The Serpent and the Fall

Q: What does the Bible say about the Fall of Man?

The Fall of Man, as described in Genesis 3, indicates that sin entered the world through Adam and Eve's disobedience, resulting in human depravity. Genesis 3 provides the narrative of the Fall, where the serpent deceives Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, leading to both Adam and Eve falling into sin. This act of disobedience was not just an isolated incident but had far-reaching consequences as Paul explains in Romans 5:12, stating that sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and thus death spread to all humanity. The fall introduces a state of human depravity, altering humanity's relationship with God and creating a corrupt nature that every descendant inherits.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of original sin is true?

The doctrine of original sin is supported by scripture, particularly in Genesis 3 and Romans 5, which affirm that Adam's sin led to the corrupt nature of all humanity. The concept of original sin is biblically grounded, particularly in the account of Genesis 3 where Adam and Eve's transgression occurs, and in Romans 5:12, which states that through Adam's sin, death and sin entered the world, affecting all mankind. This doctrine posits that all humans inherit a sinful nature as a result of this first disobedience. Additionally, Paul references this in Romans, emphasizing the widespread impact of Adam's fall, which requires the redemptive work of Christ to restore humanity's relationship with God. The historical understanding within Reformed theology underscores the necessity of recognizing this inherited condition to fully appreciate the grace provided through Jesus Christ.

Q: Why is understanding human depravity important for Christians?

Understanding human depravity underscores the need for God's grace and salvation through Christ, as all humanity is affected by sin. The concept of human depravity is crucial for Christians as it reveals the depth of our brokenness and the need for divine intervention. Genesis 3 illustrates how Adam and Eve's decision brought about not only physical and spiritual death but also a corrupt nature passed down to all humanity. Recognizing this state of depravity helps believers comprehend why redemption is essential and how the grace of God, displayed in the person and work of Jesus Christ, is the only solution to our sinful condition. Without acknowledging human depravity, the significance of salvation and the glorification of God's grace through Christ's sacrifice is diminished, reminding us of our total reliance on God for salvation.

Q: What does the sin of Adam and Eve reveal about God's nature?

The sin of Adam and Eve reveals God's justice in response to disobedience and His mercy through the promise of salvation. The account of Adam and Eve's disobedience not only highlights the gravity of sin but also portrays God's character, illustrating both His justice and mercy. After the fall, God pronounces judgment upon Adam, Eve, and the serpent, reaffirming the seriousness of disobedience to His commands. However, amid the judgment lies a promise of hope, as seen in Genesis 3:15, where God hints at the coming of a Redeemer who would ultimately defeat sin and restore humanity. This dual aspect of God's nature—His justice in dealing with sin and His mercy in providing a way of redemption—is foundational to understanding the entirety of Scripture and the plan of salvation through Christ.

