Adam and Eve - You and Me – Trails and Temptations

No doubt Adam and Eve are the most notorious couple to ever live, but the thought came to me recently that we are not much different than they were. We are as weak and frail in the flesh as they were; we need forgiveness as much as they did.

When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, they were there without the knowledge of good or evil; they did not know what evil was. In fact, God's command was that they not eat "of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (Gen. 2:17 ESV) This command was directed at Adam before Eve's creation, but Eve became aware of it as she testified to the same before the serpent in Gen. 3:3. We know what evil is, and yet we do it.

In those earliest days in the Garden, they understood their station in life. God, their creator, was over them, and they understood they were subordinate to him. That was fine with them for a time, how long we do not know, for they were living in an earthly paradise and one without temptation, that is, until the serpent came on the scene.

They were like we are so often, content until a third party comes along and convinces us how bad off we are and how much better things could be. How many people in this world have fallen because of third-party influences? I am thinking, as I write, how drug addiction and alcoholism would be virtually nonexistent if it were not for third-party influences. No one is born with a natural desire for drugs or alcohol. You are not born with a taste or longing for any of that. It takes someone on the outside to influence you, to convince you that things will be better if you indulge.

Many years ago, there was a common saying one heard from time to time, saying "it takes two to tango." How true it is. Most sin comes to us as a result of a third party and their influence. It goes far beyond just drugs and alcohol. Every time there is an illicit affair, adultery, or an adulterous marriage, every time someone joins in a criminal enterprise with others, gang-related or not, a third party was involved, urging the satisfaction of the temptation to the sin.

All advertisements are an attempt by one party to influence another. That is not to say that all advertisements entice us to sin but it is to say we are being hit constantly with enticements from outside ourselves to get us to do this or that. Satan is still active. He knows what he needs to do for his own purposes, and it generally begins with enticement.

None of that justifies our succumbing to the temptations, but human nature being what it is, the flesh being what it is, we often yield to our own desires when we are enticed by outside parties or influences. If you lived alone on a deserted island far from civilization, had no means of contact with others, your temptations to sin would be few and only related to your thoughts and attitude toward God. To be tempted within you generally have to be exposed to people and things without.

Christ warned those who entice people to sin. "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes." (Matt. 18:7 ESV) Again, in the prior verse, verse 6, he says, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." (ESV) To be the person who brings temptation to sin into the life of another is serious business, deadly business.

While the serpent in the Garden knew what he was doing, many who bring temptation to us do not realize what they are doing. Many are untaught in spiritual matters. Some think, for example, that bringing alcohol into a person's life will better that person socially, be good for them, help them belong, help them out in the business world, etc. Nevertheless, no matter the motive, sin is sin and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).

Eve did not know what temptation was until the serpent came along. She had been living with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without any apparent temptation to eat its fruit until the serpent arrived. We are often satisfied with our lives without being involved with sin until someone or something convinces us there is something better if only we will do this or that, contrary to what God has told us in his word. To get her to sin, the serpent had to get Eve to the point where she was dissatisfied.

Satan tells Eve the fruit of this tree will make her like God (Gen. 3:5). As a result, she began to look at the fruit of the tree in a different way than she had in the past. Now it became good for food and delightful in appearance, plus the serpent says it will make her wise like God (Gen. 3:6). One suspects it was always a tree of wonder to look upon, for it was the only tree in the garden God had forbidden them to eat of or even touch. But she had not been tempted by it, not until the serpent arrived.

In 1993, a movie called " Indecent Proposal " came out here in America, a movie I did not see but one that was heavily advertised at the time and quite scandalous. It starred Robert Redford and Demi Moore, and the plot was of a couple in financial straits. They encounter a billionaire who makes a proposal to them. He offers them a million dollars for a one-night stand with the man's wife. They finally give in and do it.

I use that as an analogy to say we are like Eve. We can be tempted to do things we would not ordinarily do or even entertain the thought of doing, given the right set of circumstances. Part of the Lord's prayer that he taught his followers was "lead us not into temptation" (Matt. 6:13 ESV). O, how we ought to pray that prayer.

God tempts no one to do evil (James 1:13), but God has the power to direct us away from temptation. God allowed Satan to try Job, try as in trial. Jesus himself was tempted by Satan, "led up by the Spirit … to be tempted by the devil." (Matt. 4:1 ESV) This was more a temptation to sin.

