of good and evil, but he did not
mention the pain, the suffering and the death that would surely occur
because God cannot lie.
Then Adam hunts for
and excuse for his disobedience.
*****Gen 3:12 And
the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me
of the tree, and I did eat.
The key to our
forgiveness from the Lord is the admission of our guilt.
We must understand
we are sinners.
Even though Adam was
innocent before he rejected the commands of the Lord, that was no
longer the case.
Adam was a sinner
and he now possessed the traits of a sinner.
Adam first tried to
blame God and next he blamed Eve.
See what Adam says:
"The woman that thou gavest to me".
In other words God
this would not have happened if you had not created woman!
Many a person, even
Christians, have a tendency, to blame God, for things that go on in
their life.
"It's your
fault God because you did this and you did that", ridiculous!
God had already told
Adam that that his problems began when he ate of the forbidden fruit
of the tree in the middle of the Garden after God, (Elohim) had told
him not to.
Sin breaks our
relationship with the Heavenly Father, our Creator.
Adam needed to see
the depth that he had fallen.
Psa 38:3 There is
no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any
rest in my bones because of my sin.
Psa 38:4 For mine
iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too
heavy for me.
Psa 38:5 My wounds
stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness.
We cannot run away
and hide from who we are!
Rom 3:10 As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:11 There is
none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
Rom 3:12 They are
all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there
is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Rom 3:13 Their
throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used
deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Rom 3:14 Whose
mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Rom 3:15 Their feet
are swift to shed blood:
Rom 3:16
Destruction and misery are in their ways:
Rom 3:17 And the
way of peace have they not known:
Rom 3:18 There is
no fear of God before their eyes.
Rom 3:19 Now we
know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are
under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
become guilty before God.
Rom 3:20 Therefore
by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his
sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 3:21 But now
the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being
witnessed by the law and the prophets;
Rom 3:22 Even the
righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and
upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Rom 3:23 For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
We are sinners and
we will remain sinners unless we give our heart to the Lord Jesus
Christ and we will still remain sinners as long as we are in this
flesh, but those sins will be under the blood, blotted out from the
eyes of God!
We need to quit
making excuses!
Yes, it was Eve who
gave into the temptations of Satan, but it was Adam who had received
the direct commandment for his Creator to not eat of that tree.
Adam made Eve his
idol when he listened to her rather than God!
Adam allowed the
love of his wife to be more than the love of his Creator.
Luk 14:26 If any
man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and
children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 And
whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my
disciple.
I am sure the Lord
has heard every excuse that has ever been used.
We might say just
what is the big deal about this little sin?
All the descendants
of Adam and Eve would now be born sinners. This is every person that
has been born from the time of Adam and Eve.
Many a person have
said "well my sin is so little compared to a murderer" but
we are not to compare ourselves to other humans, we are to compare
ourselves to the sinless Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Joh 12:48 He that
rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him:
the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last
day.
Joh 12:49 For I
have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a
commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Joh 12:50 And I
know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak
therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
Jas 4:17 Therefore
to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
As Christians who
read the Bible and hear the truth of God, we know that the Bible is a
book of commandments and not a book of suggestions.
Adam was wrong!
Now God questions
Eve.
*****Gen 3:13 And
the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done?
And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
What does Satan do?
He beguiles everyone he possibly can!
To beguile is to
mislead by craftiness!
To beguile is
deceive, to delude, to mislead, to divert, to entertain, to charm.
These are all words
that describe Satan.
Eve would have
needed much support from her husband, and we should realize they were
both innocent, we could say perfect, at least, very good.
The truth of Satan
is that without the Lord Jesus Christ a person cannot stand up
against Satan!
2Ti 2:25 In
meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the
truth;
2Ti 2:26 And that
they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, "who
are taken captive by him at his will".
When Satan comes
after someone who does not know the Lord, they have no armor to
protect them!
When Satan comes
after a child of God, we have available the whole armor of God and
the power of the Holy Spirit if we will just stand our ground, but at
the same time we need to flee from all temptation.
2Ti_2:22 Flee also
youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with
them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
But if we stand firm
on our relationship with the Lord, it is Satan who will flee!
Jas_4:7 Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you.
God would chastise
both Adam and Eve.
God would place a
curse upon the earth.
God would change the
snake forever.
God told Satan that
one day in the future he would also die the same death as all those
who reject the truth of God!
Sin entered into
God's creation and He had to send His Son to make a way to escape
this eternal death!
Amen
