A Daily Walk

John Randall: The principle here that I want to point out to you is that sin doesn't just affect the person involved, it affects other people as well. It affects others. "This is just me, this is my thing, I’m not affecting anybody" - no, you're hurting people. You're hurting your kids, you're hurting your wife, you're hurting your husband, you're hurting your friends, you're hurting your church, you're hurting Jesus. That's really what we need to consider. It affects others.

Announcer: Welcome to a Daily Walk, where you never have to walk alone. Pastor John Randall is taking us through Genesis verse-by-verse right now. In chapter three, sin enters the world. Eve falls for Satan’s lie and Adam willfully disobeys God too.

Rather than admitting their sin and turning to God through repentance, they chose to blame shift. Sound familiar? Not only will we be taking a look at the right and wrong way to respond after we sin, but John will also point out that Satan’s tactics really haven't changed since the garden.

John Randall: There's questioning, there's contradicting God's word, but then the enemy gives a replacement or substitute for God's word with his own lie. Look at what it says in verse five. "Let me enlighten you, Eve. God knows that in the day that you eat of it, your eyes are going to be opened, and you're going to be like God. You're going to know the difference between good and evil." That's really what's going on here.

Let me tell you why he put that tree there, and let me tell you why he doesn't want you to have it. Because you'll be like him and he's very concerned about that. Lies. The enemy slanders the goodness of God. "God's holding out on you. He knows your eyes are going to be opened." Again, a bold-faced lie from the father of lies, sowing seed into the mind of Eve. It's the same lie that people have embraced today.

Eve, you can become like God. You can have a God consciousness. New Age caps on this. This is their thing. A God consciousness within all of us. God is the creator, I am a creator. Just lies from hell that the devil's been spinning since the beginning. You're the captain of your soul, you're the captain of your destiny. You will not surely die.

The inevitable happens as she entertains, she listens, she reasons, she starts questioning, listening to the contradictions, and starts going down that path. It says in verse six, "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food..." That justifies it, right? It is food, I'm hungry. "That it was pleasant to the eyes, it was desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and she ate it." She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate it.

This downward spiral which began is the same one that John recounts in First John chapter two. I want you to notice the similarities of what Eve is experiencing. I'll make the connection for you. First John chapter two verse 15 and 16. Here's what John wrote: "Don't love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

Here it is: "All that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world." Folks, when you look at the temptation of Eve, that's exactly what she was hit with: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Those three things. The devil has three plays. He runs them over and over and over again.

If you don't stop these three plays, he'll run right over you. He'll gain victory over you. But this is what he uses. The lust of the flesh. What is it? It's good for food. The flesh desires it. I find justification in taking it because it is going to help me with something. It does help, right? It does help. So you justify taking it. It's good for something.

Beware of the deceptive ability of your flesh to justify things that God doesn't justify. It's crazy how we do that. We rationalize it. We use all kinds of things to rationalize it and justify it. "Well, I'm pretty stressed and it does help me. It really does. And besides that, God did make the herbs of the field. Let's be honest, he made the herbs. He made them. So if he didn't make them, he probably wouldn't. So, and it helps."

There are ways of justifying doing what you're doing. And it's not right. It's good for food. It's good for my stress. It's good for... but is that of God? Not only the lust of the flesh, but how about the lust of the eyes? "Saw that it was pleasant to the eyes." Oh boy, there is such a battle that goes on with the eyes. You have to be aware.

Remember that Job talked about that? He said, "I've made a covenant with my eyes that I won't sin against God." I made an agreement with my eyes, not going to look on something ungodly that would lead me away. I want to be careful. We sing a song when I was a kid: "Be careful little eyes what you see." And it talks about what comes in through the eye gate makes its way into the mind and into the heart.

So much of it starts right there. If you allow it and you entertain it and you go there with it, it'll wreck your brain, it'll wreck your mind. Jesus said the lamp of the body is the eye, and if your eye is bad, then your whole body is bad. What we see, what we observe as it travels in, goes into the mind and then swirls around there. We're fighting through it and we wonder why we're incited to - probably because you've been feeding it.

You saw it and then you went after it. You saw it with your eyes. It reminds me of Achan. Remember Achan in the Old Testament? The nation of Israel comes out of the wilderness into the Promised Land and Joshua told everybody, "Listen, don't touch anything in Jericho. The city's going to fall, don't touch anything. All the spoil, give it to God. Don't take anything." Achan goes in, sees a wedge of gold, sees a Babylonian garment.

