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'The wise person builds his house upon the rock but the foolish one builds it on sand.'
When we are young we begin to build our beliefs. They can be built on Truth or lies.
Our beliefs affect our will and desires.
Our will affects our actions.
With this as a foundation, lets begin to examine fundamental beliefs and ask what are we building our life on, truth or lies?
We have deep longings ingrained in us. At the basic level we all long for harmony in our relationships and perfection in life.
When we do a reality check we see that life is not picture perfect. When we look at our own families, our personal life and our society we see brokenness in some way or another.
The reality is brokenness in our personal life and our culture is a consequence of a force that has entered the world that's called sin. You may wonder what is sin? In a simple definition sin is rebellion against the creator and the order He instilled in creation.
You see at the beginning of human civilization things were created perfect. Do you ever wonder what life was like for the first humans? What is it like to live in a perfect world and to live in harmony all the time? What happened that broke that perfect harmony? To answer that, there is one account of the beginning of humanity inspired by the creator and written by a man named Moses. The credibility of that account is consistent with what is observed around in the physical world and lines up with reality to affirm its reliability.
There are many accounts of how our world began, yet there can only be one true account. The other accounts are simply a mix of truth and myth. You can research the other accounts for yourself. For now, lets examine the account written in Genesis by Moses and see if it's reliable.
Moses who was inspired by the eyewitness himself to write it, our creator. Yes it is divine inspiration where Moses narrates what happened in the beginning of creation and tells us that the creator created everything out of nothing.
The creator commands the heavens, the earth and the living creatures into existence. Here is a rundown in Genesis 1:
"Let there be light and there was light...let there be an expanse between the waters, and He called the expanse sky...Let the earth produce vegetation..and it was so. Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky..Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds and it was so..Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth..and it was so."
In Genesis 1 it says that the earth was formless, empty and dark. The creator begins by creating light to distinguish the day from night. Secondly, He creates the sky to separate the waters above the sky and under it. Thirdly, He creates land and names it earth and the water He calls seas.
Following that, He makes vegetation and trees and of many varieties. After the vegetation He creates two great lights to serve 'as signs for seasons, days and years'. The bigger light for the day and the lesser one for the night, as well as stars. He then creates living creatures/animals of many different kinds.
The world came out of nothing by our creator's command. He spoke the world into existence by His supernatural word. He is God and is all powerful.
After He created paradise He places His masterpiece in it, the first humans. In Genesis 2 it says -
"The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east and there he placed the man he had formed. 9The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...
15 The Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden,a 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”a
Humankind are the masterpiece of His creation who lived in a lush garden in the beginning. In the garden there was 'every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food'.
If we stop and consider how many species of trees are out there we can see one proof of the authenticity of this account. If we look around at nature we see all of those natural things listed in Genesis 1 before us. We see the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, creatures in water, in the air and on land. The heavens declare clearly the authenticity of the account of creation in Genesis chapter 1 & 2.
There was perfect harmony in the first garden. A perfect balance of pleasure and adoration of the creator and His creation.
In paradise the creator gives one command, 'not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil'. The result of breaking that command was punishable by death. One question we might ask is why did the creator place 'the tree of knowledge of good and evil' in that garden and prohibit the first people to eat from it? Here is one possible suggestion by a biblical commentator named Mathew Henry suggests the significance of that command this way-
"There was the tree of life in the midst of the garden..it was chiefly intended to be a sign and seal. To Adam assuring him of the continuance of life and happiness..through the grace and favour of his Maker, upon condition of his perseverance in this state of innocency and obedience...
There was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil..because there was an express positive revelation of the will of God concerning this tree. What is evil? It is evil to eat of this tree. The distinction between all other moral good and evil was written in the heart of man by nature; but this, which resulted from a positive law, was written upon this tree."
Think of the forbidden tree like a warning sign on the road to keep a driver safe. The tree was a sign that if the first humans obey they will live in a state of endless blissfulness. If they disobey they will go through death.
The one agreement made between the creator and the first humans was a visual contract. In a way its an agreement to recognize the authority of the creator over his creation and submit to it. Let us read on what happens after that covenant/agreement was made-
In Genesis 3 we read this, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?' 2 The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3 but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die." 4“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. 5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9 But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?” 10 “I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 “Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
We read at the very beginning the creator had an enemy, a created being, an angel who rebelled against the creator. He was punished and expelled from the presence of the creator. He became an evil spirit also known as Satan. This enemy then entices the first humans to rebel against the creator. They were lured to eat the forbidden fruit. By eating the fruit they broke the covenant made with the creator and essentially they rebelled against His authority.
Notice here that this is the strategy Satan uses from the beginning of time till our day. He makes us question the Word of the creator, then he promises us much advantage by breaking the creator's laws and lies about the consequence of rebellion. We have an enemy who tries to make us doubt the goodness of the creator, His order and moral laws.
We think we can rebel against our creator, the true God, without any penalty. We desire our independence from Him and want freedom to do as we wish. We can then believe that the creator is ignorant or doesn't exist so we don't have to account for living independently without submitting to the creator.
We do not want a penalty for wrongdoing, yet in the created order the result of rebellion is guilt, fear and shame. We can be deceived to think He is a tyrant who comes after us because all we want is freedom from the laws of His created order. It seems like a harmless desire. The reality is when we rebel against the creator we forfeit our spiritual freedom and we become slaves to sin that begins to rule over us or master us.
