Sermon Tone Analysis

! Introduction:

The first man upon earth sinned tragically and he refused to accept the responsibility for his sin.

Like so many today, he blamed somebody else for his actions and in this case it was his wife.

He accused her of leading him into sin and causing him to sin.

It is true, she did approach and entice him to sin, but Adam himself stood guilty before God.

In fact, he was guilty of at least three sins.

Adam failed in at least three areas.

*/First, Adam did not try to lead Eve back to God/*.

Just think how bad this is!

He did not even try to lead his wife to repentance, did not even bring up the subject of her returning to God.

He did not even suggest that she confess and beg God for forgiveness and restoration.

*/Second, Adam listened to Eve’s enticements and persuasions/*.

He did not stop her from talking about and presenting the forbidden fruit to him.

He stood there and listened to her persuasive arguments, to her enticements and seduction.

Note, this is exactly what God says: /Because you have listened/ /to the voice of your wife/, you are to be judged (Genesis 3:17.)

Adam failed by listening to his wife and not stopping her from talking about the forbidden fruit.

*/Third, Adam himself chose to eat the forbidden fruit/*.

He blamed his wife, but Eve did not force him to eat the forbidden fruit.

Adam /willfully chose/—made a /deliberate decision/—to sin.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

He was not deceived; his eyes were wide open when he sinned (1 Tim.

2:14).

He was guilty, willfully and deliberately guilty, of...

·                     rejecting God

·                     rebelling against God

·                     disobeying God

·                     turning away from God

            Adam was, therefore, to be judged.

He stood before God guilty of the most terrible sin:  Adam had willfully and deliberately turned away from God.

This is the great discussion of this passage: “The First Judgment Upon Sin (Part 3): Judgment Upon Man.”

!! A.           He was condemned to live in a cursed world (v.17a).

!!! 1.            “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife…”  (v.17a).

!!!! a)            Listening to others rather than the Lord *(Genesis 16:1-2)*.

!!!!! (1)           Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with listening to the advice of your wife.

In fact, my wife has given me great advice at times, I heeded that advice and the results were good.

!!!!! (2)           But here with Abram, he was now eighty-five years old.

He had been walking with the Lord for ten years and had learned some valuable lessons about faith:

!!!!!! (a)           God had promised Abraham and Sarah a child but had not told them when the child would be born.

It was a period of waiting, and most people don’t like to wait.

!!!!!! (b)           But it is through “faith and patience [that we] inherit the promises” (Heb.

6:12).

!!!!!! (c)           God has a perfect timetable for all that He wants to do.

Abrams child was part of God’s great plan of salvation for the whole world.

However, Sarah became impatient.

!!!!!! (d)           Impatience can cause us to sin, as well as just flat out rebelling against the Lord:

*Samuel instructed Saul to wait for him, Saul became impatient which led to sin and we read: *"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”

Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice."

(1Sam.15:23-24)

!!!!! (3)           David himself knew this:

*David asked the Lord saying *"Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers, From the tumult of those who do iniquity," (Psalm 64:2, NASB95)

*Listen to what happened to King Ahaziah, 2Chronicles 22 says “*He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab, for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly.

He did evil in the sight of the Lord like the house of Ahab, for they were his counselors after the death of his father, to his destruction.

He also walked according to their counsel…" (2 Chronicles 22:3-5, NASB95)

*You remember when Jesus was transfigured before His disciples on the mountain?

Matt 17 says *"While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"  (Matthew 17:5, NASB95)

\\ !!! 2.            “Cursed is the ground for your sake…”  (v.17b).

!!!! a)            A world of imperfection and corruption

!!!!! (1)           The Hebrew text says: /“Cursed be the ground because of you,” “on account of you.”/

God cursed the earth because of Adam’s sin.

Why?

Why would the earth have to suffer a curse when it was Adam who sinned?

!!!!!! (a)           Very simply stated, the earth was Adam’s home.

Adam and the earth were /interrelated/.

Adam was now imperfect, a fallen creature.

!!!!!! (b)           Imperfection and sin do not belong with perfection and righteousness.

Therefore, God cursed the earth as part of the judgment upon Adam.

!!!!! (2)           The judgment on man also involved his work:

!!!!!! (a)           /Paradise// /would be replaced by /wilderness/, and the /joy of ministry /in the garden by the /sweat and toil in the field/.

!!!!!! (b)           It is not work that is God’s penalty, because work is not sinful (2:15).

!!!!!! (c)           It is the sweat and toil of work that reminds us of the fall of man.

*Listen to the Psalmist; he says *"It is senseless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, fearing you will starve to death; for God wants his loved ones to get their proper rest."

(Psalm 127:2, The Living Bible)

*Solomon said *"In my opinion, nothing is worthwhile; everything is futile.

For what does a man get for all his hard work?

Generations come and go, but it makes no difference.

The sun rises and sets and hurries around to rise again.

The wind blows south and north, here and there, twisting back and forth, getting nowhere.

The rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full, and the water returns again to the rivers and flows again to the sea . .

." (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, The Living Bible)

 

!!!! b)            Creation is subject to corruption.

!!!!! (1)           All creation suffers hurt, damage, loss, deterioration, erosion, death, and decay; all creation struggles for life.

!!!!!! (a)           The world was made to be the home of man, therefore, when man sinned, man’s world was cursed right along with him.

!!!!!! (b)           Think about the earthquakes, tornados, storms, diseases, starvation, attacks, and struggles for survival that take place.

And these are only a few of the myriad happenings that show the corruption of the world.

!!!! c)            Creation shall be delivered from corruption *(Romans 8:19-22)*.

!!!!! (1)           When God finished His Creation, it was a good Creation (Gen.

1:31); but today it is a groaning Creation.

There is suffering, death and pain, all of which is the result of Adam’s sin.

!!!!! (2)           Note the words that Paul used to describe the plight of creation: /suffering /(Rom.

8:18), /vanity /(Rom.

8:20), /bondage /(Rom.

8:21), /decay /(Rom.

8:21), and /pain /(Rom.

8:22).

!!!!! (3)           Creation has been subjected to corruption “in hope.”

Creation has the same /hope of redemption and of renovation/ as man.

!!!!! (4)           Just as man’s sin brought corruption to the universe, so man’s restoration to righteousness will be accompanied by the restoration of the earth and its universe to their divinely-intended perfection and glory.

!!!!! (5)           *Let’s look at a few passages relating to this:*

!!!!!! (a)           *Psalm 96:11-13**; Isaiah 11:6-9*:

!!!!!! (b)           There will be “a new heavens and a new earth”

*Listen to what Peter says, he says *"The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

*Now how can we apply this to our lives?