Nile Street Notes

Anna Church of Christ

104 Nile Street, Anna, Illinois 62906

833-5815

Vol 23. Issue 34 August 23, 2009

Three Sins in Genesis 3

The overriding tragic event of Genesis chapter three is the expulsion of mankind from Paradise. However, I think it’s appropriate to notice three sins that occurred prior to God expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden. I recently presented this as a devotional at our “Lock-In” and I hope both young and old alike will benefit from this brief study. In verses 1-14 of Genesis 3, we find these sins:

1. The Lie. Notice how much one little word – “not” – can change a meaning. “Ye shall not surely die” (v. 4). Satan lied to Eve. He does the same to us today. Jesus called Satan the “Father of Lies” (Jn. 8:44). Satan tells us: “One puff won’t hurt, one little drink won’t matter, one lie never hurt anybody,” etc.

God, however, says: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (I Cor. 6:19). “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (I Tim. 5:23 – the only authorized use of alcohol is for medicinal purposes only). “Lie not one to another” (Col. 3:9).

2. Disobedience. “...she took the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (v. 6). Eve & Adam both did what God had commanded them not to do (v. 3). “Obey them that have the rule over you...” (Heb. 13:17). Adam and Eve blatantly disobeyed God. Look where it got them.

3. Refusal to take responsibility. Adam blamed Eve & God: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (v. 12). Adam had the nerve to try and place some of the blame on God! “The woman whom thou gavest...me...” Eve blamed the serpent (v. 13). The truth is, each of these individuals acted of their own free will and should have admitted so. We must always speak the truth and not blame others for our mistakes.“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour” (Eph. 4:25). “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold” (Luke 19:8). Zacchaeus is an example of one who took responsibility for his sinful actions (theft) and pledged to make restitution.

Whether you be young or old, don’t let your friends or neighbors convince you to do something you know is wrong. Adam gave in to peer pressure when he could have stood strong. We might all be living in the Garden to this day if he had (sorry men, it wasn’t just Eve’s fault). Christians everywhere have a responsibility and command to contend for the faith (Jude 3). May we never let sin stand in the way of what is right.

- R.W.

SERMON TOPICS

A.M. – “What Is Your Life?”

(Jas. 4:13-14)

P.M. – “The Bible Doctrine of Eternal

Punishment” (II Thess. 1:3-9)

Those For Whom We Are Praying:

Bob Whittaker - Medical missionary in Nigeria & friend of Gerald Cowan.

Kathleen Ritchey

Rodney & Nikki Lingle

Bill Whitnel

Ken and Gilda Snell

Lowell Karraker

Mitchell Shock – Grandson of Rosemary’s cousin.

Austin Detering

Carlos Wright – Dr. says cancer is currently “dormant.”

Charles Dillow – Freda’s brother-in-law

Paul Etherton - Sara Wilkins' father. Cancer in lymph nodes.

Jean Brown – Kris’s aunt.

Diana Schultz - Recovering from injuries sustained in a car crash.

John Bradley - Broken finger is healing.

Wisdom From Proverbs: “The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh” (Prov. 11:17).

Sentence Sermon: “Never give the devil a ride! He will always want to drive!”

Welcome! If you're visiting with us, we extend you a special welcome and invite you to come back at every opportunity. If our worship seems unusual to you, please let us know what you find different. We endeavor to worship "in Spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:24) and do only what scripture authorizes (Col. 3:17, Deut. 4:2; Rev. 22:18-19).

UPCOMING ACTIVITIES/MEETINGS

* Thanks to all who attended the Potluck at the Wards last evening.

* Ladies’ Day will be September 19. Shelley Hazel will be the speaker and the theme will be, “Women Teaching Women.” Italian food and salads have been decided on for the luncheon. Sherry will post a sign-up sheet before Sept. 19. We plan to feed 60.

* Men’s Bible class will meet Aug. 31 instead of the 1^st Mon. in September.

* Let’s remember to contact those we haven’t seen in a few weeks.