Jesus said Satan was seeking Peter and all of the apostles, "Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31-32 NRSV, the NRSV is accurate on these two verses). Satan goes about as a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

We never in this world become so strong that we cannot be tempted under the right circumstances. The temptation to sin abounds. When we think we are of a mind that we cannot fall into sin, that we do not need God's help for we are strong enough within ourselves, that is a dangerous state of mind. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (Prov. 16:18 ESV)

Yes, Jesus said, "it is necessary that temptations come" (Matt. 18:7)-for our faith must be tested-but the prayer to God to "lead us not into temptation" (Matt. 6:13) has to help alleviate temptations, or why pray? Nevertheless, we will be tested for it is necessary. "The LORD tests the righteous." (Psalm 11:5 ESV) God "tests the heart and the mind." (Jer. 11:20 ESV) God "tests our hearts." (1 Thess. 2:4 ESV)

Even if one sees the temptation of Matt. 6:13 as trial (the NRSV), thus "do not bring us to the time of trial" versus temptation to do evil, one must remember trials, if severe enough, can tempt us to do evil. Many have given up the faith due to the trials that came into their lives. Their thinking became if God loved me, if he exists at all, he would not be allowing this in my life, so they abandoned their faith.

Peter tells us "the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials." (2 Peter 2:9 ESV, "temptations" in the footnote). The passage in Peter, taken in context, is a reference to Lot's rescue from the evil environment he was in. Peter does not say God will keep you from all trials, but that he can rescue one from them in due time. Prayer is always appropriate whether one is faced with either a temptation or a trial.

Trials come into our lives to make us what God would have us to be. Peter said to those to whom he wrote, "Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith … may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:6-7 NIV) "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." (James 1:12 ESV)

Trials and temptations, temptations and trials, different but often much the same. Eve wanted to be better, to better herself, be wise like God, but at the cost of disloyalty. The guilty party in every broken marriage is guilty of the same, disloyalty. And, as for you and me, we are disloyal to God every time we willingly break one of his commands, the same as Eve.

The only way man has of loving God is by keeping his commandments, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments." (1 John5:3 ESV) You can't hug God, you cannot give him a kiss, you cannot give him anything, for everything that exists is his already. Besides, spiritual beings do not need or have use for material things. The only way to show love for God is by obedience. Eve failed in this, and sadly, we too often have.

We might say Eve just wanted to be happy. Well, the Bible does say sin is pleasurable for a season (Heb. 11:25 KJV). Eve did not realize how short the season was going to be. It was, as other versions say, "fleeting" (ESV), "short-lived" (HCSB), and "passing" (NAS), describing the pleasures of sin. She learned that the regret, pain, and sorrow, the result of her sin, lasted far longer than any pleasure she got from partaking of what was forbidden. How often have we learned the same lesson? We may be forgiven, but there is still regret, pain, and sorrow over our sins. And, of course, there is always the judgment to come if we fail to repent.

How about Adam? The Bible says he was not deceived into sinning as Eve was (2 Cor. 11:3, 1 Tim. 2:14). Eve believed the serpent. Adam did not, but his desire to please his wife overrode his love for God and his common sense. I believe there are a lot of people in the world who could be convinced of the truth, believe and obey it, but family or loved ones get in the way. Family ought to be a blessing, but it is not always so. Nevertheless, while family may play some role in our disbelief and disobedience, we are still individually accountable for the decisions we make.

The Bible speaks to us all as individuals. No family group will be saved based on their relationship to one another, no church (congregation) will be saved as a collective group, and no husband and wife as a couple, because they are husband and wife. "Wife, how do you know whether you will save your husband? Husband, how do you know whether you will save your wife?" (1 Cor. 7:16 ESV) "So then each of us will give an account of himself to God." (Rom. 14:12 ESV)

Adam loved his wife more than he loved God. Jesus said many hundreds of years later, "whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." (Matt.10:37 ESV, see also Luke 14:26) Who am I to say I would have done better than Adam had I been in his shoes? I am not defending him, but I am saying I can understand. God himself had said it was not good for man to be alone (Gen. 2:18). Whatever Eve's fate was to be, he wanted to be with her. It is wonderful for a man to love his wife, but it is not wonderful to follow her into sin or put her above God in one's affections. Likewise, with a wife and her husband.

Adam did not have to abandon his wife because of her sin. He could have done as Moses did for the children of Israel when they sinned and God was of a mind to destroy them; he intervened with God (Exod. 32:9-14, 30-35). Why didn't Adam do this? We cannot know but only speculate, which would profit nothing. We can know Adam was weak through the flesh. That brings us back to you and me. Are we not also weak through the flesh?

