Confrontation in Eden

(Genesis 3:8-13)
Copyright 2000 by

John F. MacArth r! Jr.

A"" rights reser#e$.

We're going to look at the third chapter of Genesis; back to our prolonged series on origins. Origins, something that occupies our society a great deal; as philosophers and educators and politicians and scientists and just plain folks try to sort out why the world is the way it is, how it got this way and where it's headed. Well, the Bible tells us all that God e er intended us to know about origins. !nd we are looking at the third chapter of Genesis, which describes the origin of sin, the origin of sin. "in, of course, e#plains all the troubles in the world; all the decay, all the disease, all the dysfunction, e erything e il, e erything wrong, e erything imperfect and, of course, death, all comes from an e ent that occurred and is recorded in Genesis $. Genesis $ is actual history. %t is not myth; it is not legend. %t is actual history. %t is the true and accurate record from God about how sin came into the world, and it was sin that caused all the problems that e#ist in our uni erse. %t is important to understand how sin came into the world. %t is important to understand the uni ersal problem, in order that we can understand the cure. We cannot understand redempti e history and its ending, unless we understand its beginning. We cannot understand why it is important to ha e a "a ior, why it is important that &e dies, why it is important that &e returns again, and restores this planet to a somewhat 'denic character, and then ultimately destroys the entire uni erse, and in its place, recreates a new hea en and a new earth. We cannot understand all of the sweeping elements, the comprehensi e elements of redempti e history unless we understand the problem and how it came about. We cannot understand why man is the way he is, unless we understand Genesis (hapter $. %t e#plains the uni ersal condition of man. %t e#plains why there must be a "a ior, and why the uni erse must ultimately be destroyed and a new uni erse brought into e#istence in its place. !nd as % said to you a few weeks ago, understanding Genesis $, as well as Genesis ) and *, is the only foundation for an accurate world iew. %f you do not accept Genesis ), * and $, if you do not understand them, if you do not belie e them, you cannot fabricate a correct world iew. +ou must understand that God created the entire uni erse as it now e#ists in si# *,-hour days. +ou must understand God's purpose in creating man in &is own image, gi ing a helper to him; namely, woman. +ou must understand that as the substantial foundation of the physical uni erse, and of man's role in it. +ou must understand Genesis (hapter $, the fall of man. %f you do not understand those and belie e those to be e#actly as represented in the Bible, you ha e a faulty world iew, and you're trying to understand the

world in a way that it cannot be understood. !ll that comes out of that is wrong and misunderstanding, and lea es us without a proper answer. .an did not e ol e to the heights of where he is today through millions of years of physical e olution or psychological e olution. .an did not e ol e from anything into what he is today. &e fell into what he is today in one act, in one moment, on one day. &e fell from what he once was, in perfection and innocence in the image of God, into the depths of sin and depra ity. &e did not ascend from anywhere. &e did not, o er millions of years, become what he is. &e became what he is in one moment of time on one day. &e descended from the wonder of his original creation in the image of God, to his current condition in sin and under di ine judgment. %t is critical to understand that he was created on one day in full maturity. &e was created for fellowship with God and to enjoy the world that God had made. !nd he plunged from the perfection of that original creation into the fallenness which has marked him e er since. !nd it all happened in one e ent. /hat e ent is described for us in the third (hapter of Genesis 0erse ). 12ow the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the 3ord God had made. !nd he said to the woman, '%ndeed, has God said, '+ou shall not eat from any tree of the garden'41 1!nd the woman said to the serpent, '5rom the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, '+ou shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'1 1!nd the serpent said to the woman, '+ou surely shall not die6 5or God knows in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and e il.'1 1When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she ga e also to her husband with her, and he ate. !nd the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig lea es together and made themsel es loin co erings.1 2ow, we' e already studied those se en erses. We met the solicitor, who is "atan; the one who, ha ing fallen out of hea en because of his own rebellion, was cast down to earth. /hat wicked 3ucifer, now known as "atan or the de il, comes and solicits e il from ' e, first of all, and through ' e, from !dam. &is strategy is deception. &is strategy is to lie about God, to plant thoughts in the mind of ' e that are untrue of God; that God is not kind, that God is not good, that God is harsh, that God is somewhat narrow, that God is holding back from her something that is good. !nd that you can't trust God's word. ' en though &e said you would die, you won't die. "o God doesn't e en tell the truth. !nd through the strategy of deception comes the seduction. /he seduction starts to take place as indicated in 0erse 7, when lust begins to concei e sin. "he begins to reali8e the tree was good for food and it was a delight to the eyes and, if she ate it, that it would make her to know good and e il, and that would make her wise, and she would become like God. !nd so, she was seduced by the lust that arose in her own heart. /hen you find the ery act. !t the end of 0erse 7, she and her husband both eat. !nd that is the act of disobedience that results in the shame of 0erse 9. /heir eyes are opened. /hey understand e il, not by some academic process. /hey understand e il because it is now in them and they feel it. !nd they feel it e en in the se#ual realm, so that they became embarrassed about what they ha e ne er been embarrassed about; that is, their nakedness. !nd attempting to co er their guilt, they co er themsel es with some lea es that they ha e sewn together to try to hide the shame.

