Foundation #3: God provides a way...
'21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
22 Then the Lord God said, 'Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and live forever-23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.' - Genesis 3:21-24
All of us have walked into guilt. We know what we ought not to do but we do it anyway. Whether we confess immediately or hide for a time the truth will come to light. Maybe for you it is lust. Maybe greed. Maybe jealousy. No matter what sin we have chosen to engage in it will be exposed. Each of us will stand before God, who knows us better than we know ourselves. What reason do we give God when he asks why we rebelled? Do we blame others? Do we blame circumstances? Do we blame God?
Adam and his wife began a pattern that would continue from that point forward. Each passed the blame to the one down the line. Man blamed woman. Woman blamed the serpent. In the previous passage the serpent blamed God. If we read the story with fresh eyes our expectation is for the man and woman to die as a result of their sin. God did say, 'but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.' (Gen. 2:17). But something unexpected happens. God kills an animal and uses the skins to clothe the man and woman. God announces judgments against the man, woman, and serpent. Then God permanently removes the man and woman from the garden.
Whether you view the judgment itself as the 'death' God promised or as his mercy on them one thing cannot be denied, 'God showed his grace toward his people. He issued a judgment that life would be harsh and difficult. He also provided the man and woman with life despite their disobedience.
On this wonderful truth we stand firm: God is gracious.
My prayer is that you would remember God's grace when you are guilty. Whether your sin is secret or public God knows it. Don't hide from him. Come clean. Confess. Repent.
God provided the ultimate gift of grace when he sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for your sins. He made a way for you to be free from sin through faith in Jesus Christ. Embrace him!
On this wonderful truth we stand firm: God is gracious.
My prayer is that you would remember God's grace when you are guilty. Whether your sin is secret or public God knows it. Don't hide from him. Come clean. Confess. Repent.
God provided the ultimate gift of grace when he sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for your sins. He made a way for you to be free from sin through faith in Jesus Christ. Embrace him!