We are like Adam; we know what God has told us; the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Adam knew that; God had told him; he ate of the forbidden fruit anyway. Don't tell me you never sinned knowingly. If you do, I will not believe you. You knew sin leads to death but you did it anyway, just like Adam. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8 ESV) Your sins were not all sins of ignorance, committed because you did not know you were committing a sin. "None is righteous, no, not one." (Rom. 3:10 ESV)

We sin because at the time we think it is worthwhile, yes, foolish, but true. I think of Peter when he denied Christ. Why did he do it? Because he feared he too would be arrested like Jesus and suffer. He feared an unknown fate at the hands of unfriendly men. No good could come of that, of being arrested. When in the book of Galatians he withdrew and refused to eat with the Gentiles again he did so out of fear, the fear of what his fellow Jews would think and the negative consequences he might suffer as a result.

The point is that sin at the time can seem good, the best route to pursue, has benefits, but it is a very shortsighted view of things. I don't know what Adam and Eve thought. Did they think God had lied to them when he said they would die if they ate of the forbidden fruit? Or, did they think that death would be so far down the road that it would not matter for the here and now? Yes, they died spiritually when they sinned; I realize that. The point I am making, though, is that the day of accountability always comes. The clock may seem to be ticking slowly, but ticking it is, and like the tortoise in the fairy tale, it will eventually reach its destination, the end. This we must keep in mind. We cannot outrun the day of accountability.

We say God walked with them in the garden and spoke to them directly; if he did that with us, we would not sin. Really? Point 1: God's walking with them in the garden was not like you walking with me down the street, physically side by side. God is a spirit; Adam and Eve were flesh and blood. No man has ever seen God and lived (Exod. 33:20, John 1:18). If God walked in the garden in any kind of a literal sense, it was as a theophany. An example would be God appearing to Moses in the burning bush. In such cases, God takes on an appearance that man can see and yet live, but it is not God's full essence. I guess one could say God takes on a disguise, not to deceive, but to allow man to be in his presence for a time and yet live.

God walks with the Christian when the Christian brother or sister is walking in the light of God's word. (1 John 1) "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105 ESV) God walks with his people today, "For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, 'I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.'" (2 Cor. 6:16 ESV)

Point 2: Then we may be inclined to think that, because God spoke directly to them, if he did that with us, we would be faithful if we could just hear his voice. Well, that did not work at Sinai with the children of Israel. It didn't keep Moses sin-free. It didn't keep Abraham from lying about his wife.

Besides, God speaks directly to us today through his word. You say that is different? If one says that it is different, it is not different with God. Remember the account of the rich man and Lazarus when the rich man was pleading for one to be sent back from the dead to his brothers to warn them to turn from their evil ways? Hear Abraham's reply, "They have Abraham and the Prophets; let them hear them." (Luke 16:29 ESV) Of course, Abraham and the Prophets had been dead for an untold number of years. They were to be heard from the writings they left, writings of the Holy Spirit.

So, who were Adam and Eve? They were your neighbor. They were even closer. They were you and me. Look in the mirror.

Jesus did not come into the world just for Adam and Eve's sake. We all need Jesus, the salvation of our souls. We are all sinners. God knew what was going to come to pass with man's creation before creating man; thus, grace was provided "in Christ Jesus before the ages began." (2 Tim. 1:9 ESV) "He chose us in him before the foundation of the world." (Eph. 1:4 ESV)

I don't know what will become of Adam and Eve in the judgment. I don't know whether they repented and God forgave them, but one can hope so, and it certainly seems reasonable to think they did. However, that is irrelevant for you and me. What will God do with us, for we have been much like Adam and Eve? Have we repented? Are we trying to walk with God in light of his word? That is the question that is the really important one.

Things God Cannot Do

The Bible teaches that there are things God cannot do. Why not? It is certainly not because he lacks the power or knowledge, but it's a matter of who he is, his character. We can understand that. There are things you and I could do, but our character would never allow it. I thought it would be good to use an online Bible concordance for the New King James Version and type in the word "cannot" and see what came up. I was interested only in those things God cannot do. Here is the list I compiled.

(1) God says in Isa. 1:13, "I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting." (NKJV) Prior to this verse God speaking through Isaiah says of his people that they "have rebelled against me." (Isa. 1:2 NKJV) A couple of verses later they are referred to as a "sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters!" (Isa 1:4 NKJV) They were up to their necks in sin of all kinds and yet were still offering sacrifices to God (V. 11) and observing the assemblies (v. 13). They were a people full of hypocrisy.

God cannot endure worship directed to him when those offering it are full of sin that they are unrepentant of. Living a life of sinful indulgence and disregard for God's word did not please God then, nor will it now, no matter how much playing church we do. Acceptable worship to God must be from a life of faithful living in spirit and truth.

