Apologetics

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The first Adam was created by God to subdue and replenish the earth. (Gen. 1:28) He was placed in a garden of abundance where his every need and appetite was fulfilled. The buffet trees were filled to overflowing with every imaginary fruit. He roamed among the animals that he had named (Gen. 2:19) and fellowshipped with his Creator in the cool of the evenings. (Gen 3:8) God was continually looking out for Adam and thought it would be helpful for him to have a companion. Adam named his companion Eve and together they started their life in a paradise on earth. Adam had full rein to express himself, with the one exception that he was not to eat of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. (Gen. 2:17) Adam realized the importance of obedience and, I believe, instructed Eve that she was not even to touch the tree. (Gen.3:3) Isn’t it amazing that even today we are offered so much in the Kingdom and told to shun so little in the world, and yet we choose to partake of the forbidden fruit! For Adam and Eve to forfeit so much for so little in exchange, boggles the mind. Eve was deceived, but Adam took of the forbidden fruit with the full knowledge of what his disobedience would cost. From the Garden to the wilderness, God’s precious creations traveled, never again to return to the suburbs of Heaven. (Gen 3:22-24)

The second Adam, Jesus, (see I Cor. 15) started from the wilderness by challenging Satan’s authority, and battled him from towns and villages to the Garden of Gethsemane and the Cross. What Adam and Eve failed to do, Jesus achieved by pursuing God’s directions and denying the temptations of the flesh. Jesus showed us that the blessings of God far out weigh the offerings of Satan. For each enticement Satan throws our way, God’s blessings overshadow them all. Satan offers temporary pleasures, while God’s pleasures are ever-lasting. Take a minute and think of the things that God has offered to you. As you are swept away by the grandeur of His blessings, you will find yourself offering up praise and thanksgiving for His unlimited Grace. Now take a second and think of the things Satan has offered you by enticing you with the temporal things of the world, and you will find yourself shaking your head in disbelief that you would even consider his offers.

Adam traded the eternal for the temporal and thus ushered sin into the world. Jesus traded His life for the eternal and thus ushered Grace into the world. By Jesus’ obedience to God, He once again opened the door to fellowship with Him. Adam had talked with God, but then walked away from God with his co-conspirator. Jesus not only talked with God, but walked the road of obedience. In so doing, He made a way for the “whosoever” to experience the joys of the Kingdom living while on the way to the Heavenly Kingdom.

Notice in the Garden of Eden, God did not give Adam a long list of things not to do or to avoid; rather, He presented him with the blessings of His creation. Believers are tired of hearing about things that they should avoid, instead of hearing about the things they can experience through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Some believe that Christians need to expose sin and stand against it. Is sin that hidden that we need to identify it? Are we to rain down judgment instead of the blessings of God? What will bring people to their Creator are the blessings of God, not the criticism of the Faithful. Let us enjoy the Heavenly Fruits and shun the forbidden fruits. Amen?

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