Scripture Transcript:

Have you ever seen an object photographed under a scanning electron microscope? When you look close up, even ordinary objects appear like something from another world. The soft wings of a butterfly are layers of tiny scales, the edges of a seemingly smooth razor blade are revealed to be jagged and rough, like a broken mountain range. From a distance sin looks smooth, but under God’s light it is jagged and sharp.  We can learn a lot if we zoom in and look carefully. 

For example, we often hear people say Jesus died and rose again to deliver us from sin. We do not think carefully enough about what that really means. The joy of our salvation and the rejoicing in our salvation are often diminished because we do not truly understand what it means that apart from God’s grace in Christ, we are sinners. So, this morning let’s put sin under the microscope. Let’s look honestly at our sin, not that we be crushed, but that we be astonished by the grace we have been shown in Christ.

To do that, we will use the first human sin as a mirror to show us the pattern contained in every sin we commit. We are not coming to judge Adam and Eve, but to use them as a reflection of our own hearts. I don’t want us to leave here today thinking about someone else's sin, but our own. I don’t want us thinking of sin as a concept, but as a reality in our own lives. Most of all, I pray we will see the amazing depth of God’s grace toward us in Jesus providing salvation from it.

In Genesis 3:1–6, we read:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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.” 6 So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 

You may be familiar with these famous verses we just read. Satan, through the serpent, attacks the character and word of God. The woman is deceived, and rather than protecting her and obeying, the man follows her into sin. They choose to believe the lies of the devil rather than trusting God and thus plunge humanity into rebellion and a curse. Shame and guilt set in immediately, shown in how they cover themselves and try to hide from God. The innocence and intimacy with God is broken and things will never be the same. 

What I want to focus on today is verse 6. I want us to look at the act itself and meditate on what is happening there. 

6 So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

First, we see that sin involves disobeying God. Back in chapter 2, verse 17 God specifically commanded them to not eat from this tree, saying that if they did, they would surely die. We know they didn’t forget this, because Eve tells the serpent this is what God said. So, we see sin involves breaking God’s law. In fact, if you were to Google definitions of sin, you would find that the most common definition is that it is a failure to keep God's law. 

When we sin, we are either breaking, or failing to keep, a command of God. That is not a bad definition, but it is incomplete.  First, because choosing to break God’s laws is also a rejection of the legitimacy of God’s rule over us. It’s a denial of His right as creator to govern over us and a refusal to recognize Him as our rightful king. To put it plainly, it's an act of rebellion. 

It would be like us barricading a portion of Southgate and refusing to follow the laws of Michigan. It would not take long for authorities to show up to make it clear who is really in charge, especially if we stopped paying taxes. We would expect this to happen, but how many times have we tried to carve out our own little kingdom, with its own laws, in the world God made. 

Treason itself is enough to justify God’s judgment upon us as sinners, but sin is even more evil than this. Sin is not only transactional, it is relational. Sin isn’t just breaking God’s law, it’s rejecting His love. It’s saying we don’t trust His care, we don’t believe He’s good, and we’d rather live without Him. That is really the main point of the message today:

Every sin expresses a desire to enjoy God’s blessings without God's presence.

There are many in places of legitimate power and authority who do not deserve respect personally. As believers, God calls us to respect and submit to their rightful authority, not because of who they are, but because of the office they hold. But God is not at all like that. He deserves respect as Creator and King, He also deserves worship as a perfect loving Father. God is not just sovereign, He is good.

Just before giving the command for them to not eat of this tree in chapter 2, God told them they could eat freely from every other tree. They did not lack anything. Their sin was not the result of their environment. There was no legitimate need that led them to disobey. God provided everything necessary for flourishing and enjoyment.

We don’t know what the Garden of Eden looked like, but we know food was plentiful. This wasn’t about food. It wasn’t about any legitimate need. God had lovingly provided for their every need, physical and spiritual. When they disobey, they're not just rejecting God’s law, they are rejecting a loving Father whose goodness and love was showered on them.

Have you ever considered how ironic it is that the first act of rebellion involves eating? The first human rejection of God occurs as Adam and Eve participate in an act that itself displays utter dependence on Him. In reaching out to take forbidden fruit, our parents are trying to assert their independence from God, yet the very need they have to eat shows they are creatures, dependent upon God to provide for them.