We see what God cannot endure nearly everywhere we look if we have eyes to see. As an example, it is common to see congregations in which there are unscripturally divorced and remarried couples, couples living in adultery by the Bible definition, that are members in good standing. I personally knew of a man who left his wife of, I am told, 37 years, for another woman, married this woman, and now attends another congregation which seemed to accept him and her with open arms, unrepentant. It is also common to hear on the news of churches welcoming homosexual pastors or priests, as they call them. If you know anything about the Bible, you know God condemns homosexuality (1 Cor. 6:9-10). These are just a couple of examples, but God is still saying, "I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting." (Isa. 1:13 NKJV)

(2) Habakkuk says of God in Hab. 1:13, "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness." Obviously, God sees or knows the wickedness of man; otherwise, how could he judge man? "There is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Heb. 4:13 NKJV) The Psalmist tells us in speaking of God that "he knows the secrets of the heart." (Psalms 44:21 NKJV) So, there is no hiding wickedness from God, even wickedness in the heart. Habakkuk is saying in this passage that God cannot tolerate or endure wickedness or sin.

What is the message for today? "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." (Gal. 6:7-8 NKJV) "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (2 Cor. 5:10 NKJV) "Tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek." (Rom. 2:9 NKJV)

The fact that God does not punish men on the spot and immediately for their sin does not mean he has not seen it or has overlooked it. If it seems we have gotten by with it, it is only because God is "longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV) There will be a day of accounting. God "cannot look on wickedness." It is impossible for him to accept it.

(3) "God cannot be tempted by evil." (James 1:13 NKJV) This is just a straightforward statement of fact. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life tempt men, not God. God is spirit. The same passage tells us that God tempts no one.

What does this mean that God cannot be tempted by evil? It means God will not lie to me, he will not cheat me, he will do me no wrong at all, for that would be evil, the thing God cannot be tempted to do. It means God cannot be bribed or bought off, for that would be evil. Evil, by its nature, is absent from God. It means, as we are told in many places in scripture, that God is good.

Yes, there will be problems that enter my life, but they will be for my growth and improvement. "Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing." (James 1:2-4 NKJV) "He himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" (Heb. 13:5 NKJV)

(4) God "cannot lie." (Titus 1:2 NKJV) Titus tells us this in connection with a promise God has made to his people--the promise of eternal life. This is a great comfort and hope as time goes by in our lives and we see ourselves growing older. We know some day we must leave this world for the great unknown, but God has given a promise, and he cannot lie; there is such a thing as eternal life. What a joyous thought and hope.

But we must also remember that when we are told that God cannot lie, it pertains to everything God has said. We cannot choose what parts of the Bible we want to believe and obey. God cannot lie about anything he has said. If he has given a commandment you or I do not like, we must remember God was not lying when he gave us the commandment. He meant for it to be kept and obeyed. Next time you read a commandment that is hard to accept, ask yourself this question: Is God lying about this? Does he mean it?

Today, men and women are living in disobedience to plain commandments of God because in their minds, he will not care, he did not mean it for us today, he knows times have changed. In other words, God did not mean what he said and will not count our disobedience against us as sin. We need to remember the words of Jesus, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4 NKJV) We ought to emphasize from that passage the phrase "every word." God "cannot lie."

(5) God "cannot deny himself." (2 Tim. 2:13 NKJV) Taken in the context in which this passage is found, the entire verse reads as follows: "If we are faithless, he remains faithful; he cannot deny himself." This is very similar to the previous passage from Titus telling us God cannot lie. To be faithful means we keep our word. For God not to do this would make him unfaithful, and he would be denying himself, denying what he had previously told us.

This really means that you and I can take God's word to the bank, as the old saying goes. It is good as gold, better than gold. There is no possibility of a failure or fault to be found with it. We need to have confidence in the word of God, for without it, when doubts start entering in, sin and falling away are not far behind. Jesus says, "The scripture cannot be broken." (John 10:35 NKJV) God cannot deny himself.

It is wonderful to know the things God can do, but it is also wonderful to learn there are things God cannot, will not, do.

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Did it Really Happen—What Jesus Says

One cannot claim he has faith in a man and yet doubt that man's veracity. Our only choice is to believe what a man says or disbelieve it. Such is the case with Jesus. We either believe in Jesus as a man whose word can be trusted or disbelieve him, consider his word as unreliable; it is either one or the other. If his word is at times unreliable, you never know when to believe him and when not to. He cannot be fully trusted.

This article comes as a result of a sermon I heard in which the preacher made the comment that with many people today, everything in the Bible is seen as figurative or symbolic and thus not to be taken at face value. To be specific, everything that seems incredible, the miraculous, is simply the use of figurative speech to make a spiritual point; thus, when scripture is looked at in this way, one does not have to deal with the supernatural in the affairs of men for the simple reason that the supernatural never happened.

