WEBVTT 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:04.240 Welcome to the program Study in the Chapel. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:07.599 God's Word is supreme in chapel ministries. 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:12.400 We consider it absolutely essential to a proper relationship with God. 00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:17.760 We study it, we love it, we rely on it every minute of every day. 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:22.960 The following program is an edited recording of the regular Bible studies we hold. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:33.679 And we decided to share these with you in the hope that you too will be able to find inspiration, encouragement, and ultimately salvation through discovering Christ in Scripture. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.600 Our intention is to travel all the way through the Bible. 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:42.719 It will be a challenging journey, one that will undoubtedly bring you to a decision. 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:48.240 Through this study, you will be faced with either believing or rejecting what God has said to us. 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:54.320 It is our intention to provide you with enough knowledge to make an informed decision about God and his word. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:04.879 We strongly encourage you to listen intently and diligently, because though at the moment you may not realize it, these things are truly a matter of life and death. 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:09.359 In fact, these are matters of eternal life and eternal death. 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:11.680 Never treat what God has said lightly. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:14.400 There's truly nothing more important to you. 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:19.040 Now join us as we seek God's will through his inspired word. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:24.159 We are still in the book of Genesis, but we are nearing the end. 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:31.840 I'm hoping next week we will be finished with Genesis chapter three, moving on to Genesis chapter four. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:37.599 Like I say every time, it doesn't get any easier as we continue to go through this. 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:52.879 I will say that as we start getting to the parts that are a little bit more contemporary to us, it becomes more like history than it does a lot of the underpinning meanings as we've had so far. 00:01:53.040 --> 00:02:06.480 So that's really what has slowed us down a lot is that we don't want to miss the details as God is laying down the foundation for us in his word about the things he's done and the things he will continue to do. 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:07.760 So let's get started. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:13.840 As I said, we are still in the third chapter, near the end of third chapter of Genesis. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:21.840 Last week, as you remember, I promised that we would take a closer look at what God's going to do about our sins. 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:24.479 So let's head over to the gospel. 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:30.960 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothe them. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:31.520 Wait a minute. 00:02:31.599 --> 00:02:34.080 I thought you said we were going to go to the gospel. 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:35.520 We did. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:38.960 Well, that that was Genesis, wasn't it? 00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:41.599 Well, Genesis is the gospel. 00:02:41.840 --> 00:02:48.800 In fact, everything God says is gospel, and I'm not just being tricky with that word. 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:52.639 It's gospel in the sense of being good news. 00:02:52.800 --> 00:03:04.800 Yes, that's what gospel means, but it's also Genesis Genesis and all of Scripture is the gospel in the sense that it's the good news of Christ. 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:11.599 Unto Adam and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothe them. 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:16.560 That's the 21st verse of the third chapter of Genesis. 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:22.240 You see, the entire Bible is in this one statement. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:26.159 In Genesis 3:21, the entire Bible is there. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:34.080 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothe them. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:39.360 On every page of scripture, God is saying the same thing. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:41.759 Sin must be dealt with. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.719 The wages of sin are death. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:54.639 I've been hammering away about this sin thing for weeks and weeks because I want you to understand. 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:59.120 The entire Bible is talking about the sin problem. 00:03:59.280 --> 00:04:06.800 And if you don't face it, if you don't acknowledge the fact that sin is a pervasive problem in the human race. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:09.759 In fact, it is the problem in the human race. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:18.000 Whether you like to face it or not, we need to understand that sin is the problem, and that's what God's word is all about. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:23.360 If you're looking for something other than the question to the answer to that question, you're not going to find it. 00:04:23.439 --> 00:04:25.199 And the Bible will have nothing for you. 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:26.879 You'll get bored and you'll move on. 00:04:27.120 --> 00:04:29.439 The Bible is about the sin problem. 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.879 As I said, God has been saying the same thing throughout. 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:34.720 Sin must be dealt with. 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:36.959 Sin must be paid for. 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:41.360 The Bible tells us the wages of sin are death. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:44.879 And God has to be the one to provide. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:46.639 That's the gospel. