A World Ruined Over a Piece of Fruit!

Have you ever looked deeply into the original sin by Adam and Eve? And I mean REALLY deep. We tend to just briefly skim the surface of events like this without really taking in what God is telling us. And yet this event of the original sin reveals amazing things about the character of God and the law of God.

If you look around you today, you will see a world in chaos. A world that by and large has rejected the laws of our Heavenly Father. And this is not even confined to the unbelieving world. The majority of professed followers of Jesus Christ also regard lightly the laws of Jehovah. Sins that God commanded us to stay away from have now been 'watered down' and are accepted as just part of our lifestyle. Lying is now regarded as just 'telling a fib'. Coveting, well we all do that right? What's the big deal? How about the sabbath day? "Ah, God doesn't mind which day I keep, even if I keep it at all!" And watching SIN on the television? Well, that's just entertainment right?

We have placed our Holy God, our Creator and Saviour into the same category as one of our 'mates'. We treat Him as if He is just one of our friends, who looks out for us and turns a blind eye not only when we go wrong, but when we openly and willing continue to live in sin. And yet if we look into the account of Adam and Eve, we see something VERY different! Let's take a look at what happened:

Genesis 3 ...'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 ... And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? ... Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? ... Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.'

Do you see what has happened here? Do you see how important God's commands are? Adam and Eve ate a piece of FRUIT which God told then not to eat. A PIECE OF FRUIT! And because of that, this world is plunged into darkness and God has to send His only Begotten Son to DIE for us in order for us to be saved from sin!

Do you see the enormity of this? Adam and Eve ate a simple piece of fruit which God told them not to eat, and they are not only cast out of God's presence into the 'wilderness', the whole world is plunged into sin and despair. So what does this tell us about our Heavenly Father and His commands? It tells us that He is not our 'mate' who just laughs off our wrong doing. It tells us that He is a holy God who means EXACTLY what He says. And that His commands are never to be regarded lightly.

Let's take an exmple from today. The majority of professed Christians today regard the 4th commandment very lightly. With MANY saying that "it doesn't matter which day we keep, as long as we keep one day out of seven." ... "I know God said to keep the 7th day, but He doesn't really mind which day we keep.". And others thinking we don't need to keep the 4th commandment at all! Are you serious?! Did you see what happened to Adam and Eve and this world over a PIECE OF FRUIT!? Did God mind that Adam and Eve ate the fruit He told them not to? Absolutely! Because He is very serious about the commands He gives us.

Isaiah 48:17-18 ...'Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.'

Now anyone who says that God 'doesn't really mind' about something He has explicitly commanded in the Bible are placing themselves alongside God, and that is idolatry. Not only that, it is the same spirit that Satan had when he proclaimed ... "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: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." (Isaiah 14:13-14). But what was God's reply? ... "Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." (vs 15)

I'm sure there will be many professed Christians on the final day of judgment when Christ returns, finding that they are lost, who will say ... "But Lord, my pastor deceived me and led me down the wrong path, it's not my fault." Will they have the right to another chance? Will the Lord accept them because they were deceived by someone else? Well, let's find out from Adam and Eve again!

Genesis 3 ...'And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat ... And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.'

So both Adam and Eve blamed this sin on someone else 'deceiving' them. But did this change the situation? No not at all, they were still cast out of the garden. And the reason being is that GOD GAVE THEM HIS WORD AND HIS COMMAND and they HAD THE TRUTH, but they took their focus off God and His truth and allowed themselves to be deceived. So they deserved the full punishment.

The same applies to professed Christians today. God has given us His true Word in the Bible. And it is in all of our power to seek and find the truth for ourselves. But if we rely on someone elses teaching, rather than finding out the truth ourselves, and end up being deceived and lost, then we only have ourselves to blame and we will deserve the judgment.

Friends, we need to take the Word of the Lord and His commands seriously. We cannot play about anymore, thinking that God will forgive us for 'assuming' that we can take His commands lightly. And we cannot depend upon others to teach us the truth. We need to find out the truth ourselves, because we stand alone in the judgment. We will be unable to put the blame on anyone else. God has given us His truth and commands in the Bible. It is down to us to live according to that truth.

So many people today think that as Christians we will continue to live in sin until Jesus returns, and that we cannot keep the commandments. And yet the Bible teaches the complete opposite. What did John say? ... "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And IF any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." (1 John 2:1) ... Did John say 'WHEN we sin'? No, he said 'IF we sin', we have an advocate in Jesus Christ. John is telling us to 'sin NOT'. Just like Jesus told the prostitute in John 8:11 and the man in John 5:14 ... SIN NO MORE.

"I can do ALL THINGS through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)

Jesus didn't come to save us in order for us to continue sinning. He came to save us FROM our sins, so that we can live victorious lives through His power and righteousness. And if we claim to love the Lord, then we should make every effort to conform our lives to His ways and commands.

Do you know that part of Satan's plan is to get us to KEEP SINNING? His original lie to Eve about eating the fruit continues today right throughout the professed church! "Oh, you can't keep God's law!". Wrong! We CAN keeps God's law, but only through the grace and power of Jesus Christ. Friends, we have to deal with sin. We have to gain the victory through Christ Jesus. Because if we continue to allow sin to control our lives, then it is sin we become the slave of, rather than righteousness, which Paul clearly described (Romans 6:6-18). And death will be the result.

God does have a people though who live obedient, victorious lives in the power of Christ. They are the one's who 'follow Christ Jesus wheresoever He goeth'. They are the one's who have 'no guile in their mouths'. They are the one's who KEEP the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus Christ. These are the 'saints of God' (Revelation 14). Are you one of them? Do you want to be one of them?

Remember, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden and out of the very presence of God over a piece of fruit that the Lord told them not to eat! Are you taking God's commands seriously?

"Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God." (1 Corinthians 7:19)