Did God Really Say?

Steven Prinz

Foundations in Genesis • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Genesis 3:1–7

Fall of Man

Obedience

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God's Word should guide and direct our lives.

Notes

Transcript

Introduction

Well, good morning! Listen, it feels great to be here…worshiping together…digging into God’s Word together! And listen, I can’t wait to see what God’s gonna do this morning.

And so, with that, let’s start with our mission verse…We’re gonna do this a couple more weeks with the verses on the screen and then after Easter we’re gonna try our best to do this by memory…Amen? And so, I encourage you…practice with your families, challenge each other…let’s do our best to put God’s Word on our hearts. And listen, I’ve been using the ESV translation if that makes it a little easier for you. But, the verses, they’ll on the screen…Matthew 28:19-20…I’ll get us started.

Matthew 28:19–20 (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

[Prayer]

Alright, if you have your Bibles and I hope that you do, open ‘em up with me to Genesis chapter three…Genesis chapter three. This morning, we’re starting a new chapter…and listen, this chapter, it’s one of the most important chapters there is when it comes to understanding the gospel and our need for the gospel. If we don’t grasp the consequences laid out in this passage, we’ll never be able to truly turn to Jesus because we’ll never really see a need for Jesus. And so, we have to understand what Moses is writing about here.

Listen, in the last couple chapters, we’ve been looking at God and how He created everything. He created the heavens and the earth…He created everything that inhabited the heavens and the earth. He created the angels, and the plants, and the stars, and the moon, and the sun, and the animals…and of course we seen Him create mankind…His most important creation…He created humanity in His image…and He gave them the task of reflecting that image to everything else. Mankind was meant to be His representatives here in this newly formed earth. They were to have dominion and rule…they were to procreate and make more images of God so that everything was pointed to the Creator of the Universe.

And then in chapter two…what we saw was that man was completely dependent on God…We got into the trees so to speak and got a little more detail in how He created man…He created him from dust…He breathed life into him…he gave man everything he needed…he gave him rest and food and water and companionship…He gave him the ability to live forever…He even gave man the ability to choose his own way…to have freewill. He planted the tree of life and right beside it, He planted the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God gave man everything he could possibly want. He even gave him a very specific command to show him how to maintain this life and this prosperity. But as we’ll see today, it wasn’t good enough for man…He heard God’s Word but he didn’t truly know it…he didn’t truly believe it…and because of that, He didn’t allow God’s Word to drive his life.

Listen, for a lot of us…we might hear things, but that hearing, it doesn’t always really sink in like it should. It doesn’t always have the effect on us like the message was meant to have. And what happens, we leave that conservation or whatever, unchanged or unaware…and we end up doing the opposite of whatever we were warned against, right?

Listen, when I went to basic training…I was told a lot about what to expect from those that had been there before me. They warned me and they tried their very best to prepare me. But listen, I’ll never forget the first day with my unit. Our drill sergeant, he was outside the mess hall…we had just finished eating…we were still in what they call the red phase, they were trying to break us down mentally and so, of course, things were a lot harder at this point…but here he was, yelling a bunch of commands at us…telling us to hurry and do all these things…and listen, it just didn’t sit well with me…I hated being told what to do…I hated being yelled at…and so, I just didn’t do what he said to do…and then when he continued to yell at me, I just laughed at him. Listen, I was a dumb kid. And so, anyways, he stopped…he kinda smiled at me…and he said, “Okay hotshot, you come up here and you smoke your battle buddies then.” Smoking, it was just another term for making them do pushups…it was like our punishment. And so, I started directing them, “Up…down…Up…down!” And listen, after about 10 minutes I start looking over at him, looking for direction on when I could stop…and he finally said, “Private, you can stop whenever you feel like they’ve had enough…you’ve been in charge this whole time!” Listen, it hit me immediately…he just caused my entire platoon to hate me. He knew exactly what he needed to do in order to start breaking me down.

But here’s the reality…if I would’ve just listened to my family and friends who had been there…if I would’ve listened to their directions…if I would’ve believed what they actually said about basic training and what would happen…I guarantee you, it would’ve directed me a little bit differently. You understand? If I took it more serious at the start, I would’ve had a much more pleasant experience.