Guess what happens if there is no food? God doesn’t need to eat, humans do. That there is an entire garden of food is a display of God’s love and kindness to them. Friends, this is what the Bible means when it says sin is a kind of blindness. The devil lies to them and tells them God is keeping something good from them, even as they are surrounded by His overwhelming blessing and provision. 

This is what he does. He turns our eyes away from the blessings of God and fixes them on what God has withheld. Then he tells his lie: “If God truly loved you, He would not keep this from you.” He tempts us to believe that joy is just beyond our grasp, that contentment lies in the things we don’t have. That is how he leads us to grumble in the middle of abundance and blind to the goodness of God.

The insanity of sin is that it elevates created things above the Creator. The essence of sin is the desire to enjoy the things God has made without Him. At its heart, sin is the desire that God was dead. That is what it means to want His gifts without His presence. It is not that the sinner doesn’t want there to be a creator. If there was no God, then nothing would exist to enjoy. That isn’t what sinners want. What sinners want is for God to create and sustain all things so that we can use them to satisfy our own desires, without Him.

The logical trajectory of every sin is that we would rule over the estate of our Father without His interference. This is foolishness since we cannot survive without Him. When we sin, we are like foolish teenagers who yell at our parents that we don’t need them and then storm off to slam a door they own, having a belly full of food they cooked, and wearing clothes they bought.

But it is more than foolishness, it is hatred. Eve saw that the fruit was good for food, but this wasn’t about need; it was about indulgence. There was plenty to eat. She saw that it was a delight to the eyes, attractive and pleasing. She desired it to make her wise, not in submission to God, but to become godlike herself. These are the same appeals the devil still makes to us now. He is like a football coach who runs the same play over and over because it works.

The sin is not that we pursue joy, but that we pursue it apart from God. Eve saw the fruit was good for food, but how is she measuring goodness? It was a delight to her eyes, but what measure is she using? She desired it to make her wise, how is she defining this wisdom?

Do you see what is happening here? There is no God in the logic of verse 6. They have disconnected themselves and the things in the world from the God who made them. They are attempting to define goodness, beauty, and wisdom for themselves. They have replaced the word of God with their own wisdom. God had created a world filled with beauty and diversity for them to enjoy in fellowship with Him, but they have come to see that world as just objects to be used for their own satisfaction. They wrongly assume they can enjoy the things God made without enjoying God. 

The irony is that by rejecting God we cut ourselves off from the fountain of all joy. It’s like cutting down the whole tree just to get one pear. Every sin, at its core, involves a terrible trade. Every sin is an exchange, and every time we sin we are exchanging the riches of God for something less. Adam and Eve did not get more, they ended up with far less. They traded the tree of life for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They traded the sweetness of God’s presence for the bitterness of guilt and shame. They traded the wisdom that comes from walking with God for the miserable knowledge of their nakedness.

We do the same thing every time we sin. So let me ask you, what are you trading? When you give in to temptation, what are you actually choosing? Are we trading the peace of Christ for a moment of pleasure? Are we robbing our spouses or children of godly affection as we build our own little kingdoms? How often do we pour our time, energy, and devotion into the worthless idols of career, hobbies, and entertainment, trading the sweet fellowship of time in the word and prayer for earthly trinkets that will rust and rot? 

If we would only think clearly in those moments, we would see the madness of it. What we have in Christ is infinitely better than anything sin offers. The devil always promises more, but always delivers less. He is a liar. He always baits the hook so that you cannot see the barb, but it is always there, and once you bite, it is a mighty struggle to get loose from it.

Once Satan was able to get Eve to question the goodness of God, the hook was already set and he was reeling her in. It is the same with us. The Serpent makes us question God and doubt Him. We begin to think He is harsh and unfair. Once we are dissatisfied, he already has us in the net. The Puritan preacher Thomas Watson rightly said,

“Discontent is a sin that clouds the judgment, and therefore it is no wonder that Satan fishes in these troubled waters.”

Once we begin to doubt the goodness of God toward us, it is only one small additional step for us to wish Him gone. That is the essence of human rebellion, to wish all the things God provides were at our disposal, but that there was no God to whom we are accountable for how we use them.

Imagine a father who saves all year to take his children to Disney world so he can enjoy spending time with them and watching them enjoy it, only for the kids to tell him to go away once they are inside the gate because they would have more fun without him. 