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:53.920 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothe them. 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:58.800 I find it impossible to pass by this short verse. 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:05.920 I find it impossible to treat this incident as just some ordinary occurrence in Scripture. 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:08.639 First of all, because there is no such thing. 00:05:08.959 --> 00:05:13.920 If something is in the Bible, it's not ordinary, it's extraordinary. 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:20.560 If something is in the Bible because it's extraordinary, we need to look at it. 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:28.319 Now let me say something that will sound obvious to some of you and ridiculous to others. 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:32.079 Everything that is in the Bible happened. 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:36.800 But not everything that happened in the Bible is as it seems. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:42.879 Now, God did indeed make coats of skins and clothed Adam and Eve. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:50.319 But when we look just a little bit closer, we find something rather remarkable. 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:56.480 This is one of the most magnificent types in all of Scripture. 00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:04.560 On the surface, this story tells us that God covered up the nakedness of Adam and Eve. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:06.000 Yes, we know that. 00:06:06.319 --> 00:06:13.680 But when we linger just a bit, we start to see something much more being said than that. 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:21.920 As we discussed some time back, the fact that Adam and Eve were naked was not their sin. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:30.399 But it's impossible to deny the fact that in the Bible their nakedness represented their sin. 00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:34.000 Now there's a difference, but no time to go into that. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:43.279 The nakedness of Adam and Eve is symbolic of their changed nature due to their sin. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:44.720 That's my belief. 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:55.279 Now, their sin is obvious to the only three people the Bible has thus far introduced us to: Adam, Eve, and God. 00:06:55.680 --> 00:07:05.600 And it turns out that there seems to be a difference of opinion as to how to deal with that sin, how to deal with that nakedness. 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:09.759 Now, this is extremely important for you to grasp. 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:17.920 Adam and Eve were desperate to mitigate the consequences of their actions. 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:22.079 So they did the only thing they could think of to do. 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:24.959 They made fig leaf aprons. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:27.360 Now, we already talked about that too. 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:30.639 Well, let's just come right out with it. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:34.480 Their efforts were a complete failure. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:40.879 Now, God never said, Well, you know, good try, but that's just not gonna cut it. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:45.199 Neither did he say, Well, close, but not quite. 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:51.680 In fact, he didn't say anything about those fig leaf aprons at all. 00:07:51.920 --> 00:08:00.879 Instead, this is what God did unto Adam also and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothe them? 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.360 I'll say it again, this is the gospel. 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:12.240 But if you read this, there are some people that follow this program, and perhaps they're not a Christian. 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:15.279 And they're saying, John, I don't even see what you're talking about. 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:21.279 If you read this without the help of the Holy Spirit, you're going to miss it. 00:08:22.160 --> 00:08:26.959 At first glance, this just looks like a fashion preference. 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:34.799 Leaf couture versus sin skin couture, forest green versus muted earth tones. 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:41.120 But Adam and Eve and God weren't just experimenting with different looks. 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:46.159 Now, listen, I'm not being disrespectful and I'm not trying to be funny. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:50.399 I'm trying to get you to look at this closely. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:57.519 I want you to regularly ask yourself why something is going on in the Bible. 00:08:57.679 --> 00:08:58.799 John, don't tell them that. 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:00.799 Don't tell them to ask why. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:01.759 That's sinful. 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:03.120 It is not sinful. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:07.200 God put this information here for a reason. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:12.799 He wants you to learn it and he wants you to understand it, and he wants you to care about it. 00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:16.960 When you ask why, it means you care. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:22.960 You see, it's the why that always tells the story. 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:29.600 In this case, why did the parties involved do what they did? 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:39.519 Well, clearly, Adam and Eve wanted to hide what they had done, but God was looking for payment. 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:41.840 They were trying to get out of it. 00:09:42.159 --> 00:09:44.720 God was trying to get compensated. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:57.440 And if you think that's a cold representation of our gentle, cloud lounging, senile Father in heaven, well, I pray the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to some truth. 00:09:57.679 --> 00:09:59.200 Sin is costly. 00:10:02.320 --> 00:10:05.279 That is the message of the Bible. 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:12.720 Sin will not just be passed away, it must be paid for. 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:20.000 And here in Genesis chapter 3, the ones who should have paid that price didn't. