All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to Genesis chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3. This glorious
portion of scripture. The Spirit of God has been pleased
to reveal the sovereignty of God in justice and the sovereignty
of God in mercy. The scripture reveals that God
created man upright, straight, and he placed him in a garden
of God's making, and he gave man everything that God knew
man would need for sustenance. And God gave him dominion. over
that garden, over God's creation. He gave Him dominion, the scripture
says, over the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, the cattle,
every creeping thing that creeped upon the earth. But there was
one thing that God did not give man dominion over. He didn't
give man dominion over God. And the Lord, when He placed
man in the garden, God had placed in that garden a tree, the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, and God told him, this
is the point, this is the picture, this is the tree, whatever you
want to call it, of my sovereignty. Genesis 2, 17, 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. And Satan came to Adam's wife
Eve, and he beguiled her. The scripture says that she took
of the fruit. We looked at that last time in
Genesis 3, 7. It says, and the eyes of them
both were opened. And they knew that they were
naked. They sewed fig leaves together
and made themselves aprons. They took fig leaves, plucked
it off of a tree, and took that which is going to just dry up,
blow away, and is not going to remain, and they made themselves
aprons. For now they knew good and evil. They knew that which was good,
obedience to God. and they couldn't now perform
it. They knew that which was evil, disobedience, and they
couldn't avoid it. Now man's fall in the garden
has cost him life. God told him he was going to
die. But I'm going to say something here that's going to be, I pray,
a real help to all of us. And I'm going to deal with God's
mercy to man, to mankind. And I'm going to do it by considering
the three questions that God asked Adam and Eve. Now, before I look
at those three questions, I want us to also remember that the
scripture declares in Romans 8.28 that all things, that's what Paul
says, and we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Now, let's notice that it didn't
say that all things in themselves were good. It says that all things work
together. They're woven together. It says
work together. It's to weave, to entwine in
everything. It's working together for good
to them that love God. Man's rebellion in the garden
is certainly not that which we would say was good. It was disobedience. Scripture
says, now man in his fallen nature, there's none good. Not one. There's none that doeth good. Not one. Every thought of the
imagination of man was only evil. That's what Scripture says. So
it doesn't say it was good because by that one act of disobedience,
by one man's sin, Death entered the world. Sin entered the world. Death by sin. That one act of
disobedience was the foundation, was the reason for the entire
downfall of mankind. That rebellion, that disobedience
was against the Lord God of heaven, the one who is worthy to be honored
glorified and praised. But even in the midst of man's
rebellion, the Lord had everlastingly purposed to redeem and eternally
save a people of His choice. And He was going to do so in
the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. So God... I've heard
people say, well, why did God let man fall. Couldn't God have stopped him?
Well, here's what I'm going to say. Almighty God did that which
He did because it pleased God to do so. God is not the author
of sin. But God left man to himself to
show man his absolute incapability of maintaining himself. And the
Lord was eternally pleased to allow man to fall, and I can
tell you based on Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 7, that the scripture
says that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches
of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Did God know that man was gonna
fall? Well, certainly He knew man was
gonna fall. There was a lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. There was a lamb slain in the mind, will, purpose of
Almighty God before man was ever created. So did God know that
man would fall? Yeah, He had a substitute, already
had a substitute. So God knowing that man would
do just exactly what man did, it pleased God with an open show
of compassion, and we're going to look at it here in the garden. We know this in Psalm 130 verse
4, there is forgiveness with Him that He might be feared. So according to divine wisdom, Man's fall in the garden was
man's fault. Nobody's ever going to lay the
blame for man's rebellion at the feet of Almighty God. As I said, He's not the author
of sin. But Almighty God allowed man
to do just exactly what man did, for in God's infinite wisdom,
It was the only way that God was pleased to glorify himself,
to bring glory to himself in man's salvation. God wasn't taken
off guard. He didn't devise a new way. After
man's fall, his rebellion, man did exactly what he did And almighty
God overrode justly man's rebellion and brought glory to himself
in saving his people. God's will is going to be done. God's will is going to be done.
