Original Sin Repeating Itself.
When you look at the ‘Original Sin” boil it to is smallest part, you will get one word,”Why?” Satan was not intentionally disobeying, his point was in essence, “You convince me, and yes I will do.” This made him above God as he was going to consider, obey his conclusion, or to be selective about what, or what parts of what, he was going to be attentive to, he was just going to choose, based on his thinking and reasoning. That is not Obedience, as obedience is in essence three words, “Sir,” “Yes Sir.” Imagine a military when you say left turn and some sit down, snap off a salute, do an about turn, snap a right turn, or to quickly dig a Fox Hole or whatever. Obedience is in the word, “Obey” or to carry out the instructions exactly as requested, and in the shortest possible time frame from receiving the instruction, to it being carried out and completed.
Eve was also faced with the same problem, God said, but she reasoned as found in Genesis 3:6 “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.” God said, “don’t go there,” but she said, “but it looks good and beneficial.” Shortly thereafter the perceived beneficial was a huge liability and not a beneficial asset at all, and the Devil was not there to support them, he was long gone.
When you look at thieft, adultery, murder, and pretty much all sin, you find man reasoning that there is some perceived benefits, and not a God statement of “that, my child, is a Mine Field, enter at your own peril.” Should we each spend more quality time in “The Word,” every day and were following the directions, how few short term and long term crisis and disasters would be adverted? How many skinned knees would not happen if we adopted this saying of our Saviour Jesus Christ when temptation arrived at his door, he replied, “It is written.” As one person stated it this way, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me.”
I saw an inspiring presentation on FirstLight Channel 26 on this subject, and here is a snippet, Eze 28:12-18, “The Four Sins of Pride.” Incredibly Wise, Incredibly Beautiful, Incredibly Rich, Incredibly Powerful. Look at the mayhem caused in this world, all caused by these four corrupted attributes. Messiah Jesus came to show us anything but himself, John 5:30, John 7:16. I guess that we should ask ourselves this question, “Who do we really represent?” We call ourselves “Christians,” but do we look and act more like the lost than the redeemed? Jesus came to “Show us the Father,” what do we show daily to those we live with, work with, interact with, worship with?
The Psalmist gave us this quote in Psalm 119:105 “Thy word [is] a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Jesus gave us this one in Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” And also in John 6:53 “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” You have to jump right in, total involvement.
King Saul had a hard time learning obedience, from this text found in 1 Samuel 15:22 “And Samuel said, Hath the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey [is] better than sacrifice, [and] to hearken than the fat of rams.”
This concept is found in the New Testament and here are a couple of situations, and they are very insightful.
Luke 9:59-62 “And Jesus said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Matthew 21:28-31 “But what think ye? A [certain] man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I [go], sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of [his] father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”
We are to receive this word as supreme authority. We are to recognize human government as an ordinance of divine appointment, and teach obedience to it as a sacred duty, within its legitimate sphere. But when its claims conflict with the claims of God, we must obey God rather than men. God’s word must be recognized as above all human legislation. A “Thus saith the Lord” is not to be set aside for a “Thus saith the church” or a “Thus saith the state.” The crown of Christ is to be lifted above the diadems of earthly potentates. {AA 68}
I am currently reading “Experiencing God,” and in John 5, we get this list from the authors of Jesus example: The Father has been working all along; Now the Father has me working; I do nothing on my own initiative; I watch to see what my Father is doing; I do what I see my Father doing; The Father loves me; He shows me everything that he, himself, is doing. Dear Reader, please resolve, like me, to get deeper yet into the Word, Deeper yet into a relationship with Jesus Christ, to walk the walk, talk the talk, and be doers of the word and not hearers only. “Let me comment to you my Jesus.”