Viewing scripture this way presents some very real problems for many of the things people wish to deny Jesus declared to be factual. The problem then becomes, do you believe Jesus or do you think he lied or, at the very least, was mistaken. I thought it would be good to compile a list of some of the things Jesus spoke of in such a way as to confirm their reality.

The listing was compiled by starting in Matthew and just taking events in the order in which I found them in a red-letter edition of the New Testament. Thus, the reason we start with Sodom and Gomorrah is that it was the first confirmation I came to of an Old Testament miraculous event as I ran my finger up and down the pages of Matthew, then Mark, Luke, and John in order, seeking passages where Jesus confirmed Old Testament miracles—Matt. 10:15. I quote the Luke passage, for it is more in-depth than Matthew, but I will include what Matthew quotes Jesus saying as well.

(1) Jesus confirms Sodom and Gomorrah and what happened there, saying, "Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:28-29 NKJV) "Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!" (Matt. 10:15 NKJV) The words Jesus spoke confirm what the Old Testament had to say about Sodom and Gomorrah. Did Jesus lie? Can one believe the Bible account of Sodom and Gomorrah?

The Bible says, "the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord." (Gen. 13:13 NKJV) In Gen. 18:20, Gomorrah is included with Sodom as a place whose "sin is very grievous." (Gen 18:20 NKJV) In Gen. 19:5, we see the nature of their sin. Two angels came to Lot (Gen. 19:1), but their appearance was that of men (Gen. 19:5). The men of Sodom came to Lot and insisted that he "bring them out to us that we may know them carnally." (Gen. 19:5 NKJV) They were engaged in homosexuality, men with men engaging in unseemly sexual acts.

One cannot be an advocate of gay marriage and be a faithful Christian, not if he or she believes the Bible. In 1 Cor. 6:9-10, in the New Testament, not the old, Paul, speaking by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gives a list of those who "will not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9 NKJV) and says "do not be deceived" (1 Cor. 6:9 NKJV) about it. In that list, we find "homosexuals" and "sodomites." (1 Cor. 6:9 NKJV)

Did Jesus lie about Sodom and Gomorrah? Do you believe what he said?

(2) Jesus confirms the story of, as he calls him, "the prophet Jonah." (Matt. 12:39 NKJV) "But He answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.'" (Matt. 12:39-40 NKJV)

Many people do not believe the story of Jonah, but Jesus says it happened. They think that a man could not survive in the belly of a giant fish for three days and nights, but the reason they reject it is that they discount the supernatural. They think scientifically that such a thing could not happen. My answer to that would be, of course not. Clearly, it is a supernatural event out of the norm, but the biblical text tells us as much.

This was no ordinary fish for the Bible says, "the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah." (Jonah 1:17 NKJV) God made this giant fish for a specific purpose, put it in a specific location at just the right time, to do a specific task (swallow Jonah), and designed him in such a way that a man could survive inside him. Jesus said this happened. Did Jesus lie? Do you believe him?

Can we believe in Jesus, a supernatural being having no earthly father, and then say supernatural events have never happened, that miracles are just fairy tales? If the miraculous is always to be rejected, then who can believe in the virgin birth of Christ and/or his resurrection? How can we believe in our own resurrection if we do not believe in the miraculous?

Even if evolution were true, would that not also be just as much mind-boggling as the Bible's creation account? Both are beyond the realm of human reason and understanding, both incomprehensible by the human mind. Evolution is a mathematical impossibility and thus would be just as much a miracle as anything the Bible speaks of. Evolution has life evolving from non-living matter. If true, is that not a miracle? Both the evolutionist and the creationist believe in miracles, but one will admit as much while the other refuses to acknowledge it.

(3) Jesus confirms man's creation and Adam and Eve. “And He answered and said to them, 'Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning "made them male and female," and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh"?'" (Matt. 19:4-5 NKJV) Thus man was a creation of God and did not evolve. There was a beginning, and at that time human beings, male and female, were created by God.

Please note Jesus says you can read about this, "have you not read." (Matt. 19:4 NKJV) Thus, Jesus confirms the account given in Genesis of the creation.

Jesus further confirms the account of Adam and Eve as being real people and not mythological when he confirms the life and death of Abel. Since Abel was the son of Adam and Eve, if there is no Adam and no Eve, then there is no Abel. "Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar." (Matt. 23:34-35 NKJV) Jesus says Abel died a righteous man; thus, Abel did indeed live, the son of Adam and Eve.

