Eve's Errors

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.'" Genesis 3:2-3

Eve makes two errors in her response. She understates God's goodness and she overstates God's restriction. First, she understates God's goodness. God had emphasized that Adam and Eve could surelyeat from every tree in the garden (2:16-17). Eve omits this emphasis on freedom and bounty. Secondly, she overstates God's restriction. God had simply said that Adam and Eve were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:17) but Eve surprisingly adds that they were not to eat from the tree or even touch it. Where did she get that! Eve is not alone in these mistakes. She has had so many followers. For example, the Pharisees. The Pharisees were experts at adding to God's commands. They would take a simple command such as "Honor the Sabbath" and add dozens of elaborations: You can take so many steps, you can do this, you can't do that. Moreover, there are so many Christians today who follow Eve's errors. They overstate God's restrictions and hence understate God's goodness. They make rules for everyone such as "You can't go to movies" or "You can't go to certain kinds of movies" or "Christians should abstain totally from alcohol" or "Every Christian should home school their kids" ... and many more! When we overstate God's restrictions it seems spiritual. It seems like we are so serious about the spiritual life. But it is not spiritual. Fact is, this approach leads to spiritual pride (if we keep these rules) or else to spiritual guilt (when we fail to keep them). It never leads to spiritual health and loving Jesus and enjoying Jesus. It is a form of legalism. Now, whatever God says to do, do it. Do it with all your heart. Do it with joy and freedom. But do not add to God's commands, thereby overstating God's restrictions and understating God's goodness. This approach didn't work for Eve and it won't work for you.

The Great Battle

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'?" Genesis 3:1

Genesis 1-2 gives no word of the battle. We see God's creation. It was good. God creates Adam. Then he creates Eve. The creation narrative ends with Adam and Eve naked and unashamed. There is trust and transparency in paradise. Things are very good. But wait! Genesis 3 opens with a crafty snake, subtly suggesting that God is not good and he cannot be trusted. There is an enemy in paradise, an opponent of God. There is attack, a subtle, insidious attack. It will become clear that this is no normal snake but it is Satan, "that ancient serpent" (Revelation 20:2), who is behind the snake. Apparently, Satan had already been created sometime prior to Genesis 1. First, in eternity past, there is only God. The triune God. The uncreated God. That is Act 1. Then, God creates the angelic beings. Sometime later some of these spirit beings rebel and they are judged. That is Act 2. Next, God creates the world as we know it, including humans. That's where the Bible begins in Genesis 1. That is Act 3. One day in the future Jesus Christ will return and bring in the Kingdom. "Thy Kingdom come!" All opposition will be put down and God will establish a new heavens and a new earth for eternity future. That is Act 4. We live in Act 3. We live our lives in the context of battle, raging spiritual battle. A cosmic battle. The Great Battle. We see the battle at the beginning of the Bible, beginning with Genesis 3, and we certainly see it at the end of the Bible, filling the pages of Revelation. We see it all through the Bible but especially in the Gospels and in the New Testament letters. Not for one moment must we lose sight of the battle. It rages all around us, real but unseen. Our spiritual enemy is out to destroy us and devour us and ruin us. Satan's strategy is seen at the outset: "God is not good and God cannot be trusted, so look out for yourself and go your own way." Moreover, Satan attacks us in disguise, just as he disguises himself in Genesis 3. When Satan comes to you, he does not come in the form of a coiled snake. He does not approach with the roar of a lion. He does not come with the wail of a siren. He does not come waving a red flag. Satan simply slides into your life. When he appears, he seems almost like a comfortable companion. There's nothing about him that you would dread. The New Testament warns that he dresses as an angel of light ... One point seems quite clear: when the enemy attacks you, he wears a disguise. As Mephistopheles says in Faust, "The people do not know the devil is there even when he has them by the throat." ... He does not whisper to Eve, "I am here to tempt you." ... He doesn't come and knock on the door of your soul and say, "Pardon me, buddy, allow me a half hour of your life. I'd like to damn and destroy you. (Haddon Robinson) Satan slides in. He slithers. He comes to deceive us, accuse us, condemn us, tempt us. Recognize his schemes. Resist his attack. Refuse to listen to his voice. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:11-12). This is battle! Don your armor! Stand your ground! Fight in God's strength! Serve the true King!