Guys, that’s exactly what we see happening in these accounts…Adam and Eve, they didn’t take God at his word, seriously! And because of that they didn’t truly know it, they didn’t believe it, and they didn’t allow it to direct their life…and because of that, they wound up in a pretty bad spot…A spot that would impact all of us!

And so, with that…let’s stand together as we read our passage this morning. Staring in verse one. It says this:

Genesis 3:1–7 (ESV)

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Thank you, you can be seated.

Listen, there’s three questions I wanna ask you this morning…number one, do you really know God’s Word?…number two, do you really believe God’s Word?…and then finally, number three, do you really allow God’s Word to drive your life?

And so, with that, let’s jump right into it.

1.) Do you really know God’s Word? (vv. 1-4)

Question number one…do you really know God’s Word?

Listen guys, the origin of sin…the story of the fall…it happened because ultimately, Adam and Eve didn’t know God’s Word. They heard it…but they didn’t truly know it.

Look at verse 1 with me again. It says, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.”

Now listen, I know you’re thinking, “Wait a second…we got a talking snake…things just got weird!” Listen, there’s a lot we could discuss about this guy…but for the sake of time (because this isn’t our purpose this morning), Revelation 12:9 describes this serpent as Satan. This is the very angel that was at God’s side, and that fell from grace. Now, this is important because in verse 1, it doesn’t say that this serpent is either good or bad…evil hadn’t technically entered this world yet.

Listen, we have this nasty habit of blaming Satan for the fall of man and for our sin problem…this chapter’s very clear…sin is the result of man’s disobedience alone. We and we alone are responsible for our separation from God. Satan, he was created as an angel…and because he’s not man, Satan doesn’t have freewill like man because ultimately, he’s not created in the image of God. You understand? We see examples of this even in Job when Satan needs God’s permission to even tempt Job. Satan can’t do anything without the permission of God. And so, the fact that Satan’s even in the garden, it’s because God’s deemed it so. The fact that Satan’s tempting man here…it’s because God’s allowed it to happen.

Listen to the words of Moses…He says, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.” Guys, it’s important to understand that being crafty isn’t necessarily evil. In fact, it says that he’s MORE crafty than anything else. Meaning, the rest of God’s creation had the ability to be crafty…but this snake, he’s more crafty. Everything’s still good at this point…just as God’s deemed it so in the previous chapter. This word…it carries the idea of being wary…knowing when dangers are lurking. I mean, the Scriptures from cover to cover, they give us the same encouragement…be on guard…be wary…stand on truth so that you’re not tossed to and fro…build your foundation on God’s Word so that you’re not deceived, right?

Listen, Moses is showing us why man fell into sin…Satan himself can’t directly disobey God…again, because he doesn’t have freewill, but he can tempt man to fall. And listen, you know how he does that? It’s the same way he tempts Jesus in the desert in the New Testament…its by challenging His knowledge of God’s Word.

Look at what he says next…verse 1, “He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Guys, he goes straight to the only command God gave Adam…he goes straight for God’s Word. And listen, again, he’s crafty about this…he’s subtle…he wasn’t necessarily denying God’s Word…he was just introducing the idea that God’s Word is subject to our own judgment. It was enticing to the woman. And what’s interesting here…again, Satan was so crafty in his question…he never actually used God’s personal name, Yahweh. He stuck to Elohim. And as Eve began to respond, she followed his lead. Satan’s approach was so subtle that Eve didn’t even suspect God’s Word was being attacked. I mean, it was just an innocent question, right? But listen, a seed of doubt about God’s Word, it had been planted in Eve’s heart…and that would bear fruit immediately as we’ll see.

She responds in verse 2, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.”

Listen, this is exactly what Satan was after…he was banking on the fact that Eve didn’t actually know God’s Word. I mean, just look at her response…she fails tremendously and just gives her own revision of God’s Word…She added to God’s Word…which of course, we see time and time again God command His people not to do because it leads to our own demise. And because she added to His Word, it softened His Word.

If you guys remember two weeks ago, we looked at the command God gave Adam in Genesis 2:16-17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

Guys, God clearly instructed Adam to not eat from the tree, right? He said nothing about touching it…it’s Eve’s new rendition of God’s Word here now that discounted His generosity. God never said, “neither shall you touch it!” Eve was magnifying God’s strictness here…almost making it look negative in a sense…like, “Yea, if you even touch the tree then zap - you’re dead!” Her comment here’s suggesting that God’s so harsh that even a slip would bring on death. Satan’s question here was causing the woman to begin distrusting the goodness of God’s Word.