If Adam and Eve were mythological instead of living human beings, the question arises how about Abel? Was Abel also mythological? At what point in time do we move in the biblical account from mythological beings to actual living human beings? Jesus teaches that there was no mythology to it.

(4) Jesus confirms the flood account. "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." (Matt. 24:37-39 NKJV) Jesus says there was a flood, a man named Noah, and an ark. Who was taken away in the flood? Jesus says "took them all away" thus it was a universal flood. God said to Noah, "the end of all flesh has come before me." (Gen. 6:13 NKJV) Those who want a local flood only have to deal with these passages. Was Jesus a liar? Were only a part of them, a part of all flesh, taken away? Do you believe Jesus told the truth?

(5) Jesus confirms the burning bush incident. "But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'?" (Mark 12:26 NKJV) This was the bush that burned with fire but was not consumed (Exodus 3:2-3). A bush that burns with fire and yet is not consumed is a miracle. Jesus is saying the passage is legitimate and is putting his stamp of approval on the account being a matter of factual history.

(6) Jesus confirms the miraculous feeding of the widow in Zarephath and her son in 1 Kings 17 for approximately 3 years and 6 months. When Elijah met her she had but barely enough food for that single day for herself and son (see 1 Kings 17:12) but Elijah speaks to her word from the Lord, "The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth." (1 Kings 17:14 NKJV) That ended up being nearly 3 years and 6 months (see Luke 4:25).

Here is what Jesus said about that, confirming it as a real event, "But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow." (Luke 4:25-26 NKJV)

(7) Jesus confirms the miraculous healing from leprosy of Naaman. "And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian." (Luke 4:27 NKJV) You remember Naaman was told by the prophet Elisha to dip 7 times in the river Jordan (1 Kings 5:10) and he would be cleansed. After hesitating, he finally did so and was cleansed. We have Jesus here confirming another Old Testament miracle.

(8) Jesus confirms Lot's wife being turned into a pillar of salt. He says, "Remember Lot's wife." (Luke 17:32 NKJV) What is to remember about her if she did not turn into a pillar of salt upon disobeying God (Gen. 19:17, 29)? That is the very thing we are to remember lest we too disobey.

I ask do you believe what Jesus taught? Do you believe the things he said about the events I have listed above? If you doubt them, you question Jesus' veracity. How can you believe Jesus is Lord and Savior and yet doubt his word, for to doubt his word is to doubt him? If Jesus is prone to fairy tales, then how do you know what to believe or think?

Why would we expect God to be held in rein by science, by naturalistic processes, when God, by definition, is outside and above the natural world, for he is the one who, if he does exist (I do not doubt that he does), created it all? He who created nature is not bound by what he created. The creation does not reign over the creator. The creator has not created a thing more powerful than himself, a thing he cannot intervene in and change to suit his purposes.

If you or I build a house, do we not have the power to take that house and remodel it? Why then cannot God intervene miraculously in the affairs of nature and of mankind, of which he created both, to suit his own purposes? Why does supernatural intervention surprise us to the point that we deny that it can happen? We deny miracles?

Those who doubt generally do not want to believe. They do not search for God. They are running from faith because they do not want to believe, for belief would mean being bound by God and his commandments, which limit our freedom to do as we please, and I add, as we all know, we are all inclined to do what we want to, to do what pleases us. It is our human nature.

Even among religious people in Christendom, many have doubts about various passages in the Bible, but why? I think the root of the matter is that doubt allows us the freedom to build our own unique version of Christianity to suit ourselves. If we cannot trust the Bible completely, then we get to build the Bible (the doctrines and commandments) that most pleases us. It allows one to have a smorgasbord religion where one can pick and choose rather than just take what God has served up. We like the meal we would prepare better than the one God has prepared. It is a liberal brand of Christianity, but by design to meet a purpose—to live life the way we desire. 

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Isaiah (Chapter 1) For Today

                     (I post this in the year 2026 but it was written years ago like most of the articles here.)

Paul says, in Rom. 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning” (NKJV) as he writes to the Christians in Rome (Rom. 1:7 NKJV). The prophetic book of Isaiah, written hundreds of years before Christ, can teach us much about God—who he is, his nature, what pleases him, what displeases him, how he feels, his thoughts, his sense of justice, etc. I think most of us would like to know God better, and Isaiah gives us that opportunity. There are lessons for the church, God’s people, found in the very first chapter of Isaiah.

As Isaiah chapter one opens (Isa. 1:1), we learn of a vision Isaiah saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, God’s people in that Old Testament time period. We must remember that we Christians are God’s people today, so in terms of broad principles at least, versus specific laws, there is application for us as well as for those who lived back then. Here are some of the lessons found in the first chapter.

