Fundamentally Wrong
Learning the fundamentals is crucial for any kind of activity. In sports, often times the greatest athletes were taught the fundamentals at a very young age. Then, when they mature, they have a greater opportunity to become excellent athletes.
If the fundamentals are learned wrong, or not learned at all, it is impossible to develop excellence at any latter stage of their lives. For example, if a child learns to “dribble” a basketball with both hands at the same time and then carry it three steps before beginning to dribble again, that child would never have an opportunity to become a “player.” That is, unless someone took that child and said, “Let me teach you” and then taught that child the necessary, fundamental skills necessary to succeed.
In the “Christian World” we have many people who sadly have a major fundamental flaw with their concept of Christianity.
I’m not talking about the wide variety of theological differences that separate denominations. I’m referring to the basic concepts and understanding of Christianity; the will of God, and how redemption (salvation) is obtained.
This fundamental error is so widespread that it seems to permeate virtually every denominational group throughout all Christendom and has weakened the church’s ability to combat the forces of darkness in this lost and dying world. This error has made the Christian faith much more complex than it needs to be and much more difficult for newcomers to understand.
Sin has a basic root. It has a fundamental aspect. Romans 3:23 declares “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That’s not two statements. It’s one statement followed by a definition. Let’s look at a different example: I could say, “everyone has become famished and felt so very hungry they were overwhelmed by their desire to eat.” The second half of that sentence gives a definition or description of the first half of the sentence. What does it mean to be “famished?” It means to feel so hungry you are overwhelmed with the desire to eat. Applying that sentence structure to Romans 3:23; what does it mean to sin? It means to come short of the glory of God.
Any time an individual does something that comes short of what God would do in that same situation, that action is a sin. I am sinning right now as I write these words. Even though I am seeking to write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I know for a fact that if God Himself were typing these words, He would do a much better job at explaining this to you than I am doing. Since the Lord could do it better, then I am sinning by coming short of His perfection. In the area of sin, “a miss is as good as a mile.” Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear weapons; not with God. Either you’re perfect, or you’re not. Guess what… we’re NOT.
Imagine you were playing golf with God. You step up to the tee and make a mighty swing, hitting the ball “perfectly” down the fairway. Next it’s God’s turn. He steps up and takes His swing. He hits the ball from the tee to the green and into the cup. You see, when playing 18 holes, God always shoots “18.” He never misses. Every time He swings, it’s a “hole in one.” He also bowls “300.” Every roll of the ball is a strike. You can’t compete with that! You can’t perform on that level. No matter how hard you try, you can’t “be like God!” To think so is to believe a fundamental lie that has been responsible for the destruction of man from the beginning of time.
The “lie” that you can “be like God,” can be traced back to the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God placed the man in the Garden and gave him instructions. He said they could eat of any tree in the Garden except for one: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shalt not eat: for in the day that you eat of it, you shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Some people interpret that statement as meaning, “if you eat of that tree I will surely kill you.” Nothing could be further from the truth! We tell our children, “You can cross the road, but don’t step out in front of a car or you will become a wet spot on the pavement.” That statement is intended to protect them. It is informational. It isn’t a threat. It is a commandment only in the sense that we want our children to “trust” what we say so that they will be safe and well. We want them to “believe” our words in order for them to avoid self destruction.
When facing the “serpent” (the devil) in the Garden, Eve told him “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.” (Genesis 3:3) We don’t know where the added words “neither shall ye touch it” came from. We only know that they were not included in God’s original instructions to Adam. God told Adam “...you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) It’s possible that Adam may have added “neither shall ye touch it” when he repeated God’s instructions to Eve, in order to emphasize to her the importance of staying away from the tree. In any case, when you add to or take away from the truth, the truth becomes a lie and Satan has an opportunity to use that lie against you and others that believe it. He only needs to disprove the lie portion in order for you to doubt the truth portion.
Given that opening, the devil said to Eve “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 3:4-5) He essentially told her, “God is a liar. If you eat the fruit, you can become like God, being able to distinguish between good and evil.” That statement from the devil to Eve contains the fundamental lie that he has used against mankind throughout the generations and still uses today.
It contains a partial truth, laced with a deception, which is the way he loves to deceive and divide people, by not telling the whole truth. For example, I can tell you that “When you grow up, you can be like me.” If, when you are young, you spend a lot of time in the sun without any protection or sunscreen, you too can have a beautiful tan just like me. What I didn’t say was, “Yes, you too can have skin cancer!” But who wants that?
