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Tom Harding

Two Trees, Two Covenants

Genesis 2:8-17
Tom Harding • June, 14 2026 • Audio
1 Article 2,231 Sermons
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Tom Harding
Tom Harding • June, 14 2026
1 articles 2,231 sermons
Genesis 2:8-17
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.
14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 ¶ And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
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.

In his sermon titled "Two Trees, Two Covenants," Tom Harding explores the theological significance of the two trees in the Garden of Eden, namely the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The sermon contrasts the Tree of Life, representing the eternal covenant of grace found in Christ, with the Tree of Knowledge, representing the covenant of works and the law. Harding supports his points through various Scripture references, notably Genesis 2:8-17, Romans 3, and John 14:6, demonstrating that salvation is through grace alone, not works. The practical significance of this message emphasizes that salvation is conditioned solely on Christ’s perfect righteousness and His sacrificial death, underscoring foundational Reformed doctrines such as total depravity, unconditional election, and the necessity of grace alone for salvation.

Key Quotes

“The tree of life represents that covenant of grace made with Christ in that everlasting covenant of grace.”

“By the law is the knowledge of sin; the knowledge of sin is by the law. But it does not remove the sin, it exposes the exceeding sinfulness of our sin.”

“All salvation is conditioned upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s all conditioned upon Him.”

“With man it’s impossible, but with God all things are possible in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

What does the Bible say about the tree of life?

The tree of life symbolizes eternal life and grace found in Christ.

In Genesis, the tree of life represents the eternal covenant of grace that God established through Jesus Christ. This tree is in the midst of the Garden of Eden, symbolizing the life and nourishment that comes from God's grace and His provision for salvation. Jesus is the Tree of Life, as affirmed in Revelation 2:7, which speaks of believers being granted access to the tree of life in paradise, emphasizing the eternal life and sustenance that Christians find through their relationship with Christ.

Genesis 2:9, Revelation 2:7

Why is the covenant of grace important for Christians?

The covenant of grace is crucial as it highlights salvation through Christ's work rather than human effort.

The covenant of grace underscores the foundation of Christian theology, emphasizing that salvation is entirely dependent on God's grace and the finished work of Jesus Christ. It opposes the covenant of works, which requires perfect obedience to obtain righteousness. Understanding the covenant of grace reassures believers that their salvation is secure and rests solely on Christ's merit, not on their own actions. Romans 5:19 illustrates this dichotomy; through Adam's disobedience, many were made sinners, while through Christ's obedience, many are made righteous. This understanding fosters confidence in God's mercy and grace.

Romans 5:19, Galatians 3:13

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

The doctrine of original sin is supported by scripture, demonstrating that all humanity inherits sin through Adam.

Original sin teaches that all humans are born in a state of sinfulness as a result of Adam's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Scripture articulates this truth, particularly in Romans 5:12, which states that sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, affecting all humanity. This foundational doctrine explains the innate sinful nature of people, affirming that all are guilty before God and in need of redemption through Jesus Christ, the second Adam who offers salvation. The law, as given by God, reveals our sinfulness, further reinforcing the need for grace and mercy found in Christ.

Romans 5:12, Genesis 3:6-7

Sermon Transcript

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Genesis chapter two, and I wanna read verse eight and nine, and then verse 15 and verse 17. So Genesis chapter two, verse eight and nine, and the Lord God, the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. And there he put the man, there he put Adam, whom he had formed, he formed him out of the dust. Adam means red clay, red dirt. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, down to verse 15. Genesis 2 verse 15 and the Lord God took the man and notice there the reference there is Adam The Lord God took Adam and put him into the garden Now what a privilege Adam had in the garden of God in the paradise of God He put him into the Garden of Eden to dress it To serve the Lord's purpose and to keep it keep it And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat. Mayest freely eat. But one rule, one law, one law. That tree of knowledge of good, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest, Thereof, death, death, death. And if you read Chapter 3, and we'll see Chapter 3 in a few weeks, we'll get over to Chapter 3.

So I'm using for a title to the message, Two Covenants, Two Trees, or Two Trees and Two Covenants. We see here the Tree of Life. which represents the eternal covenant of grace, the grace of God and salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's that tree of life, life, everything connected with the Lord Jesus Christ is life. But think about this, we have life, spiritual and eternal life, because the Lord Jesus Christ suffered Death on the tree. He bear our sin in his own body on the tree, Peter says. The God of peace that brought again from the dead that Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep to the blood of the everlasting covenant. So that tree of life represents that covenant of grace made with Christ in that everlasting covenant of grace.