* Please continue to drop any Bible questions in the Question & Answer box in the foyer.

* Also continue boycotting Pepsi products as they support the homosexual agenda. If you haven’t signed the boycott, why not?

Is it right for a Christian to financially support sin?

Hearing assistance for any service is available upon request.

BIBLE QUESTION/ANSWER:

Last week’s answer: Absalom killed his brother Amnon because he raped their sister Tamar. II Sam. 13:10-32

New question: God gave Hezekiah a sign that he would live longer. What was it?

Quotable Quote: “Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends..” - Czech proverb

Birthdays &Anniversaries

Rebekah Thornsberry - 8/25

Benjamin Yates - 8/26

Holly McAlister - 8/30

GOD IS NOT DEAD – BUT YOU ARE DEAD WITHOUT HIM

Sigmund Freud said, "It would be an illusion to suppose that what science cannot give us we can get anywhere else" (quoted by Erich Fromm, Beyond the Chains of Illusion). That may not be too surprising, coming from an atheist. But when a preacher and professor of Religion in a major university demeans and tries to destroy the biblical image of God it can be discouraging and demoralizing.

David Woodyard agreed with Freud that science can dispel all the mysteries, psychiatry manages the emotions, and the government manages everything else, thus providing all our needs (Living Without God Before God). Those who think man has now outgrown his need for God will relish Woodyard’s summation. The expression he used, "God is dead," is outdated, but the concept is the same, stated in less inflammatory terms. According to him several concepts about God should be abandoned and the God thus represented should be considered dead. Examples: the God who created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh is dead. The God who controls our lives until freedom is a farce is dead. The God who destines some for heaven and others for hell is dead. The God who calls men to forsake the ‘real world’ for some ‘sp iritual experience’ is dead. The God who makes us think less of ourselves in order see our need for Him is dead. In this way Woodyard effectively rules out belief in the God of the Bible and encourages people to replace Him with a god of their own choice, worship that god in the way of their choice, and stipulate the results their god should produce in their lives.

Man is impressed by his own progress and is no longer awed by the transcendent God. Man crawled through the stone age, walked through the bronze age and began to run in the iron age. During the age of technology and the industrial revolution man became a sprinter. He seemed to reach the peak of his accomplishment then, but there was much more to come. On August 6 and August 9 in 1945 the atomic age exploded, literally, on man’s horizon. Then, though it seemed impossible to many, on April 12, 1961 man broke the shackles binding him to earth and rocketed into the space age. Even that accomplishment was soon overshadowed when in June, 1969 man left his footprints on the moon. The current forays into space indicate that man may think he can probe the depths of his universe and perhaps even gain control of a significant part of it.
One thing is sure: man’s ego will not be content forever with a secondary role in his world. Man sees himself as evolving rapidly into what he used to think of as God, in a process that threatens God but cannot be prevented by God. But, as it was long ago, it is and will always be the truth: in refusing the evidence of God, in committing abominations that are contrary to nature and involving himself in all kinds of evil and unrighteousness man may be impressed with his own wisdom but will be shown up as a fool. He will learn the hard way that God is not dead, God will always have the final word, and when a man gives up God, God gives up the man (Rom.1:18-32).

People may feel empowered because they can reject God and the Bible, and there are no immediate consequences. What they do not seem to understand is that they can make the word of God ineffective in their lives and make it impossible for God to accept them or approve them (Mt. 15:9, Gal. 2:21, 2 Cor. 6:1-2). But they do not make either God or the Bible go away. The Lord will judge them and either accept or reject them eternally, and they will have no recourse but to accept his judgment – no appeal to some higher court and no further chance to be reconciled to the One they have offended. As Jesus put it, "You may reject me and refuse to receive my words. But the words I have spoken will judge you in the last day" (John 12:48).

God and Christ and the words of the Lord may be dead to you. But your judgment has no bearing at all upon eternal reality. On the other hand, if God judges you as dead to Him...

–Gerald Cowan via The Encourager