THE WORLD IS IN REBELLION AGAINST GOD

While the world was created to be in subjection to God the facts of the matter reveal the sad reality that man from the beginning did not maintain this relationship with God. The account of the creation of man also gives testimony to the account of the fall of man. Adam and Eve disobeyed God's commandment and took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Before looking at the nature and consequences of this sin it may be helpful to consider the cause of this tragic failure.

The scriptures reveal that Eve was led to question and doubt the wisdom and goodness of God and to test the authority of God. Being told by the serpent that she would not die as God had warned her and led to believe that God was withholding some good thing from her she succumbed to temptation and broke God's commandment. Furthermore she convinced Adam to do the same and He too broke God's commandment.

(Genesis 3:1-6) Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" {2} And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; {3} but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'" {4} And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die! {5} "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." {6} When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

The lesson to be learned is that God must be trusted and obeyed in all things. All God's commandments are for man's good and God will not withhold any good thing from His creation.

(Psalms 84:11) For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Furthermore, the warnings that God gave to Adam and Eve concerning the consequences of disobedience were in the end found to be accurate. The death God had said would come did in fact occur and continues to this day. Many today still do not take seriously the warnings that God has given to this world in His word. Tragically, like Adam and Eve, those who continue to ignore His warnings will one day reap the inevitable consequences of their disobedience as they will face the certain judgment that God has declared will come on those who reject the truth and disobey the gospel.

Learning from the mistakes of Adam and Eve we today must be thankful and content to be living in God's will and keeping His commandments knowing that God will not deprive us of any good thing and that obedience to Him is for our good and that of our neighbor. Much if not most of the misery in the world today is a direct result of man living in disobedience to God. The pain and unhappiness we find in our lives at times is a result of our waywardness. The key to finding true happiness is in learning and doing God's will.

Please continue to the next topic to learn more about the nature and consequences of sin.