With that one act on one day, before they had had any children, when it was just the two of them -- we don't know how long after their creation -- but on that day, an a alanche of sin was loosed that would ne er stop, until the final destruction of this uni erse. !dam and ' e had pulled a stone from the base of a mountain, were horrified to disco er that the fatal rock slide would bury them and all humanity and its en ironment in the dirt and rubble of sin. !nd the depths of man's sinful depra ity immediately becomes clear. !ll we see in the first se en erses is that they feel guilt and shame. /hat doesn't really tell us much about how deep this change is. 5or that, we come to 0erses : to )$. 1!nd they heard the sound of the 3ord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themsel es from the presence of the 3ord God among the trees of the garden.1 1/hen the 3ord God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you4'1 1!nd he said, '% heard the sound of /hee in the garden, and % was afraid because % was naked; so % hid myself.'1 1!nd &e said, 'Who told you that you were naked4 &a e you eaten from the tree of which % commanded you not to eat4'1 1/he man said, '/he woman whom you ga e to me, she ga e me from the tree, and % ate.'1 1!nd the 3ord God said to the woman, 'What is this you ha e done4'1 1!nd the woman said, '/he serpent decei ed me, and % ate.'1 We can stop at that point. Boy, this is a dramatic change. /his is a ):; degree re erse of their attitude toward God. /hey were so instantly corrupted by that one sin, so as not only to feel the shame of that corruption, but to resist any fellowship with God. !nd to resist any honest repentance, though they knew their condition and were confronted by God about their sin. /he con ersation is e asi e, it is decepti e, and it shifts blame. !nd it tells us the nature of depra ity. !nd % know there are lots of theological definitions of depra ity, but let me gi e you a .ac!rthur definition of depra ity. <epra ity is a condition in which one is unwilling to honestly repent. % mean that's really what depra ity is. 2ot only is it a condition in which one is unwilling to repent, it is a condition in which one is unable to repent. <epra ity is not just seen in man's inability to stop sinning. %t is really seen deeper in his penchant for a oiding repentance. ' en when he concei ed the sin, e#perienced the sin, feel the guilt, feel the shame, e en when confronted by God, he will do anything and e erything to decei e and e ade and shift the blame away from himself. &e will do anything to a oid God, if he can. But if he's finally confronted by God, he will not acknowledge his own sin. !nd that's really the essence of depra ity. %t isn't that !dam and ' e didn't know they sinned. /hey knew they sinned. /hey knew they disobeyed. /hey had e#perienced sin. /hey had e#perienced the knowledge of e il. /hey had e#perienced shame. /hey had e#perienced wicked, corrupt thoughts that somehow related to their se#ual conduct and, therefore, co ered themsel es in that area. /hey were feeling guilt before God from their consciences, and that's why they were hiding from God. /hey knew they were subject to judgment, and the judgment was death. %n the day you eat, you will die, God said. But in spite of the shame, in spite of the guilt, in spite of the lust that they were feeling, in spite of the corrupt thoughts, in spite of accusing consciences, in spite of judgment from God, in spite of impending death, rather than repent, they tried to e ade. <epra ity is a condition in which the sinner will not repent and cannot repent of his sin. !nd that's e#actly what you see here. !nd it's the same thing going on since then, e en until now. <epra ed