And then we have this other tree. the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil. And what does that represent? It represents a covenant of works and of the law of God. You see, it is the law of God, by the law of God, reveals and spells out what is good and what is evil. How do we know what is good and what is evil? Well, the law of God tells us, thou shalt worship no other God beside me, thou shalt do this, thou shalt not do that. He spells out what is good and what is evil. So that's what the law of God does.

It doesn't remove sin, the law of God exposes sin and shows us that we are exceeding sinful. We read in Romans 3 so many times, by the law is the knowledge of sin. The knowledge of sin is by the law. But it does not remove the sin, it exposes the exceeding sinfulness of our sin.

Paul writes in Romans chapter 8, what the law could not do, and that was weak through the flesh. Nothing wrong with God's law, it's holy, good, and perfect. What is the problem? You, me, the flesh is weak. We know by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. So the problem is we are sinners and the law of God exposes what we are.

Now as we study through the book of Genesis, our aim and our goal is to see the gospel, not to learn facts. and different things of history, and those things are there. But as we study through the book of Genesis, our aim and our goal is to see the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke writes this about the Lord Jesus Christ when he preached the gospel to those two men on the road to Emmaus. And Luke says, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them and all the scriptures the thing concerning himself, beginning at Moses.

The book of Genesis. He started preaching the gospel in the book of Genesis. The book of Genesis, as I've said in a message recently, is the seed plot to the whole Bible. Every doctrine in the Bible is laid out in the book of Genesis. In the book of Genesis, the book of beginnings, beginnings.

Our Lord said this to those Pharisees, you do search the scriptures, but they are they which testify of me. And then he said, you will not come to me that you might have life. To him, Peter says to the house of Cornelius, to him give all the prophets witness.

Moses was that prophet that God sent. What did Moses write about? You remember our Lord said, had you believed Moses, you would have believed me because he wrote about me. So what is Moses writing about here in the book of Genesis? By inspiration of God, he's writing about the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the book of Genesis, that is where the problem of sin is revealed and where the remedy also is revealed. We're gonna see that in chapter three. Look over there, chapter three, verse 15. So we see the problem revealed, but we see the remedy given too.

In Genesis chapter three, verse 15, I put enmity between thee and the woman, Between thy seed and her, this is a message to Satan. I put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Humanity, the Lord Jesus Christ, was bruised, so he is a seed of woman. Christ crucified is the remedy.

We studied recently in Isaiah chapter 7, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shalt call his name Thou shalt call his name Immanuel, which means God is with us. The messenger to Joseph said, call his name Jesus. He shall save his people from their sin. And all this was done that the scripture might be fulfilled. that his name will be called God our Savior, God our Emmanuel.

Now, we're gonna see another picture of the gospel all the way through the book of Genesis, but in Genesis chapter four, again, we're going to see the vital lesson that just two religions in this world, no matter what you, and you know, there's over 4,000 religions in this world. If you ask your phone sometime, 4,000 religions, you can boil them all down to two. Works, grace. Works, grace. And we're going to see that in chapter four.

Abel brought the blood of a substitute. And of course, when we see the blood of an animal shed upon an altar, that tells us about Christ and Him crucified. Christ our atonement. What about Cain? Cain, he brought the best he had. He brought the fruit of the ground, but we're gonna see in chapter three that the ground was cursed because of sin. So what Cain brought unto God, works of his hand and the fruit of his hand and the labor of his hand was cursed.

It was sinful. God did away with it, away with it. But God had respect unto Abel and to his offering because it pictured Christ in him crucified. Now all through the Bible, we see that laid out. We studied in Romans 11, even so at this present time, there's a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, it's no more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it's no more grace, otherwise work is no more work. It's either one. way or the other. It's not a combination of works and grace. Not at all. Now last week we pointed out how the Lord is going to deal with all men everywhere and those two representative men. Now you can't understand this too far, too much, or make too much of it. You cannot make too much of this.

In Adam, what happened? Death. In Christ, what happened? Life. The first man was made a living soul. The last man, Adam, was made a quickening spirit. We read 1 Corinthians 15, 47. The first man is of the earth, earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they that are earthy. And as is the heavenly such as they that are heavenly, as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

And we read also 1 Corinthians 15, 21. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. By one man's disobedience, Romans 5, 19, the many were made sinners. So by the obedience of another, the many were made righteous.

