Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The Nature of Sin
Understanding what happens in Genesis three is extremely important to all of theology. Every Bible teacher has strong opinions on this passage, and every Bible teacher differs slightly with every other Bible teacher. The reason is that the manner in which sin came to earth is very important to the definition of sin and its consequences. I will attempt to introduce these themes today.
(All quotes MKJV) "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made." I already dealt with some of that in the last time, but it is evident that this serpent was "cunning" in the sense that he had a scheme and a plan. His plan was to attack and overturn God's program for creation. "And he said to the woman, Is it so that God has said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Here most Bible teachers agree that Satan is deceptively asserting a slight alteration of what God actually said. Grammatically, it is a little ambiguous as to whether or not Satan is asking how many trees are free or how many are prohibited. I think that is part of the point. By questioning God's revelation, the confusion began. Let me say this clearly: language started to be confused as soon as sin entered the picture.
Eve's response is likewise a little different from the actual revelation God had given. She said that They were free to eat all except the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." Of that tree she said, "God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die." This is another slight confusion. I do not know if Adam added that they would not touch it, if Eve added it, or if God added it. The historical record does not say. I doubt the latter, because God said they were to keep and tend the garden. At any rate, it was different from What God had said, and the serpent did not introduce the difference. Up to this point, we have a confusion introduced by the serpent and a confusion introduced by Eve.
The serpent's response is clear and not confused. "And the serpent said to the woman, 'You shall not surely die.'" This was a directly opposite claim to that of God. Then, the serpent alledged that God feared their wisdom reaching His level, and that they could reach God's wisdom by disobeying God. This is very contrary to what God had said and contrary to God Himself. As much as the temptation had confusion and deception, this was very clear. Eve was going to choose either based on God's authority or some other authority.
She chose the other authority. According to verse six, I believe that Eve used the authority of the serpent's "revelation" but ultimately her own selfish desires to choose. In the end, she set herself up to determine morality and truth. Much is made of the three aspects of fruit, eye-pleasure, and wisdom. Maybe so, but in the end, she chose based on rejecting God's revelation and authority. The same is true for Adam. Whatever his motive for eating what his wife gave him, he still had to reject God's revelation and authority to do that.
This is at the heart of what sin is. It is rejecting God's authority, and establishing another. Solomon said, (Pro 1:7) " The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Sin is foolishness that rejects the very foundation of truth. When men deny God's existence, when men choose to act in place of God and contrary to God, when men build philosophical structures to hide God from their science, culture, society, and every day life, they are at the heart of sin.
I forget the date, but I heard a reformed theologian (sorry), Dr Greg Bahnsen cited for this brief quote, speak about "the moral foundations of epistemology." On this point he was very right. He said that Eve's moral obligation was not just practical (to eat or not to eat), but also epistemic (truth based). Sin is not just doing something other than God says. It is fundamentally taking the right to judge the very truth itself apart from God. Adam, Eve, and the serpent were all guilty of this, and that is why God had to judge them.
(All quotes MKJV) "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made." I already dealt with some of that in the last time, but it is evident that this serpent was "cunning" in the sense that he had a scheme and a plan. His plan was to attack and overturn God's program for creation. "And he said to the woman, Is it so that God has said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" Here most Bible teachers agree that Satan is deceptively asserting a slight alteration of what God actually said. Grammatically, it is a little ambiguous as to whether or not Satan is asking how many trees are free or how many are prohibited. I think that is part of the point. By questioning God's revelation, the confusion began. Let me say this clearly: language started to be confused as soon as sin entered the picture.
Eve's response is likewise a little different from the actual revelation God had given. She said that They were free to eat all except the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." Of that tree she said, "God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die." This is another slight confusion. I do not know if Adam added that they would not touch it, if Eve added it, or if God added it. The historical record does not say. I doubt the latter, because God said they were to keep and tend the garden. At any rate, it was different from What God had said, and the serpent did not introduce the difference. Up to this point, we have a confusion introduced by the serpent and a confusion introduced by Eve.
The serpent's response is clear and not confused. "And the serpent said to the woman, 'You shall not surely die.'" This was a directly opposite claim to that of God. Then, the serpent alledged that God feared their wisdom reaching His level, and that they could reach God's wisdom by disobeying God. This is very contrary to what God had said and contrary to God Himself. As much as the temptation had confusion and deception, this was very clear. Eve was going to choose either based on God's authority or some other authority.
She chose the other authority. According to verse six, I believe that Eve used the authority of the serpent's "revelation" but ultimately her own selfish desires to choose. In the end, she set herself up to determine morality and truth. Much is made of the three aspects of fruit, eye-pleasure, and wisdom. Maybe so, but in the end, she chose based on rejecting God's revelation and authority. The same is true for Adam. Whatever his motive for eating what his wife gave him, he still had to reject God's revelation and authority to do that.
This is at the heart of what sin is. It is rejecting God's authority, and establishing another. Solomon said, (Pro 1:7) " The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction." Sin is foolishness that rejects the very foundation of truth. When men deny God's existence, when men choose to act in place of God and contrary to God, when men build philosophical structures to hide God from their science, culture, society, and every day life, they are at the heart of sin.
I forget the date, but I heard a reformed theologian (sorry), Dr Greg Bahnsen cited for this brief quote, speak about "the moral foundations of epistemology." On this point he was very right. He said that Eve's moral obligation was not just practical (to eat or not to eat), but also epistemic (truth based). Sin is not just doing something other than God says. It is fundamentally taking the right to judge the very truth itself apart from God. Adam, Eve, and the serpent were all guilty of this, and that is why God had to judge them.