Romans 11.33 says, Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and
knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments
and His ways past finding out. Isn't that so? You think man fell in the garden,
all mankind is sinners against God. All men are deserving of
wrath. How can God be glorified in man's
salvation? We're going to look at it. Man, since the fall, exhibits
this truth. The Lord, as I said, He allowed
Adam and Eve to do just exactly what they did. But from that
one fall, we always look back and we always see, we say, well,
man fell in the garden. Boy, I tell you what, Adam and
Eve, They really put us in a real pickle. They have, by one man's
disobedience, many were made sinners, and Adam, and Adam,
and Eve, and Eve, and Adam, and Eve, and Adam. You know what?
This truth of man's rebellion has been rehearsed over, and
over, and over, right up until right now. And if the Lord tarries,
it'll continue to be rehearsed, and rehearsed, and rehearsed
again. Scripture does set forth by one
man's sin, yeah, one man's sin entered into the world. Death
by sin, death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,
but I'm telling you, we do just exactly what we're doing. We
do just exactly what we want to do. Adam was created, the
scripture sets forth in the image of God. Now, we'll deal with
that subject in the next time or two, because it's in this
particular chapter two. But when Adam was created, he
was created, he had a natural body. He had a body that was
made out of the dust. But when God created Adam, the
scripture says that God breathed the breath of life. into Adam and he became a living
soul. That's what Genesis 2 says, and
the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living
soul. Now, there's a difference. What I'm getting to is to show
what happened. What happened? Leading right
up to these three questions. Whenever God made the animals, plants, anything that has life
in it, there was life created in all things. There was life.
I mean, a tree growing, that tree right there is growing.
from the life of God. That's God's life. All life. The Lord said, I'm the way, the
truth, and the life. All life. Every bit of life. There's something about it. It's
always amazed me when I think about a heart beating. Somebody
said, well, the heart just keeps pumping. Keeps pumping. OK. Well,
why does it keep pumping? Well, he said, there's some kind
of little electrical something or something in there that triggers
and it contracts that heart. Well, where's the little electrical
thing come from? It's life, God, you know, and God created life
in all things, but when it says that man became a living soul,
it means that that soul that was created in man was different
from life that was created in animals, in that the soul of
man never perishes. You know, the soul of an animal
is that life that causes movement and some instinct. But the life of a man is different
because when that animal dies, that animal dies. Soul dies,
life dies. It doesn't go off somewhere.
But not soul with a man. Man was made a living soul. It's eternal. It's going to be
somewhere forever. But it was alive. It was alive. And God said, in the day you
eat thereof, you're going to die. That is, his soul died. It died. It didn't have that
recognition, that love for, that hunger for God anymore. It changed. It was separated. It was immediately. And when
Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that man's,
mankind's, they're all going to be like it. It died spiritually. And the effects were immediate. Adam and Eve had sinned against
God. Verse 7, their eyes had been opened and they knew that
they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and they
made themselves apron. It says, and they heard the voice
of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
And Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of the Lord
God amongst the trees of the garden. Now, the scripture sets
forth now that here's man. He's dead. And he hears the voice
of the Lord God walking, and there's a spirit now of hiding. He's guilty. Now this is man
right up, right now. Here's where we are right now.
He's hiding himself and he has no hunger, no thirst. He's dead
toward God. And all he desired to do was
he desired to hide from God. And man right now hides from
God. He's hiding from God. You know,
where do men hide from God? Well, they're all religious.
But they hide in religion. They hide in do's and don'ts. They hide in dress codes. They
hide behind, you know, how long your hair is supposed to be and
whether you're not supposed to go to a picture show. They always
justify, but they're hiding. It's always in moral looking
things, but they're hiding from God. And the scripture set forth,
and what I want us to see right here, These questions that get
right to the heart of where all of us are as being born in Adam,
now fallen in Adam. This is where we all are. But
these questions are the questions to the heart of every vessel
of God's mercy. This is the questions that will
be, this is what God asked Adam and This is the questions that
come to all of us. This is the heart of the questions
right here. The scripture says, knowing where Adam was, it said
in verse 9, and the Lord God called unto Adam, and he said
unto him, here's the foundation question right here, where art
thou? That question wasn't asked by
God for God's information. That question was the question
of absolute mercy. Adam is now dead. He's dead in
trespasses. He's walking around. He's hiding.