Crafty Serpent

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. Genesis 3:1a

It becomes clear quite soon that this is no mere snake. Behind the serpent is Satan. Satan comes to tempt and deceive and devour. What is the satanic strategy? Listen to his next words to Eve: "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" (3:1b) Can you hear the tone, the incredulity? "I can't believe it! Has God really said that you can't eat from any tree in the garden! How unfair!" What is Satan doing? He is suggesting that God is not good. He is questioning God's love for Eve. He is distorting God's Word. He is casting doubt on God's goodness to Adam and Eve. He is insinuating that God is holding back something from Eve that she really needs. This is still the satanic strategy. Satan wants to devour you. This is his strategy. Expect to hear the same voice in your head. Nothing's changed. You will hear a voice suggesting that God is not good, that God does not really love you, that God is unfair to you, that God is hard to please, that God is in fact a cosmic Scrooge. Have you heard that voice? Sure you have. Recognize its source. Paul says that we are not unaware of the devil's schemes. Behind all sin is the suspicion that God isn't good and therefore he cannot be trusted. This is Satan's main ploy in his quest to ruin your life and devour your soul. You will hear things like this, "God is being so unfair in what he says about divorce (or adultery, or honesty in your business, or tithing, or forgiving your father, or Christians marrying only Christians, or pornography). God is holding back something you need to make you happy. Your case is different. You are an exception." Don't listen! Shut your ears to the voice of the deceiver. Stand firm in Christ's strength.

Naked Transparency

 

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25

This simple statement gives us God's ideal for every marriage: trust and transparency. Trust is the foundation for transparency. If I don't trust my spouse, I don't feel safe and I won't open my heart. I won't be transparent or vulnerable. I won't take the fig leaf off my soul and will never experience the incredible intimacy and oneness that God intends for marriage. In marriage we long for the freedom to say what's on our heart. We long for the freedom to unburden our soul, to talk about our fears, to share our dreams and know we'll be understood, to be honest and know we'll be accepted. We long for transparency. Transparency is largely a matter of trust. Build trust and transparency follows. However, here are three suggestions to nurture open communication in marriage. 1.  Stretch yourself to tell your spouse what's really going on inside. I say "stretch yourself" because this is not so easy for some of us. It is not natural. Even if it's not natural we must open up. It's the price of intimacy. Here are some issues to talk about: What's bothering me? What are my dreams? What are my struggles at work? How do I feel about our marriage? How do I feel about our sex life? What are my fears? What am I excited about? For me, there are a lot of times when I don't know what's going on inside. But if I try to tell Gayle about my feelings, it forces me to get in touch with what's going on inside. 2.  Be an incredible listener. Give your spouse all your attention when you listen. Look deeply into your spouse's eyes. Don't interrupt! Don't condemn! Don't offer solutions! Just listen! So many wives feel their husbands don't really listen. A wife will not feel close to her husband if she does not feel he listens to her. Conversely, so many husbands feel their wife is forever criticizing, forever trying to change them. Husbands long to be a knight in shining armor. We don't admit this or speak of it, but it's true! Trust me! If a wife is always criticizing her husband, he doesn't feel much like Lancelot. Something inside him dies. Husbands flourish when their wife expresses confidence and admiration for them. 3.  Carve out regular times for in-depth talking. Life is full. If you don't plan for these conversations they probably won't happen as often as they need to happen. Gayle and I often walk in the evenings. It may not be a long walk but it's a splendid opportunity to have uninterrupted time together. These walks help us feel connected. For you, it might be a weekly date night or a breakfast together or Saturday afternoons at Starbucks. Find what works for you. If you have young kids, get them to bed early enough so that you have some time to focus on each other. If one of you travels a lot, talk every day on the phone if at all possible. And when you are at home, schedule even more conversation time in your lives. When a couple regularly has heart-to-heart conversations, when each one tells the other what is really going on inside and each one listens to the other, then the couple experiences a deep sense of closeness to one another. They experience a glimpse of Eden's nakedness.