sinners may understand that what they ha e done is sin. /hey may feel shame about that sin; they may ha e to face their corruption; they may e en make resolutions to change their li es and stop doing the corrupt things they do. /hey may also recogni8e, as =omans )>$* says, that they 1are worthy of death.1 But they cannot stop from sinning, nor can they honestly repent. "o what they do is hide from God. !nd that's the essence of the action of depra ity. "ince it cannot stop sinning, it cannot stop its passions, and since it will not repent, and since it understands there is God and there is judgment, the only thing left to do is to hide from God, one way or another. !theists hide from God by saying there is no God. "elf-righteous people hide from God by saying God is not as holy as some people would think, and %'m good enough to please God on my own. Other people hide from God by redefining him. % read a article yesterday that said ?; percent of the people in !merica belie e in God, ?; percent. But the ast majority of those ?; percent belie e God to be the God that they ha e decided he will be in their own minds; con enient. <epra ity is that condition of the sinner in which he cannot stop his sinning, and he cannot and will not repent, and so he is left to hide from God. /hat's why, where the word of God is preached and God is worshipped, such as in our church, and God is e#alted, sinners are not comfortable. /hey need something to hide behind. /hey don't want to walk into a place where they're going to be e#posed to the true and li ing God who sits in judgment on their condition. /hat's e#actly what we see with !dam and ' e. /hey are now e#periencing e il. %t is twisting and per erting the one relationship that e#isted, because there were only two people between the man and the woman -- and has se#ual connotations; they were ha ing thoughts about the se#ual realm that were per erse -- and so they try to co er that. /hey're feeling the corruption; they're feeling the shame; they're feeling the guilt; they're afraid of God because they are afraid &e will e#ecute them, because that's what &e said &e would do. =ather than repent and seek God's forgi eness, they hide. 3et's look at 0erse :. @ust follow the narrati e. 1/hey heard the sound of the 3ord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.1 2ow, let me just stop you there. /hey're awake to e il. /hey feel the embarrassment of se#ually wicked thoughts. /hey understand e il, because they're now e#periencing it in them. /hey' e had some time to e#perience it. % don't know at what point during that day they fell, but when we come to 0erse :, it's later. "o time has passed since they fell; since they found some big lea es and sewed them together, maybe taking some kind of ine and wea ing it through the lea es. /hey made their co erings. /hey had fallen. /hey had felt the guilt; they' e felt the shame; they tried to co er themsel es, and some further time has passed. <on't know how long, but time enough for them to be frightened. /he co erings really didn't do it for them. /hey were looking for a place to hide. %t's later in the day now; they' e had sufficient time to feel the impulses of wickedness in them. %n fact, it's 1the cool of the day.1 +ou notice that in 0erse :4 %t's 1the cool of the day.1 What is that4 Well, the word 1cool1 here is actually the word 1ruach,1 which is the word for wind. (asuto, the great @ewish commentator says> 1%t is the time of the day when the usual wind springs up toward e ening.1 %n the e ening as the sun began to set in that paradise, the warmth of the sun began to pass, e ening began to come on. /he coolness of the air began to be e#perienced. %t was in the cool of the day, the e ening, when the gentle bree8e began to mo e, the sun ha ing disappeared. !nd % would just call your attention> %n the &ebrew, there is a definite article there. %t is 1'the' cool of the day,1 as if designating not some period

of the day on that day, but 1'the' cool of the day1 as if it indicates a normal occurrence; 1the cool of the day1 almost being a title for e ening, toward e ening, when coolness began to set in and you could feel the coolness of the bree8e. "o they' e had enough time. !nd we can assume that it was earlier in the day that they sinned; it was earlier yet in the day they made their co erings. !nd now it's reached the e ening. !nd they' e had enough time to feel the shame and to make the co erings, and to try to deal with all these new impulses. %t's near the end of daylight and, as the day comes to its close, 0erse : says> 1/hey heard the sound of the 3ord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.1 "ometimes the word 1sound1 is translated 1 oice.1 But % think it is best, as the 2!" has translated, to translate it 1sound.1 +ou cannot hear a oice walking. But sound, you can hear when someone is walking. !nd this &ebrew word, although it can be translated 1 oice,1 is also translated 1sound1 in a number of Old /estament te#ts; *nd "amuel A>*,, )st Bings ),>7, *nd Bings 7>$* would be three e#amples. 1/hey heard the sound of the 3ord God walking in the garden.1 !nd the rather casual mention of that would indicate to me that this is something God did freCuently. %t's not like this was some monumental e ent that had ne er happened. %t perhaps was a somewhat normal e ent; something God did often. 2ow, you say, wait a minute. God is a spirit, and a spirit has not flesh and bones, as @esus said. /hat's true. God is the infinite spirit; God is the eternal spirit who has no feet, who has no corporeality, no physical form. !nd so, the presence of God isn't going to make any sound. 2ow, the 3ord is here with us, isn't he4 &e inhabits the praise of his people, and we don't hear any sound. But on se eral occasions in the Old /estament -- this is a wonderful, wonderful area of study -- on se eral occasions in the Old /estament, particularly in the book of Genesis, God appeared in physical form. /hat's right. God appeared in isible, physical form as a man. &e could be seen and &e could be con ersed with. /hat shouldn't surprise us. %saiah had a ision of God. %n %saiah (hapter 7 0erse ), and he said> 1% saw the 3ord ... and lifted up.1 Well, when %saiah saw the 3ord, did he see a spirit4 Well, you can't see in a ision e en a spirit. What did he see4 Well, according to @ohn )*>,) it says> 1/hese things %saiah said because he saw &is glory and he spoke of &im.1 !nd you know who that's referring to4 @esus (hrist. @esus (hrist. %saiah actually saw @esus when he saw God on a throne. &e saw a preincarnate (hrist. /here were occasions in the Old /estament when the 3ord appeared in a physical form prior to his incarnation. /hese are called theophanies, appearances of God, or christophanies, appearances of (hrist. !pparently, the di ine 3ord was comfortable in human form e en before the incarnation. !fter all, man was made in the image of God, and the second member of the /rinity, the 3ord, would ultimately be made a glorified man fore er. "o it is no discomfort for God to take on human form. "ome of us probably think that the first time God e er took on human form was @esus (hrist. 2o. /here were preincarnate appearances of God where the 3ord himself took on human form. "o the 3ord God, probably in shining glory, some manifestation of the "hekinah, actually took on the form of a man and was walking in the garden, not this time alone, but perhaps many times. %f you go through the book of Genesis, you will find the 3ord appeared to &agar in Genesis )7, called the 1.essenger of the 3ord1 and the 1!ngel of the 3ord.1 /hat was a preincarnate appearance of the 3ord himself to &agar. +ou will find in Genesis )9