Physically, he's walking around. He's walking around with them.
They got their fig leaves on. And the scripture says that here's
Here's the Lord God. Here's Jehovah. And he calls
unto Adam. And he wasn't asking him where
he was as far as where he was in the place, in the garden.
But he's asking him his state, or his relationship before God.
Where are you? Now you think of how that quickening
question right there. If God Almighty comes to a sinner,
And that question is, you know, Pierce, where are you? Where are you before me? That
question right there, that is the effectual call. That's the
first thing that a vessel of God's mercy is going to hear.
Where are you? Where are you? And the Lord God
said unto Adam. Now isn't that particular? The Lord called and He called
unto that man right there that God had created and created upright. Now he's fallen and God Almighty
comes as He does to all the vessels of His mercy. And that chosen
sinner is made to know in the day of God's grace, in the day
of love, that God Almighty is not calling to him, and he knows
this, he knows God's not calling for me to accept his own free
will, but it's a call that's personal. Adam, Saul, Matthew,
Marvin, where are you? Where are you? It's that conquering call, that
subdues. Can you imagine when Adam heard
his name? Adam! He didn't say, is there anybody
out there? Where y'all at? Adam, where are you? That call right there, that arresting
call is a call of absolute mercy. Do you know what will happen
if Almighty God is pleased to let any rebel against Him go
through this life and die, never having heard that effectual call
The Lord said, I know my sheep. They know my voice. And they
follow me. And I'm telling you, Adam knew
who was calling. He knew who was calling. And
the scriptures has set forth that God Almighty is not going
to allow his sheep to perish. All that the Father giveth me.
They're going to come to me. But I tell you, the first thing
that's going to happen, God's going to call them. They're not
going to call God first. Here's the shepherd going after
the sheep. And there was only two of them.
But that was all mankind. And they represent all of God's
elect. And the truth of the matter is
that the Good Shepherd must go and rescue every one of His own.
from the bondage and the penalty of sin. Where was Adam? He was
lost. He died. He's dead and trespasses
in sin. Scripture says in Ephesians chapter
2, and you had to quicken. Now how does he quicken? He calls
his people, calls them through the hearing of the gospel. This
might say, oh boy, Adam is getting ready to, you know, Well, there's
going to be some conviction. I guarantee you that. But I'm
telling you there was a call of tenderness, mercy, compassion
to one who had ruined himself and could do nothing to recover
himself from sin, from Satan, from himself. He couldn't do
anything. Here the Spirit of God comes to one of God's elect. And that question is, the question
that's heard in the heart. If you hear His voice, that's
what Scripture says, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart
today. Somebody says, well, I didn't hear anything. Well, God's people,
when He calls, they do. The Lord calls Saul of Tarsus
and He says all of them that was around Him, they saw the
light, but they didn't hear any voice. Some of them said, well,
I think it may have thundered or something. Saul heard Him.
Who are you, Lord? And the answer, prompted by divine
revelation immediately, caused Adam to answer and answer truthfully. Adam, where are you? And I tell you what he's going
to say. He's going to end up saying,
I'm a sinner. I'm separated from God, and I'm I don't have a righteousness. How do you know that's what he's
going to say? Listen to what he said. Verse 10, he said, I heard thy voice
in the garden. I heard thy voice. God's people again know his voice. The Lord has made them to know
it. He's going to make them hear
his voice. They're going to know their waywardness. He's going
to bring them to that point where they're going to confess. If
we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And He's going to bring us to
that point. I heard thy voice in the garden,
and I was afraid. He's fearful now. Never was afraid
before. You know, fear is wrought by
sin. I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid myself. Here is the voice of a sinner
made sensitive to what he is. I was afraid. Look here. You say, why was he afraid? Look