God had originally created Adam and Eve in His own image, in every good way that He wanted them to be like Him. They were like little children, with no concept of good or evil. Knowing “good and evil” doesn’t make you like God in any good way. It robs you of innocence, brings forth guilt, shame and fear, and eventually breeds pride and a judgmental attitude!
Genesis 3:6 goes on to tells us “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.” There is only one way that she could have “seen” that the tree was good for food. The serpent must have eaten from it to try and prove to her that it was good. The problem was, God hadn’t said that the serpent would die if it ate of the fruit and the devil was fully aware of that fact. Eve on the other hand was naive and apparently a little gullible. Next Genesis 3:6 says she saw that it was “pleasant to the eyes.” That would seem to indicate that she examined it, probably touched it, most likely held it, and discovered that nothing of any negative consequence resulted from her “examination.”
Those few added words of instruction, “neither shall ye touch it,” had devastating consequences. You cannot add to or take away from the Word of God. When Even saw that nothing bad happened by touching the apple, she began to doubt God. What this whole story boils down to, rests in how you interpret what took place here. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, were they being “disobedient” to God’s “command,” or were they demonstrating a “lack of faith” in God’s Word?
If someone is being disobedient, they can correct disobedience by becoming “obedient.” On the other hand if someone is demonstrating a lack of faith, or unbelief, they can correct for their lack of faith by becoming faithful, i.e.. by “believing.”
So, I ask you, in church after church and denomination after denomination, throughout the whole world, what is the fundamental message that is declared? Unfortunately, most of the time that message is that “Being a good person is what God wants. Disobedience is what God hates. Disobedience is sin. If you become obedient, God will love and accept you. You can become like God, distinguishing between good and evil, and choose to be obedient by doing good.” They say that “Doing good works is God’s will for your life. That alone is pleasing in His sight. You need to do those things that “we” say are right and not do those things that “we” have determined are wrong. Keep the laws and God will love you and you’ll have an express trip straight to heaven when you die.”
Sadly that message is a lie right from the devil. It’s the same lie the serpent told to Eve in the garden. It comes right from the “bowels of hell.” Believing that you can become like God, or be “liked or accepted” by God through knowing the difference between good and evil and choosing to do the good is a satanic deception. It is a deception that will most certainly cause those who believe it to be ultimately cast into the lake of fire. It is a fundamental error.
God told Adam that if he ate of the tree in the midst of the garden, he would die. The serpent told Eve, you will not die. Answer this question. WHOM DID EVE BELIEVE? Undoubtedly she believed the devil. Genesis 3:6 says Eve gave the fruit to Adam and “he did eat.” Adam knew that God had said, if you eat it you will die. Yet, WHOM DID ADAM BELIEVE? Obviously he believed Eve, his wife. God clearly identifies the underlying reason for the “fall” when He says to Adam in Genesis 3:17 that it was all because Adam had “hearkened unto the voice” of his wife. (listened to her) Neither one of them believed God.
The only way to correct for not “believing God,” is to do the opposite and “believe God.” That is why God chose “faith” as the means by which redemption would come. Without understanding that fundamental truth, faith makes no sense at all. Why must we believe? For many people, they think that believing as a means of obtaining and maintaining redemption seems foolish; after all, simply believing in something is just too easy! 1 Corinthians 1:27 tells us that “...God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise...” The truth is actually very simple: Because “not believing” was responsible for the fall of man, “believing” is the means by which you can be restored. For Adam and Eve in the garden “believing God” meant believing that eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would bring death, but they did not believe. In this current day and age “believing God” begins with believing Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and He is Lord! (yet many do not believe)
Once sin is a part of your life, (now guaranteed from birth for every single person) separation from God is the result. The remedy for that separation is what must be fundamentally corrected. When Adam and Eve, ate of the fruit, the only thing they noticed from their sin, was their nakedness and they thought they needed to “cover themselves up.” Genesis 3:7 says “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves coverings.” They recognized they were sinners, they had eaten of the fruit, and they had not believed God. Eve had believed the devil and Adam had believed his wife. Then they tried to “fix” their “problem” by using the works of their hands to cover up what they perceived to be the visible result of their sin: their nakedness.
On the inside they were still filled with fear, but on the outside they were “looking good” at least in their own eyes. They were wearing the works of their hands; the “aprons” that covered their nakedness. God on the other hand presented them with an entirely different plan for dealing with their sin. Genesis 3:21 says “…the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” The “aprons” that they had made to “cover” their sin, were insufficient in the eyes of God. He made them “coats of skins” instead.
