Genesis 3 1-7

Father, Thank you for reminding us this morning of your goodness toward us. Thank you for reminding us of our need for a redeemer, and of the fact that that redeemer is Christ alone. Would you continue to make us mindful of that as we journey through your word and here today about our desperate need because of our fall and our first parents. Bring this indelibly in the forefront of our minds, that we might come to repentance and faith. This is our prayer, and we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, if you remember I told you on last week as we talked about marriage and the biblical foundations for marriage there at the end of Genesis chapter two, and as we've been looking at biblical manhood and womanhood and this battleground of ours in our culture, I told you that this is the front lines of the battle, that we are in the midst of a battle, and these issues of what is a man and what is a woman and what is marriage stand at the forefront of this battleground. Well, a couple of days after that Sunday, one of our presidential candidates, who shall remain nameameless, the black guy. He was in Ohio and in Ohio. He answered a question during Q and A, and the question was about gay marriage, and he put forth as was not surprising the fact that he supports homosexual marriage. Now here's what was interesting. He bases his support for homosexual marriage, he says, on the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, as opposed to and I quote some obscure passage in Romans. So he supports gay marriage based on the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. Now here's what's interesting. A presidential candidate put forth a policy position based on his interpretation in scripture and he didn't get pounded for it. You didn't hear about this in the mainstream media. But he says he supports gay marriage based upon his understanding of the Sermon on the Mount. So that's the first thing that just boggles the mind. The citizens United for the Separation of Church and State have not camped out at his doorstep. They have not burned down his house. They are not calling for him to step out of the race. He says he's basing his position on this policy on the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount. Now, let's leave that aside for a moment. And again, this is not about politicking here. Okay, this is not about jumping on politicians. He stepped into my world. Okay, he stepped into my world. I did not invite him, I did not ask him. He stepped into my world. Two problems with this position. Number One, the Sermon on the Mount doesn't teach homosexual man marriage. In fact, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five puts forth one of the strongest arguments for the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman when Jesus talks about this issue of divorce. So the only thing touching on marriage in the Sermon on the Mount supports the biblical idea of marriage. Here's the other thing. Since when did Romans chapter one become an obscure passage. You don't get more straightforward than Romans Chapter one. And so I say this just to illustrate for you what we talked about on last week. This is the battleground, This is where the war is happening. But I want to read something for you, ironically from Romans chapter one, and I want to show you why this is the battleground. Now again, we're in Genesis chapter three today. But this trust me, this is incredibly pertinent to what we're going to be talking about today in Genesis chapter three, verses one through seven. But listen to this in Romans chapter one, this supposedly obscure passage of scripture. Okay, we'll just take a little time for this excursion here and then we'll get back into our passage. But trust me, this goes right to what we're talking about today. Not only does it go right to what we're talking about today, it goes right to everything that we've talked about over the last two months. Let me show you beginning in verse eighteen of Romans chapter one, for the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God as plain to them, because God has shown it to them, for his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse, for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. So the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness. And where does this ungodliness and unrighteousness start? A faulty view of creation? Well, imagine that. Have you heard that recently as we've been preaching through Genesis chapters one through eleven, it starts with a faulty view of creation. You think Genesis one doesn't matter, Paul says, the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven because we've perverted Genesis chapter one. Not only that, but we've also perverted Genesis chapter two. Keep reading here in Romans. Therefore God gave them up and the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchange the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. By the way, remember the message on biblical environmentalism from Genesis chapter two, and how radical environ radical environmentalism they like saving y'all all right, Radical environmentalism is a pollution of biblical truth because of the way it views the relationship between the creature and the creation. There it is right there in Romans Chapter one. By the way, it's also in order. The first thing we violated is Genesis chapter one. The next thing we violated you find in Genesis chapter two. Now look at the next verse. