#10 On the Nature of God: Sin and the JUSTICE of GOD

Because we live in a democracy, the justice of God concerning sin may not be fully understood. The key to understanding is to recognize that God is both judicial, legislative, and executive, all contained in one Spirit. Consider God’s language to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 2:16-17:

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Note that this is both a commandment and a judicial decision as to what will happen if this commandment is disobeyed. If Adam eats, he will die.

When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, the sentence was automatic. God had spoken. They would die. There would be no trial, no lawyer for the defense, or a pleading for one more chance.

When God confronted Adam and Eve in the Garden, Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent, the devil. God then spoke to both, Genesis 3:16-19:

“To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

What is missing from this conversation is Adam and Eve saying they were sorry and repenting. No plea for forgiveness was entered.

Note that God did not say, “Because you sinned, you will die.” This statement was unnecessary since that sentence had already been given when God commanded them not to eat of the tree. As the result of disobedience, they would die. Instead, God listed the consequences that their disobedience would have on in their lives. Eve would have increased pain in child bearing and be subject to her husband. Adam would suffer pain and anguish trying to raise crops for food in the field. At the end of his life, his body would decay to be soil or dirt from which he’d been created.

Even after Adam’s sin, the mercy and love of God is shown in a prophecy. In a conversation with the serpent or the devil, God gives an early indication that Jesus’ death on the cross would defeat the devil and atone for sin, Genesis 3:14-15:

“The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Note that ‘offspring’ is singular indicating that a single person, Jesus, would fulfill this prophecy. Although He was crucified, Jesus was victorious over Satan when He died on the cross, Hebrews 2:14:

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,”

Satan bruised Jesus’ heel, but Jesus destroyed him.

Jesus dying on the cross did not remove the necessity for mankind to die as a result of sin. But it did provide the means, the only means, of receiving the bliss of heaven, a likeness to the Garden of Eden, after death.

Adam and Eve were the first to experience the bitter consequences of sin. They were driven from the garden, no longer had access to the tree of life, and eventually died. They found that sin takes you further than you want to go, lasts longer than you intended, and costs more than you meant to pay.

God can’t abide sin. His justice demands punishment. Before sin, God intended that life in the garden for Adam and Eve be pleasant. After sin, God decreed that all of Adam and Eve’s children experience punishment. Adam knew it was wrong. He was not deceived, 1 Timothy 2:14:

“Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.”

The nature of God is to give commands and what will happen if they are violated. Thus, God demands justice for breaking His laws.

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