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:22.399 Instead, they tried to cover it. 00:10:22.960 --> 00:10:24.480 You can't cover sin. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:27.279 It has to be paid for. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:33.919 And the ones who should have paid for it, I know I'm repeating myself, didn't. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:39.279 There can be no more important statement in all of Scripture than that. 00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:42.399 It applies to you. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:49.600 The entire Bible is telling the same story over and over again. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:55.679 The ones who owe a debt can't come up with the required fee. 00:10:56.639 --> 00:11:05.039 And because he knew the debtors didn't have the price, God provided a substitute. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:10.240 Sin wasn't going to be forgotten. 00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:12.720 It couldn't be, it never will be. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:21.759 Those fig leaf aprons that Adam and Eve hoped would do the trick didn't really do anything. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:22.799 Do you know why? 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:26.480 Because there was no blood. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:35.200 This theme will be repeated throughout the rest of the Bible, but it's only being introduced here. 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:39.759 The price of sin has never and will never change. 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:45.840 Of course, that fact doesn't seem to stop us humans from trying to change it. 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:50.080 Well, can I can I pay my way out? 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:50.639 No. 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:52.240 Can I pray my way out? 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:52.639 No. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:54.159 Can I confess my way out? 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:54.720 No. 00:11:57.679 --> 00:11:59.200 Something must die. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:02.960 Either you or a substitute. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:11.759 In this case, either Adam and Eve were going to die, or by God's choice, a substitute. 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:13.919 That is the gospel. 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:22.080 God makes clear there can be only one way to pay for sin. 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:24.720 Doesn't matter if you find it gruesome. 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.600 Doesn't matter if you find it unfair. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:28.960 Doesn't matter. 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:34.000 You may think you can be good enough. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:43.919 You may think you can give enough, smile enough, preach enough to pay down that price, but until blood flows, the bill will go unpaid. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:45.440 Oh, you're making that up. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:50.960 Am I Leviticus 17, 11? 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:57.039 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, but that's not the end of it. 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:03.919 And I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement. 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:05.360 You know what an atonement is? 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:06.960 A covering. 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:16.480 To make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:19.600 There's no some other third thing. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:21.679 There's no some other second thing. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:25.039 It's blood. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:31.519 Now though those of you who know your Bible saw the Leviticus 17.11 reference coming. 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:43.360 The book of Leviticus can be considered the codification, the official written version of some of the things God considers necessary. 00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:51.440 Leviticus 17.11 tells us exactly the currency for compensation for sin. 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:53.759 Is it me on my knees? 00:13:54.000 --> 00:13:54.240 No. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:55.840 Is it me going to church? 00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:56.480 No. 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:03.360 Is it me listening to gospel music all day long in my kitchen and while I cook and me singing along? 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:04.159 Can I do that? 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:04.799 No. 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.159 It's not there in Leviticus 17, 11. 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:08.799 What's there? 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:09.519 Blood. 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:14.080 It's the blood that's the atonement of the soul. 00:14:14.240 --> 00:14:15.279 That's what God said. 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:17.840 Blood is the atonement for the soul. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:26.799 When God slew those animals, they bled to death to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:30.000 They wanted to cover it. 00:14:30.320 --> 00:14:32.159 God wanted it paid for. 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:36.559 And that is why Genesis 3.21 is here. 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:43.279 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and close them, clothe them. 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:45.600 That's all this statement is here for. 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:55.279 It's here to lay the groundwork for the universal truth that only through the death of another, and not just any death, by the way. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:58.639 You can't squash a bug and hand it to God and say, there's death. 00:14:58.720 --> 00:14:59.519 There you go. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:05.519 This has to be a death that God provides and approves of. 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:14.399 It is only through the shedding of the blood of God's choosing, of God's approval, that redemption is possible. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:15.840 Why does he get to do that? 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.080 Because he's the one that's offended. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:35.120 If somebody rams into your car in the parking lot of the giant grocery store, the bumper falls off, he comes up and says, here's a bunch of coupons for my aunt's hair studio. 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:35.919 That should cover it. 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:37.200 No, no, it isn't. 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:39.679 We need to exchange insurance. 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:49.120 Let me ask you, is it not one of the functions of skin to keep the blood in? 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:59.919 Well, since we all know the obvious answer to that question, you must realize that when God made those coats of skin, blood was shed. 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:01.120 I'll say it again. 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:04.159 It was shed for one reason. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:05.200 Well, two. 00:16:05.759 --> 00:16:10.559 Reason one, to pay temporarily for the sin of Adam and Eve. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:13.200 No time to get into that, but it was temporary. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:21.600 And reason number two, to demonstrate to you and me what God requires from a sinner. 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:23.120 Okay, there's three. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:25.600 And this is the most important one. 00:16:25.840 --> 00:16:33.279 The blood of the animals slain for the sin of Adam and Eve is teaching us a lesson. 00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:43.840 It served as a type and shadow of the blood that will be shed on Calvary for the exact same reason to cover sin. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:50.480 As long as sin has been present, the blood as payment has also been present. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:56.080 No one can argue with God that the price has ever been anything different. 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:08.000 As soon as sin entered into the human race, blood had to be shed so that no one, including the devil, could say, Well, you didn't ask for blood before. 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:09.039 We didn't know. 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:15.279 Everybody knows that God requires blood for sin. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:21.440 That's the universal truth of the Bible. 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:33.599 Now I'm certain I have failed to communicate the significance of this moment, but I'm trusting the Holy Spirit will fill in the gaping holes in my abilities so we can keep moving. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:37.119 We're closing in on the end of the chapter, verse 22. 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:50.880 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil, and know lest he and now lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:18:00.480 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden till the ground what from what to till the ground from whence he was taken. 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:13.519 So he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree tree of life. 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:19.839 Truly one of the saddest passages in the entire Bible. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:24.160 Everything from that moment on changed. 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:29.920 Now try to imagine what that first night must have been like. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:35.039 For all of Adam's life, however long that may have been to that point. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:38.640 Some say Adam was only a few days old by this time. 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:42.640 Some say many years had passed before this fateful day. 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:44.799 I say it doesn't really matter. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:55.119 What happened to Adam, the banishment from the garden, listen to me, was something Adam was not at all prepared for. 00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:56.880 It's not his fault. 00:18:57.359 --> 00:18:58.880 He didn't fall short of that. 00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:04.799 He didn't fall short of his ability to deal with anything outside the garden because he wasn't designed to. 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:08.319 Human beings were never meant to be on their own. 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:10.000 You say that a lot, John. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:12.799 I'll be saying it a lot more. 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:23.599 I'm trying to obliterate in your mind any idea that you have even the slightest chance of survival without God. 00:19:25.039 --> 00:19:29.039 You may fancy yourself a loner, but that's just fantasy. 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:31.920 There's truly no such thing. 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:42.079 We were designed to be dependent on God, and that cannot be undone. 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:49.359 So when Adam and Eve were expelled, it was nothing short of terrifying for them. 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:58.000 Now let's be clear God never intended to completely separate himself from mankind. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:19:59.200 How could he? 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:03.119 To do so would be giving in to the devil. 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:12.240 To wholly and permanently cast aside Adam would mean that God had to admit defeat, and that's never going to happen. 00:20:12.880 --> 00:20:16.240 No, God didn't cut Adam off completely. 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:19.920 Besides, if he had, none of us would be here right now. 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:24.319 There is no survival for man without God. 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:31.680 Nevertheless, Adam was still in a situation he was not prepared for. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:38.400 He had been banished, and nothing seemed familiar anymore, nor would it ever. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:46.480 A life of comfort and care had turned into a life of danger and isolation. