TELLTALE SIGNS OF SIN!

TELLTALE SIGNS OF SIN!

Gen 3:9-13

9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Let’s look at the direct questions presented by God and the attempted deflections of guilty man.

1. WHERE ART THOU?

Ø     “I heard” – and your voice no longer sounded pleasant to me. It pierced my heart like a knife. I was filled with guilt.

Ø     “I was afraid” – a sensation I had never felt before. It was strange to me but very real. I felt the whole creation looking at me and I had no covering.

Ø     “I hid myself” – because I could not stand before Thee in my present condition. I must try to find a way to cover myself!

2. WHO TOLD YOU?

Ø     If someone has told you this then I will deal with THEM but if this feeling of nakedness springs from within then I must deal with YOU.

Num 32:23

Behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.

3. HAST THOU EATEN?

Ø     This is the most direct question of all. It cuts to the heart of the matter and brings all the forensic evidence to bear upon the guilty. Did you do what I specifically told you NOT to do?

Ø     The appropriate answer would have been a simple yes or no – but that is not how guilt ever responds.

Ø     The natural response when someone confronts us is to deny the sin and to be angry at the accuser.

Ø     “…and the man said, THE WOMAN!” The guilt is not mine…at least not mine alone!

Ø     The response was actually worse than that because Adam said: “The woman WHOM THOU gavest to be with me.”

Ø     I wonder if Adam actually intended to indict God, to follow the trail all the way back to the source. Adam said it was really God’s fault.

Ø     Every parent knows that whenever a guilty child is confronted he will implicate his brother or sister or dog or cat! Ultimately he will accuse the parent for making the rules somehow unclear or unreasonable. The very last thing we do is to simply say, yes, I did it.

4. TO THE WOMAN HE ASKS: “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”

Ø     Alright, please explain the mitigating circumstances. Tell me, if you can, why you are not guilty even though you did the deed.

Ø     “The serpent beguiled [tricked] me.” He lied to me and convinced me of many things that were false. I was stupid and stopped believing what you had told me. I did eat!

Sin, like the stink on a skunk, is hard to hide. There are always telltale signs. How foolish we are to hide when there is a God ready to pardon.

Neh 9:17

Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness!

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Dear Lord, thank you for always treating me with kindness. When I am confronted with sin help me not to accuse my partner or my neighbor. Thank you for your forgiveness. AMEN