Bitter Fruit

April 23rd, 2006. Bitter Fruit. Genesis 3:16-24.

One of the most interesting parts of a trial is the sentencing phase. It’s here that the defendant having been found guilty of the crimes he’s been charged with await’s the final judgment of the court. Here the fate of his life will be decided. Depending on the seriousness of the crime he could face a long amount of jail time or even death. Adam and Eve stand before God to be sentenced for their crime against His Person, holiness, sovereignty and word. It is here that they will experience the bitterness of sin and the justice of God's judgment.


Where do we feel the bitterness of sin and the judgment of God?

We experience the bitterness of sin and God’s judgment by reaping the fruit of our own sinfulness.

Sin affects us physically our bodies grow old, decay and eventually we die. Sin affects us psychologically in that we have a warped view of who we are, what our purpose is and what our destiny is. Sin affects us emotionally we live with and through the emotions of fear, anger, hatred, envy, anxiety and others. Sin even affected us economically in that work doesn’t pay as it was meant to. Sin affects us spiritually in breaking our relationship with God and inheriting a sinful nature that is bent toward evil. Sin affects us socially beginning with alienation in marriage.

Sin never pays the way we’re deceived into thinking it will. It never delivers its promise of freedom and fulfillment. It never delivers the kind of peace and total well being that we may think it will. The way of sin is the way of pain, sorrow, ruin and eventually total destruction. Continuing to pursue a lifestyle apart from a worshiping, obedient relationship from God through Jesus Christ is a futile and foolish venture.
What consequences are you reaping from your willful sin and disobedience?

Eve’s experienced sin’s bitterness and God’s judgment in two of the primary areas that she was to compliment Adam as they worked together to extend God’s rule throughout the earth.

Eve whose name means mother of all the living was created so that through her the world might be populated. Each child thus to be born to Eve and any woman after her was to be a reminder of God’s gracious goodness in created people to love, worship, glorify, obey and delight in Him. Each child was a miracle of God’s provision in that He would see that the world was indeed filled with people made in His image whose purpose was to know and follow Him. Each child was also a miracle of God’s creation as they reminded the parents that the child and themselves were God’s unique handiwork and thus a wonder of His miraculous power. Each child was a reminder of the special role of woman in God’s creation. They weren’t second class citizens or junior partners to Adam. Rather they were viewed with equal care, value, love and importance in God’s plan of creation.
It seems that from creation child birth was to be a relatively painless process so that both parents eagerly looked forward to having as many children as God was pleased to give them. This would of course encourage the human race to be faithfully obedient to the creation mandate declared in

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
The birth of each child was to be a constant reminder to women of their unique connection to their Creator. They alone were given the privilege of bringing life into the world and so glorifying God through the blessed birth of children.
Now sadly the pain of childbirth would remind Eve of her sin in listening to the serpent and disobeying the clear, relevant word of God.

A second aspect of Eve’s consequences concerned her relationship with Adam. Instead of Eve’s relationship with her husband being characterized by ever growing intimacy, affection, unity and love there would be struggle and strife.
The word translated ‘desire’ has root meaning of to stretch out or to long for. It appears to relate to the woman’s relationship to her husband in two primary ways.
First it has a meaning of wanting to rule over or have control of. It speaks to the yearning that the woman would have to be in control of the marital union. This is how the word ‘desire’ is used of sin in Gen. 4:7. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."

Like sin desired to master and rule over Cain, so wives would have the desire to master and rule over their husbands.
The other use of this word from its root mean is to have a great longing for or to have a great desire to be fulfilled by someone. This is how the word is used in The Song of Solomon. Song 7:10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me.
This relates to the fact that women in general and wives in particular will have a yearning desire for complete emotional fulfillment from men and their husbands. Yet, because of the fallen nature of men and therefore our natural selfishness that longing will go unfulfilled.

Whether through a relationship characterized by ongoing hostility and a battle for control or one marked by lingering un fulfillment the woman’s relationship to her husband would not be like it was created to be.

Adam’s experienced sin’s bitterness and God’s judgment in a ruined earth and ruptured relationship with God.