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:51.680 And that first night must have been indescribably frightening. 00:20:53.839 --> 00:21:02.400 Certainly, Adam and Eve couldn't have gotten very far that first day, so I would imagine they could still see the garden. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.359 But it may as well have been a million miles away. 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:06.799 I'm sure it felt like it. 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:19.359 And whenever they gathered the courage to look back as they got further and further away, they must have felt the impact of what they had done. 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:23.200 And they must have said, I just wish I hadn't done that. 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:38.880 You know, I believe if we spent more time in our churches talking about sin and its impact, we would no longer have Sunday service attendance problems. 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:48.160 You know, a lot of people like to criticize the Catholic Church, but the Catholic Church is still stuffed to the gills because they don't let up on this sin issue. 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:56.160 Their churches are packed because the people that go to Catholic Church know they need to go there. 00:21:56.799 --> 00:21:59.759 Protestant churches, evangelical churches are empty. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.240 Because we've stopped teaching them about the impact of sin. 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:06.559 Sin's taboo now. 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:08.319 Everything is acceptable. 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:09.920 Everyone is okay. 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:14.880 We've forgotten how ugly sin is. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:20.079 We no longer hear about this banishment due to sin. 00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:21.920 So we don't think about it. 00:22:22.960 --> 00:22:26.480 And because of that, we feel safe. 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:32.720 We no longer feel like we need to sew fig leaf aprons and hide in the woods. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:35.839 We no longer acknowledge the danger we're in. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:39.680 So what's the point of going to church? 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:41.839 Who's got nothing for me? 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:48.319 In fact, we've been told this entire story is nothing but fantasy. 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:54.720 So instead of finding our way back to the one true paradise, we try to make our own. 00:22:56.720 --> 00:23:01.039 And we're no better at it than those two first humans were. 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:10.640 And since we don't know that story anymore, we just go on with our own inadequately fig-leaf draped lives. 00:23:15.119 --> 00:23:19.759 Now, before we go, let me address some specifics in verse 22. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:20.960 Let me read it again. 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:27.519 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become as one of us to know good and evil. 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:33.839 And now lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:40.160 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:45.519 This is a very difficult statement to unpack. 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:48.240 Most Bible scholars will admit that. 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:54.799 Now the temptation is just to pass it by, but I think I promised you we wouldn't do that. 00:23:55.039 --> 00:24:02.880 I told you that just because a verse or some portion of scripture is unclear, that we wouldn't pretend it wasn't there. 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:06.799 Even if we just looked at it and said, we don't know. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:09.440 In fact, that's what I'm going to say here. 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:10.559 I don't know. 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:19.519 And from my research, there aren't many who do, and even fewer who will admit that they don't. 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:24.240 Yes, there are theories, there always is. 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:30.400 Some claim that God is actually being ironic, sarcastic, even. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:33.839 They say that God is mocking Adam. 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:45.680 The sinners there, greatly humbled before God, terrified, covered in the skins of an animal, maybe bent over, maybe still the blood dripping off the skins. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:48.000 It's not a pretty sight. 00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:54.559 The claim is that God, with this statement, is just rubbing it in. 00:24:54.720 --> 00:25:00.720 Oh, look at that guy who thought he could be like us, looking all defeated and humiliated. 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:04.079 That's what you get for trying to reach above your station. 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:07.680 I mean it when I say people think this is what God is doing. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:11.200 What do you have to say for yourself, little God? 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:27.519 Some very prominent scholars and commentators hold to this theory, saying that God was needling Adam to get him to feel the humiliation of his failure deep down. 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:32.799 Now, of course, none of these men are suggesting that God's just being petty. 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:50.559 They're saying that God was just figuring that somehow this sort of humiliation would speed up Adam's repentance, that this taunting will hit Adam so hard that he'll never do something like this again. 00:25:58.559 --> 00:26:03.119 For one thing, this would be completely out of character for God. 00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:08.000 Nowhere else in the Bible do we see God behave this way. 00:26:08.240 --> 00:26:17.119 And listen, God had a lot of bad characters to deal with, and not once did he resort to taunting and teasing to get his point across. 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:27.680 And besides, Adam, as I've told you, is my opinion, does not appear to rank very high in the list of biblical bad guys. 00:26:28.640 --> 00:26:33.279 I mean, there just doesn't appear to be a need for such a thing. 