All right, in Genesis chapter
3 we have our text of the evening, and we're going to be looking,
as I said, at the fall. And let's read the first 12 verses
of Genesis chapter 3. Now the serpent was more subtle
than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he
said unto the woman, that is, the serpent said unto the woman,
Yea, hath God said ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent,
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
has said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it,
lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the
woman, You shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the
day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman
saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to
the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of
the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were
open, they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice
of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves
from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto
Adam. and said unto him, Where art
thou? Let me stop long enough to say
that's a good text there, been used a lot of time. Where art
thou? And he said, I heard thy voice
in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked
and I hid myself. And he, that is God, said, Who
told thee that thou was naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof
I commanded thee that thou should not eat? And the man said, The
woman whomst thou gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I did eat. When it comes to the subject
of the fall of the race and the fall of man and the subject of
human depravity and the effect that it has upon the race of
mankind, Genesis chapter 3 is the most important chapter in
all of the Scripture to set this forth for us. It is here that
we have an actual account of sin entering into the world,
as Paul states in Romans 5 and verse 12, by one man. This was not the commencement
of sin in God's creation. It was not the first sin that
had been committed or the first one that had committed a sin,
but it was sin entering into the human race. And according
to Paul, sin entered into the world, mankind, by one man, and
then it passed upon all. But before we cast our vessels
too far out into this ocean that hath neither bank nor bottom,
we cannot sound out the depth of all that we have read here.
To see the extent of human depravity from this scripture, Before we
lose sight of the shore as we sail upon this, let's consider
a couple of questions. And those questions regarding
our first parents, our natural father Adam, and our original
mother Eve. So number one. What was their
original condition as they were created? What sort of a state
were they in when God made them and when they first had their
being? Were they upright? Were they
holy man and woman? were they created with any sort
of sinful frailties or inclination in them at all? Scripture said
that Adam was created in the image and the likeness of God,
Genesis 1 and verse 27. God made man upright, Solomon
said, Ecclesiastes chapter 7 and verse 29. God made them in such
a state or such a condition spiritually that they were capable of having
fellowship with God. They certainly were without sin
nature. They had no sin in their nature. I read where Arminius himself,
old Arminius himself wrote these words and I'm quoting him. There was in man before the fall
an inclination to sinning even though it was not as behemoth
and inordinate as it is now. Unquote. Then the second question
that we want to consider, how come an upright man and woman
to fall? How is it that those made upright
in the image and the likeness of God, how is it that one of
them might become sinful? How is it that sin might enter
into them? How could a holy man become an
unholy man? And how could that man become
the fountain of human corruption? For that matter, how could a
chief angel become an enemy of God? How could a myriad of angels
leave their first estate and be cast out of heaven. Surely
those who fell were once as holy as the other angels that are
called by Paul the elect angels in 1 Timothy 5 and verse 21. Now, concerning the state of
Adam as he was created by God, you will hear it described in
various terms. One will say it like this, another
will say it like that. For example, some have called
it a state of innocence. that Adam was created in a state
of innocence. Some say in a state of integrity
or uprightness. And my personal favorite is the
expression, original righteousness, that Adam had an original righteousness. For by creation, he was in the
image and the likeness of God, though he was a man and not a
god, not a deity. John Bryan, An older writer from
the 17th century said this of Adam in his original state, and
I'm quoting John Brine. That man was pure and holy in
his creation state and possessed a power to do the complete will
of God, unquote. He possessed the spiritual power
and nature to be obedient unto God. And when we say that Adam
was holy at his creation as God fashioned him, it does not follow,
however, that he was immutably holy. Let's make that distinction
again. Of course, Adam was holy, made
in the likeness and image of God. But we have to admit that
he was not immutably holy. If so, he could not have become
sinful. Only God is immutably holy. God is the only one that is holy
to the degree that He cannot be corrupted, that sin cannot
enter into Him. Not the angels, not the first
man. They were created holy, and yet
they were not possessed of immutable holiness. It is capable of being
perverted, therefore, into depravity. Thus the holiness of the angels
and the holiness of Adam was a holiness in which it was necessary
that they be upheld in that state by the providence and the power
of God. Their holiness was not immutable. God must sustain it, just as
He must sustain us in the grace of God, and He does. Now it seems
that for many in Christendom today, the thought of holy Adam
then becoming depraved is too much for them to understand or