Adam who was taken from the ground and given the privilege of managing the ground so that he could lead his race into creating a temple paradise for the worship of our Creator is now responsible for the ruin of the land he was taken from. Adam brought his race into a life of physical, emotional, psychological and social pain. Adam was created to manage an earth that would easily bring forth its fruitfulness for the benefit of humanity and the glory of God. This aspect of humanity beginning with acquiring food was to be basic to our development and progression as a race. Thus when God cursed the ground because of Adam’s disobedience the world and human race proceeded down an entirely different path than the one we would have enjoyed had not Adam disobeyed God. Adam introduced painful toil to work. Instead of being a manager who subdued the earth in many ways he actually became one who was subdued by the earth. He now had to battle for the food he ate. The pain he felt in growing and gathering his food was a constant reminder of his sin. Man was created however to enjoy bringing the earth into subjection as a testimony of God’s goodness. Adam’s sin set humanity on a course where the battle for land and resources would characterize the human race. War, conquest, oppression and slavery are now inevitable as societies do whatever is necessary to achieve and enjoy the highest standard of living they can. Instead of man under God’s guidance spreading and developing the earth’s resources for all to enjoy equally we are in a constant struggle with others for our little piece of the pie. Adam is responsible for throwing his race into chaotic turmoil. Adam’s sin and God’s subsequent curse of the earth set the table for natural disaster to strike and devastate whole populations. The consequences of Adam’s sin are devastating in that we were created with physical bodies that are dependent on the earth. Thus every area and aspect of our being is affected by this reality. Even now the issues of food, clothing and shelter dominate human relations in every part of the world.

Living in a fallen, broken world constantly reminds us that things in this world won’t go the way we want to. Life brings a measure of pain, sorrow, difficulty and trouble to all of us. No matter how hard Adam worked, no matter how much care he put into the ground it would still produce thorns among the fruit. As believers we can expect that things in this world will go wrong until the total liberation of the world. Furthermore, no amount of naming and claiming will deliver us from the regular trials that come from living in a broken world. What are some things we should consider concerning living in a fallen, broken world?

Don’t chase the fools gold of the ‘victorious Christian life’ that promises that king’s kids don’t have to suffer any kind of trouble, hardship, pain or grief provided we have enough faith.
Don’t quickly jump to the conclusion that trouble in your life means that something’s wrong with your walk with the Lord. If God needs to get your attention because of sin in your life, trust me you’ll know.
Don’t put all your hope into things working out in this life. As believers learn to invest time and life into the eternal realities of God’s kingdom.
Invest yourself, time and resources into pursuing God's kingdom, righteousness and agenda. Prioritize those aspects of life that build you up spiritually and thus affect every area of your life like worship, service and fellowship with God's people.

The other devastating consequence of Adam’s sin was physical death. Adam and those who came after him were destined to die. Inevitably their bodies would decay and die. The very ground he was taken from would be his tomb. Death is painful in that it brings with it lingering feelings of grief, loss and sorrow. Death is humiliating in that it is a constant reminder of Adam’s sin and the ultimate testimony against humanity's sinful pride.
Death is frightening because it brings judgment. The sadness of death is that after a lifetime spent struggling to live, battling in our relationships and falling into sin we’d have to face our Creator with the reality that we could not spend our eternity with Him. In a sad irony our physical death would be a grim reminder that we are both physical and spiritual beings. Our temporal passing would usher us into an eternal state that we through our sin would spend apart from God’s loving presence and under His just punishment.

How are you going to deal with death? Do you realize that you can no more avoid God’s judgment than you can avoid death itself?

Jesus Christ experienced sin’s bitterness and God’s judgment to redeem humanity and reverse the effects of the curse.

God does not curse Adam or Eve. They are judged, but not eternally damned. Eve would still have children although with pain and Adam would still develop the earth although with pain. By clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins God takes the initiative to deal with their sin according to His satisfaction. Animals must die in order to provide this covering. It therefore comes at the cost of a life.
God Himself would provide a way that Adam and Eve could continue a relationship with Him and live in His presence after death. Adam and Eve aren’t given the option for inventing their own way and establishing a relationship with God on their terms. God sets the terms of the relationship with His creation. These terms are either followed or rejected in which case we reject a relationship with Him. These terms as spelled out in scripture are clear. God calls those who would enjoy a right relationship with Him to first acknowledge and repent of their sinful lifestyles. He then commands that we believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and blessing of Christ’s perfect righteousness. Believing in Christ goes beyond mentally accepting that He died for your sin to the point of constantly following Him in worship, obedience and witness.

This act of being clothed by God becomes a primary biblical theme concerning being in a right relationship with Him. Adam and Eve stand judged by God, unwilling to come to Him and confess their sin and unable to provide an adequate covering that would satisfy God and thus allow them back into a right standing with Him.
Adam and Eve stand before God sinful and vulnerable without hope or help save in the lavish, incomprehensible grace of the living God.
Before God we all stand as morally corrupt, dirty and completely unworthy to enjoy His presence, blessing and favor. No amount of religious works will cover or cure our sin dis-ease. No amount of so-called spiritual activity will be able to remove the stain and stench of sin from within our souls. Our only hope is for God to cover us in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our only hope for rescue from sin’s ultimate bitterness which is being driven from God’s presence.

To Him Who Loves Us...
Pastor Lance