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<http://podcast.heltsley.net/?author=2>
Quest for Truth 32 Genesis 3: The Rebellion Begins
<http://podcast.heltsley.net/2015/quest-for-truth-32-genesis-3-the-rebellion-begins/>by
keith <http://podcast.heltsley.net/?author=2>
We depart once again from our usual format, but just a little. The main topic
is to look at where sin comes from, and what it's all about. The first passage
where this idea can be found is Genesis, chapter 3.
The Players:
The snake. Whether a regular garden variety kind of snake, or something else,
it is the agent of Satan. He takes the truth that God has clearly stated, and
spins a web of doubt and temptation.
The woman. Though well meaning, she easily fell prey to the beguiling, charming
beauty of the temptations. Disobedience was appealing to the eye, the body, and
the ego.
The man. A seemingly neutral observer, and immune to the subtle temptation of
the snake. However, he was a push over for the woman, and the precedence she
set.
God. Previously able to commune in complete unity with his creation in the
garden, he now separates himself, but not without both consequences, and a plan
for people to be reconciled to him.
The Deed:
The fruit wasn't an apple, or any known fruit. Despite the belief of some, it
wasn't poisoned, and was never claimed to be. The first sin was one of
rebellion, not about eating. It was about trusting God, and obedience to him.
A consequence was given, they would die. Not an immediate physical death, but
one where the body began a slow decline. However, their spiritual death was
immediate. Even before God entered the scene, the man and woman already knew
they were different. Something changed that was irreversible.
The Aftermath:
God asked the man what happened, not because he didn't already know, but to
cause the man to confront the sin, and process it in his own way. The blame
game begins, but all that proves is that each person played their own part, and
each had their own unique punishment.
Was the punishment harsh, and far reaching? Yes. Was it fair? Yes, because it
addressed the personality and weaknesses of the man and woman.
Mat 18:7 "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that
temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!
Mat 26:41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
1Co 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is
faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the
temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to
endure it.
The Good News:
A plan to be set right was given. The woman would give birth to a man who would
strike a blow to the head of the serpent. This is the first indication God
gives to his people that a savior would be born.
Challenges:
Some people take the entire bible, including this passage as being literal.
That means it says exactly what happened, and it happened exactly the way the
text is written. Others say it's allegory, or a story that may not have
happened, but the ideas behind it are represented. The literal understanding
can make some teachings difficult to process, because it can sound so
miraculous. Trying to say the bible stories are some kind of parable can open
the intrepretation up to all kinds of corruptions, especially when taken out of
the context of the bible. The bible isn't a broken set of unrelated stories.
They are all part of one story, God's story.
The bible isn’t necessarily a book about how to liv a life to fit into a
worldly culture, but how to fit into God's culture. Part of that is learning to
play well with others, but above all, its about relating to god.
There are passages that use poetry, metaphors, and symbolism. Even if you want
to push off a hard to grasp passage into the realm of symbols and parable, the
unifying factor to all the bible is that god is the main character. He's the
hero of his book. That's the one truth that you can count on at all times. The
whole book fits, even the hard to understand parts. When you take God out of
this position as hero and main character, all you’ll end up with is a corrupted
mess.
When you start making men, or a culture, or a social pet peeve the main
character and the main focus, by ripping stories out of context, you're sure to
find more confusion and conflicting ideas.
Are you trying to find support in the bible for what you're doing? Not willing
to change, or be confronted by the rebellious behavior that you don't want to
give up? You'll need to look somewhere else.
If your brave enough to recognize that sin is real, that you have it in your
life, and its time to stop blaming, and start taking responsibility, then
you're on the right track. There's still consequences, but there's also hope.
keith <http://podcast.heltsley.net/?author=2> | September 1, 2015 at 2:54 pm |
Categories: Quest for Truth
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