Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field
which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God
indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of
the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you
touch it, lest you die.’”
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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.” – Genesis 3:1-5
This conversation was what led Adam and Eve to committing
what is termed as original sin. The actual act is recorded in verse 6:
So when the woman saw that the tree was good
for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to
make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to
her husband with her, and he ate.
The act of partaking of the forbidden fruit was a
willful choice of disobedience. Because of that willful act, God cursed their
offspring with original sin, or sin that is present in all persons born of the
flesh or the will of the flesh from that time forward. This is an important distinction to keep in mind
for later on, but let’s take a look at what was really behind the act of
disobedience.
Eve partook of the forbidden fruit because she:
·
saw that the tree was good for food
·
that it was pleasant to the eyes
·
desirable to make one wise.
How many of your sins can you insert in place of “the tree”
in the above list?
How many justifications can you insert in place of “good for
food”?
How many desires can you insert in place of the word “wise”?
I would wager that, unless you are extremely different from
me, every sin you have ever committed started off with:
·
a forbidden object
·
a justification for why it is okay
·
a desired result from having the forbidden
object
This is the anatomical format of sin, but it does not
explain the origin of sin or what causes one to see a forbidden thing, justify
that it is okay to have it and hope in a certain desired result. To understand
where the process of sin comes from, we have return to the
conversation which opened this blog. More specifically to verses 4 and 5:
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely
die. 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.”
What did the serpent promise would happen if they partook of
the forbidden fruit?
·
your eyes will be opened
·
you will be like God
·
you will know good from evil
Let’s use some different words:
·
you will be enlightened
·
you will be in control
·
you will be wise
Consider both sets of words for a moment while I introduce a
definition from Webster’s
Dictionary to you.
Definition of autonomy
plural autonomies
1: the quality or state of being
self-governing; especially:
the right of self-government
2: self-directing freedom
and especially moral independence; personal autonomy
Synonyms include:
accord, free
will, choice, self-determination, volition, will
Origins:
Greek auto=self, nomy=name; thus, self naming or self declaring
Is this not the exact definition which can be applied to the decision which Eve
made? Is this not the exact meaning behind the words which the serpent used to
tempt her?
Take a look at the tempter. He was the most beautiful
creation among the angels in heaven, but he rebelled against God here are his
words recorded in Isaiah 14:13 and 14:
For you have said in your heart:
“I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.”
Lucifer’s desire was to be autonomous. His desire was to
exalt himself above God and be like God. Isn’t this the exact same lie which he
used to convince Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit? Isn’t this the exact
same desire Eve had in her heart when she partook of the fruit and Adam with
her? Isn’t this the exact same motivation which causes you and I to sin?
In a nutshell, original sin is the DESIRE TO CONTROL OUR OWN
DESTINY. To name our own destiny, to make our own decisions apart from being
governed by God, to have the free will to make our own choices, to have
self-determination in every decision we make. The act of exalting ourselves
above God’s will is the curse of original sin. Romans 1:22-25 tells us that God
gave us over to our sins:
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed
the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and
birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts
of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged
the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than
the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
When God cursed Adam and Eve and all of their offspring, He gave
mankind over to our desire to be autonomous. That desire to be autonomous leads
to being cast out of his presence and to death.
These health and wealth false prophets and those who buy
into their deception teach and believe that you can take control of your own destiny. In
fact, according to these wolves in sheep’s clothing, you can command God to
perform for you whatever you desire: money, power, health, even command the weather. Many have bought into this deception
because it tickles their ears. It fits the ultimate, original sin, desire of
their flesh. It gives them control over their destiny. It gives them free will
to author their destiny, and at the same time, they
punch their ticket into eternal life because they prayed a prayer and made a
decision.
Apart from these false prophets are others which appeal to
the desire of men to control their own destiny. This deception involves being
baptized (whether as an infant or adult makes no difference), but after baptism, one must attend mass, go to confession, pray to the Virgin and the Saints,
perform good works, tithe, keep the Sabbath, keep the feasts, partake in all of
the sacraments, and do good things that will make you more impressive to God so
that He will save you. When you die, you will spend some time in Purgatory,
while your dear family and friends spend every last dime they have to help get
your eternal soul into heaven.
Our autonomy leads us to strive with all of our might to
line up all of our ducks in a row so that we will be acceptable to God and He
will count us worthy to enter into His Kingdom. In our flesh we believe that
if we can just be good enough, if we can just believe more, have more faith,
give more money, etc.
And then there is Jesus:
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and
the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did
not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth. – John 1:10-14
I made a distinction toward the beginning of this blog. Here
is the exact sentence repeated:
Because of that willful act, God cursed their offspring with
original sin, or sin that is present in all persons born of the flesh or the
will of the flesh from that time forward.
Pay attention, because this is important:
1.
Jesus was not born of the will of the flesh.
Jesus was born through the will of God by the visitation of His Holy Spirit who
placed Jesus in the Virgin’s womb. This doctrinal position is critical. Jesus could
not have been born of the will of the flesh because if He had been, He too would
have been under the curse.
2.
Those who receive Jesus are not born of the will
of the flesh, but of the will of God. Those who receive Jesus are given a new
life in the spirit which is recreating them and fitting them for the Kingdom of
God. They do not strive for or obtain the grace of God, their regeneration or
their sanctification through their own autonomy: free will, choice,
self-determination, etc.
Consider these words:
“He who began a good work in you will be faithful to
complete it.” – Philippians 1:16
Brothers and sisters asserting your autonomy in your belief
and in your faith is a continuation of the curse of original sin. If you are trusting in your own will, belief or faith, you are focused on your flesh rather than on your savior. Determining
your own destiny by trying to earn your way to heaven by good works is your
sinful desire continuing to control your flesh. You are to put your flesh to
death and receive Jesus daily! That is what is meant by ths:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every
branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He
prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the
word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch
cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you,
unless you abide in Me.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears
much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in
Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and
throw them into the
fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this
My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
– John 15:1-8
Abiding in Jesus is a minute by minute, hour by hour, day by
day commitment. In this commitment you battle the desire of your flesh to be autonomous and
maintain control over your destiny. You must put that desire of autonomy to
death and…:
…lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily
ensnares us, and
let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:1-2
Brothers and sisters, for more than a year now, God has
placed only one burden and one message on my heart and I have repeated it in a
number of different forms.
Humble yourself and exalt Jesus.
That is a simple statement, but it is the power of both regeneration
and sanctification. When you are given the eyes to see and ears to hear and
receive the message of the gospel, it is given to you not by the will of your own
flesh. You were not autonomous in that moment, but the Father revealed His message of salvation to
you.
To insist and cling to controlling your own destiny is a continuation of the sin of autonomy in your life and is against the spirit
of the new creation you have become.
Humble yourself, in essence, GIVE UP YOUR
AUTONOMY. Put that part of you which is exerting itself to maintain control
over your destiny to death.
Replace that desire after autonomy with a desire to abide in
Jesus. Replace the desire to maintain control over your destiny with allowing
Jesus to take His rightful place as the author and finisher of your faith and
as your exalted Lord.
To Jesus be ALL glory, honor, power and strength on earth as in heaven as well as in our lives daily. Amen