and ): that the 3ord appeared to !braham. +ou will find in Genesis *7, % belie e it is, that the 3ord appeared to %saac. +ou will find that in Genesis *:, Genesis $*, Genesis $A, three separate occasions the 3ord appeared to @acob, which was the last of these christophanies in the book of Genesis. '. @. +oung, the great Old /estament scholar, writes> 1God is the infinite one. &e is a spirit. %n order to re eal &imself to man in an intimate way, he did appear during Old /estament times in human form. "uch appearances were called theophanies. !nd these theophanies found their culmination in the incarnation of the second person of the /rinity. Dreincarnate appearances of the 3ord is what these were. 1%n most lo ing and tender condescension, God appeared in the form of a man so that he might speak to man as friend to friend.1 "o one of the blessings that !dam and ' e enjoyed in the garden, blessing of their unfallen condition, was intimate con ersation with God the creator, who appeared to them in a isible, physical form like a man, though no doubt a shining man, perhaps something like the transfigured (hrist of the 2ew /estament. .an cannot speak face to face with a spirit. "o God graciously appeared in human form so that man could speak to him directly and hear him speak directly. Well, up to this day, whene er they would ha e heard God walking in the garden, they would ha e run to &im. /hey would ha e rejoiced at his sounding oice. But now, e erything is opposite. 2ow, when they hear the sound of &im walking in the garden, they run away from &im to hide. God had come walking this e ening, the e ening of their fall, at the end of a terrible, terrible, terrible day. !nd there is no rush on their part to God, no outburst of lo e, no cry of confession, no cry of repentance, no seeking of restoration. Euite the opposite characteri8es the sinner. &e kind of likes what he feels. /his wickedness has its attractions. =ather than run to God to see if there's a remedy, he tries to hide. /his is a totally new beha ior. 0erse :> 1!nd the man and his wife hid themsel es from the presence of the 3ord God among the trees of the garden.1 &ere began the flight of the sinner from God, his @udge. .an is still trying to do the impossible, escape from God, in God's own garden. One way or another, the sinner tries to escape God. &e may deny his e#istence; that's a form of escape. &e may reject the true God of scripture and in ent a God of his own. &e may suppress the knowledge of God. One way or another, the sinner tries to banish the God of the Bible. ' en <arwin said of course, there is a God; of course, % belie e in God. But not the God of the Bible. Well, it's no more foolish to hide from God's presence in the midst of the trees in God's own garden than it is to hide from God by espousing igorously a philosophy of life that e#cludes the true God. "o !dam, who was to be the keeper of the garden, to protect the garden, now seeks protection from the creator by means of the garden. "o he hides among the trees of the garden. /rees gi en for his joy now hide his sadness; the trees, a source of life to him, are now hiding him from death. &ow ironic. %t is God's garden. &ow can fallen man hide from God in God's own garden4 Well, for that matter, how can fallen man hide from God in God's own uni erse4 Where er man goes, he's in God's territory. Whate er he sees points back to God. Whate er he hears points back to God. /his is God's world, and there is no escape from his presence. /here's only one way to successfully flee from God, and that is to run to God. !dam and ' e didn't know that. /hey couldn't know that. /heir minds had

been darkened. !nd they were told in the day they ate, they would die. !nd they hear God walking and there's panic, because they think maybe God is coming to e#ecute us. We must hide. =eminds me of Dsalm )$?. 1Where can % go from /hy spirit41 0erse 9> 1Where can % flee from /hy presence4 %f % ascend to hea en, /hou art there. %f % make my bed in "heol, behold, /hou art there. %f % take the wings of the dawn, if % dwell in the remotest part of the sea, e en there /hy hand will lead me; /hy right hand will lay hold of me. %f % say, '"urely the darkness will o erwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,' e en the darkness is not dark to /hee, and the night is as bright as the day. <arkness and light are alike to /hee.1 2o way to go; no way to hide. But that's what the sinner tries stupidly to do. %n =e elation 7, the sinners at the end of the age begin to feel the judgment of God. !nd they cry for the rocks and the mountains to do what4 &ide them. &ide them from the face of God. &ow foolish. /here is no place to hide. !nd yet, the folly of philosophers continues to attempt it. % was reading a book -- % mentioned it last 5riday night -- called <ismissing God, a really helpful book by Bruce 3ockerbie, in which he traces the dismissal of God from our literature. /here's a Cuote in there by Barl &eim> 1/he transcendent is no longer there. /he creator has become an impossible thought not framable by the mind.1 /hat is the thinking of secular man. /here is no God the creator, God of the Bible, who can fit into human minds. /he most crass, the most gross e#pressions of the philosophical dismissing of God probably were articulated by .adelyn .urray O'&are in her mocking, brash ulgarity. "he had three bumper stickers. One said, 1God is just another addiction.1 !nother said, 1@esus (hrist, "uper 5raud.1 !nd a third said, 1!theists do it without guilt.1 Writers from 'mily <ickinson, .atthew !rnold, &erman .el ille, "te en (rane, "amuel 3onghorn (lemens, alias .ark /wain, &ardy +ates, <.&. 3awrence, @ames @oyce, 5. "cott 5it8gerald, 'rnest &emingway, !rthur .iller, right on down to Woody !llen, ha e all played the part of dismissing God in literature. Woody !llen, who was a @ew who has that great heritage, mocks God in his inimitable style by Cuipping> 12ot only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on the weekend.1 !nd that's the way it is in our society today. /hat's the way it is among the literate and the elite. !nd it trickles down, but it isn't anything new. When % was reading the book and reading the chronicle of how we had dismissed God, there's a new way to dismiss God, but dismissing God isn't anything new. !dam and ' e immediately wanted to be distant from God. "inners ha e always tried to hide from God, which is the -- certainly the most per asi e irrationality in the mind of the sinner. But God came seeking the hiding sinner. !nd here we find the first sight of grace, the first e#pression of kindness, the first indication that there might be a possibility for reconciliation. Because we don't find God thundering into the garden; we don't find a bolt of lightning coming out of hea en and incinerating !dam and ' e. =ather, 0erse ? says this> 1/hen the 3ord God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you4'1 2ow, this is a rather gentle approach; don't you think4 /his is certainly not what you might ha e assumed. %f they are going to disobey God, they're going to die, you might ha e assumed some instant act of di ine judgment would fall on their heads. But instead, you find God initiating a confrontation that begins in a ery gentle manner. &ere is gospel truth for the first time. 1Where are you41 !nd here is the seeking God. !nd God still seeks sinners. 5rankly, had God just killed !dam and ' e, it would ha e been a righteous