Answer this question:
What must happen in order for an animal to give up its skin?
I’m sure you got it correct, Yes! It has to die.
God demonstrated death to Adam and Eve. He showed them the very first sacrifice. The animals in the garden were their companions. They had played with that little lamb in the garden. Adam had named it. Now it was lying on the ground, quivering, with its “life’s blood” pouring out. The lamb died so that their sin could be covered. The lamb died in their place. God introduced them to the Gospel of Christ by teaching them that: for sin comes death, but the death of a “substitute” is an acceptable alternative as long as the substitute is of sufficient “value” to “cover” the sin. This initiated the whole “sacrificial system.” Adam and Eve apparently taught the concept of the sacrifice to their children. Genesis 4:3-4 tells us that “…it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering”
Once again we see the example and contrast between believing God and believing the lie of Satan. That is seen here in the “offerings” brought to the Lord by Cain and Abel. God had demonstrated to them the manner by which they could come to him. His example had been by recognizing that, for sin comes death. (The death of the lamb) Adam and Eve deserved to die, but the lamb could die in their place. In the verse above, we see that Cain brought to the Lord “the fruit of the ground” which means the best vegetables from his garden. He had worked hard to bring his very best to the Lord, but his very best was not good enough. Abel on the other hand hadn’t produced that lamb. He hadn’t done anything to “make it.” God was not giving any kind of preference to Abel. Abel understood the sacrifice. God was completely willing to accept an “offering” from Cain. The offering however, had to be the only acceptable offering the Lord was willing to receive at that time: the blood of the lamb. John 1:29 tells us that “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” All the sacrificial lambs that died before, from the ones that provided the coats for Adam and Eve, to the one offered by Abel, to the ones that died in the Passover and beyond, were all pointing to a future sacrificial lamb; the true lamb: the Lamb of God, who was Jesus Christ. His blood was more than just a “covering” for sin. His blood was capable of completely “washing” sin away.
Whenever I ask someone about their relationship with God I get very similar answers: “I haven’t been too bad throughout my life.” or “I always try to do the right thing.” and “I’ve never hurt anyone.” etc… God will not accept that kind of offering because it involves your ability to know good and evil, and your ability to choose good. It involves you doing your very best and believing that your puny efforts will somehow be sufficient to please Him. Remember, that’s the devil’s deception and the very attitude that Jesus condemned in the most “religious” people of the day (the Pharisees). Jesus came against the religious leaders and said that they honor “…with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:6-8) Even back then, religious leaders were making up their own rules and teaching them to the people as though they were rules of God.
If you approach God based on your ability to know good from evil and do that which is right, you will be rejected and ultimately cast out. It was unbelief that caused the problem and now only by believing “on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31) can anyone be saved. Isaiah 64:6 declares “...all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags...” and Romans 3:10-12 clearly tells us “...“There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
By receiving Jesus Christ (John 1:12), by confessing Him “with your mouth” and believing in your heart that He is “raised from the dead” (Romans 10:9), you literally “put on Christ.” You “wear” Jesus Christ in the same way Adam and Eve “wore” the coats made of skins from the lamb. Christ alone is our lamb, the lamb that taketh away the sin of the world. He is the only means provided for your redemption and faith in him is the only method by which you can come to God.
Certainly God wants people to do good things. He wants you to do good works. But none of us on our own are capable of doing anything good enough, and doing good things is not what actually saves you. Remember that anything short of the perfect game is a failure. The only good that ever comes from us is the good that the Spirit of God does through us. When we receive Christ as Savior, the Spirit of God comes to live within us. He then sets out to change us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) and through His efforts and our willingness to trust His leadership, we will undoubtedly begin to do that which is good and turn from that which is evil. What we must never forget is that the only good that we then do, is the good that God is doing through us and therefore we do not deserve any credit for it. It is His good works, not ours.
Turn away from your own self-righteousness. Quit believing the lie of the serpent. Understand that in this present age, you can’t “be like God!” Stop offering your “best” to God, and start receiving His “best” for you. Stop judging others based upon where they are in their journey. Pray and ask God to forgive you for your own failures. Ask Him to come into your life and forgive your sins. The ears of God are always open to accept the offering of the “blood of the Lamb” which has already been given through Jesus Christ. You just have to accept the gift. That, brothers and sisters, is fundamentally right!