Guys, it’s really hard to just read this in one setting and really see what’s starting to go on in Eve’s heart. There’s been this subtle shift in her heart. She’s starting to doubt God’s Word…and listen, her revisions here, they’re beginning to justify how she’s starting to feel toward God.

And then on top of that…in chapter two…God told Adam, if you eat of this tree “you will CERTAINLY die.” But Eve says, “If I do this…lest I’ll die.” She’s softened God’s Word. She removed the certainty of death. You understand? She was beginning to justify God’s Word in her heart.

Sin always starts, especially with Christians…by first beginning to justify ourselves by distorting or softening or changing God’s Word.

And then of course, Satan jumps on the opportunity…He says in verse 4, “You will not surely die.” He goes back to a certainty. He takes Eve’s mistruth and he twists it even more…It’s almost like a “in your face God!” It’s now the serpent’s word against God’s Word. Satan had successfully trapped the woman because ultimately she was confused about God’s Word…She didn’t know it.

And so listen, here’s an easy question for you…do you really know God’s Word? Because guys, that’s what makes us prone to sin…that’s what causes us to fall out of God’s will…that’s what removes us from His presence…that’s how Satan still wins today…it’s when we don’t know God’s Word.

Guys, you can’t count on me to teach all of this to you…you need to be studying it for yourself…for the same exact reasons we see here…because it’s how Satan attacks us…he attacks us by challenging our knowledge of God’s Word…and he does it in such crafty and subtle ways you don’t even know what’s going on…he starts planting seeds of doubt in your heart and it’s what leads to dangerous questions or divisions in the church.

Am I really saved? Is Jesus really the only way? Did He really die and resurrect? Am I really secure in the palm of His hand? Maybe none of that’s true and so I’m just gonna go and do my own thing…maybe none of that’s true and so I can decide when I’ll follow Jesus and when I won’t…Maybe none of that’s true and so I don’t have to be ready for His return…Guys, it’s the same thing he does to Eve…Do you really know God’s Word? Because if you don’t…it’s gonna be impossible for you to really believe it.

2.) Do you really believe God’s Word? (vv. 5-6)

Which leads us into question number two…do you really believe God’s Word?

Look at what Satan does in verse 5. He says, “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Listen, Eve had already proved she didn’t know God’s Word…and so now, Satan tries to challenge the trustworthiness of His Word. And what he’s asking here is, “Do you really believe God’s Word?…Do you really believe God would allow that to happen to you?”

Listen, now that Eve had cast God in this ugly light…making Him look like this mean God, the threat of death was now nothing more than a scare tactic to keep Adam and Eve in their place, right? That’s exactly what Satan was after. He wanted God to look oppressive…God was obviously jealous that they might ascend too high up. He wanted to keep them down. That’s what Satan was after.

And listen, if you pay attention…while it sounds pretty crazy…I mean God had given man everything…He even gave them rule over all of His creation…but listen, Eve was starting to believe it.

And so, how does the woman respond? Verse 6, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Listen, here’s how I picture this story....the serpent, he comes…he gets the woman to question the goodness and the truthfulness of God’s Word…and then he kind of leaves her alone in the mist of the garden…she’s staring at this tree and she begins to realize, “I do desire this tree…I do desire to be like God…I do want more…God is oppressive…I’m gonna take things into my own hands.” And so, she finally grabs the fruit…and guess what happens? She doesn’t die…because again she got God’s Word wrong…and so, why believe the rest of what she thinks God said? The tree, it looks good to the sight…it looks desirable…I wanna be wise…And so, she eats of the forbidden tree.

Guys, remember…in chapter two…Moses was writing to remind his readers, we’re all dependent on God. We’re nothing without God…we’re simply dust…made from the earth. That’s why Augustine said, “The conclusion is that the devil would not have begun by an open an obvious sin to tempt man into doing something that God had forbidden, had not man already begun to seek satisfaction in himself and consequently to take pleasure in the words, “you shall be as gods.” The promise of these words, however, would much more truly have to pass if, by obedience, Adam and Eve had kept close to the ultimate and true source of their being and had not, by pride, imagined that they were themselves the source of their being…Augustine says, “Whoever seeks to be more than he is becomes less. Whenever he aspires to be self-sufficing, he retreats from the One who is truly sufficient for him.”