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions for their women, exchange natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. And the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves, that is, in their bodies. The do penalty for their error. Too bad, that's so obscure. That's a violation of marriage and the sanctity of marriage, as we see in Genesis two. Are you seeing this, folks? Romans one talks about the wrath of God being revealed, and as he goes through the reasons that the wrath of God is being revealed, he walks step by step through the creation narrative. In Genesis chapter one and Genesis chapter two, everything we've dealt with over the last couple of months. And so I say again what we're talking about in Genesis through eleven is this is the front line, the front line of the cultural apologetic battle in which we find ourselves engaged. It's the front line. Now here's what I want you to see as well. Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do whatever ought not to be done. They are filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossip slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless. By the way, we're going to see those as we continue in Genesis. Most of those things we're getting ready to see after the fall. We're going to see them in full force after the fall. So again we continue to walk through this pattern in Genesis. Now look at the next part of this. Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, They not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them. It's wrong. And not only do they do it, but they give approval to others who do it. You want to know why as a culture we are currently under the wrath and judgment of God. You just saw it in this supposedly obscure passage in Romans chapter one, and by the way, you've also been seeing it as we've walked through Genesis chapter one and Genesis chapter two, and now that we walk into Genesis chapter three. But in Genesis chapter three we put a finer point on it because in Genesis chapter three we talk about original sin. In Genesis chapter three we learn about the condition of all men because of the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Now lay the groundwork before we read verses one through seven of Genesis chapter three. You need to understand the principle of federal headship. Now we've talked about this before, but we'll talk about it again, and we'll probably talk about it again and then again and then again, because that's what the Bible does. It repeats important doctrines over and over and over again. And if a doctrine is an important doctrine, here's one way you know it. You see it in multiple parts of scripture. And so you are going to hear again about this doctrine of federal headship. Why because it's an important doctrine and you can't understand the Bible apart from understanding this doctrine of federal headship. So what is this federal headship. Well, it's hard for us to understand because we don't live in a monarchy, and federal headship is actually one of the things that we have been protected from in a sense in our constitution. So we'll get another political lesson here this morning. Now, in a monarchy, under federal headship, here's what can happen. The king is the federal head of his people. The king represents his people, and the king can make decrees for all of his people based on his own whims and wishes. He rules by divine right as the king, and so as the king, if I get mad at the king in the next county over or in the next country over, I, as the king and the federal head of my people, can declare war against this other kingdom, which means that now all of my people, whether they wanted to or not, are also in a state of war against this other kingdom. So now if I as the federal head, I'm the king, I'm the federal head, and I declare war against the next country over, and you, as my people, don't necessarily know that I've declared war, and happen to wander over there will by virtue of me being your federal head, they can now kill you as an act of war and be within their rights. Why because the federal head has declared war. By the way, we've been protected against that in our country, in the United States, it is unconstitutional for our president to operate as our federal head and send us to war. It's a violation of the constitution. In the United States, we can only go to war if the people's representatives in the Congress declare war. That's protection against the federal headship hadn't mattered much lately because we haven't been in that constitutionally declared war since World War II. But that's a whole nother discussion for a whole other day. Okay, we have not been in a legal war, a constitutional war since World War Two. That's the last time our Congress declared war on anybody. The rest of the stuff that we've been involved in. It's been federal headship stuff. Okay, So Adam serves as the federal head of all mankind. If Adam were to obey, as the federal head of all mankind, we would have been at peace with God. If Adam, as the federal head of all mankind, disobeys, then the rest of mankind is alienated from and at war with God. That's what federal headship means. Now, lest you get all upset, well, that's not fair. I should have been able to make that decision on my own. Listen. The only difference, the only difference, if God had substituted Adam with you, the only difference is you would have fallen quicker. Amen. He was the perfect representative of humanity. None of us would have done any better than he did. And as the perfect representative of humanity and our federal head, he fell, and as a result of that, all of us fell in Adam. Try Romans puts it this way in chapter three, verse twenty three, all of sin and falls short of the glory of God. Earlier in chapter three, you know, you get out in verses nine