If you enjoyed this article, I would also recommend that you watch the Video What Makes YOU think YOU'RE so right? You can follow the text link to GodTube, or on this site, go to the Videos page and watch from their along with other videos.
If the fundamentals are learned wrong, or not learned at all, it is impossible to develop excellence at any latter stage of their lives. For example, if a child learns to “dribble” a basketball with both hands at the same time and then carry it three steps before beginning to dribble again, that child would never have an opportunity to become a “player.” That is, unless someone took that child and said, “Let me teach you” and then taught that child the necessary, fundamental skills necessary to succeed.
In the “Christian World” we have many people who sadly have a major fundamental flaw with their concept of Christianity.
I’m not talking about the wide variety of theological differences that separate denominations. I’m referring to the basic concepts and understanding of Christianity; the will of God, and how redemption (salvation) is obtained.
This fundamental error is so widespread that it seems to permeate virtually every denominational group throughout all Christendom and has weakened the church’s ability to combat the forces of darkness in this lost and dying world. This error has made the Christian faith much more complex than it needs to be and much more difficult for newcomers to understand.
Sin has a basic root. It has a fundamental aspect. Romans 3:23 declares “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That’s not two statements. It’s one statement followed by a definition. Let’s look at a different example: I could say, “everyone has become famished and felt so very hungry they were overwhelmed by their desire to eat.” The second half of that sentence gives a definition or description of the first half of the sentence. What does it mean to be “famished?” It means to feel so hungry you are overwhelmed with the desire to eat. Applying that sentence structure to Romans 3:23; what does it mean to sin? It means to come short of the glory of God.
Any time an individual does something that comes short of what God would do in that same situation, that action is a sin. I am sinning right now as I write these words. Even though I am seeking to write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I know for a fact that if God Himself were typing these words, He would do a much better job at explaining this to you than I am doing. Since the Lord could do it better, then I am sinning by coming short of His perfection. In the area of sin, “a miss is as good as a mile.” Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear weapons; not with God. Either you’re perfect, or you’re not. Guess what… we’re NOT.
Imagine you were playing golf with God. You step up to the tee and make a mighty swing, hitting the ball “perfectly” down the fairway. Next it’s God’s turn. He steps up and takes His swing. He hits the ball from the tee to the green and into the cup. You see, when playing 18 holes, God always shoots “18.” He never misses. Every time He swings, it’s a “hole in one.” He also bowls “300.” Every roll of the ball is a strike. You can’t compete with that! You can’t perform on that level. No matter how hard you try, you can’t “be like God!” To think so is to believe a fundamental lie that has been responsible for the destruction of man from the beginning of time.
The “lie” that you can “be like God,” can be traced back to the original sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God placed the man in the Garden and gave him instructions. He said they could eat of any tree in the Garden except for one: “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shalt not eat: for in the day that you eat of it, you shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Some people interpret that statement as meaning, “if you eat of that tree I will surely kill you.” Nothing could be further from the truth! We tell our children, “You can cross the road, but don’t step out in front of a car or you will become a wet spot on the pavement.” That statement is intended to protect them. It is informational. It isn’t a threat. It is a commandment only in the sense that we want our children to “trust” what we say so that they will be safe and well. We want them to “believe” our words in order for them to avoid self destruction.
When facing the “serpent” (the devil) in the Garden, Eve told him “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.” (Genesis 3:3) We don’t know where the added words “neither shall ye touch it” came from. We only know that they were not included in God’s original instructions to Adam. God told Adam “...you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) It’s possible that Adam may have added “neither shall ye touch it” when he repeated God’s instructions to Eve, in order to emphasize to her the importance of staying away from the tree. In any case, when you add to or take away from the truth, the truth becomes a lie and Satan has an opportunity to use that lie against you and others that believe it. He only needs to disprove the lie portion in order for you to doubt the truth portion.
Given that opening, the devil said to Eve “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 3:4-5) He essentially told her, “God is a liar. If you eat the fruit, you can become like God, being able to distinguish between good and evil.” That statement from the devil to Eve contains the fundamental lie that he has used against mankind throughout the generations and still uses today.
It contains a partial truth, laced with a deception, which is the way he loves to deceive and divide people, by not telling the whole truth. For example, I can tell you that “When you grow up, you can be like me.” If, when you are young, you spend a lot of time in the sun without any protection or sunscreen, you too can have a beautiful tan just like me. What I didn’t say was, “Yes, you too can have skin cancer!” But who wants that?
