Who Told You?
Genesis 3:11 "And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree, whereof I commanded you not to?"
Genesis 3:12 Adam's response to God's questions was to blame Eve for the actions which caused God's first question. He totally sidestepped the current questions and refused to take accountability for his own actions.
The Declaration of Independence states that we are 'all created equal'. It's not true, you know. Some are given more talents than others. Some are given many gifts, some only one. But all are created for one purpose and that purpose is to glorify God. But Adam and Eve's actions caused all future generations of mankind to be born into sin.
They ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. So, in one sense, we may say, Yes, we are created equal: we are all born with the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil. The knowledge of good is to do what is right, while the the knowledge of evil is to do what is wrong. This knowledge is not in the brain, but in the heart. For it is from the heart that all decisions are made. Our thought process begins in the heart, the seat of our emotions, our will, our attitude.
When Momma tells us not to touch the stove because it is hot and we could get hurt, do we listen? No. We must test her words to see if what she says is true. And we learn. Or how about this question we hear from our parents, when we tell them that "all our friends are doing it"? You know the answer as well as I do. "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" I was pretty stupid when I was younger, so I may have done that if my friends had done it. Why? At the core of any honest answer, and we must be honest, is the truth. Why do we want to to the bad things our friends are doing? We don't want to lose them. We don't want to be separated from their company.
Adam didn't want to lose Eve, either. So, he bit into the fruit from the forbidden tree. But immediately he knew he was in trouble. They both were. The decision to disobey God's Word came from his heart, because he loved Eve and didn't want to lose her. But on the other end of that rationale, he did lose something more precious than his beloved companion: Adam lost his other Beloved Companion. He lost his relationship with his God.
When sin rules our hearts and our minds, we are far from a relationship with God. Our sinfulness separates us from God's nearness. It is as if a great chasm kept us from reaching Him. So, God made a way for us to reach Him. John 3:16 tells us that because of God's great love for us, He GAVE His only begotten Son. John 3:17 tells us that God SENT His Son to be our Savior. And we needed saving by God for we cannot save ourselves. And the bridge we cross is Belief. John 3:18 "He that believes is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed on The Name of The Only Begotten Son of God."
Belief. Faith. Trust. Faith is believing God. Not just faith in what He can do, but in Who He Is. That His Word is "Faithful And True" ( Revelation 19:11).
There are times in life when we make a decision to live a righteous life, to do that which is good, to be obedient to God according to the Scriptures. And we miserably fail: every single time. Why? Because we are trying to live righteous lives without The Word living in us, nor seeking God's Word for every decision. On the surface we are good citizens of our communities; but our hearts are darkened with hidden sins. We must surrender fully to God's Word: a 180-degree turn from unrighteous, unholy living, repenting of our wicked ways and submitting 100% of ourselves to God's purposes and God's will for our lives. It is only then that we are freed from the chains of sin that have wrapped themselves around our hearts.
But to get there we need to be obedient to The Holy Spirit when He nudges us. We need to read our Holy Bibles, The Holy Scriptures, wherein we learn that we need this Holy Spirit of Whom God speaks. Who tells the unbeliever, the one who is still lost in sin, that he or she needs a Savior, when no witness is near to share testimony of the gospel of salvation? (Isaiah 65:1; Joel 2:28) God's Holy Spirit will reach out in dreams, visions and God's Word will confirm the meaning of these visitations from The Holy Spirit.
Who told you that you were a sinner? Whose hand came upon your heart and convicted your spirit? God's Word tells us we are sinners: Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10 "There are none righteous, no, not one." God's Word also tells us how to avoid the penalty of sin. Romans 10:9-13 tells us plainly that regardless of who we are, where we live, all we have to do is believe on The LORD Jesus Christ for our salvation. And when we believe, we are born again into the kingdom of God, into God's family. Now are we sons and daughters of The God Most High, YHWH.
Genesis 3:11 "And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree, whereof I commanded you not to?"
Genesis 3:12 Adam's response to God's questions was to blame Eve for the actions which caused God's first question. He totally sidestepped the current questions and refused to take accountability for his own actions.
The Declaration of Independence states that we are 'all created equal'. It's not true, you know. Some are given more talents than others. Some are given many gifts, some only one. But all are created for one purpose and that purpose is to glorify God. But Adam and Eve's actions caused all future generations of mankind to be born into sin.
They ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. So, in one sense, we may say, Yes, we are created equal: we are all born with the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil. The knowledge of good is to do what is right, while the the knowledge of evil is to do what is wrong. This knowledge is not in the brain, but in the heart. For it is from the heart that all decisions are made. Our thought process begins in the heart, the seat of our emotions, our will, our attitude.
When Momma tells us not to touch the stove because it is hot and we could get hurt, do we listen? No. We must test her words to see if what she says is true. And we learn. Or how about this question we hear from our parents, when we tell them that "all our friends are doing it"? You know the answer as well as I do. "If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" I was pretty stupid when I was younger, so I may have done that if my friends had done it. Why? At the core of any honest answer, and we must be honest, is the truth. Why do we want to to the bad things our friends are doing? We don't want to lose them. We don't want to be separated from their company.
Adam didn't want to lose Eve, either. So, he bit into the fruit from the forbidden tree. But immediately he knew he was in trouble. They both were. The decision to disobey God's Word came from his heart, because he loved Eve and didn't want to lose her. But on the other end of that rationale, he did lose something more precious than his beloved companion: Adam lost his other Beloved Companion. He lost his relationship with his God.
When sin rules our hearts and our minds, we are far from a relationship with God. Our sinfulness separates us from God's nearness. It is as if a great chasm kept us from reaching Him. So, God made a way for us to reach Him. John 3:16 tells us that because of God's great love for us, He GAVE His only begotten Son. John 3:17 tells us that God SENT His Son to be our Savior. And we needed saving by God for we cannot save ourselves. And the bridge we cross is Belief. John 3:18 "He that believes is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed on The Name of The Only Begotten Son of God."
Belief. Faith. Trust. Faith is believing God. Not just faith in what He can do, but in Who He Is. That His Word is "Faithful And True" ( Revelation 19:11).
There are times in life when we make a decision to live a righteous life, to do that which is good, to be obedient to God according to the Scriptures. And we miserably fail: every single time. Why? Because we are trying to live righteous lives without The Word living in us, nor seeking God's Word for every decision. On the surface we are good citizens of our communities; but our hearts are darkened with hidden sins. We must surrender fully to God's Word: a 180-degree turn from unrighteous, unholy living, repenting of our wicked ways and submitting 100% of ourselves to God's purposes and God's will for our lives. It is only then that we are freed from the chains of sin that have wrapped themselves around our hearts.
But to get there we need to be obedient to The Holy Spirit when He nudges us. We need to read our Holy Bibles, The Holy Scriptures, wherein we learn that we need this Holy Spirit of Whom God speaks. Who tells the unbeliever, the one who is still lost in sin, that he or she needs a Savior, when no witness is near to share testimony of the gospel of salvation? (Isaiah 65:1; Joel 2:28) God's Holy Spirit will reach out in dreams, visions and God's Word will confirm the meaning of these visitations from The Holy Spirit.
Who told you that you were a sinner? Whose hand came upon your heart and convicted your spirit? God's Word tells us we are sinners: Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10 "There are none righteous, no, not one." God's Word also tells us how to avoid the penalty of sin. Romans 10:9-13 tells us plainly that regardless of who we are, where we live, all we have to do is believe on The LORD Jesus Christ for our salvation. And when we believe, we are born again into the kingdom of God, into God's family. Now are we sons and daughters of The God Most High, YHWH.
