Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”  “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:2-4 NIV).

The first incidence of lying or making excuses for their actions we have recorded in scripture was that of Adam and Eve who told God I heard you walking in the garden but I was afraid because I  was naked so I hid (Gen 3:10).  Their act was not one of blatantly lying but it was a concoction of rebellion borne out of deception. Therein lies the problem for all of humanity, deception, half-truths and covering up are part and parcel of our psychological DNA. 

The problem with deception is that of hiding. Adam and Eve believed the serpent, swallowed the fruit of deception and ended up hiding from God. When we realise that we are wrong the default option is to hide. Rather than facing the problem, repenting and beginning the process of reconciliation we would rather hide. Along with the need to hide there is also the desire to cover up.  Adam did this by using fig leaves to cover their nakedness. Again we see that our attempts to cover our exposure are quite futile, and it was God who shed the blood of an animal to cover them properly (v.21).

From this account there are several things that we can learn as 21^st century Christian.

1. When we come to God remember that we have the propensity to fail.  However, when this happens, do not hide or cover it up because as Jesus told us “whatever is hidden will be exposed (Matthew 10:26).”
2. Our attempt to cover our nakedness ourselves will still leave us partially exposed. It is only God who can completely cover us. This is achieved by the shedding of blood. God killed a goat or a lamb and used its skin to cover Adam and Eve; today we are covered by the blood that Jesus, the Lamb of God, shed on Calvary. And that blood has never lost its power.
3. When we fall, do not be wrong and strong; come back to God by confessing the wrong done to a mature sensitive leader and go through the process of being restored. It is not God’s intention that any of us should perish but that we all should be saved from the wrath to come.

So today, do not cover up, fess up, lay it all on the altar and allow the blood of Jesus to cover all our sin and reconcile us back to God. Lies are contagious!

Read Genesis 3,  Matthew 10:26-33