e#ecution, right4 /here's nothing in them that elicits from God any deser ed kindness. %t is just an indication of grace here. /his is grace. /his is the first time we' e seen grace. !nd it isn't grace that grants them sal ation at this point. %t is grace that withholds from them destruction. !nd the fact of the matter is when God says in 0erse ? !dam, 1Where are you,1 &e's not asking for information. &e is not wandering around saying where are you, !dam4 &e knew where !dam was. &e knew e erything. Omniscient. What &e was really wanting from !dam -- listen carefully -- was for !dam to step forward on his own and confess his sin. %t was a compassionate, lo ing, gracious, merciful God, who is by nature a "a ior seeking a sinner. !nd when he says, 1Where are you,1 &e's not so much asking where are you located in the garden, as &e's asking> Where are you now in terms of your condition4 /he word 1called1 in the &ebrew -- 1the 3ord God called to the man1 -- is a word used often in the Old /estament for summoning someone to gi e an account. %t is so used in Genesis )*>):, Genesis *; 0erse ?, Genesis *7 0erses ? and );, <euteronomy *A>:. "o what you really ha e here is God calling the man to an account. /his is God coming in with a warrant for !dam's arrest. But it's a rather compassionate approach; it's a gracious approach. Because God could ha e rendered sentence on the spot. &e comes for an accounting. &e is the great judge. &e found !dam. Because 0erse ? says, 1&e called to the man and said to him,1 which means he found him. &e knew e#actly where he was. &e confronts him face to face. !nd &e says, 1Where are you1 in the manner of saying> "o, where are you now, !dam4 2ow that you ha e sinned, now that you ha e disobeyed me, in what condition do you find yourself4 '#plain your condition. 1Where are you,1 !dam4 2ow, what do you think &e's asking !dam to say4 % am in sin. % ha e sinned. /his is an opening for repentance. /ell me your condition, !dam. "o you did what you did, so you disobeyed me, so you followed the lead of ' e who was seduced and decei ed by the serpent, and now you' e gotten yourself in this situation, and you' e got these ridiculous loin co erings on and you're hiding in here. '#plain to me your condition. "ee, the Cuestion is not for information about !dam's location, because he speaks to him face to face. 1&e said1 to !dam. %t's a Cuestion like the one in (hapter , 0erse ?. <o you remember (ain killed !bel4 !nd then the 3ord says to (ain> 1Where is !bel your brother41 <o you think the 3ord didn't know where he was4 &e knew where he was. &e was dead on the ground. %t was plain where he was. &e was a corpse lying there before the open sky. &e was trying to elicit a response out of (ain about what had happened. God is not asking for information, because in 0erse ); &e said> 1What ha e you done4 /he oice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.1 &e knew !bel was dead. &e knew where !bel was, and the blood of !bel was soaking up the ground and crying out to God for engeance. God was gi ing !bel the opportunity to own what he had done. /hat's what &e's doing with !dam. &e's saying !dam, you're hiding, aren't you4 What condition are you in4 /his is God coming to the sinner in a gracious way, gi ing him the opportunity to acknowledge his condition. !nd !dam responds with half-truths, e asion, deception and blame-shifting. !nd the reason is, first of all, because he likes the feelings of sin. .en lo e darkness. Well, there's a certain -- there's a certain joy in these new feelings. !nd his pride is too great to acknowledge the reality of what he has done. "o that e en before God himself, with whom