(1) God’s people can cease to know him or understand him. “The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not consider.” (Isa. 1:3 NKJV) Under the Law of Moses, a child was born a Jew, a child of God, by physical birth. He/she would have to grow into a knowledge of God and his will as they grew and matured and were taught. Under the Christian dispensation, one cannot become a child of God, a Christian, without first having obtained a knowledge of Christ. “No one can come to me (Christ--DS) unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.” (John 6:44-45 NKJV)

However, I do not believe Isaiah is talking about an ignorance of God, like I might have an ignorance of chemistry or of physics, but rather a rejection of him based on the idea that things do not matter to God. They had gradually, and it seems almost totally, drifted away from God in their belief that what he had said mattered, or that he really cared, about the things he had told them, through the law and the prophets.

Here is the great lesson for the church and individual Christians today. Have you ever heard it said, “I know what it (reference to the word of God) says, but … .” I have heard it. I wonder if people in Isaiah’s day were saying that sort of thing. I once knew a lady who was gung-ho on women preachers. Paul said, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man.” (1 Tim. 2:12 NKJV) What an inspired preacher had to say about the subject did not matter to her. She rejected Paul but would have argued all day with you that she believed the Bible.

The Jews of Isaiah’s day had recreated God in their own image. He would become the God they wanted him to be. We must be very careful today lest we do the same thing. When we begin to say things like "that was then, this is now, we have to adapt the Bible to modern times," etc., we are starting to travel a dangerous road. Who is the man who is qualified to tell us what changes need to be made in the Christian faith and practice of today versus that of the first century, as found in the pages of the New Testament? Many feel they are qualified, for they are busy telling us all the time what is allowable today, even though unheard of in the New Testament. However, I have always been wary of blind guides leading the blind. That men have created their own brand of Christianity today to suit themselves is found in the fact that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of denominations. They all argue they know God. Do you believe it?

Reminds me of the church of the Laodiceans in Rev. 3:14-19 in that Jesus said of them, "Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’ – and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-." (Rev. 3:17 NKJV) The fact that an individual or a church calls itself Christian and feels good about itself amounts to about two cents if that much. The measuring stick is not man nor men nor how they feel or think, but the word of God. Even Sardis had a name, but Jesus said they were dead (Rev. 3:1); the majority of them, like the people in Isaiah’s day, had defiled their garments (Rev. 3:4).

There is only one way to know and understand God. One must become a faithful and diligent student of the word of God, not just an occasional and casual reader. One must believe what he reads, which involves not only faith in facts that are presented but a trust in God and his promises. One must act upon what he has learned, which is to say he must be obedient to it and that from the heart. To know and understand God is to accept God as God, which means God is over me. In Isaiah’s day, God had been forsaken and despised (Isa. 1:4 ESV), for what he had taught no longer mattered. A person or a group’s attitude toward the word of God can tell you a lot about them.

(2) People who reject God may still hold worship services, but do so in vain. If one will read Isa. 1:11-15, it becomes clear that the people were still offering sacrifices, burnt offerings, incense, holding to the appointed feasts, observing the Sabbaths, etc. These were divinely given acts of worship, but God was not pleased, for neither the heart nor the life was right in the worshipers.

God says, “I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.” (Isa. 1:13 ESV) He says their incense “is an abomination to me.” (Isa. 1:13 ESV) Of the new moons and the appointed feasts, he says he hates them (Isa. 1:14).

Worship is not acceptable to God that does not first come from a life of purity based on belief in and obedience to God through his word. Please do not let my use of the word purity mislead you into thinking perfection. Perfection is the goal, but while man can obtain maturity in the Christian life, he cannot obtain perfection in the sense in which we use the word today. The idea Isaiah presents to us is of a people who were practicing iniquity. Sin was a way of life with them. Hypocrites cannot please God nor worship him in a manner acceptable to him. To worship God acceptably, one must make a sincere effort to obey God and live a Christian life. “One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination.” (Prov. 28:9 NKJV)

We all would do well to memorize Prov. 28:9 just quoted for that is our status with God when we become involved in sin and have not or will not repent of it. I would like to have people pray for me, as I am sure you would, if you are a believer.  However, I know the prayers of a certain class that might pray for me would all be for naught. Is your life such that if you had a family member in need of prayer, you could pray with hope that the prayer would be accepted by God? Are you the righteous man or woman whose prayer avails much (James 5:16)?