He saw it. He should have turned away from it, but he saw it. And then he coveted it. And then he took it. And then he hid it. And the whole camp was defeated. But it started with he looked at it. "Is that a Babylonian garment? Probably never get to wear it, but I’d sure love to hide it in my tent." Like, what are you going to do with that? You're never going to be able to wear that out.

"Where'd you get that, Achan?" "This old thing? Nowhere." You're never going to wear it, but you will carry it and hide it. Imagine this: every time the camp moves, "Hey guys, real quick, we've got to make sure the stuff under the tent - you know what to do with it." And they have to move it and then dig a hole under the tent. "Hey, what's up everybody, tabernacle, let's worship."

You're going to have to go through this whole thing. You take your luggage with you, all of your baggage with you everywhere you go. Some people take it from church to church. What happens is they bury it, the church finds out about it, the wife talks about it, the husband talks with - suddenly it's like, "Oh, this old thing?" and they head down the street and rebury it until they go down for a while and then people find out about it there.

You've been to every church in the entire Orange County area. Maybe that's exaggerating, but you understand what I'm saying. Like he saw it, and then he coveted it. If he wouldn't have looked at it, then he wouldn't have coveted it, then he wouldn't have taken it. You have to be careful what goes into your eyes. Just make a covenant with your eyes.

Then there's the pride of life. It says it will make one wise. "This is going to make me really smart. This will be good, I'm going to be smarter if I take this." And so she ended up taking it. A lot of people ask, "Why would God put the tree there to begin with, Pastor John? Doesn't seem fair." Because God wanted them to choose whether or not they would love him.

For love to be love, there has to be a choice. There has to be. God did not force Adam and Eve to love him. He had blessed them with everything imaginable and they had a choice to respond to his love. This was their choice. He didn't make them puppets. He didn't create them to be robotic. He created them with a free will.

It's also worth noting, just a side note, that the same three temptations that Eve faced in the garden - lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life - Jesus faced the same three temptations by the devil in the wilderness. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, the pride of life. Same thing. You can go back and you can do a comparison. You're thinking, "Oh my goodness, it's the same play." Yeah. And Jesus conquered him.

How? With the word of God. Every time: "It is written." Even when Satan tried to twist the scriptures: "The Bible says..." and Jesus said - because he misquoted it, and so Jesus corrected him because he used the sword of the spirit properly. The interesting thing is it says here, "Then she took of its fruit and she ate it," and then sadly, notice it says she gave it to her husband with her and he ate.

Eve saw it, she lusted after it, she took it, and her sin initially affected her. But then what did she do? She gave it to her husband. Adam, why? We'll find out when we get to heaven. "Is Adam here? I just wanted to..." We'll find out. We wouldn't have done any better. Adam was the best we had, and he failed. That's why we needed Jesus to come.

The principle here that I want to point out to you is that sin doesn't just affect the person involved, it affects other people as well. It affects others. "This is just me, this is my thing, I’m not affecting anybody" - no, you're hurting people. You're hurting your kids, you're hurting your wife, you're hurting your husband, you're hurting your friends, you're hurting your church, you're hurting Jesus. That's really what we need to consider.

It affects others. By the way, there is a difference between the sin of Eve and the sin of Adam in this. Eve, we know, was deceived, but Adam sinned knowing that it was wrong. He sinned with eyes wide open. God told him from the beginning, "Adam, in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die." He was the leader. Maybe it was because he saw the woman and loved her and noticed the difference in her, or maybe he saw something that happened initially.

I don't know why he took of it, but he did. It's also worth noting, where was Adam when the conversation was going down? His wife was talking to a snake. When did that ever happen before? Where was Adam? It doesn't say where he was. We don't know. Nonetheless, there was something there. She's over here dialoging with a snake, and who knows, he shows up and he takes it and eats it.

What was the result of this sin? We'll notice here in verse seven, "Then the eyes of both of them, they were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings." First thing they do when their sin is exposed, they try to cover themselves. They make for themselves fig leaves coverings. Quick, get some fig leaves. Put it together. Uncomfortable.

Trying to cover your sin is basically what they're doing. Their eyes are open. It's so sad too, after you sin. There's all of this leading up to sin, the temptation to do it and the excitement. Then we sin and then we're like, "Oh." The guilt and shame and the grief. Then, "How do I lie my way out of this? How do I not let anybody see this? Delete, delete, delete. Cancel, cancel."

