Gen 1:26-28

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (NKJ)

God created man to know, love and serve Him in this life and to live with God forever in heaven. God placed man in a perfect environment. Adam and Eve were enjoying the garden in total innocence. They did not have to work for their food or worry about anything. It was Paradise.

Gen 2:8-9

9 And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. (NKJ)

Gen 2:15-17

15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (NKJ)

God created man to have relationship with him. He met with them in the cool of the day. They had free access to God Almighty. There were no restrictions or laws except for one. They could not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They had many, many trees in the garden. Only one tree was not available to them.

God gave them the instruction but He also gave them free will to make their own choice. You may ask, what have Adam and Eve to do with the disaster in my life today?

I say to you, “everything”.

God is good. God is Love. God is Merciful. God is caring. God wants only what is best for us. Just as Adam and Eve’s life was changed dramatically by their choices, so our lives are also governed by the choices we make. This is not to say that if some disaster befalls us we are to blame. The truth is that if sin had never entered the world, we would still be living in a perfect, loving environment, fellowshipping with God Almighty every day and enjoying the innocence of the Garden of Eden.

Let me show you:

Gen 3:1-7

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

We read that Eve was the one who listened and was fooled by the serpent. The Bible in this passage clearly states that Adam was with Eve and also ate of the fruit of the tree of good and evil. The effect was the end of innocence. They died to innocence and they immediately knew evil.

What did they do when God made Himself known to them?

for his disobedience. Is this the same thing man does today when evil comes upon him? He goes back to the garden and blames God for the circumstances that have led up to whatever tragedy has occurred. We have not come far from the garden.

Who is the real culprit in this scenario? Let us look again at the scripture.

Gen 3:1

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"(NKJ)

Satan is the opposite of God. He hates us and wants only evil to befall mankind. If we really believe God and understand how cunning Satan is, we would not even listen to him. This was Eve’s first mistake.

Gen 3:2-5

2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 "but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (NKJ)

Satan mixes a little truth with a big lie so it becomes attractive to man. The greatest sin was they believed Satan and did not trust in God’s word. They wanted to be gods themselves. They wanted to be all that God is, by their own works. This is the original sin and has been repeated in every generation since the garden.

Look at the results of sin:

Gen 3:17-19

17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it': "Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return." (NKJ)

They had a beautiful life in the Garden of Eden. Now for food, Adam must work and sweat to bring forth his daily bread.

Gen 3:16

16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."(NKJ)

Life had really changed. Why? Only one reason, sin had entered the world. Was this God’s fault or had man, by his own free will, chosen to believe a lie? Yet when they chose sin over God, He did not abandon them. Instead He chose to cover them with a skin from a slain animal.

Gen 3:21

21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.(NKJ)

This was the first time blood was shed to make a covering for sin. God killed an animal to clothe them. This was only a temporary covering as God hints at the final sacrifice for sin, which would be in the future;

Gen 3:14-15

14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

Since woman does not have seed, God is speaking of His son, born of a woman, Jesus Christ. So even this early, God had provided a way to overcome evil. He provided one sacrifice for all men, for all time. Jesus Christ, laying down His life on the cross, paying for the sin of all mankind. Does anyone ever consider the sacrifice God made in loving us so much that He made a way for us to defeat sin? What a great cost. Allowing His only begotten son to humble himself and become a man, subject to evil men, ultimately dying a cruel and horrible death for you and me.

Since man left the garden and entered the world, as we know it, man has been under attack from the forces of darkness. If we attempt to walk in our own strength and fight evil by our own means, we will fail.

I Jn 2:15-17

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (NKJ)

It is within man to desire to be in control of his own world, to be his own god. When men fight and cheat and attempt to outdo one another, they are following that sin nature that followed them out of the Garden of Eden.

