And sin entered

And Sin Entered

A major question that sits in the minds of many is the question of how sin entered the world.  Some entertain the belief that God created sin, but God is love, His throne is the habitation of Justice and judgement, and mercy go before His face (Psalm 89:14).

            What is sin?

1 John 3:4
 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

So, sin is the transgression of God’s law, or initially disobedience, correct? Does God cause men to sin? Does He cause men to disobey Him? Why would He? God is Just and merciful, He would not make any to commit disobedience. God created all beings with the gift of choice. They were created to make a freewill choice to serve Him, and all living beings did serve God with all joy and satisfaction. But, if God did not create sin, how did sin come about?

Let’s turn to Isaiah 14:
Isaiah 14:12-15
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

“So long as all created beings acknowledged the allegiance of love, there was perfect harmony throughout the universe of God. It was the joy of the heavenly host to fulfill the purpose of their Creator. They delighted in reflecting His glory and showing forth His praise. And while love to God was supreme, love for one another was confiding and unselfish. There was no note of discord to mar the celestial harmonies. But a change came over this happy state. There was one who perverted the freedom that God had granted to His creatures. Sin originated with him who, second to Christ, had been most honored of God and was highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven. Lucifer, “son of the morning,” was first of the covering cherubs, holy and undefiled. He stood in the presence of the great Creator, and the ceaseless beams of glory enshrouding the eternal God rested upon him. “Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering.... Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” Ezekiel 28:12-15. {PP 35.1}”

“Little by little Lucifer came to indulge the desire for self-exaltation. The Scripture says, “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Ezekiel 28:17. “Thou hast said in thine heart, ...I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.... I will be like the Most High.” Isaiah 14:13, 14. Though all his glory was from God, this mighty angel came to regard it as pertaining to himself. Not content with his position, though honored above the heavenly host, he ventured to covet homage due alone to the Creator. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of all created beings, it was his endeavor to secure their service and loyalty to himself. And coveting the glory with which the infinite Father had invested His Son, this prince of angels aspired to power that was the prerogative of Christ alone. {PP 35.2}”

Now the perfect harmony of heaven was broken. Lucifer began to harbor feelings of pride, jealousy, and selfishness. As time progressed, his feelings became greater and greater and he boasted to himself that He would become higher than God. Instead of looking continually to God, he began looking unto self, and sin entered.

Sin is like a disease, an awful terrible consuming disease. The more sin is allowed to dwell in the heart and mind, the more destruction it causes. The more a person indulges in gratifying self, the more the curse of sin can grasp upon the person. Lucifer was in a very great position in Heaven, he was a commander of the Angels. What God commanded, Lucifer would deliver to the angels to carry out. But, Lucifer began to doubt and question the nature of God’s perfect laws. He began to defy them in his heart, and let self reign instead. Even with all such overwhelming evidence to how good, and merciful and worthy God is, Lucifer still turned blindly away, and sin entered.

We established earlier what sin was in 1 John 3:4, that it is the transgression of God’s law, or disobedience to God. Lucifer committed transgression against God’s law and rebelled against Him, and convinced one third of the Angels to rebel with him (Lucifer was very much loved in heaven by all the Angels, and it was a very tragic thing when he fell into rebellion). One third of the angels chose to follow Lucifer, but the rest chose to remain faithful unto God. Note: Even the faithfulness of all the angels has been tested.

Since we know how sin began, how did sin enter our world?

Genesis 2:17, 18:

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.

18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

After God have created all of creation and given all for Adam to partake in, He gave Adam Specific instructions of all that he may do in Eden, and what Adam was responsible for. However, there was one thing in Eden that God had put forth their as a test of Adam’s faithfulness. God gave one specific instruction to Adam that He should not eat of tree that was in the midst of the Garden. The purpose of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil is as a test. God knew that Satan would try and tempt his Creation into falling under his rebellious tyranny, and He needed a way to make Adam’s faith grow and increase and be proved. Thus, the tree was a test to Adam’s faithful obedience to God.
 Also, God saw that Adam was in need of a help meet--a person to stay with Adam and be the meet for his help. Thus, God created Eve for Adam out of Adam’s rib, signifying that she was not from his head to rule over, nor from his feet to be trampled upon, but from his side to be under his arm and by him through all things.  This was one of the best gifts that God gave Adam.

Now turn to Genesis 3, and we will read the history of the fall.

Genesis 3:

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Let’s stop for a moment. What do we have happening here?

Where is Adam? So, Eve is walking through the garden without her faithful and wise husband with her to help protect and shield her from any wrong doings (Man was created with the same gift of choice as the Heavenly beings were, and thus were capable of deciding to turn away from God).