at Acts. Just hold your place. Look at
Acts chapter 9, verse 6. Acts 9, 6. Well, verse 5, Acts 9, 5 and
6. And he said, Who art thou, Lord?
And the Lord said, I'm Jesus, whom thou persecutest. It's hard
for thee to kick against the pricks. Look at verse 6. And
he, that is Saul, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do? I'm telling you, listen, whenever
God Almighty brings a vessel of His affection and mercy. I mean, it is an arresting thing. This is a sober thing. God had
called to Him and He said, I was afraid. Why are you afraid? He knows good and evil. He knows
what is good, as I said, obedience. And now He knows evil, which
is disobedience. And He knows what He is. I heard
thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked,
and I hid myself. He was naked before. But before
He sinned against God, there was no shame. And this outward
nakedness that he's talking about is actually the nakedness of
his soul. I know something now. I don't
have a righteousness before you. I know I don't. Now I know it. Only a sinner that has been taught
by the Spirit of God something of what he is knows that. Before that time, A sinner, untouched,
unmoved upon by the Spirit of God, he thinks he's got a righteousness
because he's got fig leaves. Because he's got something. He's
got some kind of self-righteousness, which is nothing more than filthy
rags. But Adam knows it. He knows it. And he said, I'm
afraid. Can you imagine having been taught
what we've been taught? of the holiness of God and the
sinfulness of man, knowing now that in ourselves we don't have
any righteousness to stand before God. Now what do you think that
reaction is going to be? I'm afraid. I mean, they're not
a believer that's ever walked this earth regenerated by the
grace of God that's not respectful of God's mercy to him to clothe
him. Because in himself he knows The
very thought of standing before God without the righteousness
of Christ. I was afraid because I was naked. And he said, I hid myself. There's
the evidence of sin's shame. That cry that shall be heard
all over in that day when the Lord comes back And those found
without a covering, without a righteous covering, the righteousness of
Christ, hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne
from the wrath of the Lamb. So here's this question. Where are you? Where are you?
I'll tell you where I'm at. I don't have a righteousness.
I'm a sinner. I'm a rebel against God. And
I've tried to hide myself and produce my own covering and I
don't have one and I know it. I'm fearful. So here's that first
question of convicting mercy. That question that makes a man
admit what he is. I am exposed before God. Exposed by my sin and I'm deserving
of the wrath of God because of my rebellion. And then the second
question, which is actually a statement of God's sovereignty to show
mercy and compassion to whomsoever will, is this. I look at that
precious, you know, verse 11. And he, that is God, said, who
told thee that thou watched naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof
I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? Who told thee that thou
wast naked? How did you come to that knowledge? How did you come to the knowledge
that you have no righteousness before me? Did you just reach
down into the depths of your soul and come up with that revelation
that by your own free will and by your own knowledge, you're
dead. Man is dead. What does that mean? He can't think spiritually. The
things of God are foolishness unto him. They're foolishness. And God asked him, who told you
that you were naked? You know the only one that can
reveal that is God, the Spirit of God. Man in his dead state
thinks that he can produce fig leaf covering. Adam had that. but he knew that he was exposed
before God by his sin. How did you come to perceive
and therefore admit your fear of me in my present? Was it because
of your disobedience? Is that what you're fearful of? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof
I commanded thee? Oh, the grace of God that would
bring to the forefront the true cause of man's nakedness. Why is man spiritually naked
before God? Because he is a sinner. He's a sinner. And the wages
of sin is death. There's none righteous, not one.
is the transgression of the law. And Adam and every other vessel
of God's mercy is going to be made to have to face his guilt.
We're going to have to admit, God's going to bring us to admit,
oh the wretchedness of that sin that continually battles the
old man though. It amazes me when I read this
and I thought, after I read it and I saw his admittance and
then what he's about to say and this and the other and I thought
well he's just you know he's just kind of flip-flopping. Well
I'm thinking well that's me. I do the same thing. What did
he do? Here Adam was caught dead right
in his rebellion but still That body of death is found within
every sinner that has been regenerated by the grace of God. Here is
Adam, a picture of every saved, regenerated sinner. God has spoken
to him, dealing with him. The Lord later is going to cover
him with some skins and beautifully set forth this truth. But coming
up to that point right there, he's caught. But what does he
do? Who told you that you were naked? Has y'all eaten of the tree whereof
I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the next thing out
of his mouth, the man said, the woman that thou gavest to be
with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat. Do we not continually see that
body of death in us. The Apostle Paul said in Romans
7, 19, and 20, for the good that I would, I do not. But the evil
which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not,
it's no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. Here's
a picture, Adam, a picture of God's regenerated saint. the presence of sin that's still
there. Do we ever excuse or justify
ourselves in our rebellion? And there's the very heart of
the effect of the body of sin voiced again, the woman whom
thou gave to be with me. Not only did he blame Eve, he
blamed God. He blamed God. When I read that
just a few moments ago going over my notes, I thought, salvation
has got to be by the grace of God. Because I'm telling you,
there is nothing before or after in ourselves except that which
God has done that would give us any hope. The very same that everyone that
has been born since then, in Adam, does the same thing. I just read this last week. There's
always that spirit of arguing. Did you eat Adam? Yeah, I did, but the woman gave
it to me. The one that you gave to me, gave it to me. Romans chapter 9, the scripture
says, therefore, verse 18, hath he mercy on whom he left, mercy
on whom he willed, he hardened. Thou wilt say then unto me, why
doth he yet find fault? Who hath resisted his will? Nay,
but, O man, who art thou that replies against God? Shall the
thing say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?
