Genesis
3 – Adam’s Guilt, Adam’s Shame
When
God got Adam’s undivided attention, God gave him some specific instructions:
“Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it you
shall surely die.” God offered to Adam
an opportunity to experience the full freedom that grows out of obedience.
Shortly after that. God introduced Eve to Adam. The two of them received God’s blessing and
began their perfect life together. At
this point there was no sin or suffering in the garden God gave them as a home.
One
of Adam’s duties was to help Eve understand God’s instructions. He apparently gave Eve the condensed version:
“See that tree over there, honey? God
told us not to even touch it, Got that?” Eve was an easy prey for Satan because
perhaps Adam didn’t tell her the whole story. That’s why God held Adam
ultimately responsible for the sin that infected the human race when the couple
ate of the forbidden fruit.
Even before God’s confrontation, however; Adam already
knew he had sinned. He felt that inner
awareness of wrongdoing called guilt. He
also realized that fear of exposure called shame. This powerful combination was given by God as
an internal corrective. It could have
brought Adam to repentance and confession.
Instead, Adam tried to cope with guilt and shame by avoidance and
denial. Adam found himself suddenly
terrified of God’s approach. He hid in
shame. Gently questioned, Adan excused
his behavior. Eve followed Adam’s lead. The rest of us have done the same thing.
As long as we blame others and refuse to take
responsibility for our wrong actions, we remain mired in sin. Guilt and shame
rule our lives and cut us off from God’s redemptive healing. But God invites us to own our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I
John 1:9.
Taken
from J. Vernon Magee Commentary and “Why I Believe” by D. James Kennedy.
https://sherrysouthard.blogsopot.com
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