We also need to remember that while the application of the lesson is to the individual, Isaiah was talking to people who, as a group, had almost all fallen into this category of iniquity. The point is that an entire body of people can fall into this classification, continue to worship God outwardly, and yet the worship be in vain. “In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matt. 15:9 NKJV) Jesus spoke those words as recorded in Matthew, but he said it was a prophecy of Isaiah and applied it to the people of his own time. That said, it is a truth that will always apply to those who teach “as doctrines the commandments of men” and who still try to worship God while doing so.

(3) A third lesson we can take from Isaiah 1 is that God gives man the ability and the opportunity to cleanse himself of sin. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good.” (Isa. 1:16 NKJV) A little clarification is in order lest there be misunderstanding. God is not saying that man has the ability on his own to cleanse himself of sin apart from God. God is saying he will forgive them if they will meet the conditions, and it is in their hands as to whether or not they will do so.

The Jews of that day did not have to be living a life of sin. No one forced it on them. They lived that way by choice. Likewise, if they would, they could choose to live a life of godliness and righteousness. They could wash themselves clean by complying with God’s laws of pardon under the Law of Moses, but, of course, God would only accept those sacrifices made as an offering for sin if made in sincerity of heart from a penitent heart, a heart that had been genuinely changed, so the pardon was conditional. God has always given accountable man responsibility for his own salvation. There was never a time when salvation was unconditional. (Of course, all forgiveness under the Law of Moses looked forward to the atonement for sin made by Jesus on the cross--see Heb. 9:15, 10:1-4, Rom. 3:25.)

(4) A fourth lesson is that God is able and willing to save the greatest of sinners if they will repent and turn to him seeking salvation in his appointed way. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isa. 1:18 NKJV) The colors are put in contrast. Scarlet is a reddish color, the color of blood, signifying great sin. White is the color of purity. The intent is to array opposites against one another. God is saying, even now, as great as your sin has been, I will cleanse you if you are willing, and I can cleanse you perfectly, completely.

We often forget that those who Peter said were guilty of taking Jesus by lawless hands and crucifying him were, by faith and obedience to the gospel of Christ, preached by Peter on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2, forgiven of their sins and saved. How much greater sin can one commit than that of crucifying Christ? If one can be forgiven of that, cleansed, and made white as snow, then men need not fear that their sin is too great for God’s forgiveness.

Elsewhere, Paul gave himself as an example of one who had great sin yet was forgiven by God. He called himself the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) and says he was forgiven (“obtained mercy”) so that in him Jesus “might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for everlasting life.” (1 Tim. 1:15 NKJV) Isaiah teaches us today that sin is not so great that God cannot forgive or is unwilling to. The question lies not with God but with our willingness to give up sin and come to him.

I would also remind those who are backsliding Christians that Isaiah was writing to the people of God. Isaiah teaches restoration of the penitent child of God. “Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness.” (Isa. 1:27 NKJV) Sometimes children of God will wander away and then have a desire to come home to God, but have doubts they can do so, doubts he will have them. The Bible teaches just the opposite. It teaches his great desire to have them come home.

(5) A fifth lesson I take from Isaiah chapter one (although there might well be others in addition, should we pursue it in more depth) is that there is a penalty to be paid for rebellion and disobedience, for a life of sin from which one refuses to repent. After Isaiah speaks of the penitents in Isa. 1:27, of their being saved, he goes on in the next verse and says, and I am going to quote from the NLT for its clarity in meaning, “But rebels and sinners will be completely destroyed, and those who desert the Lord will be consumed.” (Isa. 1:28 NLT) Then in the last verse of the chapter, “They and their evil works will burn up together, and no one will be able to put out the fire.” (Isa. 1:31 NLT)

One cannot rebel against one’s creator, the God of the universe. One will pay for his sin, “For the wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23 NKJV) The New Testament teaches that there is a hell reserved for the unrighteous. It is sometimes called “the second death” or “the lake of fire” (see Rev. 20:14). Jesus says there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30) and says on the Day of Judgment that those on his left hand will be told, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matt. 25:41 NKJV)

Let me tell you a little story. I stopped writing a while ago and made a trip to the store. I had the radio on, and it just so happened there was a preacher on telling about another preacher who said that in their congregation, they did not believe God would punish anyone. They did not believe in a God like that. What good does a Bible do for a group like that? How do you make a claim of being a believer, a believer in Christ, and not believe what he says?

We must remember it does not have to end this way for the sinner. God “is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV) God would have “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4 NKJV) That is why Christ was sent into the world, and that is what the cross is all about. Nevertheless, if one remains rebellious, there is a penalty to be paid.

In conclusion, while the book of Isaiah was not written directly to us today, we can, nevertheless, learn a great deal from it, and we ought to do that. The first chapter reveals a great deal about God. If you are concerned about having a correct relationship with God, then read and study Isaiah chapter 1. It will help you. 

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