Run, bury, hide it. But that's what happens. It's just shame and guilt. There's all this leading up to it, and then you sin and you feel terrible. The devil was like, "I got you. I got you. Now what are you going to do?" And so they try to cover it. How uncomfortable when you try to cover your sin. Moses sought to cover his sin by burying an Egyptian - that didn't work.

David sought to cover his sin with the death of Uriah - didn't work. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 28:13, "He who covers his sins will not prosper." But the Bible says whoever confesses his sin, forsakes his sin, will be forgiven. The blood of Jesus can cleanse us. You can't cover sin. We need to be cleansed of sin.

We always want to cover our backs, want to cover ourselves from the fact that we're truly guilty. But following the attempted covering and hiding, you'll notice they were afraid, afraid of God. This is what I want you to understand: the relationship with God was impacted. Whereas before they would walk with God and talk with God, now because they've sinned, they're afraid. "I can't talk to God."

How about this one: "I can't go to church. If people find out that I stumbled..." So I'm just going to - I'm not going to go to church anymore. "People, they're judging anyway." And then you start going down that thing and then you justify why you didn't. Then you see somebody in the supermarket from church and you run from them because you don't want them to see you. It's a true story, it's happened to me before. Not run, but quickly move.

"Hey John!" "Hey, I see you. Come back. What are you..." It's awkward. Super awkward, but it doesn't have to be that way. They're hiding because they're afraid, but verse eight, listen to this: "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden."

Isn't this so sad? They had such sweet fellowship with God, such purity, such joy, just such a blessing. And now when they hear the Lord coming, they're like, "We need to hide ourselves." And they run, they're afraid, they cover their sin and they hide. Boy, that's exactly what the devil wants. Condemnation. "He'll never forgive you. What are you doing? Are you crazy? Yeah, you're done. You ate it, ha! You did it. You shouldn't have, you knew you shouldn't have and you did it anyway."

You feel that. But guys, listen, just information: you can't hide from God. You can't. The Psalmist said, "Where can I go to get away from your spirit? Could I ascend to the heights of heaven? You're there. Into the depths? No, you're there. Even if I went into the deepest part of the sea..." He's there. He knows exactly where we are, and that's because he loves you. He knows where you are.

This is interesting because it says here as they're hiding from God, "Then the Lord God called to Adam and said, 'Where are you?' And he said, 'I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.'" And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you that you should not eat?"

By the way, when the Lord said, "Where are you?" he knew where Adam was. He saw the fig leaves. "Adam, where are you?" God knew where he was. And sometimes you read this and you think, "Wow, I wonder what the sound was like when God said that. Was it like the voice of this, 'Where are you, Adam?'" Adam's just shivering in the leaves. God screaming angrily, "Adam, where are you, Adam?"

I really don't think so. I really think that when God called Adam's voice, when God called out and Adam heard his voice, that it was a brokenhearted father. "Adam, where are you at? Where are you?" "Well, I was hiding and I heard you coming, so I'm just hiding in..." It's not true. God's asking him what he's doing, and he kind of just beats around the bush.

The older I get, the more of those come. I don't know why. But the Lord calls out, and the thing that I think of when I read this is, if God's calling out to you, where are you at tonight? Where are you? Where are you with the Lord? Have you gotten closer to the Lord this year? Are you further back? Where are you really? Where are you?

Because God already knows. He loves you, but he's asking, "Where are you at? What are you doing? Where are you?" You're either in fellowship with God or you're out of fellowship with God. You're either hiding in the leaves or you're walking with the Lord in the cool of the day. Where are you at? Adam responds, he said, "I heard your voice in the garden, I was afraid because I was naked, hid myself."

Then the Lord asks him a question, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree which I commanded that you should not eat?" Adam is now confronted with his sin. He tried to cover it, now it comes out. It comes to the surface, and eventually it does. You can hide it, but eventually it's going to come to the surface.

Sometimes people, if they're deep in it, they don't want to say anything, and so they'll tell you little bits of pieces of it. "Well, I did this." And how does she respond to that? No, you left out a big part of it. You just want to say that much and suddenly you're justified because you told - listen, that's not the whole thing. "Oh, she doesn't need to know that, what she doesn't know doesn't really bother." No, you're really not walking in light, you're still covering it up.