In Adam, what do we get? Death, sin, judgment. What do we get in Christ? The removal of our sin and justification by the grace of God alone. When Adam stood, we stood. When Adam stood in the garden before he sinned against God, we stood in him. And when that one man sinned, we sinned and we fell in him. And his sin has been charged to you. You're guilty.

God said, don't eat. You did. And I did. Well, someone might complain, well, I don't like that arrangement. I don't like being charged what Adam did. How have you done on your own? We've all sinned to come short to the glory of God, haven't we? Now, think about this. And I don't know if I've given this to you. I have in the past, but I don't know if I said this last week or not. But it's true, and it's so. Get a hold of this. Write this down somewhere. Write this down somewhere. Adam was the only man that became a sinner by sinning. Think about it. Adam was the only man that became a sinner by sinning. We are born in sin, shapen in iniquity. We come forth from the womb, estranged, separated from God, speaking lies. You don't teach your children to lie, do you? No, you teach them to tell the truth, but why do they lie? Why do we lie?

I said to someone the other day, well, the guy that was cutting my hair, he said, I'm going to give you such a haircut that you'll be the most handsome man in town. And I said to him, I said, no, let God be true and every man a liar. And that's true. Let God be true and every man a liar. I don't think he liked that too much, but he did give me a good haircut. And I did give him a tip. God is going to deal with all men in those two representative federal heads.

We got that, haven't we? We understand that, don't we? Believers are raised up from the guilt of sin in the same manner we fell, only in a different man, the Lord Jesus Christ. We fell in Adam through no fault of our own, We're raised from the dead to eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ through no merit of our own. Now, that's so. That's so. This is theology 101. This is the basics of theology. Someone said, if you're wrong in the fall, you're wrong on it all. Wrong on it all.

We fell in Adam through no fault of our own. We're raised up from the dead by the second Adam in the Lord Jesus Christ through no merit of our own. Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us. Now, all through the book of Romans is justification, justification by His grace through the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ. All through the book of Galatians, we see over and over and over again, we're not justified by the works of the law, but by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I hope we've learned that lesson. But it needs to be repeated over and over and over again. Justification by the grace of God. The wage of sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life. I quoted this Wednesday night and I wrote it down here. Someone said, a songwriter said, a preacher years ago, upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die. Another's life, another's death, I rest my hope eternally. I'd like to read the rest of that song. I might try to look that up sometime.

And we read, the law came by Moses, the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the law did come by God through Moses, and the law exposes our sin, but grace and truth came through the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember in John chapter 1 I told you the reason for grace? is grace. Of His fullness have we all received grace for grace. That is grace because of grace. So the only reason for grace, why would God be gracious to you? Why would God be gracious to me?

I'm nobody. I'm a nobody. Because God delighted to show mercy to sinners. And I'm a sinner for whom God had chosen in that covenant of grace and given to the Lord Jesus Christ. And by his stripes, I've been healed. In the Lord Jesus Christ dwells all the fullness of a Godhead bodily, and we stand complete in him. Well, that's my introduction. Now let's get down to business. Verse 8 and 9 and verse 15, 16 and 17, we see that the Lord God planted a garden and put Adam in a perfect environment, a perfect man in a perfect place.

It was paradise. Perfect garden, perfect place, perfect man. The name Eden means delight and pleasure. What a special, unique, glorious place, a paradise that Adam had. This is before sin entered into the picture in God's creation here in this garden. It was a perfect place.

God planted the garden. God blessed the man. God put him in that garden. Adam had everything he needed to satisfy his every need. He had no wants, everything was fully and freely supplied in that garden. God said you can eat of every tree, but that one, every tree you can eat, you can eat of the tree of life, it's good and pleasant for food.

This garden, too, can be a picture of God's church in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have in the Lord Jesus Christ all our need met in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have a perfect environment. We have perfect salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ through Christ and His righteousness alone. We read, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory through the Lord Jesus Christ.