Listen, here’s the deal…Eve ate of the tree because ultimately she didn’t know God’s Word, and because of that she forgot who she was in comparison to God and it caused her to completely disregard His Word. She didn’t believe it…she took the image she was made in…because remember, her and Adam were in fact like gods in this new creation…God had given them these types of roles they were trying to obtain for themselves…He had made them in His image, He gave them dominion....but because she didn’t fully understand God’s Word, she didn’t believe it.

And listen, this wasn’t just Eve’s fault either. Look at who was standing next to her…It was just as much Adam’s fault as it was Eve’s. In fact, it was more of his fault because when God gave this command to Adam…he was the only one there, right? Woman hadn’t been created yet. And so, if Eve didn’t fully understand God’s Word, it was because Adam hadn’t properly taught it to her. He failed her as a husband.

Guys, do you see how we ultimately do the same thing today? A lot of times, we fall into temptation and sin because if we’re honest, we really don’t believe God’s Word…And for a lot of us…we don’t believe it because we don’t know it. What happens is we place our trust and our faith in man or a preacher or other teachers…and that sometimes leads us down the wrong path…or like Eve we twist and we distort and we soften God’s Word so that we chose to believe the good parts but leave the consequence parts out. Listen, there’s some difficult things that’s addressed in Scripture, there is…we’ve experienced that in the last two years that I’ve been here as your pastor, right? But guys, just because it’s difficult it doesn’t mean we have a right or even a choice to believe what we want. We don’t define truth.

And so, what’s it mean for us? We have to devote ourselves to understanding God’s Word. We have to be digging into it constantly as believers and as a church. We have to learn more and more so that we’re not tossed to and fro…because guess how Satan attacks us today? Guess what he still goes after? God’s Word!

If he’s gonna divide a church, he’s gonna get them questioning God’s Word…if he wants to make a church lose it’s impact in God’s kingdom....He’s gonna get them believing the wrong things about God’s Word. Listen, if you wanna overcome the sin in your life, get into His Word…learn it, so that you’ll start believing it!

Do you really believe God’s Word?

3.) Do you really allow God’s Word to drive your life? (v. 7)

Which leads us into our last question…do you really allow God’s Word to drive your life? Because if you believe it, it’ll show. And listen, I’m not even talking about being a morally good person. If you’ve truly experienced the grace of God…if you’ve been changed by the power of the Holy Spirit, part of the reason you’re different…its because you now hold God to His Word. You believe He has the power to save…you believe without Him, you’ll be doomed to a eternal hell. You understand you’re in a separated state.

But guys, if you simply heard the gospel and didn’t truly understand it or know it…guys, there’s no way you believe it deep down in your core…and because of that, God’s Word’s not really driving your life. You’re like Eve, maybe you heard Adam give you God’s command to not eat…but you didn’t really know it…and because of that, you can’t believe it…and there’s no way it’s gonna define you.

We see the same in the New Testament, just because a person claims to know Jesus, doesn’t actually mean they’re His…it doesn’t mean they’ve been changed by the power of His Spirit. Every true believer, they’re defined by how they allow God’s Word to drive their life.

That’s why Jesus says, “If you love me, obey my commandments.”

It’s also why in James 1 it says:

James 1:22–25 (ESV)

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Now listen, he’s not suggesting a works-based salvation here…James goes on in chapter two:

James 2:14–17 (ESV)

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Listen, Jame’s isn’t saying that works saves us…but he is saying that works defines us. He’s saying that when we’re restored…if we truly know God…His Word, through His Spirit, it defines us.

Look at this last verse again. Verse 7, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.”

Four things are happening here…They’re eyes are opened, they realize their nakedness, they sew fig leaves, and they make coverings for themselves. Listen, this opening of their eyes…if we’re not careful, we miss the entire point here. It’s not a good thing…this opening, it made ‘em look at their nakedness with displeasure. They weren’t satisfied with how God made them anymore…they weren’t pleased with each other…and so they covered themselves. Their eyes being opened, it showed man’s separation from God. The knowledge they wanted so bad for themselves, it only brought them shame and it caused them to hide what God made perfectly in His image.

Their actions were contrary to God’s Word. Their actions didn’t demonstrate that they were made in God’s image, found in His favor, it didn’t demonstrate that they walked with God…that they were dependent on Him. And what we’ll see as we keep walking through this after Easter, it’s that their actions, it causes them to hide from God.