!dam has walked many an e ening and con ersed in intimate and pure fellowship, he can't bring himself to tell the truth. &e cannot break the pattern of sin, nor can he repent. /hat's depra ity. &e has not the capacity to stop the sinning, or to honestly repent. &e lost the pure innocence that he possessed. 0erse );, this is !dam's reply. &e said> 1% heard the sound of /hee in the garden, and % was afraid because % was naked, so % hid myself.1 Oh, come on. /his is ridiculous. &e -- he just co ered himself. &ow naked was he4 /hat is not the issue. % was just embarrassed that you would see me with only limited clothing. +ou see, the man can't tell the truth now. /hat is the mark of depra ity. &e cannot tell the truth about his own condition. &e will not acknowledge what he is. /hat single-minded e#perience of truth, which he had known up to this day, where he spoke only the truth and lo ed only the truth, is gone. %t's corrupted. !nd now he e ades, and he decei es, and he shifts the blame. &e cannot come to an honest owning of his true condition. 5rankly, he's not repulsed by his sin. Bind of likes it. <oesn't like the conseCuences of it all the time; certainly doesn't like the conseCuences of ha ing to face God. But it's not the sin that he doesn't like. &e won't e en admit that. %t's the conseCuences he fears. !nd that's why he said> 1% heard the sound of +ou in the garden, and % was afraid.1 !fraid, because %, of course, remember you said in the day % am going to eat that, % am going to die. !nd % was naked and it was embarrassing, and so % hid myself. <idn't say anything about % sinned; he doesn't say anything about offending God, who ga e him life and ga e him paradise. &e ne er admits his sin, either does ' e, in this whole con ersation. "o here are the first words of fallen man. !nd he said> 1% heard the sound of you in the garden, and % was afraid because % was naked; % hid myself.1 5irst characteristic of depra ity> %t seeks to hide from God. %t understands its nakedness; it understands its corruptness, but it doesn't want e#posure to God. % don't e#pect unbelie ers to come flooding into this church, do you4 % know churches that are mostly populated by unbelie ers. /hat's because you can go there and not be e#posed to God. +ou can go there and still hide from God. "atan had promised them freedom from God's limiting control. "atan had told them that God was less good than God purported to be, and that by eating they would be like God and, therefore, they would free themsel es from God's restraining control. Well, they didn't get freedom. /hey got sla ery to sin, sla ery to shame, sla ery to guilt, and fear. "inners fear God. =omans )>$*> /hey know that those who do those things are worthy of death, but they do them just the same, and they appro e of those who do them.1 /hat's =omans )>$*. /he sinner understands his sin, he understands his corruption, understands his guilt, understands shame. /hat's built into the fabric of his life. &e understands that there's an accountability before God. &e understands all that; cannot do anything about it, still lo es his sin, cannot repent, will not repent, but runs to hide from God one way or another. /hat's depra ity. 1% was afraid.1 5ear replaced joy. "o God is summoning !dam into court, and God is bringing !dam to the bench, as it were, and saying> /ell me about the condition you are in; e#plain to me. !dam is fallen. But fallen man is self-protecti e in his proud wickedness. !nd rather than !dam saying oh, God, % did what you told me not to do, % confess % sinned, and % ate. !nd % am so sorry. What can % do to be restored to you4 /hat's not going to happen. <epra ity doesn't work like that. /here's no confession; there's no repentance; there's no asking for forgi eness. What he does is say 1% was afraid1 of +ou. 2ow, all of a sudden, God is the bad guy.