God had originally created Adam and Eve in His own image, in every good way that He wanted them to be like Him. They were like little children, with no concept of good or evil. Knowing “good and evil” doesn’t make you like God in any good way. It robs you of innocence, brings forth guilt, shame and fear, and eventually breeds pride and a judgmental attitude!
Genesis 3:6 goes on to tells us “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.” There is only one way that she could have “seen” that the tree was good for food. The serpent must have eaten from it to try and prove to her that it was good. The problem was, God hadn’t said that the serpent would die if it ate of the fruit and the devil was fully aware of that fact. Eve on the other hand was naive and apparently a little gullible. Next Genesis 3:6 says she saw that it was “pleasant to the eyes.” That would seem to indicate that she examined it, probably touched it, most likely held it, and discovered that nothing of any negative consequence resulted from her “examination.”
Those few added words of instruction, “neither shall ye touch it,” had devastating consequences. You cannot add to or take away from the Word of God. When Even saw that nothing bad happened by touching the apple, she began to doubt God. What this whole story boils down to, rests in how you interpret what took place here. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit, were they being “disobedient” to God’s “command,” or were they demonstrating a “lack of faith” in God’s Word?
If someone is being disobedient, they can correct disobedience by becoming “obedient.” On the other hand if someone is demonstrating a lack of faith, or unbelief, they can correct for their lack of faith by becoming faithful, i.e.. by “believing.”
So, I ask you, in church after church and denomination after denomination, throughout the whole world, what is the fundamental message that is declared? Unfortunately, most of the time that message is that “Being a good person is what God wants. Disobedience is what God hates. Disobedience is sin. If you become obedient, God will love and accept you. You can become like God, distinguishing between good and evil, and choose to be obedient by doing good.” They say that “Doing good works is God’s will for your life. That alone is pleasing in His sight. You need to do those things that “we” say are right and not do those things that “we” have determined are wrong. Keep the laws and God will love you and you’ll have an express trip straight to heaven when you die.”
Sadly that message is a lie right from the devil. It’s the same lie the serpent told to Eve in the garden. It comes right from the “bowels of hell.” Believing that you can become like God, or be “liked or accepted” by God through knowing the difference between good and evil and choosing to do the good is a satanic deception. It is a deception that will most certainly cause those who believe it to be ultimately cast into the lake of fire. It is a fundamental error.
God told Adam that if he ate of the tree in the midst of the garden, he would die. The serpent told Eve, you will not die. Answer this question. WHOM DID EVE BELIEVE? Undoubtedly she believed the devil. Genesis 3:6 says Eve gave the fruit to Adam and “he did eat.” Adam knew that God had said, if you eat it you will die. Yet, WHOM DID ADAM BELIEVE? Obviously he believed Eve, his wife. God clearly identifies the underlying reason for the “fall” when He says to Adam in Genesis 3:17 that it was all because Adam had “hearkened unto the voice” of his wife. (listened to her) Neither one of them believed God.
The only way to correct for not “believing God,” is to do the opposite and “believe God.” That is why God chose “faith” as the means by which redemption would come. Without understanding that fundamental truth, faith makes no sense at all. Why must we believe? For many people, they think that believing as a means of obtaining and maintaining redemption seems foolish; after all, simply believing in something is just too easy! 1 Corinthians 1:27 tells us that “...God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise...” The truth is actually very simple: Because “not believing” was responsible for the fall of man, “believing” is the means by which you can be restored. For Adam and Eve in the garden “believing God” meant believing that eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would bring death, but they did not believe. In this current day and age “believing God” begins with believing Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and He is Lord! (yet many do not believe)
Once sin is a part of your life, (now guaranteed from birth for every single person) separation from God is the result. The remedy for that separation is what must be fundamentally corrected. When Adam and Eve, ate of the fruit, the only thing they noticed from their sin, was their nakedness and they thought they needed to “cover themselves up.” Genesis 3:7 says “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves coverings.” They recognized they were sinners, they had eaten of the fruit, and they had not believed God. Eve had believed the devil and Adam had believed his wife. Then they tried to “fix” their “problem” by using the works of their hands to cover up what they perceived to be the visible result of their sin: their nakedness.
On the inside they were still filled with fear, but on the outside they were “looking good” at least in their own eyes. They were wearing the works of their hands; the “aprons” that covered their nakedness. God on the other hand presented them with an entirely different plan for dealing with their sin. Genesis 3:21 says “…the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” The “aprons” that they had made to “cover” their sin, were insufficient in the eyes of God. He made them “coats of skins” instead.
Answer this question:
What must happen in order for an animal to give up its skin?