Guys, they were separated…their freewill to choose life or death, it brought sin and wickedness into this perfectly crafted world and distorted it forevermore. And because of that, all of mankind would be separated from God.

That’s why Romans 3:23 says:

Romans 3:23 (ESV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

It’s our reason for the gospel…why we need it. Because we’re all hopelessly and desperately doomed to a fiery hell. And not because of God…but because we chose to rebel and go our own way. He’s allowed us, since the time of Adam and Eve to determine our future. And all of us, we all fall short of God’s glory, because we’ve all chosen sin…we’ve all chosen unrighteousness. And for that, we’ve all brought on punishment and death. And without something saving us from that outcome, that’s our destiny.

Listen, when we look at this passage…Eve didn’t know Scripture, and because of that, she didn’t believe it…and the result? Her life, Adam’s life…it wasn’t defined or directed by the Word of God. In fact, their actions, it just further proved they were separated.

Satan was successful in attacking the relevance of God’s Word.

Closing

And so, as we close this morning, I’ll ask you this question…is your life today, believer or unbeliever, is it defined or directed by God’s Word? Is it relevant in your life. Because if it’s not, then you’ve not been restored…you’re sins haven’t been atoned for yet. You’re still heading down a path of destruction…and one day, when you close your eyes in this world and open them in eternity, you’re gonna be surprised. James says that our faith, or our salvation…it causes good fruit to pour out of us. It causes our lives to begin modeling the Word of God. And if this doesn’t cause the hairs on the back on your neck to stand up, then something’s wrong…you understand? As God’s people, we care about His Word because we’ve been changed and now we love Him. Do you really allow God’s Word to drive your life? Do you really care about how God’s Word drives your life? Is it relevant for you?

Every head bowed and every eye closed.

Listen, I’m gonna keep this short…we have to get serious about how we act. We have to get serious about the fruit that comes out of us. It’s what defines us. It’s how we determine who’s really been changed by the power of the gospel.

And can I just be honest? There’s a ton of people claiming to be Christians, thinking they’re deceiving us…but the only person you’re deceiving is yourself. Because as James says, “Your fruit, your works…that’s what really shows what you care about…it shows the condition of your heart.”

Listen, what do you need to do to start better applying God’s Word to your life? You gonna first know it so that you’re not deceived…so that you’re not manipulated…so that it can truly drive you.

Listen, we’ve had some people profess Jesus recently… and you know how I know these people are genuine? It wasn’t because they said some prayer. It wasn’t because they came up to the front during an altar call. It’s because, for the first time in their life, the Word of God is directing them…they’re different…they’re changing their habits…and guys, they can’t even help it. They just love Jesus and as they learn and grow in His Word, it’s changing them. That’s just what Jesus does!

And so, what do you need to do this morning to make sure you’re in the right place spiritually?

And listen, if you’ve not turned to him…if you’ve not placed your trust in Jesus. Guys, he created you with the purposes of you knowing him. That’s where your purpose and meaning’s found…that’s where salvation’s found…that’s where every solution to every problem you have is found…but you have to let go…you have to let him make you into something new…and then you have to let him work. The Bible says you have to repent and believe…you have to believe in your heart…and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord. And spiritually…when you do that…spiritually, he renews you…you’re made new. And according to the Bible, the Spirit of God himself…he comes into your life and He dwells with you.

Our passage might show us that we’re all fallen and separated from God, but the rest of Scripture shows us that He sent a Savior to save us from that punishment. Jesus came as God’s only Son, He lived a perfect life…He went to the cross…He died and experienced our punishment…He was our sacrifice. And He raised to life again…because He is God…and if He has the power to resurrect, He certainty has the power to save you. And so, repent and believe.

Listen…whatever it is…you need to pray this morning…you need to seek God…you have some kind of problem that needs to be solved…these steps, they’re open for you. If God can create everything out of nothing, like we’ve been talking about…He can certainly solve your problems…He can certainly answer your prayers. And so you come this morning…if you need me…maybe you feel the Spirit of God leading you to be baptized or to join the church or maybe he’s calling you into ministry and you wanna serve him in that way…you need me to pray for you…you wanna talk about salvation. I’ll be down front for you. And so, you come and I’ll close us in just a few minutes.