You Can’t Live in Disobedience and Have Eternal Life

Genesis 3:7-13, 22-24, NKJV

June 30, 2021

Adam and Eve disobeyed God; sin entered the world and led to death as God had promised Adam: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat (2:16); but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die (2:17).” “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Whose word will you believe today – the Lord’s or Satan’s?  

Out of shame and fear they hid in the garden because they were naked, but God called them out: “Where are you (9)?” “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat (11)?” God holds each of us responsible for our acts of disobedience. He promised the serpent that because he deceived Eve, He would put open hostility, between him and the woman, and between his seed and her seed. He shall [fatally] bruise the serpent’s head, and the serpent will [only] bruise his heel. Here God prophesies of Jesus’ coming for mankind’s redemption of (15).

Genesis 3:22a says: “Behold, the man has become like one of Us” (22a). The Lord explained that the man has come “to know good and evil” (22a). The minute they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked. Their innocence was gone; disobedience brought them to the naked shame of sin. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings (v.7). What do we use for fig leaves to cover our sins and who do we blame? Adam blamed Eve; Eve blamed the serpent.

For their disobedience and by chance man put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever falsely (22b): God drove him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken (23). Yes, our willful disobedience to God leads to a life that is separated from God, resulting in eternal damnation. So He placed cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life (24) that man would know that he can only be redeemed through acceptance of Jesus Christ.