For a malayalam version of the following study, click on the link below:
Sin implies that you have missed the mark. What God intended of you, has been made imperfect. In that sense, all of us have sinned or are sinning. Without an understanding of God or the absolute truth, there is no concept of sin. So, this study presupposes that you believe there is a God and he wants you to lead a blameless life.
He says to Abraham, and therefore to you -
"I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless." Genesis 17:1
But we find that it is almost impossible to be blameless. We are fallen people and it is only natural for us to be imperfect. But God wants you and I to be perfect.
"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48.
In this passage, God wants you to love your enemies. In that he wants us to be perfect, just like how he loves us. But we will fall short of this expectation. Only God can love perfectly.
At the same time, God knows that we are imperfect.
Romans 3:23 says "for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."
It's like a father telling his son never to watch TV, at the same time knowing that when the father is not there at home, his son would certainly watch it. I am writing from personal experience here. Same way, God wants us to be perfect, but he knows we will be imperfect. A catch 22 situation!
But, he has a solution to this issue - Sacrifice his own blameless, sinless son, for my sins. Once we believe in him, we are made perfect IN HIS DEATH & RESURRECTION. In short, we are made perfect in his image. In the allegory of the father, son and the TV, one solution is for the father to sacrifice his own TV viewing experience and to sell it once and for all. Then the son would be blameless. The solution to such a problem has to be drastic and sacrificial. I know it's a bad example. But I hope it makes things clearer, about the catch 22 issue that we just read about.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9
"For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." Hebrews 10:14
Nonetheless, we cannot continue to sin. Christians (*not by birth, but by belief) are expected to be sin-less and sin-less and sin-less. In other words, Jesus expects us to mature in our christian living and devotion so that we become less full of sin each day we live. You can drain a man of his blood, but not all his blood. He will die. When you live, you can live with a lot of blood, or you can live with less blood. You cannot exist without blood. In a similar way, although we cannot ever be sinless, God wants us to sin less and less each day of our existence.
Coming to the point of this study - What can we glean from the Genesis 3 narration of the first sin? Satan is a predictable person, he does the same things now as he did then. Knowing his ways and patterns may help us to stay away from a dangerous mistake.
As my pastor recently preached on this passage, Genesis began with the perfect "In the beginning..." and ended with death "in a coffin in Egypt". No other holy book will so blatantly showcase real humans and their struggles. Which is one other reason I believe in Bible. Therefore, let's look at Genesis to understand Satan's ways of making people sin.
1. Satan relentlessly attacks the reliability of God's word. A half-truth is the biggest lie, you never know which is true, which is lie. Satan tells Eve, "Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?". This was a classic half-truth - God did not say that - he said do not eat from a particular tree. He gave them the right to eat from all other tree. And, he said you will die if you eat from that tree. Adam and Eve did not die literally, but their walk with God died, forever. Satan attacks the reliability of God's word. Did God really say that you have to love your enemies? You can love all except one right? Are you falling for this oft-repeated trick?
Sometime flight is better than fight. Don't fight these thoughts, just run away from them.
2. Satan only needs to plant a small seed of unbelief to make you grow in sin. Every mammoth tree that you see began from a seed. Most of our sins starts with that small sin. Here Satan introduces a doubt to Eve - "you will not surely die". A small seed of unbelief that eventually led them out of the garden of Eden.
3. Anytime we add to God's word, we diminish it. Legalism in church is a typical example. Don't do that, do this, don't do that etc. Is it wrong not to draw a cross every time the priest looks at you from the altar? Is it wrong to not wear a headscarf when you pray? Is it wrong to wear an ornament to church? Is it wrong to share the communion with people who are not baptized as adults? Eve introduces a word to God's word. She said, God said "you must not touch it". God never said that you must not touch it. He just said do not eat from the tree. This may seem a silly example. The point of this comment was to give you an illustration of the dangers of legalism in church. Anytime we add to God's word, we diminish it.
4. Satan denies sin's consequences and promotes its imaginary benefits. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God...". What a way of selling a product! Satan must be the first salesman in planet Earth. He sold the imaginary benefits. It's like selling a refrigerator to an Eskimo. We sometimes hear, "it's ok to buy some more land, it's OK to hoard gold and jewels, God gave you the prosperity for YOU to enjoy, you will need it when you are old, or when your child needs to go to medical school in a private medical college". Satan denies sin's consequences and promotes its imaginary benefits. In this illustration, we feel that God may not punish us for not taking heed to his command of caring for the poor and needy, and he permits riches and prosperity. We feel that the money may be of use to us when we are old or for our child. What if the child goes into drugs and alcohol and never graduates high school? Don't fall for his tricks and sales pitches.
God's laws are not restrictive, they are instructive. They help us lead fruitful lives and be a blessing. They save us from destruction. Sin restricts, obedience liberates.
May God help you to understand Satan's tricks and help you walk away from it in bold affirmation of his grace and mercy.
This study was based on Pastor Rock Dillaman's exposition on Genesis 3:1. All the four points above are obtained from his talk. You may access his version at www.acac.net.
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