"inners lo e to do that. /hey damn the God of the Bible; they damn the God of 1fundamentalism1; they damn the God of the Old /estament and the God of the 2ew, as well. God is this o erbearing, unkind, judgmental, threatening e#ecutioner. /hey'll ha e nothing to do with such a God. !dam, !dam. 1% heard the sound of +ou in the garden, and % was afraid.1 +ou frighten me. !fraid because % was naked. &e will not say> Because % sinned. /his is e asi e. &e's fallen, and he will not acknowledge his sin. "o God digs a little deeper. 3ook at 0erse ))> 1!nd &e said, 'Who told you you were naked4'1 Boy, that's a good Cuestion. =eally4 Who told you4 +ou' e been naked since % made you. Who brought this up4 Who told you this4 1Who told you1 and ' e 1that you were naked41 Well, what's the answer4 2obody. /here wasn't anybody. /hey didn't ha e any neighbors. 2obody e#isted. !nd there weren't any talking animals. 2obody told them. /hat's e#actly the point. Where did the shame come from, !dam4 &ow did you, all of a sudden, decide that you were naked, and that this was inappropriate4 !nd God is just going a little bit deeper and saying> (ome on, !dam, you know that that shame rose up inside of you as a direct result of what you did when you disobeyed .e. (ome on, !dam, let's get past the nakedness. Where did that idea come from4 When did you first reali8e you were naked4 (ome on, !dam. "ee, !dam and ' e e#perienced that indictment, that consciousness of nakedness, because they had iolated their conscience. /hey had fallen into sin and corruption, and the shame and awareness of being naked rose up from inside of them. /he answer to the Cuestion 1Who told you you were naked1 is nobody. 2obody told them they were naked. /hey felt that nakedness. !dam should ha e said, you know, nobody told us that, but all of a sudden, we felt shame. We felt that we were naked and we felt that there was -- there were e il thoughts and e#pressions that would lead to e il conduct and actions. !nd we felt this per asi e kind of e il, and we wanted to try to find a way to co er it. But he didn't say that. /his is an opportunity to confess. /his is an opportunity to repent. But that's not how depra ity acts. Well, !dam wouldn't confess. +ou know something4 God did it for him. &e actually did it for him. 3ook what's ne#t in 0erse )). God answers the Cuestion. 1'&a e you eaten from the tree of which % commanded you not to eat4'1 (an't get any more specific than that, right4 Where's !dam going to go now4 &e's tried to e ade e erything. God finally says the words> 1'&a e you'1 not 1'eaten from the tree of which % commanded you not to eat4'1 %sn't that what happened, !dam4 <idn't you disobey me4 %sn't that why you feel shame4 %sn't that why you tried to co er yourself4 %sn't that why you are now hiding, !dam4 (ome on, !dam. Why would you all of a sudden be afraid of me4 Why would you all of a sudden be conscious of your nakedness4 Why are you hiding in the trees there when % come along for our e ening communion4 %sn't it because you -- isn't it because you did what % told you not to do, !dam4 %sn't it because you ate of the tree when % told you not to eat of it4 %sn't it really a direct result of your sin and your rebellion4 2ow, here is God actually putting the words in !dam's mouth. !ll !dam has to say is yes, God, % ate of the fruit. !nd since % ate, % ha e felt the corruption and the e il and the shame and the nakedness and the fear that you would judge me, and that's why % am hiding. &e could' e said that. <oesn't say that. 3ook at this, 0erse )*> 1!nd the man said, '/he woman whom you ga e to be with me, she ga e me from the tree, and % did eat.'1 &e is not going to confess. &e has spoken in half-truths and e aded things, and now it's blame-shifting. %

mean he has got nowhere to turn, because now it is clear that God knows he has done what God told him not to do; the only prohibition that God ga e, he has done it. &e has eaten when he was told not to eat. /here's no way to escape that. "o all that he can do, all that he has left is to say> Oh, but % am a ictim. +ou cannot get a straight answer out of a depra ed man. +ou cannot get an honest confession or repentance. &is fallen nature is now corrupt. (orruption is e asi e. %t is decepti e; it is self-protecti e; it is self-justifying and it is blame-shifting. /he sinner doesn't take the responsibility e en for what he does. When you' e got him in a corner and he has to admit that he did it, he still will not take responsibility for what he did. "o he says> 1'/he woman whom +ou ga e to be with me.'1 "o initially, he's blaming ' e, you know. &e says % went to sleep one night single; % woke up married. +ou could' e picked any woman you wanted. % mean % didn't e en know what a woman was. +ou ga e me this woman. "he's the problem and, actually, +ou're the problem because +ou picked her. /his is pretty weak stuff. Because from the ery beginning, if she was his helper and he was the leader, she was the follower. &e was the head. +et, he followed her right into sin. "he was created by God for a wonderful purpose, to be his true helper. "he became his destroyer. "he was created to be led by !dam. "he became !dam's leader, with disastrous results. !nd he blames God. +ou know, that's what sinners do ultimately. When their own whole, sinful world collapses in on them, ultimately, it's God's fault. &e made the world the way it is. &e put me in this kind of circumstance. Boy, this is ama8ing6 %n one day, one actual day, one *,-hour period, this man and his wife ha e gone from praising God to blaming God. /otal re ersal. +ou did it. %f +ou hadn't made that woman, this ne er would ha e happened. "ingleness is preferable; he is saying. &owe er, it's e#ceedingly difficult to reproduce. !nd they were to 1fill the earth.1 "o what God ga e was the best that God had to gi e. !nd necessary, as in the case of all other li ing things. "he was the best. "he was the necessary complement to man. !nd !dam foolishly followed her. "o he says> 1'/he woman you ga e me,'1 why, she just 1'ga e me from the tree and % ate.'1 %t was just that simple, wasn't it4 "he walked o er and said, try this, !dam. (ome on. But that's the way it is with depra ity. %t just always wants to see itself as a ictim. /here's really nothing wrong with me, he said; there's something wrong with her, and something really wrong with +ou. %sn't it ama8ing4 <epra ity settles in so fast and turns the lo er of God into the hater of God. "till the way it is today; don't e er admit you are a sinner. !nd, if you can't get out of it because it's ery ob ious that you ha e sinned, then you can blame God for the circumstances that caused you to do it, or the people that influenced you to do it. Blame it on somebody else. .aintain your ictim status. /hat's what the sinner does. "o e asi e, decepti e, blame-shifting. But depra ity will ne er own up to its true condition. !nd % guess what's really sad is there's no repentance, and so there's going to be judgment. 0erse )9 -- we're going to get to it later -- he says to !dam> 1'Because you listened to the oice of your wife, you ha e eaten from the tree about which % commanded you, saying '+ou shall not eat from it,' cursed is the ground because of you.'1 !nd he goes on and on, and he pronounces this curse on !dam and ' e, and throws them out of the garden. %t's just a tragic picture. /hey are now -- listen carefully -- oid of any lo e for God. !dam doesn't lo e God. ' e doesn't lo e God. /hey resent God. /hey see God as a frightening