We're gonna see in Genesis chapter 22, one of those seven names of Jehovah, Jehovah-Jireh, when God told Abraham to put his son on an altar and slay him and offer him up as a sacrifice unto God. You remember Isaac said, where is the lamb? They were going to worship, but he had the fire, and they had the knife, and Isaac said, uh-oh, where's the lamb? Remember what Abraham said, God will provide himself a lamb? And when Abraham tied up that lad, and put him on that altar, and that picture's Christ, bound by our sin, raised up his hand to take his son's life, God said, don't take his life. Over there caught in the thicket is a ram. You take that ram and offer him up in the stead of Isaac. I tell you who believed in substitution. Isaac. He said, thank God for that lamb. Thank God for that substitute. God said, I will provide, and he did. and God has provided for us. Everything we need in the Lord Jesus Christ's coming, in his life, his obedience, his death, his resurrection, his intercession for us, all things are fully supplied for us.

Now, in the midst of the garden were planted by the sovereign purpose and will of God these two special trees. One called the tree of life, and the other the tree of knowledge, of good, and of evil, the tree of life. The Lord Jesus Christ is called the righteous branch. He's called the true vine, the true tree. We read Wednesday night from Jeremiah 23, Behold the days come, say to the Lord that I'll raise unto David a righteous branch. and the king shall reign and prosper, and his name shall be called the Lord our righteousness. He's the righteous branch, Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. When Christ who is our life shall appear. When you think about the tree of life, When you look at that word life, what do you think of? Christ is our life. Christ is our life, more than life to me.

He's everything. Christ is all and in all. The wise man Solomon writes, blessed, blessed and happy, blessed and happy is the man that findeth wisdom, Christ. When you read through the book of Proverbs, wisdom there is Christ personified. Wisdom is Christ personified. And the man that giveth understanding, she is the tree of life. To them that lay hold upon her, happy and blessed is the man that retaineth her. So the Lord Jesus Christ is that tree of life.

Now you put a bookmark there in Genesis 2, and then turn back to the Revelation, and I want you to turn to Revelation chapter 2. Revelation chapter 2. These are the instructions to the seven churches in the Revelation, Revelation chapter two. Look at verse seven, writing to the church in Ephesus. Revelation 2 verse 7, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches, to him that overcometh I will give, and that word can be rendered grace, to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. There's that tree of life again. The tree of life again. And then turn to, notice that word there in verse 7, Revelation 2, to him that overcometh. Ah, well I give to eat the tree of life.

How do we overcome? How do we overcome? Let's see if we can find out. Turn to Genesis, I mean Revelation chapter 12. How do we overcome? Remember our Lord said this, you turn to Revelation 12 verse 9, but our Lord said this in John 16, 33. I have spoken these things unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome." How do we overcome? Those who overcome have the right to the tree of life. Thanks be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Okay, Revelation chapter 12, verse 9.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying, In heaven now is come salvation and strength, the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ.

For the accused of the brethren is cast down, which accused them day and night, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their life unto death. They overcame him by the blood, the blood, the blood of the Lamb, the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold the Lamb of God, John said, that takes away our sin.

Now, so Christ is that tree of life, and He is life to His people. He is salvation. He is the Savior. Now, I want to camp for a minute on that word life. Turn to John, the book of John, gospel of John. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.

John 3.36. Turn to John chapter 5. John chapter 5, and we'll look at a few references here. So Christ is that life. Christ is salvation. John 5 verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. Life we have in our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now a couple more places here in the book of John. John chapter 10, for example, he says in John chapter 10, verse 27, my sheep hear my voice, I know them, they follow me, I give unto them eternal life.

And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me is greater than all. No man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I am my Father, we are one. So Christ is eternal life. He gives us eternal life.

John chapter 11. Remember Mary and Martha's brother Lazarus had died? And verse 23, John 11, Jesus said unto her, thy brother shall rise again. And Martha said to him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection on the last day. And the Lord said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

Christ is that tree of life. Turn to John 14. John 14. Several times in the book of Revelation, we read about the book of life. Somebody's names are written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. And that life, that book is Christ, given to the Lord Jesus Christ, His covenant children. John, excuse me, yeah, John 14, Thomas, verse 5, Thomas said to him, Lord, we know not whether thou goest, how can we know the way? And the Lord said, verse 6, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life.

No man comes to the Father but by and through me. So can you do one more? John 17. Father, the hour has come, verse 1, glorify Thy Son that Thy Son may glorify Thee. as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, whom Jesus Christ has sent." Eternal life is to know Christ and be one with Him.