You made me, and you gave me this woman, and she gave me the
fruit. Man will go to his grave resisting
God. You'd think, I ought to be able
just to admit this is what I am. But there is something in all
of us, it's that body of sin, and it still blames somebody
else. Now you just think, when someone's
caught, by nature, when someone's caught, it's never their fault.
It's not my fault. I was a victim
of circumstance, my environment, If I could have been in a better
environment, Adam and Eve was in paradise and fell. The woman that you gave, God
has purpose to show mercy, and that's what's happening right
here. Mercy. Mercy is for guilty, hell-deserving
sinners. And then that third question.
Adam said in verse 12, the woman whom thou gavest, To be with
me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat. And then the Lord
turns to the woman, verse 13. And the Lord God said unto the
woman, what is this that thou hast done? Now, again, he's asking
Eve this. But remember, all of these questions
goes to everyone, everyone that is a vessel of God's mercy. Where
are you? Where are you? Have you eaten? Have you disobeyed? What have you done? We're all
guilty. Eve answered with the same spirit
of blame that Adam did. She said, the serpent beguiled
me and I did eat. There is none good, no not one. I am so thankful for this passage
of scripture. Christ Jesus came to this world
to save sinners. And Paul the Apostle, who the
Spirit of God moved upon to write a major portion of the New Testament,
a man that God I was pleased. Paul said whether I was in the
body or out of the body, I don't know. But he said I was received
up to the third heaven. I went to paradise. That place
where God told that thief on the cross, today you will be
with me in paradise. The apostle Paul said I was taken
and I heard things that I can't I can't even utter. I don't know
how to say it. I heard things too wonderful
to be expressed. This marvelous grace that was
shown the Apostle Paul, taught of God, taught of God, taught
of God, delivered by God, Oh, just, you know, Paul said, Christ
Jesus came into this world to save sinners of whom I'm chief. The chief of sinners. Someone
would say, Adam and Eve was guilty and all they did was pass the
buck. Pass the buck to something else.
It wasn't their fault. They were just, and I'm telling
you, We are absolutely the same way. The Lord is going to bring
us all, and we all know this, and even while we're passing
the buck, here's the prayer that we have. It was the prayer that
was penned by David when he was confronted by Nathan the prophet. God sent a prophet to tell him,
you're the man. You're the man. David was a man
after God's own heart. David took a man's wife, had
her husband killed after he had committed adultery with her,
and then God sent that prophet and told him what he had done,
and David penned these words. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to Thy lovingkindness. According unto the multitude
of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly
from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin, for I acknowledge
my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee,
thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight,
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear
when thou judgest." We will go through this world, and the older
we get, the more we're taught of God, The more that the Lord
is pleased to grow us in His grace, the more we're going to
realize what we are. The more we're going to see something
of that statement that Paul made, O wretched man that I am, who
shall separate me from the body of this death? Adam and Eve were
pictures of every rescued, regenerated child of promise everyone that
God has been pleased to show mercy to. They are a picture
that gives me some hope. Because in their experience,
I'll say it that way, in the garden, I can relate to what's
going on. And I think every one of God's
people can too. For His glory and our good, may the Lord bless
these words to our heart. Amen.