I’m sure you got it correct, Yes! It has to die.
God demonstrated death to Adam and Eve. He showed them the very first sacrifice. The animals in the garden were their companions. They had played with that little lamb in the garden. Adam had named it. Now it was lying on the ground, quivering, with its “life’s blood” pouring out. The lamb died so that their sin could be covered. The lamb died in their place. God introduced them to the Gospel of Christ by teaching them that: for sin comes death, but the death of a “substitute” is an acceptable alternative as long as the substitute is of sufficient “value” to “cover” the sin. This initiated the whole “sacrificial system.” Adam and Eve apparently taught the concept of the sacrifice to their children. Genesis 4:3-4 tells us that “…it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering”
Once again we see the example and contrast between believing God and believing the lie of Satan. That is seen here in the “offerings” brought to the Lord by Cain and Abel. God had demonstrated to them the manner by which they could come to him. His example had been by recognizing that, for sin comes death. (The death of the lamb) Adam and Eve deserved to die, but the lamb could die in their place. In the verse above, we see that Cain brought to the Lord “the fruit of the ground” which means the best vegetables from his garden. He had worked hard to bring his very best to the Lord, but his very best was not good enough. Abel on the other hand hadn’t produced that lamb. He hadn’t done anything to “make it.” God was not giving any kind of preference to Abel. Abel understood the sacrifice. God was completely willing to accept an “offering” from Cain. The offering however, had to be the only acceptable offering the Lord was willing to receive at that time: the blood of the lamb. John 1:29 tells us that “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” All the sacrificial lambs that died before, from the ones that provided the coats for Adam and Eve, to the one offered by Abel, to the ones that died in the Passover and beyond, were all pointing to a future sacrificial lamb; the true lamb: the Lamb of God, who was Jesus Christ. His blood was more than just a “covering” for sin. His blood was capable of completely “washing” sin away.
Whenever I ask someone about their relationship with God I get very similar answers: “I haven’t been too bad throughout my life.” or “I always try to do the right thing.” and “I’ve never hurt anyone.” etc… God will not accept that kind of offering because it involves your ability to know good and evil, and your ability to choose good. It involves you doing your very best and believing that your puny efforts will somehow be sufficient to please Him. Remember, that’s the devil’s deception and the very attitude that Jesus condemned in the most “religious” people of the day (the Pharisees). Jesus came against the religious leaders and said that they honor “…with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.7 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:6-8) Even back then, religious leaders were making up their own rules and teaching them to the people as though they were rules of God.
If you approach God based on your ability to know good from evil and do that which is right, you will be rejected and ultimately cast out. It was unbelief that caused the problem and now only by believing “on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31) can anyone be saved. Isaiah 64:6 declares “...all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags...” and Romans 3:10-12 clearly tells us “...“There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”
By receiving Jesus Christ (John 1:12), by confessing Him “with your mouth” and believing in your heart that He is “raised from the dead” (Romans 10:9), you literally “put on Christ.” You “wear” Jesus Christ in the same way Adam and Eve “wore” the coats made of skins from the lamb. Christ alone is our lamb, the lamb that taketh away the sin of the world. He is the only means provided for your redemption and faith in him is the only method by which you can come to God.
Certainly God wants people to do good things. He wants you to do good works. But none of us on our own are capable of doing anything good enough, and doing good things is not what actually saves you. Remember that anything short of the perfect game is a failure. The only good that ever comes from us is the good that the Spirit of God does through us. When we receive Christ as Savior, the Spirit of God comes to live within us. He then sets out to change us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29) and through His efforts and our willingness to trust His leadership, we will undoubtedly begin to do that which is good and turn from that which is evil. What we must never forget is that the only good that we then do, is the good that God is doing through us and therefore we do not deserve any credit for it. It is His good works, not ours.
Turn away from your own self-righteousness. Quit believing the lie of the serpent. Understand that in this present age, you can’t “be like God!” Stop offering your “best” to God, and start receiving His “best” for you. Stop judging others based upon where they are in their journey. Pray and ask God to forgive you for your own failures. Ask Him to come into your life and forgive your sins. The ears of God are always open to accept the offering of the “blood of the Lamb” which has already been given through Jesus Christ. You just have to accept the gift. That, brothers and sisters, is fundamentally right!
If you enjoyed this article, I would also recommend that you watch the Video What Makes YOU think YOU'RE so right? You can follow the text link to GodTube, or on this site, go to the Videos page and watch from their along with other videos.