“Our first parents were not left without a warning of the danger that threatened them. Heavenly messengers opened to them the history of Satan’s fall and his plots for their destruction, unfolding more fully the nature of the divine government, which the prince of evil was trying to overthrow. It was by disobedience to the just commands of God that Satan and his host had fallen. How important, then, that Adam and Eve should honor that law by which alone it was possible for order and equity to be maintained. {PP 52.2}”

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

(The first lies ever uttered in this world)

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and 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.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

 The first mistake that Eve made was to wander away from Adam’s side, something of which the angels had warned her against in their communion with each other.
 Eve’s second mistake was to go near the tree which they were not to partake of, putting herself in the enemy’s territory to be tempted.
When Eve had already fallen into the temptation, she further made mistake by adding to that which God had commanded them. Eve showed her ignorance when she said that God commanded them to not touch of the fruit. God commanded them to not go near the tree, let alone touch or eat it. In this way Eve opened herself up all the more to the deceptions of the serpent (at that point, Eve was near to point of no return). In this way Satan, in the form a serpent, which was the wisest creature in Eden and a very beautiful creature in the garden, used Eve’s ignorance to her destruction. When Eve touched the fruit, she did not die, and thus she then took to eat for the serpent deceived her. And sin entered into Eden.
Adam, when Eve took fruit to him to eat, he was troubled and sad that Eve had sinned when he recognized what she came bearing to him, but against his own conscience, Adam became blinded by his passion for Eve, and disregarded the Instructions from God. Adam hastily took to eat so he would not become separated from Eve, and sin again manifested.
            Right after having committed the disobedience to God’s command, the guilt and impact of their deed began to set in. Surely, such a small sin as that could not have such a strict penalty of death and destruction? But sin is sin, no matter its condition, it is still a curse and rebellion unto God and thus the only consequence of sin is death. “For the wages of sin is death… (Romans 6:23).”

Conclusion

The lessons in this story are numerous, but one that I want to point to is the state and actions leading up to the actions of sin. With Lucifer, whilst he was yet a noble angel in the presence of God, he turned to feelings of pride and jealousy allowing self to become present. He began to question the perfect and holy laws of God and gradually in his heart set his mind to rebel against them. He desired to rise above the throne of God, a position that only the creator is worthy of. Slowly the feelings of pride and arrogance crept into his heart and he committed sin by rebelling against the Almighty God.
Eve also made decisions that led her to the fall. She and Adam had been forewarned of the history of the fall of Lucifer in heaven, and the conflict that had begun from it. Adam and Eve had been instructed to remain with one another lest the enemy should come to temp them separately. Yet, even after all the warnings and instructions, Adam permitted Eve to wander from him, and Eve chose to leave Adam which compromised both of their faithfulness. By this first action, both Adam and Eve put them in jeopardy of being tempted. Eve continued farther down the path of treading upon dangerous ground when she went near to the tree which they were instructed to stay away from. At the tree she was further digging herself deeper into danger by lingering and speaking with the serpent, which should have been enough to cause alarm, but Eve tarried until she fell.

Similarly today, we can often time put ourselves in the way of temptation. When Christ calls us, beckons us to leave off from sin and follow Him, He makes it very clear that we must surrender all to follow Him. Sin, being like a curse, clings onto the spiritual garments, and cannot be removed except by the cleansing blood and forgiveness of Christ. By repentance to Christ, we can have our sinful and stained garments replaced by the pure and clean covering of Christ. Yet, we cannot become clean if we continue to remain in Sin. We have to turn from our sins to be able to remain clean in Christ. With every temptation we must resist the urge and desire to turn to self-indulgence. But, we cannot do that upon our own efforts, we have to have the strength and enabling that Christ gives us. However, we can put ourselves in the way of danger by walking upon the ground that leads to temptation like that of Adam and Eve in Eden. There is a song known as Little feet be careful where you take me to; anywhere for Jesus, only let me do. Let us not walk in the way that is near to temptation, or that opens us up to the temptations of evil, because how can the angels deliver us strength if we go where they cannot. Trust in the Lord, and walk steadfastly in Him; be sober and vigilant, pray without ceasing, so as to not fall into temptation. Let us remember these things continually as we strive to walk with the Lord. Amen?
 

Notes:

Satan represented to the holy pair that they would be gainers by breaking the law of God. Do we not today hear similar reasoning? Many talk of the narrowness of those who obey God’s commandments, while they themselves claim to have broader ideas and to enjoy greater liberty. What is this but an echo of the voice from Eden, “In the day ye eat thereof”—transgress the divine requirement—“ye shall be as gods”? Satan claimed to have received great good by eating of the forbidden fruit, but he did not let it appear that by transgression he had become an outcast from heaven. Though he had found sin to result in infinite loss, he concealed his own misery in order to draw others into the same position. So now the transgressor seeks to disguise his true character; he may claim to be holy; but his exalted profession only makes him the more dangerous as a deceiver. He is on the side of Satan, trampling upon the law of God, and leading others to do the same, to their eternal ruin. {PP 55.1}

"If Satan was cast out of Heaven because of sin, what makes man think they can get to heaven in Sin?"