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:40.319 Though he stuttered a bit, Adam was completely contrite about what he had done. 00:26:41.119 --> 00:26:46.480 Even showing tremendous poise and faith in the face of God's punishment. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:48.400 We talked about that last time as well. 00:26:48.480 --> 00:26:49.680 I'm not going to repeat it. 00:26:51.119 --> 00:26:55.680 Now, there are other theories, but let me just state what I think. 00:26:56.000 --> 00:27:01.759 Because remember, I said I wasn't sure, so this is what I think is going on. 00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:19.359 Now, with a not a whole lot of evidence, I'm leaning toward agreeing with the scholars who believe that this translation is actually awkward and misleading. 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:24.240 And what's really meant here is that God is saying something like this. 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:37.599 Sin had taken away God's glory from Adam's life, and he was indeed a pitiful sight. 00:27:39.200 --> 00:27:41.920 God is acknowledging the fall. 00:27:49.680 --> 00:27:53.920 We created him to be like us, and that doesn't look like us. 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:59.119 He's pointing out how far down Adam has tumbled. 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:12.559 Now, in my opinion, this explanation sort of puts the statement in a different order, one that seems to actually fit the circumstances. 00:28:13.759 --> 00:28:18.319 God was looking down on Adam in mercy. 00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:24.960 It was going to have to be punished. 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:31.839 But as we're told in other parts of the Bible, God doesn't take any pleasure in doing so. 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:41.920 And in this case, it's likely that God was doing something very practical and very merciful. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:43.279 Listen to me. 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:55.759 I think God took away Adam's access to the tree of life so that he, so that Adam wouldn't stay in this miserable state forever. 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:12.799 So that mankind would not live an unending, sin-stained life in this body. 00:29:13.039 --> 00:29:14.799 And that's the key. 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:18.640 It's the body that's been corrupted by sin. 00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:22.160 In fact, that's why that's why we have to get a new one. 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:23.839 That's what the Bible tells us. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:27.359 We'll get a new body because this one is corrupted. 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:32.799 The sin, sin corrupted this body, and God didn't want it to live forever. 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:35.680 He wants the soul and spirit to live forever, sure. 00:29:35.839 --> 00:29:37.920 But we need a body to transport us. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:38.880 We're not like God. 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:42.000 God doesn't need a body to transport himself around. 00:29:42.160 --> 00:29:44.640 We need a body to transport us around. 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:48.720 I hope you all realize that nobody is going to be a ghost. 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:53.839 You're going to have a body, but this one's corrupted with sin. 00:29:54.079 --> 00:30:02.319 And God was not going to allow humankind access to that tree because if he did, this body would never die. 00:30:02.480 --> 00:30:03.759 It has to die. 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:18.079 We wouldn't otherwise be able to get a new one if we still had access to the tree of life, which would have kept this corruption going forever. 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:24.079 Paul says we must exchange this corruption for incorruption. 00:30:24.400 --> 00:30:29.599 God facilitated that by banishing Adam from the presence of the tree of life. 00:30:29.759 --> 00:30:34.480 As I said, not a lot to go on, a lot of speculation. 00:30:34.559 --> 00:30:46.240 And I'm going to say I'm not 100% sold on the idea, but it sounds more logical and more like God of the rest of the Bible than any of the other suggestions. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:47.839 God's not cruel. 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:51.119 In fact, God knew what Adam was going to do. 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:53.839 He knew Adam was going to sin. 00:30:54.079 --> 00:31:05.680 And God doesn't need to resort to, well, the type of tactics we would resort to in order to right the wrongs of a man who's failed us. 00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:10.559 Not sure we solved anything, but there you have it. 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:13.680 I encourage you, by the way, to study it for yourselves. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:14.640 All right. 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:21.039 Next time, if God wills, we will finish chapter three. 00:31:21.279 --> 00:31:24.799 And let me warn you, that lesson will not be short like this one. 00:31:24.880 --> 00:31:29.440 I know it's not necessarily been short, but next week is going to be a little bit longer. 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:32.079 It usually is when we have to finish up a chapter. 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:33.200 So I'm just warning you. 00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:34.880 Anyhow, see you then. 00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:39.920 We hope this study has blessed you. 00:31:40.160 --> 00:31:50.079 God's word is a great treasure, and it's our belief that a thorough, purposeful study of it will bring all of God's children to an understanding of his eternal plan of redemption. 00:31:50.720 --> 00:31:53.839 It is our prayer that this will be so for all of our listeners. 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:56.000 Please join us again soon. 00:31:56.240 --> 00:32:00.400 New content is being added all the time, so make sure you check back often. 00:32:01.200 --> 00:32:11.839 For more information on Chapel Ministries, including our YouTube channels and podcasts, please visit www.chapelonthew.com. 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:19.680 And if God has waited upon your heart to share materially with us, we encourage you to follow the links to our Secure Giving page. 00:32:19.920 --> 00:32:24.960 Please note, Chapel Ministries is not an IRS registered nonprofit organization. 00:32:25.119 --> 00:32:28.400 And your donations to this 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