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Fall without the Leaves

Words of Faith Final

Fall without the Leaves
Words of Faith 1-20-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 3
    [6] When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. [7] Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
    [8] Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the Garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the Garden.

          "The Fall" is the theological name for when sin entered the creation and humans fell away from the created state of fellowship with God. These verses tell the story that traces out the course of sin that is familiar to us. Adam and Eve, the first humans, were created to be in a perfect relationship with the Lord. This continued until the humans chose to sin.
          How did this happen? Eve consulted with the Tempter in a way that undermined her trust in the Lord God. Adam was passive during all of this, and the Tempter got Eve and Adam thinking that they must be missing something that the Lord was trying to hold back from them. Eve surmised that she should check out this fruit and make her own decision about it. This process of falling into sin follows a basic pattern.
           First, Eve SAW the forbidden fruit. There is no sin when the eye falls upon that which is forbidden. When the eye lingers upon that which is forbidden, sin begins to enter in. Temptation begins in the eye or in the mind's eye. Later, the Scripture will describe sin itself as a crouching lion waiting to devour. Our eyes cannot linger over the things that are forbidden.
           Next Eve DESIRED the fruit. This is what happens when we linger. Desire quickly sets in. Desire is very powerful. The word for "desire" in Hebrew here is used in the command "You shall not covet." Eve saw that the fruit was desirable. The Apostle John vividly described this desire: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (1 John 2:16, KJV). Eve saw that the tree was good for food. She saw that the tree was pleasant, pleasing, and attractive to the eyes. Eve saw that the tree was desirable for gaining knowledge, experience, and wisdom, the pride of life.
           Then Eve and Adam ACTED. Eve took the fruit and ate it. Sin has this moment when we cross the line from desire to action, thought to rebellion. Sin is well-rooted in our mind and heart before we act. Sin is then contagious. Eve quickly shared the sin with Adam. He was certainly not without blame. Adam apparently watched this whole thing going on. He was a silent partner in the situation and certainly did not put up a fight. His passiveness is just as much an act of sin.
            What is the result of sin? Their eyes were opened. That may seem "good," "worldly," or sophisticated, but this amounts only to the pride of life. A precious innocence is lost when we choose to cross the line. Adam and Eve lost the innocence, suddenly realized they were "naked," and began to hide from each other. Barriers between people are a result of sin. Self-consciousness and an inability to trust result from sin, and we, therefore, hide from one another. In the most flimsy of ways, Adam and Eve began constructing the coverings that keep us from intimacy. Most tragic of all, they hid from God. The beautiful fellowship that God had created was shattered. Sin causes a separation from God, which we feel immediately. Sin causes us to attempt to hide from God. Of course, we cannot hide from God, but we try.
         This may seem like any other text, but in reality, this passage describes the moment when our human condition was set into motion. That will be addressed through every remaining page of the entire Bible.
        As humans, we were beautifully and wonderfully made in the image and likeness of God. We were intended for perfect fellowship with God, but we are fallen from that fellowship because of sin. We have inherited the fallen nature of Adam and Eve.
       The fuller consequence and curse of sin upon human existence will be described in a few verses. This is the fundamental problem. We now have lost innocence as humans, and we have a sin nature. We are separated from God and born with a bent toward sinning. We continue to choose our own course rather than the plan of the Lord God. In our self-consciousness, we build barriers between others and ourselves.
            The Good News is that God has made a provision for our sin and a plan to reconcile us to Himself and reconcile us to one another. Jesus Christ alone does this work. In Christ alone, we find the power to resist temptation. When our eye falls upon the forbidden, we can turn away. When desire arises, we can repent and walk away. We do not have to act.
            Where are you today? Have you received the reconciliation of Jesus? Have you received the power of the Holy Spirit to resist sin? Are you in the midst of a tempting situation in your life? Call upon the Lord. Turn away. Turn toward the Lord. Receive His offer of salvation, forgiveness and restoration.

           Father, I am so grateful for the work of Jesus upon the cross. Thank You for forgiving my sin. Thank You for restoring life to this shattered soul. Give me strength for today that my eyes would not wander or linger upon the forbidden. Give me strength to repent and turn back from the place of desire. I rejoice to walk with You today. In Jesus' Name.    

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.