THE K I N G ’ S ,B U S I N E S S
448
And lastly, “ death passed upon all.” The fifth chapter of Genesis is h isto ry ’s testim ony to God’s tru th and the refu tatio n of th e devil’s lie. 2. On th e serpent. The curse passed upon him. He tempted Eve to ea t w hat she lusted for, and he is compelled to eat w hat he did no t want. This curse is no t removed even in th a t new age in which all th e re st of th e anim al creation shall be delivered from bond age. Isa. 65 :25 ; Rom. 8:19-22. The bruising of his head surely refers to Satan, in the serpent, no t m erely to the serpent. How the serpen t bruised the heel of “ th e Seed” on Calvary. How “ the Seed” bruised th e serp en t’s head when He stepped out of Joseph’s tomb, victor over death and the grave. 3. On th e earth . The thorns, thistles, and weeds th a t abound everywhere, and th a t m ultiply w ithou t any assist ance, adding continually to m an’s toil, are th e ever-present rem inder of the tru th of th is old story of th e P all. Our new theology m ight try its hand on proving th a t th e th istle is th e resu lt of a “ fall upw ard.” Degeneration is w rit ten in capital le tte rs everywhere and only sinful w ilfulness shu ts any m an’s eyes to it. IV. The Remedy for Sin. I t is a God provided remedy, con tained in a person. Genesis 3:15 is the first prom ise of a Redeemer, and Gene sis 3:21 is th e first type of redemption. The Redeemer is a hum an being, “ the Seed of th e woman.” Sin entered th rough th e woman, and sin shall be driven ou t by One “ born of a woman.” Death was th e penalty for sin, and th rough death, “ th e death of th e cross,” shall death be abolished. The curse of sin (d e a th ), and th e consequence of sin (n akedness), were both provided for when God clothed m an in th e skins ta k en from th e anim al sub stitu tes. The shedding of blood preceded the cloth ing in th e skins. F rom th a t day un til now God’s word stands, “W ithout
from them th a t walk up righ tly (Psalm 8 4 :1 1 ); b u t S atan is constantly denying it. S atan did not bid th e woman dis obey, b u t he betrayed h er into doing so. There were four distinct steps, or stages, in th e woman’s downfall, each one an advance on and a n a tu ra l conse quence of th e one preceding. She list ened, She looked, She lusted, She took. Do no t all of our tem ptations follow one or o th er of these lines? “The lu st of th e flesh, and th e lu st of th e eyes, and th e pride of life,” 1 John 2:16. Refuse to listen, and safety is assured. Was it M artin L u ther who said th a t though he could no t hinder th e birds from- flying over his head, he could pre vent them building nests in his hair! HL The Consequences of Sin. 1. On mankind., Condemnation of conscience. S atan said they should know evil, and they surely did to th eir, and our, sorrow . The less we know of evil th e better. See Romans 16:19. Separation from God. The guilty p air trie d to cover th e ir nakedness and to hide from God, for suddenly they had become afraid of th a t One whose fel lowship un til th en had been th e pin nacle of th e ir happiness. P rom then un til now th is has been th e relative positions of man and his Maker— man seeking to ru n away and hide, God seek ing th e runaw ay to resto re him to fel lowship and so promote and assu re his happiness in tim e and eternity. Self justification. Sin had so soon and so thoroughly broken down th e hu sb and ’s love for his wife— “bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” he had called her in those old love days— th a t he blames h is p ligh t upon her. Had S atan told them of th is beforehand would it have d eterre d them ? Would th e divorce courts be so crowded if husbands and wives had foreseen them as th e ir destination? W ork became toil, and th e labo r problem of today is th e revolt of man ag ain st th e consequences of sin, b u t th e re is no revolt today against sin, ra th e r is sin being added to sin.
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter