A Display of God’s Mercy Amidst the Fall of Man
A Display of God’s Mercy
Amidst the Fall of Man
TEXT: Genesis 3:21-24
INTRODUCTION:
During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what, if any, belief was unique to the Christian faith.
They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.
The debate went on for some time until C. S. Lewis wandered into the room. "What's the rumpus about?" he asked, and heard in reply that his colleagues were discussing Christianity's unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, "Oh, that's easy. It's grace." After some discussion, the conferees had to agree.
The notion of God's love coming to us free of charge, no strings attached, seems to go against every instinct of humanity. The Buddhist eight-fold path, the Hindu doctrine of Karma, the Jewish covenant, and Muslim code of law—each of these offers a way to earn approval. Only Christianity dares to make God's love unconditional.
If it weren’t for God’s Mercy and Grace, we would be in an indescribably awful position. There would be no hope for any of us. Before Christmas, we began studying through the first eleven chapters of Genesis. The last message that was preached in the series was about the Fall of man into sin in chapter three. We looked at how it came about, its consequences, and how it applies to us today. We are guilty before the eyes of a Holy God. We have all sinned.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
If that is where the story ends, we might as well get up, go home, and do exactly what we want to do no matter who it hurts. That would be all we have to look forward to. However, when we come to the end of Genesis three, we see a display of God’s mercy amidst the fall that also affects us.
I. God’s Merciful Provision (v. 21)
A. God provided an adequate covering for their shame.
1. Their self-made fig leaf covering was not adequate
2. The covering provided was the flesh of an animal
a. The animal had to die in order for this covering to be provided
b. This probably conveyed the idea of sacrifice to man (which explains why Cain and Able knew to offer sacrifices in ch. 4)
* The covering provided in verse 21 is a picture of what we need.
B. God provided an adequate covering for our guilt and shame
1. God’s provision is evident through out the Scriptures
* Here are a couple of examples:
Genesis 22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
I Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
I Peter 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
I Peter 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
I Peter 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
2. Our self-righteous works are not adequate to cover our guilt before God.
* “I’m a good person.” “I try to do more good than bad.” “I’m a lot better than most people.” “I just do what is right and hope my good outweighs my bad in the end.”
Average Morality Is No Morality
Many of us are like that man who prided himself on his morality and some specific virtues and said, "I am pretty good on the whole. I sometimes get mad and speak a couple of unnecessary words, but then I am pretty honest. I work on my farm on Sundays when there's work to be done, but I give a good deal to the poor and have never gotten drunk in my life." This man one day hired a Christian to build a fence around his pasture. He gave him very specific instructions. In the evening when the Scotsman came in from work, the man said, "Well, Jack, is the fence built, and is it good and strong?" "I cannot say it is all tight and strong," Jack replied, "but it's a good average fence, anyhow. If some parts are a little weak, others are extra strong. I have left a little gap here and there, a yard or so wide, but I made up for it by doubling the rails on each side of the gap. I dare say the cattle will find it a good fence on the whole and will like it, though I cannot say it is perfect in every part." "What!" cried the man, not seeing the point, "Do you mean to tell me that you built a fence around my lot with weak places and gaps in it? Why, you might as well have built no fence at all. If there is one gap or a place where an opening can be made, the cattle will be sure to find it and will be sure to go through. Don't you know, man, that a fence must be perfect or it is worthless?" "I used to think so," said the man, "but I hear you talking so much about averaging matters with the Lord, it seems to me we might try it with the cattle."
3. Only through the blood of Jesus can we find adequate covering.
Christ's Intervention
In the sixteenth century, Oliver Cromwell ordered that an English soldier be shot for a cowardly crime. The execution was to take place at the evening bell. But at the appointed time no sound came from the belfry. Investigation revealed that the girl who was engaged to be married to the condemned man had climbed into the bell tower and clung to the clapper of the giant bell to prevent it from striking. They found her there with her hands bleeding and torn to shreds.
All of us are sinners under sentence of death. But Christ intervened in our behalf. Look at His bruised and bleeding nail-pierced hands on that cross.
II. God’s Merciful Prohibition (vv. 22-23)
A. The tree of life was in the garden.
1. Eating it brought eternal life.
2. There was no restriction to this tree before the fall of man
B. Living eternally under the condition of sin would be miserable.
* Living forever in a state of sin (even though Adam and Eve were forgiven) would have led to a miserable existence. Can you imagine living forever amidst the troubles and trials with no hope for the perfection of Heaven?
* “Although a just punishment was involved, it seems as though a deeper reason was to teach them a lesson. It would have been calamitous had they continued in a perfect environment as sinful people, especially eating of the tree of life and living indefinitely in such a condition. They and their descendants to many generations must be taught the true nature and effects of sin, and of living out of fellowship with God, so that they could eventually come to know and understand and love Him fully, as Savior, as well as Maker and Provider.” (Henry Morris, “The Genesis Record,” pg. 131)
C. In order for man to live eternally as God intended, man must be able to die.
* That is why God did not want Adam and Eve to have access to the tree of life. It was not so much an act of punishment as it was an act of mercy! Thank God for the prospect of living eternally with Him in perfection in Heaven!
III. God’s Merciful Protection (v. 24)
A. God placed Cherubims at the entrance to the garden to protect it.
* The cherubim, who are here mentioned as well-known objects, whose figure does not require description, are the ministers of the divine presence and judgment.
B. God placed a flaming sword at the entrance to the garden to protect it.
* The flaming sword is the visible form of the sword of justice, repelling the transgressors from the seat and source of happiness and life.
* With the expulsion of man from the garden of Eden, paradise itself vanished from the earth. God did not withdraw from the tree of life its supernatural power, nor did He destroy the garden before their eyes, but simply prevented their return, to show that it should be preserved until the time of the end, when sin should be rooted out by the judgment, and death abolished by the Conqueror of the serpent (3:15), and when upon the new earth the tree of life should flourish again in the heavenly Jerusalem, and bear fruit for the redeemed.
CONCLUSION:
The mother of a nine-year-old boy named Mark received a phone call in the middle of the afternoon. It was the teacher from her son's school.
"Mrs. Smith, something unusual happened today in your son's third-grade class. Your son did something that surprised me so much that I thought you should know about it immediately." The mother began to grow worried.
The teacher continued, "Nothing like this has happened in all my years of teaching. This morning I was teaching a lesson on creative writing. And as I always do, I tell the story of the ant and the grasshopper:
"The ant works hard all summer and stores up plenty of food. But the grasshopper plays all summer and does no work. Then winter comes. The grasshopper begins to starve because he has no food. So he begs, 'Please Mr. Ant, you have much food. Please let me eat, too.' "
Then I said, "Boys and girls, your job is to write the ending to the story."
"Your son, Mark, raised his hand. 'Teacher, may I draw a picture?'
" 'Well, yes, Mark, if you like, you may draw a picture. But first you must write the ending to the story.'
"As in all the years past, most of the students said the ant shared his food through the winter, and both the ant and the grasshopper lived. A few children wrote, 'No, Mr. Grasshopper. You should have worked in the summer. Now I have just enough food for myself.' So the ant lived and the grasshopper died.
"But your son ended the story in a way different from any other child, ever. He wrote, 'So the ant gave all of his food to the grasshopper; the grasshopper lived through the winter. But the ant died.'
"And the picture? At the bottom of the page, Mark had drawn three crosses."
Folks, that is the picture of God’s mercy toward us. Despite the fact that we do not deserve it, He still offers it freely to all who will receive it. Have you received God’s mercy today? Christian, when was the last time you cried out to God and said, “Oh God, thank you, thank you, thank you.”