“Sin and Consequences and Believe”

January 3, 2024

January 3, 2024

Read Genesis 3, Psalm 3, John 3

Genesis 3 describes the fall of humanity. Sin is real and so are the consequences. People often make little of sin. We compare ours to others, we minimize our own and point the finger at everyone else. After God confronted Adam and Eve in the garden, the blame game started. Each one pointed the finger at the other. Adam not only blamed Eve, but he even threw some shade toward the Lord with “the woman you put here with me…” v. 12. If you have ever been around children, you know this is par for the course, but sadly adults do not respond much better. Each one had their own consequences, each consequence was different, but related to who they were and the role they had. We must learn to confess our sins. It starts with acknowledging that we are sinners (Romans 3:23) and we need to act where we cannot.

Satan is also real. Here he is disguised as the “serpent” whose sole plan is to mislead and cause doubt to enter the picture. The first four words from his mouth were, “Did God really say” v. 1. According to the latest Barna worldview survey’s, most people who identify as Christians do not believe in a literal Satan.

Four out of ten Christians (40%) strongly agreed that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil.” An additional two out of ten Christians (19%) said they “agree somewhat” with that perspective. A minority of Christians indicated that they believe Satan is real by disagreeing with the statement: one-quarter (26%) disagreed strongly and about one-tenth (9%) disagreed somewhat. The remaining 8% were not sure what they believe about the existence of Satan.[JW1] 

If Adam and Eve could not fend off the temptation of the servant what hope is there for us? Although we are like Adam and Eve; descended and designed in like manner we have hope. The solution for us all, one Adam and Eve would not see, was hinted at in the Garden when God pronounced his judgment on the serpent. “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heal” v. 15. A future single male descendant of Eve’s would crush the serpent one day. We know now looking back that Jesus was this promised deliverer.

In Psalm 3 we read a psalm of deliverance. David wrote it when he fled from his son Absolom who was trying to take the kingdom away from his own father. In the midst of trouble, David would call on the Lord and trust that God would be “a shield around me” v. 3. Even when David was in the minority and only had a few hundred men, when he was protected by the Lord, he was confident in God’s deliverance.

One of the repeated words and theme in the Gospel of John is the word “believe.” It is used 98 times in the fourth gospel and only 56 times in the remaining 26 New Testament books. John 3 is a much beloved chapter in the Bible. It contains John 3:16 where Jesus tells Nicodemus “that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Let’s not forget the grace gift that God gave to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. He “made garments of skin” for them and covered their nakedness. The implication is that an animal had to be sacrificed to provide the skins for them. This was just the beginning of the sacrifices that would have to be made for everyone going forward who sought forgiveness. Jesus came to give us the ultimate grace gift by giving his life on the cross for our sins. Jesus death on the cross was the final sacrifice that was made for the sins of all humanity.

What else sticks out to you in these chapters? What words or phrases catch your eye? Add your thoughts below.

 [JW1]https://www.barna.com/research/most-american-christians-do-not-believe-that-satan-or-the-holy-spirit-exist/

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Posted by John Weldon

Why I believe

September 28, 2011

Why I BelieveStarting off from the gate I want to summarize why I believe, what I believe about the existence of God and my faith in the Christian God of the Bible, and His incarnate name given in the New Testament, Jesus.  This blog is meant to be a general one and I will spend the next months and years breaking it out piece by piece so that it can be swallowed and enjoyed bit by bit.

After studying many of the worldviews through books, articles, talking with people in person, I have concluded that my Christian world view is the most comprehensive, complete, and logical worldview of all the many different worldviews including atheism.  While it still holds some difficulties and challenges, it stands tall over all the other worldviews.  In no particular order, here is Why I Believe…

1. Faith.  Yes Faith, there is a dual definition of faith floating out in the sea of apologetics, in short a blind faith and a Biblical faith.  I will explain this in greater detail in a soon coming post, but in short I believe Christianity takes and uses both those types of faith. I am convinced that most people do not understand the true definition of Faith.  Hebrews 11:6 says “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

2. Creation.  When I examine the world in which I live, I see evidence for a beginning of the universe, I see intelligence, and a mind behind the matter.  I have not found any answer in the material world that points to other trustworthy conclusions.

