Norma Stillings sang a special song, Sunday morning. Pastor Bob Sorensen brought a message from Genesis 3:1-14 to answer the question, “Why do we sin?”
Adam and Eve only had one command to keep. There was only one restriction. “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.” But like children, who are told not to do something, they did it anyway. Of course we could say that there was no way that they could have understood the seriousness of death. After all they had never seen death. But we have seen death, so why do we sin?
Perhaps it is that we do not take God’s Word seriously. If Adam had been able to look ahead and see the heartache and strife that would come because of sin, he might have been obedient to that one command. But do we look at the Word of God as if it were just a “church thing,” a “preacher thing?”
Do we listen to the wrong people? Eve listened to the subtle suggestions of that old serpent, the devil, and was deceived. Sometimes the most sincere persons can give the worst advice. It could be a spouse, a friend, or even a parent that suggests that you should not take “religion” too seriously. It could be that we listen to talk show celebrities, Hollywood productions, and even popular TV preachers who excuse the most serious of sin and challenge those who preach against wickedness as being “intolerant.” But God’s Word is still true and sin still brings death.
Perhaps we do not take seriously God’s penalty for sin. Even if Adam and Eve did not really understand the awfulness of death, they did choose to disobey. The first thing that happened was a separation from God. They hid from God when he came into the garden. Death had begun its progression. Sin that is not forgiven eventually leads to Hell. There are many torments for those who have ignored the offer of forgiveness. The penalty for all sin is death whether it is murder, adultery, gossip, or failure to accept the remedy for sin.
Some do not take seriously God’s plan of redemption. God told the serpent that he would put enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. “It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” God already had a plan for redemption. His Son would come to seek and to save sinners. Jesus Christ would pay the penalty of sin for all mankind by being nailed to the cross (bruising his heels) and by shedding his blood there for the remission of sins. His death instead of being a triumph for Satan, is really his defeat, his “head is bruised.” Because God raised Jesus from the dead. Then all those who believe in and accept this payment for their sins will be saved.
