Christian Living

DON'T EAT THE APPLE

by Charles (Chuck) Robey
11/30/18
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" When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. "(Genesis 3:6)

Like many fellow Americans, I have been sitting back, tuning in the national news media by way of radio, TV and internet, and wondering just why all the apparent evil? Wondering just what is going on with our country? Wondering about the solution to all the apparent unrest?

Then, as if by divine sensitivity, my mind wondered back to where it all began, back to mankind's original sin, the biting of that proverbial apple. With Biblical understanding we know that we, as well as our country, continue living in a post-Garden of Eden environment.

So have you, or are you biting that notorious apple?  You may recall its history. Way back eons of time, at the universe's creation, God's instructed our first parents, Adam and Eve, not to take of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil placed in their home land, the Garden of Eden. If they did, they would surely die.

However Satan, camouflaged in a snake's body, deceived  Eve, and she in turn persuaded her husband and both ate of this forbidden fruit.

This act of rebellion opened their eyes to the knowledge of good and evil, and they became ashamed of their unlawful deed. God then banished them from the Garden of Eden. Reference the temptation (Genesis 3:1-7), reference the judgment. (Genesis 3:8-24) 

And as a consequence of their sinful act, all mankind is now born in sin, and in need of a Savior. Reference (Romans 5:12-21) Thus, was born our current fallen world.

So what is your apple? Is it simply living contrary to your Creator's standards? (Romans 1:28-32) If so, this lifestyle could eventually come under the judgment of God for us as individuals and for our country. (Romans 2:1-3, 6)

We serve a loving and understanding God. However, continuing in the aforementioned lifestyle could give an individual as well as a country, a spiritual hardening of the heart. (Romans 2:5)   

You see, the truth is being suppressed because of mankind's hereditary rebellious will.  Mankind deliberately suppresses the truth by substituting the truth and glory of God for a fleshly lie. (Galatians 5:17-21)  

This is where civilization's sinful intent comes from, and society's progressive immorality and cultural decay. 

The proper response to God is to glorify Him in our actions (Galatians 5:22-23) and to give Him thanks. Instead people turn to other forms of evil worship, including such self-generated worship as the me, myself and I syndrome.

We must realize however, that we Christians are in a battle between right and wrong, between good and evil. And most importantly, we are in a battle against evil spiritual forces, not against flesh and blood.

In other words, (Ephesians 6:12) states that the believer's enemies are the demonic hosts of Satan, always assembled for mortal combat.

What are we then to do?  Is there a gospel plan, or a plan of action that we may follow?  Yes, God never leaves His people to go it alone. Here is the plan. We should go straight to God's word and commit the situation to prayer. First and foremost is God's lesson plan.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (II Timothy 3:16-17)

Secondly, God gives his people a plan of action, followed by His promise.

"if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (II Chronicles 7:14)

Now, it's time for us to go to work. So how do we go at it, against the spiritual evils of this world? We should be going in the strength of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:10), putting on our spiritual battle gear (Ephesians 6:11, 13-17), and going with much prayer and perseverance. (Ephesians 6:18)

So what then is our physical and spiritual plan of attack? We should make arrangements to compassionately get involved humanly, (Romans 1:1-7) as well as spiritually. (II Cor. 5:20) 

We, as participants of spreading the Gospel message (Matthew 28:19-20) (Acts 1:8), really have no excuse.

Along with our dedication to His church and it's providential principles, we should also take our rightful place in our community (Romans 13:1-7), as apathy can be contagious. We should seek the truth, and make assessments based on Biblical principles. And above all we must vote intelligently.

We could also make our stand known by writing to the newspapers, lobbying for the good and even joining a respectable political party. When is the last time you attended your public city council meeting?   When is the last time you expressed your dissatisfaction to your senator or congressional representative with respect to an unjust or godless law?  When is the last time you stood up to family, neighbors and co-workers by sharing your testimony?

So in conclusion, what is your apple? (Luke 13:1-5)

Author's Postscript

Was the forbidden fruit an apple? Well, Scripture doesn't tell, as the type of fruit was of no real concern.  It was the sin of pride and being disobedient to their Creator that was the main issue.

The following quote taken from (https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/adam-and-eve/was-the-forbidden-fruit-an-apple/)

"Either way, Eve’s actions and thought processes mimicked that of (James 1:14-15). We cannot blame the serpent entirely for its cunning deception, but it was her own actions of eating that cannot be ignored—and the same with Adam (II Corinthians 11:3). So, we should learn that we too should not be deceived, which is why checking things against Scripture and viewing the Scriptures as the authority should be the goal of any Christian (Acts 17:11).

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