3. The Human Mind and Soul.  Why are we conscience? Why are we special?  Why do we have the ability to reason and think?  Why do we have  moral absolutes?  How do we judge what good and evil is?    In a world without God, these things are not possible.   The Bible describes the human condition perfectly.

4. The Bible.  The Bible makes the bold claim to be written  inspired word of God, but should we just except the Bible as God’s Word, because the Bible tells us so?  The Bible is a reliable book that is written in many different styles, by more than 40 authors, on 3 continents, over a period of about 1,500 years.  It is the most unique book ever written and for centuries it has stood the test of time and scrutiny by many.  When you compare the Bible to all other religious books, the Bible stands tall.

5. Historical Jesus.  Jesus was a real person, despite the constant attempts to blur the evidence.  But, Jesus made some bold claims about who He was and what His mission was about.  There are many sources, outside of the Bible that confirm the existence of Jesus and record some of the claims He made that are in the Bible.  Christians can even exclude even the evidence of the Bible and some of the other questionable secular documents and still make a case for Jesus existence, that is solid.

6. The Church. Yes, the church.  I realize that sometimes the church (people) can look pretty bad and can be rather disappointing, but the church (the people) has also made some great strides and impacts in the world in where we live.  Christians have been of the forefront leading the charge in several advancements for good in our world.  Slavery, Women’s rights, and even Science.

7. Religion.  Religion is mans attempt to come to God.  Religion shows how we have a yearning to get to God, just like we have a desire for food or procreation.  God gives us a desire that can be met by Him just like finding food and companionship.  Even though many people have wrongly been lead into believing in something that they haven’t researched, the desire for God is there.    I have always preferred the phrase, relationship over religion.

8.  The Empty Tomb.  Perhaps the greatest evidence for my belief.  The resurrection is key to Christianity.  Without it, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14 , my faith is in dead.  When you examine the evidence for the resurrection you are not left with any other choices that make any sense at all.  Jesus made claims that would rise from the dead, something that  charlatan would not dare to do.

9. Personal Experience.   I realize that my own personal experience is not as strong a proof as some of the other items listed above.  For example, I could say that God answered a prayer request of mine, a Mormon could say the same thing.  Some personal experiences are subjective.  But, this doesn’t mean I should throw out the personal experience all together.

Let me stop you before you start to pick apart these individual items by saying that no single one of these proves anything.  No, I cannot in a denotative way point to God and say “see, there He is” like I might point out Bob who fixed my car or Larry who made me a sandwich.  (I will address why I think that this is perfectly how God designed it to be in a later post.)  Let me point out that each of these individual areas lead or point to a particular conclusion that God does exist, and that Jesus is who He claimed to be.  It is the sum of the conclusions that add up far better than any other worldview.  Biblical Christianity uses all the different methods of science, philosophy, reason, and reality to build a strong case for a Christian worldview.  No other worldview can claim that which Christianity does, they either fail in arguments in one or more areas by contradicting themselves or by not being able to produce the evidence that Christianity does.

If you are searching for answers, and want to start looking at different worldview, that is great, can I offer a suggestion?  Start with Christianity.  There is something about Jesus that most of the other major worldviews want to include him in their teaching.  To Muslims, Jesus was one of 28 prophets, In Hinduism Jesus is a good moral teacher, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons view Him as the Son of God, by which we can earn our salvation.  Jesus is the central feature in Christianity, not only because of his teachings but because of who He is, and claimed to be, God.

As always, questions, comments, and discussions welcome.  I am looking forward to the breakdown of these items that I have listed above.  In my next few posts I will give some basic information about apologetics and lay a foundation and order down for looking at the evidence piece by piece.

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Posted by John Weldon