It is only natural for man to desire to win. Each man wants to be number one in his own world. The problem comes in when there are no ethics in his quest for his own place. If a man is willing to harm anyone who is in his way, then the problems of the world are compounded. The key reasons for pain and evil in this world are man’s desire to win at any cost.

When a child is born, his parents must teach him right from wrong. No child is born good, having to learn to disobey. Parents must discipline children or they grow up as wild animals throwing tantrums even into adulthood. When you see an adult losing their temper over frustrating circumstances, you can be sure they were not taught restraint as a child. There is a phrase called “Road Rage”, which has only recently become a part of our language. This term means that some driver has gone berserk and used their automobile or some weapon to vent his rage. This was totally unthinkable a few years ago. It is nothing more than a tantrum behind the wheel of a car.

The selfishness of man is the root cause of most pain and suffering in our world today. There are wars and rumors of wars, ethnic hatred, mothers murdering their own children, gang wars, car chases, these are only a few of the terrors of this era, with innocent people killed and maimed, not because of God but because of sin.

Since 9-11-01, Americans are seeing how much we are hated by whole groups of people. It is a rather frightening world, filled with many people who want their own desires fulfilled.

Let us look at 9-11 and see if God was responsible for that horrible day. Who brought down the towers where so many innocent people were killed? Muslim terrorists, who believed they were serving their god, hijacked airliners and drove them into buildings filled with innocent people. What were their reasons for attacking us and committing suicide and mass murder?

1. They hate us because we have military bases in Saudi Arabia, which they

consider their holy country. They want to drive us out.

2. They hate us because we support Israel as a nation.

3. They feel justified in killing anyone who is not or will not become Muslim.

4. They believed that they were dying for their god and that they would go right to heaven as martyrs.

Our holy God would not justify the evil works of these men. The Bible tells us to love one another, for love is of God, for God is Love. What they did is the opposite of our teaching.

God made man in His image, not as robots created only to worship Him. He is love. He created us with free will to love Him by our own choice, not because it is required of us, but because of who He is. The people who killed so many on 9-11 are following their own desires to fulfill their own ends and not for love of God.

1. Could it be that man’s greed has led him to pollute the environment because it is more profitable than using cleaner methods? Perhaps dumping in rivers have polluted our water resources. All of these things have given us an enormous increase in Cancer cases.

2. If a cure for many diseases were found, Pharmaceutical Companies would lose money on the medicines they sell. This eliminates the incentive for a cure.

1. Who sells the alcohol to people when they are past the point of sensibility? Is this greed? Is man so beyond conscience that he would get behind the wheel of a car knowing his judgment is impaired? Could it be pride and selfishness?

1. Man’s pride makes him desire to prove he is above the law. Drugs and alcohol, turf and money, all figure into the equation. Human life is lost without a thought when status and money are involved.

Yet, just like in the garden, man goes on blaming God and trying to find a scapegoat for the sin he commits. Yes, if you are the mother of an innocent child slain by a gangster’s bullet, you cry out to God, Why????? There is only one answer, sin, sin, sin, sin. The evil in man’s heart will never change until man comes to Jesus Christ and bows before Him and asks His forgiveness and a New Heart that can be given only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He not only paid for our sin. He also has promised us a new life. Just invite Him into your life and ask Him to forgive and change you. He is the answer for the sin problem in the world. We will never have a perfect world until Jesus returns and conquers those who stand against Him.

Yes we will spend eternity with Jesus in the new heavens and the new earth.

To live in a world where righteousness dwells will be the end for all who follow Jesus.

John 3:16-17

16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (NKJ)

If you would like to have fellowship with God and would like to learn to be free from the weight of sin, just receive Him as your personal Lord and Savior. To do this say the following prayer with a sincere and repentant heart:

Lord, Jesus Christ

I am sorry for my sins

I know that you died on the cross for me

I invite you into my heart to be my personal Lord & Savior

Please give me a new heart so that I may be like you.

Thank you for saving me. Help me to live in a way that is pleasing to you.

Amen

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