How often do we do something like this? How often do our foolish thoughts and actions declare that we would have no King besides our own fleshly desires? How troubling it is how frequently we forget our dependence upon God and to use the very breath He gave us to deny His goodness and love for us. 

That's why the Bible says that sin is not just disobedience, but hatred of God. The Bible says the sinner is hostile to God, at enmity with Him, at war. This is madness. For a man or a woman, formed out of the dust of the earth, to stand in open rebellion against an almighty and loving God. Sin is a great evil because it is the rejection of the person of God Himself. Listen to what James 2:10 says,

10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

Do you hear that? Guilty of all. Not mostly guilty. Not partially guilty. Not “needs improvement.” Guilty of all! You say, “But how can that be? If I gossip, am I really guilty of murder? If I complain, am I guilty of adultery? If I harbor bitterness, am I guilty of theft and bribery?” Yes. Because the issue is not which command you broke. The issue is the King and Father you disobeyed.

James explains in verse 11,

 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.

Every sin is not only a violation of the law, but a rejection of the lawgiver. When we reject the lawgiver, we have placed ourselves outside of the whole law. What we're saying when we do that is “God, I'll decide what's right or wrong. I will choose which rules I follow and which I do not. I obey when I choose and disobey when I choose.” It is to say, I am God and you are not. Brothers and sisters, do you see how serious this is? One hole sinks the ship. One act of treason makes you a traitor. One rejection of the King is rebellion.

Someone once said to me that God is unfair to unleash hell upon humanity over one mistake involving a piece of fruit. Mistake? Do we think this about fruit? 

Oh what utter darkness Satan uses to keep men in the chains of slavery to their sin. There is no mistake! Adam did not make a mistake. When we sin, we are not just making a mistake. Do you realize that when Adam failed to protect his wife and instead, followed her into transgression that he cast aside the moral law in its entirety. It was a full and purposeful rejection of God. 

If you think that sounds overstated, watch what happens when we put the first sin under the microscope of the moral law. Adam put another god before the Lord, trusting the serpent’s voice over the Word of his Creator. He made an idol, elevating his own judgment above God’s truth. He treated God’s name as trivial, made in God’s image but acting as though the Lord’s command carried no authority. He refused Sabbath rest in God’s provision, reaching instead to secure life on his own terms.

He dishonored his Father, rejecting the authority and love of the One who had given him everything. He murdered the entire human race, bringing the curse of death into the world through his rebellion. He committed spiritual adultery. He was seduced by another love, and it led him to unfaithfulness. He took what was not his, stealing what God had clearly forbidden. He bore false witness, distorting the truth and blame to his wife rather than confessing his sin. Under all this was prideful covetousness. The serpent said, “You shall be like God,” and Adam’s heart answered, “That is what I want.” Mistake? All ten at once! This was a full-scale revolt!

That is the nature of sin. Not merely breaking rules, but desiring life, wisdom, and joy apart from the God who alone gives them. That is why the scripture says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Everything we think or do is done either with a desire for it to glorify God or to serve ourselves. That is why Romans 14:23 says,

23 … For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

This means that unbelievers cannot do anything but sin because their motivation is not to glorify God. That doesn’t mean every sin is identical in its earthly consequences, but that every sin shares the same seed of rejection of God, and this violates the entire moral law that reflects God’s character. Even if we heal the sick, feed the poor, or do other great works, if they are done for Self or any other motive other than the glory of God, they are just a different form of rebellion against God and pursuing a joy in what He has made, without enjoying Him. This can creep even into the church. Even into ministry.

This is why Martin Luther said it is obvious that we must repent of our sinful deeds, but we must also repent of our good works. What he meant was that anything that is offered apart from faith and apart from the enabling grace of God is not just insufficient to please God, it is offensive to Him. Scripture tells us that our righteousness, meaning whatever righteousness we try to produce on our own, is as filthy rags before the Lord. Jesus says in John 15:5,

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Friends, we are not weak and in need of improvement, we are rebels in need of rescue. Every one of us has sinned against God. Apart from grace, we are all guilty, not of making a few mistakes, but of violating the whole law and rejecting the God who created us and gave it. There is nothing in us that deserves the mercy of God. Nothing in us that should make God love us or take notice of us. We are the children of Adam and Eve, and every one of us has followed their example. It is not just that we are not good enough to go to heaven, but we are rebels that rightfully deserve the just wrath of God poured out in punishment for our sins.

That is the bad news, but that is what makes the rest good news. Misery and judgment were unleashed in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve stretched out their hands to take what didn’t belong to them from that tree.

Oh’ but praise God brothers and sisters! There is another garden, and another tree, and another man whose hands were stretched out that we may receive what was not our right to take. After they sin, God comes to them. They are barred from the garden and cursed for their sin, but even in that moment, God is merciful and gracious. He promises that Eve would have a descendant who would crush the head of the serpent that deceived her even though it would cost him his life.

Then in the fullness of time, God sent His own Son, Jesus into the world as a new representative. As a second Adam, who succeeded everywhere the first Adam failed. Jesus lived a perfect life under the law. He loved God perfectly and his every thought and deed were faithful. Then, the night before He died, we see Jesus in a garden. His friends had fallen asleep. He is there alone, contemplating what it will mean to take the punishment that you and I deserved. 

Adam and Eve sinned because they desired to be like God, but Jesus was faithful, willing to empty Himself, not thinking equality with God was a thing for a man to grasp. They spoke to the serpent, but Jesus Christ spoke to His Father. They chose to reject God’s will, but Jesus Christ says, “Father, not my will, but your will be done.”

Adam and Eve stretched out their hands towards the tree hoping they would become like gods themselves. Jesus, who is God, stretches out His hands on the tree of Calvary, as the perfectly faithful and submissive man, to purchase for God, a faithful people. The tree in Eden brought sin and death, but the tree of Calvary brings redemption and life. Jesus has reversed the curse. He died to remove the sin of everyone who will ever put their faith in Him. Then three days later, He rose from the dead proving the Father was satisfied. 

Now He is seated at the right hand of the Father calling all people everywhere to repent and believe. All who believe have been cleansed by His blood and will enjoy fellowship with God forever. We who were rebels and haters of God, have been reconciled by the blood of Jesus, and adopted as heirs of the kingdom of God. What an amazing savior. What an amazing God we have! 

Jesus does not just forgive our sin, He breaks its power. In Him we are free not only from the penalty of sin, but restored to fellowship with God. By His Spirit, we are given new hearts that find joy and rest in Him. We now obey not to earn His love, but because we already have it. Therefore we don’t fight sin in our own strength, but by resting in Christ, believing His promises, and seeking our greatest joy in Him.

It is only when we see sin clearly under the microscope of God’s word, that we can begin to understand how marvelous this grace is. We have nothing to boast about but Jesus. We have nothing to rejoice in except the goodness and grace of our God. This shames the devil because it exposes his lies about God. God is patient and loving and He removes our sin and shame as far as the east is from the west, so that we may glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

The Bible gives us an illustration of this in Luke 15. Jesus says there was a young man who asked his father if he could receive his inheritance early. Basically, what that means is he is telling his father, I want your stuff, not you. I wish things now were as they would be if you were dead. He then goes off into a far country and squanders the wealth, ending up on the verge of starvation. 

He is not better off, he is far worse, and he begins to realize how much better even the servants in his father's house have it than he does. He knows that he doesn’t deserve to be restored to his position in his father’s house after rejecting him, so he comes up with a plan. He will go and just be a servant. He's going to throw himself on the mercy of his father and hope he can at least get a job.

But when the father recognizes him coming down the road, he is overcome with joy and runs out to meet him. He gave his son a hug and a kiss. Surprised, the son says I have sinned and am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let's eat and celebrate for this. My son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and now he's found.

Believer, this is a picture of you and I. God does not withhold anything from us. Far from it, instead, He responds to our selfishness and our hate with perfect selflessness and love. Not only are we forgiven, but Our Father rejoices in our repentance and restores our inheritance. Our rags are replaced by the righteous robes of Christ and we are seated with Him at God’s table.

This is profound love. No human could invent this. Such glorious salvation could only come from a God who is both holy and loving, both sovereign and good. This is surely a God that deserves our worship! 

So, when we feel dissatisfaction rising, let’s run to The Lord and drop to our knees asking The Spirit to remind us of the unfathomable treasure and glorious inheritance we already have in Christ. Let’s put our confidence not in our wisdom, but God’s word and preach to ourselves and each other what we know is true. God has not withheld anything from us. He has given to us exactly what we would have asked for if we knew everything He knows. We can trust Him. He has shown His love in sending His Son for us. Therefore let us replace the lies of the Serpent with prayer and thanksgiving, knowing what it is God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

Let’s Pray.