Adam was told that he could freely eat, if you look back at the text again, verse 16 of Genesis 2. So Christ ate that tree of life, and then It says in Genesis 2, the Lord God took the man, Adam, verse 15, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely eat. Underscore that word freely. Freely eat. Adam didn't have to earn his way, buy his way, pay his way. Everything was freely given to Adam. Freely given. Now I love that word freely.

And I look it up in the scripture and we read it several times. In the book of Hosea, God said, I will love, I will heal them and I will love them freely, freely. And then in Roman chapter three, one of my favorite verses, In chapter 3 verse 24, where it said, He shall justify them being justified freely by His grace through the redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you know Romans chapter 8, where it said, God who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 2. He said, we've not received the Spirit of the world, but we have received the Spirit of God that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

Now aren't you glad salvation's free? I don't have anything to... I can't pay my way out. I can't buy my way out. I can't pay off the judge. The judge is holy and just. Demands absolute, strict, holy justice. How can I pay for my sin debt? I can't. My substitute did, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then we see that word freely as we read in Revelation. Don't turn, let me just read it to you. And the Spirit and the bride say come, and let him that heareth say come, and whosoever will let him take of the water of life freely, freely, freely, freely. Everything in the gospel is free. Remember Isaiah 55, where it says, ho, everyone that's thirsty, come ye to the waters. He that hath no money, no money, come buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without money, without price. I like those economics, don't you? That's the economics of grace. Everything is free, free, free. Free grace. Free and sovereign grace.

Now, so that's the tree of life representing the way of grace, the covenant of grace, everything is free, we're justified, we're forgiven freely. And then we see this tree, this other tree of knowledge of good and evil. Verse 9 and verse 17, we see in the midst of the garden was the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil representing the law and the covenant of works. Verse 16, and the Lord God commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but one rule, one law, the tree of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day you eat thereof, death, judgment, wrath, So we see this other tree called the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The Lord God gave a certain definite command to Adam.

Do not eat of that tree. God said in the day that you do, you're gonna die. You're gonna die. It wasn't a matter of if. If you do, God said when you do, you're gonna die. Well, we all know the sad story. What happened to Adam and what happened to Eve after they partook of the fruit? They became guilty, sinful, dying creatures. Adam willfully sinned against God, disobeying God. Adam failed to obey God. Now the question is often asked, by those with curious minds, the question is often asked, could God have prevented Adam from sinning? Could God have prevented him from doing that?

Absolutely. He could have just not made that other tree and just that one tree of life. Why did he do this? For his own purpose and glory, for his own eternal wisdom, purpose, and glory of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be the glory both now and forever. God is God over all things. One old writer put it this way, and I never really thought about it in these terms.

The Lord God put Adam The Lord God gave Adam a trial of his obedience to God, under whose government he was placed. And when he was tempted by Satan, Adam disobeyed God. Who sent this trial to Adam? God did. God said, don't eat of that tree. That was a trial God sent him, and when he was tempted, Eve was tempted and she took the fruit and she ate and she said, look here, nothing happened to me. That tree is pleasant, that fruit is good and I'm eating it and nothing happened to me. And so Adam, nothing happened to her because God didn't tell her, he told Adam. Adam was the representative head. When she gave the fruit to Adam and he ate, their eyes were opened.

And they saw that they were naked and guilty before God. Death entered into them. And you know the rest of the story. You want to see it in chapter 3, how fallen Adam ran from God, tried to hide from God behind fig leaves, and then he blamed the woman. And in essence, he blamed God. It's the woman you gave me. And Eve said, well, she did the same thing. It's the serpent. But in essence, they both blame God. No, they're the guilty pair.

As someone rightly said, you often see pictures of Adam taking an apple or Eve taking an apple from a tree. As my pastor always used to say, it wasn't the apple on the tree, it was the pear on the ground. Did you get it? It wasn't the apple on the tree, it was the pear on the ground.

Now I'm not making light of it. But the problem is not with God, the problem with us. We're the guilty ones, we're the sinful ones. But for the glory of his own name, Adam's, for the glory of God's own name, will, and purpose, for his own glory, Adam sinned against God so God could show mercy by saving Adam by his grace through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We're gonna see that in chapter three. The last part of chapter 3 in verse 20 and 21. Genesis chapter 3.

And Adam called his wife named Eve because she was the mother of all living. And Adam also to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them. That's the robe of righteousness that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's called the robe of righteousness, the garments of salvation. So God, doing away with Adam's fig leaf, He gave him a proper covering, a proper righteousness before God. Imputation. Blessed is the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works.