and ten there is none righteous And in case somebody's name popped into your head phrase, no, not even one. Not one. But let's look at that here in Genesis chapter three, verses one through seven, and we'll see how it happened, and then we'll see the implications of it. How it happened is not nearly as important as the implications of it. But we'll go through here and we'll look at how it happened. By the way. First, Genesis chapter three, verses one through seven, and the Fall of Man is all about headship. It's about Adam being our federal head, the federal head of all mankind. It's about Adam being the head of his family and particularly his wife Eve, and it is about God having headship over all things. Just keep that in mind. This is about headship here in Genesis chapter three. Now, the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. This word we often think about in a negative sense. It's word in the Hebrew is not a negative word. The serpent being more crafty literally means he was wiser. That's what it means. The serpent had great wisdom, and nothing else that God created could compare to this kind of wisdom. Now there are those who would argue that the serpent is the personification of Satan. Others who would argue that the serpent was under the control of Satan or an agent of Satan. Some would argue that the serpent was actually one of the fallen angels or whatever. Here's the deal. What's going on is demonic. As to the level of demonic activity, whether it's the devil himself personified or the devil influencing the serpent, the Bible doesn't say so, I can't either fair enough, but with this is demonic activity here. The serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, that's problem number one, he said to the woman. First question in your mind ought to be where's her head? How come he's not around while she's talking to snakes? Come on, now, the serpent said to the woman, where are you at, adam snake talking to your wife? Man, you're her head, you're her authority, you're her protector, and the craftiest thing in the garden has got her cornered off somewhere. Where are you at? Said to the woman, Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree? In the garden. The woman said to the serpent, and here's what I want you to notice the subtlety here. Because Satan didn't have anything new, by the way, the first thing that he does is he just sort of and stills doubt. That's instilled doubt in what God has said. Did God actually say? That's the question? Did God actually say? Is is that what the rule is? Eve? You sure about that? You ever do that to you? When sins creeping around your front door? Oftentimes the first thing that the enemy does is he says, hey, is this really forbidden? Is that little thing you feel in your gut? Is that from God? Did he really say that this was out of bounds? The woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden. But God said, you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden. She's doing good so far. Neither shall you touch it lest you die. She just fell off the wagon. Why because she made God more restrictive than God actually was. Nowhere have we read that they can't touch that tree? What God said is you can't eat of it. So Eve has made God more restrictive than God made God. You ever do that God says this, we say this plus adding to God's word. Now there are two possibilities here. Either, number one, she's adding to God's word because that's what she intended to do. Or secondly, the second possibility is Adam did not teach her properly. That Adam's the one who was given the command. After he was given the command, he was given Eve. He's got to protect Eve, He's got to teach Eve. So either Adam added to the commandments of God and Eve has now been instructed improperly, or Adam instructed her properly and she just added to her herself. Either way, it's wrong. God didn't say don't touch the tree. He said don't eat from the tree. But the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die. Now he steps it up a notch. First, he just puts a little doubt in there. Then he just comes straight out and denies that God said what he said, you will not surely die. Marriage is not limited to just a man and a woman. Just come straight out and deny what it is that God has said. That's the next step in this assault. The first step is to obscure what God has said. The next step is to deny what God has said. The first step is just to bring doubt into what God has said. And after we've gone that far to try to bring doubt, the next thing is just to stand up and bold face lie against God. God did not say that you would die. By the way, the serpent is now undercutting the word of God and the authority and headship of Adam. Where does Eve get this information about what God said? She gets it from Adam. So basically, the serpent is now saying, your head lied to you. He's coming between this man, this woman and her husband. Your head lied to you. What Adam told you is not right. That's not what God said. Eve. You weren't around Adam lied to you or God lied Verse five. Not only did God lie to you, but God's trying to keep something from you, for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. There it is, there, it is. Step one, let's introduce a little doubt. Is that really what the Bible says? Can't think that's really what the Bible says. Step two, let's just bring straight contradiction. That's not what God has said. Step three in this all out of salt, and actually, that's just trying to keep you from something that's more pleasurable and more rewarding and more fulfilling than your current experience. He's just trying to hold you down. He's