to take in. and they think that it must be
accounted for on the assumption that there was some defect in
Adam even from his beginning that brought about the fall. Be that as it may, Scripture
teaches us that human nature is capable of existing in several
states or condition. In fact, I think there are four
of them. Human nature is capable of existing
in four states and still remaining as human nature. This is set
forth in great detail in a book by Thomas Boston that I've had
for a long time, and the title of the book is Human Nature in
its Fourfold State. These four states are, we'll
run through them rather quickly, Number one, the original state
of Adam and Eve. The first state, original righteousness. And by the way, only Adam and
Eve, of all that have ever lived, experienced this state. Many
are of the opinion that they did not continue it very long,
upright, before there came the temptation and the fall. So human
nature was real human nature in its original righteousness.
Secondly, human nature is capable of being depraved and sinful
and wicked and corrupted by sin. The nature being depraved, living
under the power of sin, born in sin, shapen in iniquity as
the psalmist called it, a transgressor from the womb as Isaiah described
them. Thirdly, human nature is capable
of existing in a state of regeneration or of grace, salvation, quickened
by the Spirit, being made alive by the power of God's Spirit,
living by grace, walking in the Spirit, And fourthly, human nature
is capable of the eternal state, whether of glory or of misery. Now, in the third chapter of
Genesis, we have the first two of these states related to Adam
and unto his wife Eve. We see them first upright, then
we see them stripped of their original righteousness and becoming
sinful. They beheld in themselves an
immediate and a drastic outward change, not only an outward change,
but also an inward feeling. There was both an outward change
and an inward change. There came to them shame, there
came to them guilt, there came to them fear, even motivating
them to seek to hide from the Lord among the trees of the garden. Now concerning their sinning,
the sin and fall of Adam and Eve and of the family of man
was on this wise. We read that the devil used the
serpent to deceive our mother Eve. He chose perhaps the most
subtle beast that the Lord had made. that was at his disposal. R.S. Candlish wrote a commentary
on the book of Genesis and he said on chapter 3 verses 1 through
5, the agent in the temptation is undoubtedly not a mere physical
serpent but an evil spirit under the form of a serpent The author
calls the serpent more subtle than any beast of the field that
the Lord had made. Now the word subtle can be understood
as crafty. It means crafty. It also means
cunning, or cunningly, usually in a bad sense, but sometimes
even means prudent. It is likely the wicked one chose
the serpent because of this feature. It was subtle, crafty, and cunning. And could it be so is something
that the serpent was of a very fair or beautiful appearance
at that time in the garden, and that he might have walked upright
rather than crawl on his belly, to which he was later sentenced
down in verse 14. We should not forget that the
New Testament writers, authors, speakers take this, Genesis 3,
as being a literal incident, not a myth and not a fairy tale. The New Testament authors do
not treat this as some kind of myth as people do today. For example, Paul said in 2 Corinthians
11, And verse 3, he authenticates the events in Genesis 3 when
he writes the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety. I fear, he said, the same may
happen unto you. We also have Eve's confession
to the same in Genesis 3 and verse 13. The serpent, she said,
beguiled me, and I did eat." Could it be that the confession
of Eve is one-sided or half-hearted? That she, like Adam later, seeks
to extenuate her guilt by shifting off the blame to another. Adam
said, the woman that you gave with me to be my wife, she gave
unto me and I did eat. The serpent which you made endowed
with craftiness and she used it that it might beguile me that
I did eat. We have a short account. of the
craftiness of the serpent against Eve here in Genesis 3 and verses
1 through 6. And it tells us how he enticed
her or deceived her by his subtlety to Eve. First of all, we notice
again In verse 1, by raising the question whether there was
such a restriction of eating of any and every tree of the
garden. That was the serpent's first
suggestion. Has God really actually said
that you're not to eat of each and every tree of the garden."
And so he raises the question whether there was such a restriction
against eating, as if to say, can it be true that God is forbidding
you eating of any tree whatsoever in the garden. It's like saying,
surely it cannot be true that God forbids the eating of each
and every tree. Gill said this of the while of
the devil, quote, he put the question to cause her to doubt
whether there was such a prohibition or not, and as amazing that there
should be, and not believing it could be true." That's the
serpent's position with Eve. As if it were an undue restriction
imposed upon them. as if it were an unreasonable
limitation that had been placed upon them by God, that it is
not only unreasonable, but that it also is unnecessary. And the crafty one sought to
bring the woman to have in her own mind a contempt of the divine
precept by causing her to be contemptuous of the prohibition
that had been enforced upon them, rather than the large privilege
of eating of every tree which they might freely eat, Genesis
2 and verse 16. Matthew Henry wrote, that which
he aimed at was to take off her sense of the obligation to the
command of God, unquote. To get her mind off of that prohibition
that God had given unto them. The serpent said, yea, hath God
said? It is as one author put it, the
divine truth is easier approached when it is first misrepresented. Think about that. Divine truth
is the easier perverted when it is misrepresented. Then, when he mentions in the
