SIN IN THE GARDENS

GEN. 3:1-6; MATT. 26
A. IN OUR FORMER STUDY WE DISCUSSED GOD IN THE GARDENS; TODAY, I WISH TO SPEAK ON SIN IN THE GARDENS
  1. The home God had in love provided for the man He formed:
    1. Was invaded by Satan - Gen. 3:1-6
    2. It became the center where sin was born in the hearts of Eve and Adam - Rom. 5:12
  2. The garden where the Son of man frequented to commune with His Father:
    1. Became the center of the great betrayal of the Lord of glory - Matt. 26:49; Mark 14:45
    2. It was the place where the Son of man entered the shadows of agony, suffering and pain - Luke 22:44 B. LET US CONSIDER THE NATURE OF SIN IN THE GARDENS
  3. Genesis 3 makes it crystal clear that sin:
    1. The temptation to do wrong came in the form of a serpent - with guile - Gen. 3:13
    2. The insinuations to do evil are like a gliding serpent
  4. The betrayal of our Lord came in the same beguiling manner:
    1. "Hail, master" - Matt. 26:49
    2. "Friend, wherefore art thou come?"
  5. The sin in the gardens is characterized by three specific temptations:
    1. The distortion of God's prohibition; "Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in the garden" - Gen. 3:1; the prohibition of God was specific, "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it" - Gen. 2:16-17
    2. The next distortion of the truth is to weaken the divine restriction - "Hath God said?" that is the master insinuation of Satan - to doubt the word of God is to dishonor Him I Kings 13:21
    3. And from distortion and doubt there follows without difficulty a flat denial - "Ye shall not surely die" - Gen. 3:4; such is the nature of sin, creates curiosity concerning evil it creates doubt and finally leads to an open denial of truth C. A LESSON FOR GOD'S PEOPLE
  6. Stay off of forbidden ground:
    1. Had Eve not strayed away from her husband and entered the forbidden ground, Satan could not have beguiled her
    2. Wrote Paul to Timothy, "Flee also youthful lusts" - 2 Tim. 2:22; I Tim. 6:11; Examples: Samson and his temptation and downfall - Judges 16:1-20; David and his great sin against Uriah - 2 Sam. 11:2-4; Solomon - Neh. 13:26
  7. Make the "Thus saith the Lord" your defense at all times:
    1. Learn of the Master how to meet the insinuations of Satan - Matt. 4:1-12; Luke 4:1-11
    2. Watch and pray at all times - keeping your mind focused upon God's holy word - Col. 3:16-17; this was the great admonition of our Lord to the disciples - Matt. 24:42-44
    3. Had the disciples watched in prayer during the dark hours of our Lord; they would not have forsaken Him, nor would Peter have denied Him three times - Mark 14:68-72
  8. Sin is easily recognized by three specific enticements:
    1. "The lust of the flesh" - I John 2:16 - "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes" - Gen. 3:6
    2. "The pride of life" - "To be desired to make one wise" - Gen. 3:6; "Pride goeth before destruction" - Prov. 16:18; Examples: Nebuchadnezzar - Dan. 4:30-31; Lucifer - Ez. 28:12-18
    3. "The lust of the eye" - I John 2:16; "She saw that it was pleasant to the eye"; that was the downfall of many great characters; Examples: David saw Bathsheba - 2 Sam. 11:2-3; Achan and the Babylonian garment - Josh. 7:20-21; Ahab and the vineyard of Naboth - I Kings 21:1-14
  9. Sin is, in fact, Satan personified:
    1. We must ever be on guard against it
    2. None need to become a victim of sin so long as we stay away from it


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