just trying to keep you back. Have we not heard that? That Christianity stuff. I'm not interested in that Christianity stuff because there's so many rules. It's just trying to keep you down. That christian life is so uptight. It's just trying to keep you down. Why do I want anything like that? I want to be free. I want to enjoy life. In other words, these restrictions are designed to keep you from experiencing life to the fullest. There is something that you will miss out if you obey what God has said. You ever heard that one before? You go living like that and you won't have the level of enjoyment that everybody else has. You go living like that, and you will compromise your level of freedom. You will compromise your level of enjoyment. So now we're there in the Onslaught. Look at the next verse. So Adam stepped in and said snake. While are you talking a woman? Oh, I'm sorry, it's not there. Verse six. By the way, first John, what does John say about the world. There's three basic temptations in the world, and they are the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the boastful pride of life. That's it. Those are the only three. So when the woman saw that the tree was good, that would be the lust of the flesh. Tree was good for food, And that it was a delight to the eyes, that would be the lust of the eyes. And that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, that would be the boastful pride of life. That's it. That's all he's got. By the way, By the way, when he tempts Jesus and Matthew chapter four, how does he tempt him? Jesus, I know you're hungry. Turn these stones into bread, ust of the flesh. Jesus, Come with me to this high place, and I will show you all of the kingdoms of the earth that could be yours. Lust of the eyes, Jesus, throw yourself down from here, and he'll give his angels charge over you. I know you're familiar with Psalm number ninety one. Throw yourself down so that you can see if God will do for you what he's promised to do for you. Boastful pride of life. That's all he's God, folks, that's all he's got, that's all he's ever had. Unfortunately, that's all he needs. She took of its fruit and ate. Now here's what's interesting. Then she went and searched and found adam. That's not what it says, does it? This looks bad? And she also gave some to her husband, who was with her. She gave some to her husband who was with her. She didn't have to go hunt him down and say, hey, let me tell you what the snake said to me? What the serpent said to me? No, she saw it, she lusted after it, She ate it, and then immediately she turns and she gives it to her husband who was with her, who was not exercising his headship. And then what did he do? He ate again, not exercising his headship. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. So that's how the fall of man happened. That's how it transpired. That's how it took place. But I want you to understand something more than just how it transpired and how it took place. Here's how we usually look at this. We usually look at this and we say, okay, because this is what the serpent did, we have to look at Genesis chapter three, verses one through seven from a moralistic perspective. And if you look at it from a moralistic perspective, then what you do is you find out what the serpent did, and you build yourself up so that you won't fall the way that Eve fell and the way that Adam fell. So ultimately, Genesis chapter three just becomes a lesson in how to overcome temptation, or a lesson in how not to fall into sin. There's a small problem here. Genesis chapter three, verses one through seven is not just a moralistic lesson and how to overcome sin and how to overcome temptation. It can't be for several reasons, not the least of which is the implication of Genesis chapter three. The implication, of course, is in that atom we have all fallen into sin. Go with me to Romans again and look at Romans chapter five. Look at Romans chapter five and beginning of verse twelve. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given. But sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not lacked the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. And so all of us sinned in Adam. All of us fell in Adam, and all of us died in Adam. What's the result of that? Turned with me to the right again, And look at Ephesians. Look at Ephesians chapter two. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. So all of mankind falls into the same category children of wrath. All of mankind falls into the same category, dead in sin, not asleep in sin, dead in sin, not semi conscious in sin, dead in sin. As a result of the fall of Adam, all of mankind sinned in his and die in him, and that death works itself out until ultimately all of us die physically. But what's worse than that is that there is enmity between us and God. We are, by nature children of wrath. All of mankind is by nature children of wrath. Everybody, Yeah, come with me to Romans again and look at Romans chapter three and look at verse ten. As it is written. None is righteous, no, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. Who seeks for God? No one? So why it always amazes me when churches have seekert services. Who's that for? No one seeks for God. None. Jesus tells us in John chapter four that there's only one seeker. God's the seeker. So we have secret services because they're God centered circus services. Amen. The only seeker that there is is God. Man does not seek after God. Man cannot seek after God. Man is dead in his sin. No one understands, no one seeks God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one. We're incapable of good. There's not one who does good. Isaiah says, our righteousness is as filthy rags before a holy God. This is the extent of the fall people. Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood in the past. In their past are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Yes, but I believe, way down, deep inside, in our heart of hearts, man is inherently good. Really, turn with me to the left and look at Jeremiah seventeen. Jeremiah seventeen, verse nine. You got it. This is for all of us who have fallen for that whole follow your heart routine. I believe in the heart of every man there is some good Jeremiah seventeen and nine. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick. Who can understand it? Don't you dare follow your heart. Amen, it is deceitful. Above all things, it is desperately sick. I want you to understand the extent of this. Here's why Genesis chapter three can't just be moralism. Can't just be a moral lesson on how to do better when temptation comes your way. At least two reasons. Number one, the best of us did not make it, which means you and I don't have much of a chance. Number two, the fall of our federal head means that all of us are now born in sin and shaped in iniquity, and our predilection, our predisposition, is towards sin. That's what we want sin. Well, what about man's free will? Dead men don't have them. Dead men don't have free wills. Well, wait a minute, but I always heard that. You know, It's sort of like we're out in the middle of the sea and God throws us a life preserver, and he's the one who saves us and rescues us. But we got to do our part and grab on to the life preserver. You ever thrown a life preserver to a dead man? How'd that work for you? Dead Men don't grab life preservers. Dead Men have to be made alive. First, understand something. We're dead and our trespasses and our sins before Almighty God. We are incapable of seeking God in and of ourselves, and we have a predisposition in the other direction. Here's the deal. If your will is so free, I got one thing for you, then by the power of your own will, don't sin anymore. You can't. You don't have the ability because your will is not free. That's why you didn't get to choose your parents, because your will is not free. It's sort of like when we go through the line. There'd be a whole bunch of food when we go through the line during our fellowship meal. But if you notice nobody's plates are exactly alike. Why because we are exercising our free will. Nope, because your taste budgs are not like mine, and you didn't choose them. So are you free go through the line and choose whatever you want? Sure you are, But are you free to determine what's pleasing to your taste and what's not? No, you are not. You are not free because of the fall of Adam, and because of our fall in Adam, we are utterly and absolutely hopelessly sinful and deserving of death and the wrath of God. Well then, well, well, what then, I'm glad you asked go back with me to Ephesians two again, carrying out the desires of the body and of the mind, or by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind verse four. But God, Amen, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us even when we were dead, and our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace, by grace, you have been saved. Listen. So many of us cannot comprehend the grace of God because we do not comprehend the fall of man. It's only when you understand the severity and the extent of the fall that you understand the grace of God. The grace of God doesn't help people who help themselves. The grace of God helps dead people who couldn't help themselves if they wanted to, and by the way, couldn't even want to. That's the grace of God. The grace of God and salvation is not that you want it bad enough and you meet God head way. No, the grace of God is you're dead, and it's God who makes you alive in the first place, which is the only way that you would ever seek salvation. That's the grace of God. From beginning to end. God saves sinners, they do not help him. Well, wait a minute, God requires repentance and faith. Yeah, that's true. That's why if Esians two goes on to say by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. In other words, the faith that you placed in God, He gave that to you too. It is a gift of God, not as a result of works. Why so that no one may boast whoa So what do I bring to the party? The sin that you inherited from Adam, That's what you bring to the party. That's it. You see. If we don't understand this, and we view salvation as this synergistic work. Now synergistic, there's synergy, this party's working together, as opposed to a monegistic work where there's one party who works to bring something about. If we understand salvation as this synergistic process where God sort of helps man save himself. Ultimately, Satan casts a vote, God cast a vote, but the deciding vote is yours. God's basically running for God in your life. He's politicing real hard. I mean he is. He's got a great platform and everything else. He's got more money to spend on his campaign than the other guy's got to spend on his campaign. But ultimately it's up to you and your vote. By the way, that's the American understanding of salvation, completely synergistic. You cast a deciding vote. Moneargism. God's not running for God. Amen. If we have a synergistic view of salvation, we look at Romans, where we look at Genesis chapter three, and here's what we say. You gotta work real hard not to be deceived by the serpent. That's what Genesis chapter three is all about. Work harder against the lust of the eyes. Guard yourself, Work harder against the lust of the flesh. Guard yourself, Work harder against the boastful pride of life. Don't be so prideful. In other words, do what Romans chapter three says no human being does. But if we come to this understanding the extent of the fall and the consequences of the fall, and that all of us, because of the fall are born desperately wicked, then we understand that we are absolutely helpless unless God, by his grace, makes us alive. One more I want you to see. Go to John chapter six and look at verse forty four the words of Jesus. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. Turn with me a few pages to the right and look at John chapter ten. Truly, truly, I say to you. He who does not enter the sheep fold by the door, but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the gatekeeper opens the sheep. Hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger, they will not follow, but they will flee from him. And they do not know the voice of strangers. This figure speech Jess used with them, But they did not understand what he was trying to say to them. Jesus again said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand is not a shepherd who does not own the sheep sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and the hired hand cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock and one shepherd. For this reason, the Father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, that I have authority to take it up again. This charge I received from my father. He knows his sheep, and he lays down his life for his sheep, because the sheep were absolutely helpless, having fallen in at him. Genesis chapter three is not about you doing better as the adversary comes at you, because you can't do better. Genesis chapter three is about the nature and the extent of the fall. Genesis chapter three is about the radical depravity of man. Genesis chapter three is about the death that entered the world for all men because of the fall of Adam. And Genesis chapter three is about the desperate need of mankind for a savior. In the next section of Genesis chapter three, we see that that savior is to come, as the Gospel is proclaimed afresh and anew, even in the midst of the curse to the woman. But for now hear this, Adam fell in him. You fell too, And because you fell in Adam, you are desperately and deceitfully wicked, and you are in need of a savior who will rescue you from your sin. You cannot help him do so. And if you have any desire toward debt salvation, rejoice because it is a gift of Almighty God. Therefore, repent, place your faith in Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Here's the good news. It is God who works in you both to will and to do his good pleasure. So if God brings you to that place of repentance and faith, and my prayer is that he does, and that he has. My admonition to you is the day you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. Here respond, repent, believe, and be saved. And for those of us who are saved, let us rejoice in our salvation that has been wrought by God and by God alone. And let us forsake now and forevermore. This arrogant idea that somehow you and I were smarter than the next guy and we figured it out, because ultimately, if salvation is not a monargistic work of God, we have reason to boast I'm smarter than the next guy. Therefore I heard the gospel and I got it, and he didn't or if not smarter than more righteous, I'm more than the next guy. I heard the Gospel, and I exercise my righteousness. He didn't exercise his. So I'm saved because I'm more righteous. Are you more intelligent? Are you more righteous? Or have you just experienced the unmerited favor of God as His grace has made you alive together with Christ if you understand the nature and the extent of the fall. The answer is a resounding yes. I have experienced this undeserved, unmerited favor of God. And because of it and by it, I've been saying through no work of my own, through no effort of my own, because all of the effort that I put forth in placing my faith in Christ and repenting of my sin was also a result of the work wrought by God and my heart. That's salvation. That's why we don't come up here every week and just say, if you will, but say these words, if you will, but work a little bit harder, because that's not salvation. It's not. And churches are filled with people who are absolutely unequivocally lost because they've never heard about the nature and the extent of the fall and believe that somehow, if they walk to the magic part of the room and say the magic words, that they can somehow twist God's arm and bring themselves to the reality of salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth. That's why we plead with God to reveal himself and the lives of the people to whom we preach. Because unless God does the work, the work doesn't get done. Would you buy with me follow We acknowledge and confess to you that we are falling, sinful creatures, and we exhibit every day the evidence that we have inherited Adam's fallen nature, because in our thoughts, in our words, and in our deeds we exhibit rebellion against You. And we confess this morning that only by your grace may we be redeemed. Only by your grace do we even comprehend. Only by your grace are we made alive and given a desire to come to You in repentance and faith only by your grace. And I thank you for the grace of God that is demonstrated and exhibited in the Proclamation of the Gospel. May that grace bear much fruit in the form of repentance and faith. I pray that every soul under the sound of my voice would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, by your power and for your glory, and for the eternal praise of his name. Amen.