end of the third verse, that eating of the tree came with
the threat of death from God. As in chapter 2 and 17, in the
day you eat thereof you will surely die. The margin said,
dying you will die. The reason it may not eat of
it neither shall we Touch it under the threat, the possibility
of death. The serpent, however, was bolder
even yet. And in verse 4, he waxes higher,
telling her, you will not surely die. You're not going to die
if you eat of the tree. Because the woman has tolerated
the first assault on God's veracity, and because she has not rebuked
Him, or fled from Him, or invoked the truth of God against Him,
and because she lingered and engaged Him in her conversation,
The serpent carries the quarrel even higher, directly now contradicting
God. The serpent directly contradicts
God's Word. You will not die, he tells the
woman. It is not certain. He says that
you will die. if you eat of the tree, all the
trees of the garden." In fact, he said, it is certain you will
not die, Deal wrote in this latest device of the devil. He would
have Eve then to believe that God would never be so rigid,
never be so restrictive, never be so severe as to put them under
a prohibition like this. From this we see where moderns
get the inspiration for their view that God is too gentle and
kind and loving to eternally punish lost sinners forever and
forever. Some of them do deny hell outright. They deny that God is a God of
wrath who will take wrath upon sinners. They're ignorant. of
the immutable holiness of God, and of the offense that sin is
against the holy God, that He is of two pure eyes than to behold
iniquity. Habakkuk chapter 1 and verse
13. Some have said, I've had it said
to me, All the hell that we'll ever have is right here in this
world. This is hell. This is our hell
and our only hell. Now there are such as say, don't
preach to me on judgment and fire and brimstone and eternal
wrath. Don't talk to me about the horribleness
of sin. When I go to church somebody
said, I want to be made to feel good. I want to be lifted up
when I go to church. I want to be encouraged. I want
to leave the church happy when I go into a service. Then I have
good news for you. There are many churches, especially
these mega churches, whose specialty is pumping up the ego of lost
sinners. where you can get a weekly fix
of the poison of high self-esteem. They will assure you that God
loves you for what you are. They will lie you right in the
hell. if you listen to those who deny
or go along with what the serpent had said. Now we follow the subtlety
of the serpent who promised Eve, our mother, you will not die
if you eat of the fruit of all any of the trees of the garden. Let's cast our eye upon the fifth
verse of Genesis chapter 3. He says, not only will you not
die, in verse 4, but in eating, verse 5, there will be a tremendous
advancement of your present state, and God knows it, he told her. God knows that in your eating,
your eyes will be opened, You will become as God's. You will
gain knowledge of good and of evil by eating of that tree. What is Satan saying through
the serpent here? What charge is he laying against
God? We learn that as Satan accuses
the brethren before God, Revelation 12 and 10, as he did Job in the
book of Job, so at times Satan accuses God unto us. He accuses us to God, but at
times he also accuses God unto us, as he did unto Eve. As if to say to her, look, the
purpose of God in giving you this law and prohibition is to
keep you down, is to keep you back, is to hold you in an inferior
position. to keep knowledge from you. That's
what God has given you this prohibition for. Now notice two things that
the serpent promised them. Number one, you shall be as gods. This is a tough thing for me
to try to explain and to understand. For consider, is this a promise
of absolute deity? If it is, it's a lie. He'll says
the word, Here is Elohim. Very, very important. This is
a word used earlier in the book of Genesis, and it stands as
a stark contrast to, you will not surely die. You will not die, but you will
be as gods. On these words Calvin said, quote,
I have no doubt but that Satan promises them divinity, unquote. But we must remember this. It
is an impossibility. This is an absolute impossibility. God alone is God. God only can be God. None else can be elevated to
the status of divinity or become a deity. Then also remember,
Satan is a liar and the father of it. John 8 and verse 44. Not even in heaven will we be
gods or divine or equal with Christ or with God. Second thing
He promised them, notice, He promised that upon eating, your
eyes will be opened and they will come to know good and evil. Now, not their physical eyes,
not the eyes in the front of their head, for they were not
physically blind at their time, but the eyes of their knowledge
and of their understanding. He promises them that would be
greatly increased, increased for the better. That they would
come into possession of a greater knowledge than they had. They
would have a personal acquaintance with good and evil. Not only an acquaintance, but
also an experience of it. Now, look at verse 6. This is
very important. Let me read it again. And when
the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant
to the eye, a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of
the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband
with her, and he did eat. We remember in chapter 2 and
verse 9, that other trees of the garden also were pleasant
to the sight. There was not an ugly tree in
the garden. Also that the forbidden tree
was in the midst of the garden, located in the middle of the
garden, centrally located in the Garden of Eden, clearly visible,
clearly accessible, as was the tree of life. They might have
been in close proximity. And the forbidden tree was not
barren or ghastly. It was not ugly to the sight.
It was not thorny. It did not evoke fear in looking
upon it, for it was pleasant to the eye, its fruit was not
poisonous, if somebody thinks of it that way, its looks were