After the first humans rebelled against the creator, God foretells of an offspring who will redeem the brokenness caused by rebellion. He uses a way to save us. The new way is through trust in the offspring foretold in the beginning. The offspring pays the penalty of the broken covenant. He offers a sacrifice that's acceptable to pay the penalty for sin. Once a person's sin is paid for they become acceptable and are welcomed to fellowship with God. The balance of harmony, adoration and pleasure begin to be restored.
What can happen when we are young is we can build a system of beliefs in our life that is based on lies to try to save ourselves. We can think the God does not want us to be happy and wants to punish us. Yet He is so merciful and generous. He is the author of pleasure and love. Apart from Him there is no true pleasure, happiness or freedom. There is just facades of these qualities in the idols we cherish.
There are many things or idols we can fall for like lust for pleasure, beauty, material possessions, people's approval and more. These idols are merciless and demanding. They will not be satisfied until we are mastered by them. We can fall for different addictions and substances to try to rule over these idols and numb our conscience. Yet there is only way to overcome them. It is only by turning back to the creator and asking Him for help that restoration can begin. We then begin to be free from the power of sin.
The result of following after other gods is misery, enslavement, guilt and shame that is ingrained as a consequence. It is a consequence instilled by God for our good. No one can escape this reality without turning to the God and trusting him to save us.
We are indifferent to the cost of our wrongdoing, but God is not. He hates wrongdoing and justly judges it. God made that very clear and death entered humanity as a result of that broken agreement to yield to His rule. It is a significant sign of the brokenness caused by wrongdoing. As a result from that time on every human being experiences death.
God cannot pretend nothing happened when we sin because He is just. Think about that point! What would the world look like without a just God? Is Justice and equity good for humankind? I think if we take a look at history we will quickly see how past civilizations are in desperate need for justice.
A Society without justice is unbearable. God is the persona of justice and is not indifferent to rebellion against Him. Now how can we repair the damage caused at the beginning of humanity? This is not an easy reality to grapple with but is so essential. Let us keep reading chapter 3 in Genesis.
"14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
The first covenant between the creator and humans was broken and anyone who tries to earn salvation that way will not be saved. The creator makes a new way to redeem the broken relationship with humans. A plan was in motion in the first paradise, through an offspring who will crush evil and the power of sin. The person who submits to the new way the creator offers to reconcile with Him will be saved. Saved from the power of sin and its penalty.
In Genesis 3 the story doesn't end in despair. The penalty for our sin must be paid in order to be restored in harmony with God. God uses a way to save us. God ultimately says, 'I will pay the price that is due for justice to redeem us back.' The person who submits to the new way the creator offers to reconcile with Him will be saved. Saved from the power of sin and its penalty.
Romans 5:12, 17 says- "12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— ..For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ" The person who will not submit to that way will experience eternal separation from Him in a place made for rebels.
Another way this is explained is in Galatians 3:10, it says this-
"For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed. 11 Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith. 12 But the law is not based on faith; instead, the one who does these things will live by them.[k] 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
God fulfills His promise at the beginning of time that the offspring will crush evil. Jesus, is the offspring spoken of at the beginning of time and is the only one who conquered death. God made it very clear to prove that the sting of death is defeated by raising Jesus from the dead. In Hebrews 12:22-25 it says: "Instead, you have come.. to a judge who is God of all...and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks."
Here is a commentary on these verse that sums up what I'm trying to convey:
" ..Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant, between God and man, to bring them together in this covenant; to keep them together; to plead with God for us, and to plead with us for God; and at length to bring God and his people together in heaven. This covenant is made firm by the blood of Christ sprinkled upon our consciences, as the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled upon the altar (and the people). This blood of Christ speaks in behalf of sinners; it pleads not for vengeance, but for mercy. ...Only the grace of God enables us to worship God aright. God is the same just and righteous God under the gospel as under the law. The inheritance of believers is secured to them; and all things pertaining to salvation are freely given in answer to prayer."
www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-concise/hebrews/12.html
God ultimately says, 'I will pay the price that is due for justice to redeem us back.' The person who submits to the new way the creator offers to reconcile with Him will be saved. Saved from the power of sin and its penalty. How does God justify wrongdoing? The instrument He chooses to save us is simply believing the truth of the way He reveals to us. God promises to save us from sin/wrongdoing. The promise is not based on who we are or what we do but it is based God's ability to save us from the power of sin and its penalty! The person who submits to the new way is reconciled with Him will be saved. Saved from the power of sin and its penalty.
We see another author named Paul tries to explain the struggle each human being faces. We want to do good but there is a force called sin that fights against that desire. We face this reality as long as we are alive and we must deal with that challenge. Paul goes on to say that there is sin living in us that makes it hard to do what is right.
Roman 7:15-21 Paul says this- " For I do not understand what I am doing, because I do not practice what I want to do, but I do what I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 So now I am no longer the one doing it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. 19 For I do not do the good that I want to do, but I practice the evil that I do not want to do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, I am no longer the one that does it, but it is the sin that lives in me. 21 So I discover this law: When I want to do what is good, evil is present with me. ...I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body."
There is such a depth and beauty to the truth. It is difficult to face the truth of the realities we face. Yet it is so freeing when understood, believed and accepted. Is your life built on truth or lies? I hope you find reading this page helpful in your journey to find the truth that will set you free!
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