figure who is going to bring about death. /hey see God as their judge, not their friend. /hey see God as the author of their sin, because it's God who creates the circumstance in which they fall. !nd so they resent God. /hey hate God. /hey despise God. /hey want to be out of God's presence. /hey want to keep their distance from God. /heir hearts are now oid of any lo e for God. 3isten further. /hey ha e no interest in God's honor. /hey seek immediately, in a selfdefensi e response, to dishonor God, to -- to indict God. /hey ha e no interest in God's glory. /heir hearts are now oid of righteousness. /hey are empty of holiness or purity. /hey are full of sin. /hey refuse to repent. /he only emotion they ha e toward God is to resent God and, at the same time, fear God. %t's true of !dam and it's true of ' e. 3ook at 0erse )$. 1/he 3ord God said to the woman, 'What is this you ha e done4'1 !nd &e's coming to her now with the same approach. '#plain yourself, ' e. By the way, !dam was no defender of his wife, was he4 &e blamed her and God. !dam didn't try to protect his wife, but he's supposed to be a protector of his wife. /hat relationship has become so twisted that !dam blames her and God. "o God goes to her. "he's now unprotected. !dam isn't doing anything but blaming her. !nd he says to ' e> 1'What ha e you done4 What ha e you done4'1 !gain, &e's not asking for information. &e's endea oring to elicit a confession. 1'What ha e you done4'1 %t's the same chapter in (hapter , 0erse ); when God says to (ain> 1'What ha e you done4'1 !nd God knows e#actly what he's done. &e's killed his brother. "o God isn't seeking information. &e is saying> ' e, will you own up to this4 0erse )$> 1!nd the woman said, '/he serpent decei ed me, and % ate.'1 % am a ictim. "elf-justifying, blame-shifting again. Well, she can't deny that she ate. What she wants God to think she is a ictim of circumstances which God must ha e created, because God created e erything, including serpents. "o here are these who one day earlier were lo ers of God, now indicting God for what's wrong in their li es. /his is depra ity. /his is how it acts, always. (lassic definition of depra ity> %t can be defined as a condition of the human soul in which there is disobedience to God, lack of fellowship with God, the sentence of death, an unwillingness to acknowledge sin, a concern only for the conseCuence of sin, not sin itself, in which there is no desire to repent; in which there is no desire to turn from sin; in which there is blame-shifting and a constant effort at self-justification and self-e#altation. /his is what @eremiah said when he said> 1/he heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked.1 !nd the condition cannot be changed by the sinner. !dam and ' e were fallen. /hey were lost. /hey were unsa ed. /hey were shamed. /hey were guilty. /hey were impenitent, the plight of all sinners. !nd the depra ity was so per asi e that they would not and could not repent. Daradise was lost. !nd the ery last thing that a depra ed sinner would e er do is to own up to his sin before God; confess his lost and undone condition. ' en when the sinner is conscious of his wickedness, he seeks shelter behind his own self-righteousness and trusts in his own good works to counterbalance his e il. Or he redefines God in his own terms or, like the atheist, he dismisses God altogether. % think !dam and ' e felt, if % can say it that way, e#perienced a sense of moral distance between themsel es and God. &e was holy; they were sinful. % think they felt that. % think the unregenerate feel that. But there's no lo e for God there, so

there is no desire to restore that> @ust to run from God and hide, and indict God for whate er is wrong in your life. +ou say> What's the remedy4 5olks, nobody would e er be sa ed unless God, in so ereign grace, shattered the bonds of that depra ity. !nd that's what &e does when &e awakens the dead to life. Well, ne#t time we're going to see the @udge passing sentence on the impenitent, depra ed couple. 3et's pray. "uch dishonor to you, oh God, is distressing to e en speak about. We would honor you and glorify you in e erything. +ou are holy, holy, holy. !nd we are the wicked ones. /hank you for so ereignly bringing us to the recognition of our sin, that we might be sa ed; for granting us grace to lo e you and to seek to honor you. /hat is our desire. /hat is our prayer. !men. %ranscribe$ by &onnie Fran'( rt o( Grace Co)) nity Ch rch an$ a$$e$ to &ib"e & ""etin &oar$*s +MacArth r*s Co""ection+ by: /he following message was deli ered at Grace (ommunity (hurch in Danorama (ity, (alifornia, by @ohn .ac!rthur @r. %t was transcribed from the tape, G( ?;-*,), titled 1/he (urse on the "erpent--Dart )1. ! copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, D.O. Bo# ,;;;, Danorama (ity, (! ?),)* or by dialing toll free )-:;;-AA-G=!('.