So then to sum this up, in closing, We can sum this up, we can understand this by some measure. Now, I've got news for you. I know in part and preach in part. I don't have all the answers. These are mysterious, deep things. Now I'm going to tell you what the Lord's revealed to me, but I don't have all the answers to your questions. We know in part, Paul said, we preach in part.

Salvation, we do know this, salvation in the word of God is all according to the will of God, not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Salvation is all by the will of God, by the purpose of God. God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to God's own purpose and grace, given us in Christ through the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy.

Now, we know those things clearly, don't we? Don't ask me why God permitted Adam to sin. If I can use that word permitted, it was his purpose. It was his purpose to bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we know this too. The covenant of works. We know this too. Salvation by the grace of God. We know this too. The covenant of works or trying to earn salvation by the works of the law is always doomed for failure. It's always doomed for failure. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believe it.

If you go through the book of Galatians, and I was gonna turn and read these verses, but running short on time. I wish we didn't have a clock. But Paul said, I don't frustrate the grace of God if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Thank God he's redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, Galatians 3. Verse 13, so we see that we're not justified by the deeds of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, justified by His grace.

So there are but two covenants, that covenant of works and that covenant of grace. One conditioned upon you doing something, the other conditioned upon Christ doing everything. Now you see the difference? One conditioned upon you doing something in order to earn or merit salvation, or the other, the way of grace and the gospel of God's grace, conditioned upon the Lord Jesus Christ, His doing, His dying, not ours. You see that?

All salvation, and we've said this over the years, all salvation is conditioned upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It's all conditioned upon Him. If salvation's always determined by Him, dependent by Him, and accomplished by Him, salvation, as we often say, is of the Lord. If there's one condition I must meet and must complete, then my salvation's impossible. Impossible.

You remember the disciples asked the Lord when that young rich ruler walked away thinking he could earn salvation by what he had done. The apostle said to the Lord, well, who then can be saved? Our Lord said, with man it's impossible, but with God all things are possible in our Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Lord, we know that.

It's a spirit that quickens the flesh, profits nothing. Salvation is totally conditioned upon Christ. Someone might say, well what about faith? Where does that faith come from? Faith is a gift of God. What about repentance? Our Lord said, except you repent, you'll perish. Where does true repentance come from? The goodness of God leads thee to repentance. The Lord Jesus Christ was exalted to grant and give repentance unto his people.

And then, of course, the ultimate argument for those who love to preach a conditional salvation based upon what you do, They say, what about baptism? Water baptism. They say, well, you know, and they quote that scripture. The man that preaches before me on the radio every Sunday, he always closes his message with water and works. And he quotes that scripture. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned. Okay, he that, what? Does what? Believeth. Believeth and is baptized. Where does faith come from? It's a gift of God. See, still it's all conditioned upon Christ. Baptism is not salvation. Baptism is not salvation. And the argument always comes back. We say, well, the dying thief wasn't baptized. He wasn't baptized, and the Lord said, today you're going to be with Me in paradise.

Now let me give you this, and listen carefully. I learned this some years back. They say, those people who are watering works, they say, well, that thief wasn't under the New Covenant because the Lord had not died. That's not so. Go back and read John chapter 19. They came and they broke the legs of those living thieves and when they came to the Lord Jesus Christ, he was already dead. You see where I'm going?

So the covenant, according to their argument, well the covenant was in effect because the Lord had died. But my soul, that dying thief was elected unto salvation before the foundation of the world and his dying hour, the Lord granted him saving faith. He said, Lord, remember me. And the Lord said, okay, you're going to paradise with me because I chose you, I died for you, I've given you salvation. Based upon and conditioned upon what? Wasn't conditioned upon that dying thief. What did he do? I mean, he was a thief. He's nailed to a cross. He couldn't walk, he couldn't witness, he couldn't do anything. God saved him by his grace. That's the point.
Tom Harding
About Tom Harding
Tom Harding is pastor of Zebulon Grace Church located at 6088 Zebulon Highway, Pikeville, Kentucky 41501. You may also contact him by telephone at (606) 631-9053, or e-mail taharding@mikrotec.com. The website address is www.henrytmahan.com.
Broadcaster:
Henry T. Mahan / Zebulon Grace Church
Theology:
#Covenant Theology #Grace #Soteriology
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