not repulsive to them as they passed by and saw it. And after
Satan's solicitation, after his solicitation, the forbidden tree
She approached, and the scripture said, took of the fruit and did
eat. Now the woman saw a threefold
attraction in that tree, and we're noticing them there. It
was pleasant to the eye, it was good for food, and it was a tree
desired to make one wise. She saw nothing about the tree
to suggest that it was dangerous. And in fact, Satan suggested
that she would actually advance in wisdom. And the record is
short. This is all it said. She took
of the fruit and did eat. We must acknowledge her eating
was not the commencement of sin in this woman. We need to be
very careful here as we go along. We must acknowledge that her
eating was not the commencement, it was not when sin started in
her. Her will and affection were sinfully
inclined before she ever put forth her hand and took that
fruit. The sin of eating takes its rise
from desiring to eat, or desiring that which is forbidden. The
sin of eating takes its rise from that. Let's illustrate.
A man does not rob a bank before he schemes it out in his head. It just doesn't rob the bank
without... there being prior intention and
such like. He covets money. He would steal. A person does not commit adultery
until they have been tempted and tested strongly by lust and
have been enticed or seduced with a promise of great pleasure
out of the experience. Both Adam and Eve, before they
ate, just as the bank robbers Crime was preceded by covetousness
or greed, and adultery is preceded by lust or temptation. The law
says, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife. Both are sin
before they are actually committed in the deed itself. But in the
case of Adam and of Eve, the mystery is complicated. And it's
complicated by the fact that at first they had no indwelling
sin within them. They at their creation were upright,
but they were not immutably holy as is God. And it taxes our mind
to understand how a sinful desire could arise in the heart or mind
of Adam and of Eve, but so it did. And the results were, they
both ate. They both ate of the tree of
which God had said, you shall not eat lest you die. And the result was, not as they
were told. They did not advance to godhood.
They did not have a better knowledge and increase in that. They were
not gods and they were not wiser. Look at verse 7. Their eyes were
opened. They knew that they were naked. Whereas before, they were unclothed
and they were not ashamed. Genesis chapter 2 and verse 25. Some think, and I think there's
merit to it, that before they sinned, somehow they were shrouded
with some type of a glory that God had given unto them. some
kind of majesty, and they lost it as soon as they sinned. And conviction and shame and
fear gripped them, and their conscience was activated, and
it began to accuse and to condemn them. And they made a covering
of the fig leaves in the garden, and then hid themselves from
the presence of the Lord, they thought, among the trees of the
garden. Now while Adam and Eve focused
on their physical nudity and they covered themselves with
fig leaf, there is also a spiritual nakedness that we read about
in the scripture. Revelation 3 verse 18, just as
there is a spiritual blindness, blind and naked. the Lord said
to that church. And their sin and fall filled
them with fear in the presence of Almighty God. It made them
spiritual cowards. before they met with God and
fellowshiped, and now they are spiritual cowards. Listen to
what Adam said in verse 10, I was afraid because I was naked and
I hid myself. Now afraid of the God that made
him and gave him life, afraid of the voice and of the presence
of God. And that for good reason, for
Adam had sinned and had become sinful and corrupt. And please
consider the consequences of that one sin of that one man
as Paul traces it out in Romans chapter 5. Now, there are two
consequences. Number one, their natures are
now corrupt. They have fallen. They have been
polluted in their nature. And now all that are born from
them, are corrupt as well. For human nature is poisoned
in the original fountain. The well is poisoned and all
drawn out shall be poisoned. Secondly, not only were the natures
corrupt, but they were alienated from God. Here they are hiding
beneath the trees of the garden, afraid of the Lord God, alienated
being sinners, driven them out of the garden where they could
not come again. out onto an earth that God cursed
because of them. Now, some people will take this
as a myth. A lot of people do. They don't
believe that the serpent beguiled Eve. They don't believe in the
fall. They don't believe in the reality
of sin entering in by Adam and by Eve on this occasion. But
again, I'll remind us that the New Testament does substantiate
that this is fact. This is a real occurrence. Adam
and Eve tempted, they sinned, they fell, the race is corrupted. And in this little succinct account,
we have an account of how that came to pass. And it's an amazing
thing, and as I said, it's one of the most important parts of
the Bible. You can't leave this out and
be right on human depravity. and on the fall. They fell. They sinned. They were driven
out of the garden. They became afraid of God. Corruption
filled them in their nature. Yes, what a sad thing, filling
the human family with corruption and with sin.

The Serpent and the Fall

What does the Bible say about the Fall of Man?

How do we know the doctrine of original sin is true?

Why is understanding human depravity important for Christians?

What does the sin of Adam and Eve reveal about God's nature?

Sermon Transcript

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The Serpent and the Fall

What does the Bible say about the Fall of Man?

How do we know the doctrine of original sin is true?

Why is understanding human depravity important for Christians?

What does the sin of Adam and Eve reveal about God's nature?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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