Here we find the Lord asks him a question. He's confronted with sin, and light exposes darkness. Notice Adam's initial response. Is he going to confess? "Yeah Lord, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have." No. Verse 12: "Then the man said, 'The woman you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate.'" Now there's so much in that, right? So much in that. It's the woman's fault.

And by the way, you gave her to me. So that means it's your fault, God. Oh, this is a classic! Nothing much has changed. People tell God, "How come? It's your fault. How could God do this to me? I didn't - how could he put that in front of me?" You bought it! Behind the liquor store! From some random guy that was driving up, and you just handed him the bag and you paid him. How could this happen? You planned it! That's how it happened.

Here you are and he's saying, "God, it's the woman you gave me. It's your fault." And that is the natural inclination, to justify ourselves and blame other people. It's your fault. And listen, there's people that you can go to today, and you can pay a lot of money for them to tell you who you can blame for the way that you are. It's true. Everybody's a victim.

Listen, we live in a fallen world. Jesus was a victim. If anybody could claim victim, it would have been Jesus. I'm not saying that what we've gone through, the pain that we've gone through, no matter what it is and how dark it is, doesn't impact us or affect us. But I want to say that you can be a new creation in Christ, that old things can be passed away. God can do something new in your life. He can bring healing.

And he has. And there's people in this room, filled in this room, that would testify, "God has healed my life. God has done a radical work in my heart. He has changed me and softened me and taken away my bitterness," or whatever it is. But Adam blames somebody else. Then notice this as we continue, almost through. Then as you go on, "It's the woman you gave me." We got that part. "And so I ate it."

And then the Lord said to the woman, "Well, what is this that you've done?" And the woman said, "Well, the serpent deceived me, and I ate." So the Lord God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all the cattle, more than every beast of the field. On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

Adam says, "It's her and it's you." Eve said, "It's the serpent that deceived me, and so I ate." So immediately God pronounces judgment on the serpent, but ultimately upon Satan. And talks about this struggle that will go between man and the devil. But what I want you to make note of here is in verse 15. This is really important when the Lord says, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed..." and notice this, "her seed."

"He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." That right there is called the Proto-Evangelium. It is the first mention of the gospel in the Bible. And the reason I point this out is because it says the devil's seed, but also the woman's seed. The woman doesn't have the seed, the man does. This is referring to a virgin birth. This is the first mention of the gospel, right here.

God has a plan for man's condition. There's going to be one that's going to be raised up and he's going to crush the head of Satan. You're going to bruise his heel, but he's going to crush you. You're going to be done away with eventually. He will conquer you, in other words. This is the first mention of the gospel. And so then there's the consequence of sin.

For the Lord tells the woman, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception. In pain you shall bring forth children, and your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you." For women, there would be pain in childbirth. And there is. And what they go through, the pain that they suffer.

Announcer: Pastor John Randall on A Daily Walk. We're going through the Bible right now. You can hear the study from Genesis again at adailywalk.org or download our church app so you can listen through your mobile device. Just search for Calvary South OC. You'll also find us on most of the major podcast platforms.

Well, when a listener takes the time to write or call, it really blesses us, more than words can tell. And yes, Pastor John reads your emails and your letters. The Lord deserves all the credit for anything good that comes from and through this ministry, and it's an opportunity to praise and thank him for what he's doing. Share a praise report or a prayer request at adailywalk@gmail.com. That's adailywalk@gmail.com.

Here in the month of September, we are pleased to offer you a book written by Jacob Coyne entitled Stay Here: Uncovering God’s Plan to Restore Your Mental Health. Jacob writes: "It's okay to not be okay, but you don't have to stay there." It's time to shine the hope of Christ into the darkness and witness his love transform broken souls into living, breathing signs to live.

With tender words and compassion, he brings life into the dark corners of mental health, giving hurting souls a reason to live. It's available right now through our e-store for the cost of $12. Go to adailywalk.org or call us at 877-242-0828. Here at A Daily Walk, we make it our goal to please God in all we say and do.

If you believe in what we're doing and would like to get behind us, we would very much appreciate your prayers and financial support. Yes, God has proven to be faithful to provide where he's guided us, and we look to him and to you to help us continue. To make a donation today, drop by adailywalk.org or call 877-242-0828.

Stay connected with Pastor John on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram and receive biblical encouragement throughout the week. Follow him on X @PJRandall7, on Instagram @JohnPRandall. We're going through the Bible with Pastor John Randall on A Daily Walk. Don't miss a moment of the journey through Genesis.