Naked Trust

And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:25

This simple description gives us a picture of what God wants for every marriage: trust and transparency. What does trust mean for a marriage? I tell the truth. I'm completely honest with my spouse. I don't lie or shade the truth. If my spouse asks how much I spent on a purchase or what I think about something, I always tell the truth. It is impossible to have trust without honesty, because trust is based on truth. I don't deceive. If I'm put on probation at work or receive a negative performance review, and I never say anything to my spouse, that's probably deceptive. If I buy something and I know my spouse would not like it and I never mention it, that's deceptive. At times, it is easier to shade the truth or cover up. No question. But if I choose the easierroute, then trust is undermined, and therefore intimacy. The price of intimacy is honesty. No deception. I do what I say. "I'll go by the grocery store." "I'll pay the Visa bill." When I say I'll do something I follow through. I follow through even if it's inconvenient. I don't say: "I know I agreed to go the Alley Theater on Monday but I forgot March Madness was on." Obviously, at times unforeseen events come up that warrant a schedule change, such as a big project at work. But such events must be the exception not the commonplace. Day in, day out, I do what I say. I am safe to talk openly with. I am not harsh or demeaning or condemning. I may challenge my spouse but I do so in a gentle and loving way. I am a safe person for open communication. I am for you. I don't undermine my spouse in any way. I don't demean my spouse in public. I don't get laughs at the expense of my spouse. When it comes to defending my spouse and loyalty to my spouse, I am tenacious. I'll never abandon you. I will not betray or divorce or leave my spouse. Divorce is not an option. I never threaten divorce in the heat of an argument. If my spouse gets Alzheimer's, I will be there to provide care. As long as my spouse is alive, I'm not leaving. This is what trust looks like in a marriage. When there's this kind of trust in a marriage, there is the opportunity to recover the amazing nakedness and intimacy of Eden.

Spiritual Depression, Its Causes and Cure By Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

This book is a collection of 21 messages given by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel in London. He is not talking about clinical depression, but about depression in all its forms, including discouragement and general unhappiness.  

“Believing as I do that the greatest need of the hour is a revived and joyful Church the subject dealt with in these sermons is to me of the greatest possible importance. Unhappy Christians are, to say the least, a poor recommendation for the Christian Faith; and there can be little doubt but that the exuberant joy of the early Christians was one of the most potent factors in the spread of Christianity” (Foreword).

Martyn Lloyd-Jones was a physician who was called by God to preach, so he brings to bear physical issues on the matter. The book is not a quick read, but Lloyd-Jones is unfailingly insightful, biblical and forthright.

He deals with a variety of passages in the Old Testament, the Gospels and Paul’s Letters. He deals with fear, with lack of faith, with God’s discipline, with the spirit of slavery contrasted to the spirit of adoption, with false teaching and wrong beliefs, with growing weary in doing good, and much more.

Confidence in Eternal Life

 

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

1 John 5:13

John boils down the purpose for the entire letter of 1 John in this verse: “This is why I’m writing. This is my burden. I want you to know that you have eternal life.”

Not hope you have eternal life. Not think you have eternal life. But know you have eternal life. Like any loving father, our Father in heaven wants us to be secure in our love relationship. He wants us to know who we are and whose we are and what he’s given us. He wants us to have assurance about our eternal destiny.

And who is John writing to? Who gets this assurance of eternal life? Who needs this message? Simply those who believe in the name of the Son of God. Those who are trusting Christ as Savior.

This is a promise to claim and stand upon. If you are believing in Christ as Savior, if you are trusting in Christ and not your own goodness or works, then you can rest on the authority of God’s Word: You have eternal life.

© 2014 WoodsEdge Community Church. All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced for any non-commercial use.

God is Love

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8

God’s nature is to love. His essential nature is to love.

He doesn’t have to try to love. This is just the way he is in everything and in every way and at all times. God cannot help but be loving because God is love. This is his essential nature.

This does not mean that love defines God but that God defines love. Moreover, that God is love is not the only thing about God but it is the main thing about God. More than we can possibly imagine, God is a loving God.

It has been pointed out that there is nothing you could do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less. On the one hand, God’s love is perfect and infinite, so he could not possibly love you more. On the other hand, God’s love for you is relentless and unconditional, and he could not possibly love you less.

Moreover, God’s love for you is intensely personal and emotional. It is not “generic.” It is not just that God loves people in general, the mass of humanity. No, God loves you. You personally. He loves you as though you were the only person in the world to love. He has even numbered the hairs on your head!

The renowned theologian, Karl Barth, wrote volumes of dense theology. In fact, some would consider him the greatest theologian in four hundred years, since the time of John Calvin. He was once asked to sum up, in one sentence, the thousands of pages of theology had had written. He paused and then replied, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Indeed, God is love.

© 2014 WoodsEdge Community Church. All rights reserved. This article may be reproduced for any non-commercial use.