3/11/16 Jason about 25
Two very important things happened in the early chapters of Genesis
that I rely on more and more to help explain the Gospel. Immediately after Adam and Eve disobeyed God
by eating the forbidden fruit, Genesis 3:7 says "Then the eyes of both of
them were opened, and they realized they were naked…" First, their eyes were opened to the
existence of good and evil. Adam and Eve
- and all people as their descendants - were given a conscience, an internal
"referee" that impartially informs us of the existence of right and
wrong.
This is so important to
understand in a world that more and more tries to tell us that evil is relative
to our culture or circumstances. Paul
writes of the conscience in Romans 2, how "the requirements of the law are
written on their hearts" - but I usually find it more helpful to explain
how this basic foundational truth of our conscience was established all the way
back in the beginning of the Bible, because it holds all people accountable to God
no matter what time in history that we live or our religious background.
The second foundational truth is
that Adam and Eve realized they were naked and "hid from the Lord God…"
(vs.8) I find this very important to
share because it vividly describes the affect of our sin on our relationship
with God. It marks the beginning of a
separation that leads to the eternal separation of hell. In a world where sin is thought to be
relative, where what the Bible declares to be good or evil is increasingly
declared by the world to be the opposite, hell is seen as an unjust punishment
by an unreasonable God.
But it begins
with a broken relationship. In a
sidewalk witnessing conversation this week, a young man named Jason told me
"I just don't see why any god would try to find little things we do wrong
and punish us forever for it. To me it
sounds like a scare tactic to control our behavior." Instead of taking time to explain God's
holiness and love for justice, I felt it might be more important for Jason to focus
on his broken relationship with God caused by his sin. True, the Bible says "the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom", but it also says "perfect love
casts out fear" (1 John
4:18).
I told Jason that the Gospel is
so much more than a way to avoid hell - we are offered a way to restore our
broken relationship with our heavenly Father, a Father whose perfect love can
cast out any fear.
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