Here’s How Our World Became Such a Mess!

1st Sunday in Lent, 3/9/14
Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17; 3:1-7


Here’s How Our World Became Such a Mess!


Do you know what your name means? I’m sure most of you do. My name means “man.” In Hebrew it’s pronounced A-dam. You’ve brought that Hebrew name directly into English. Adam. Man. That’s rather appropriate, wouldn’t you agree? After all, I was the first human being.

On the one hand, I’m rather amazed at what the world has become. In my days on earth, birds were the only things that flew. Now your skies are crisscrossed each day by countless aircraft. I understand you even have them orbiting the earth. I’m amazed at the medical technology you’ve achieved. Your hospitals are truly monuments to medical science. Speaking of science, the way you’re able to produce energy and use it in countless modern ways is truly astounding. In fact, everywhere I look in your world I see things I never even dreamed of 1000s of years ago.

On the other hand, though, I’m not surprised at all. I can see that nothing has changed. You deal with the terrible crime of murder every day. My son Cain murdered his brother Abel. I know what that’s like. Your world is full of perversions. That started just a couple generations after me. You deal with stress and pain on a daily basis. I know what that’s all about. I felt them, too.

But it wasn’t always that way. No, in the beginning things were good. Real good. In fact, they were perfect. Imagine spending a day in perfect happiness. Not a thing goes wrong. No stress. No pain. No frustration. No disappointment. Everything I attempted to do, I accomplished without breaking a sweat. I ate a perfect diet and had no trouble maintaining the perfect weight. But I can’t take the credit. No, it was all God’s doing. He did all that for me in his perfect love for me.

Recall some of the details of that astounding love from your reading in Genesis which you heard earlier. God had created this perfect world in perfect order. First, he created an earth. Then he separated land from water and water from sky. He created vegetation. Next he created the heavenly bodies. On the following day he returned his attention to the earth and placed fish in the water and birds in the air. On the sixth day he created all kinds of animals that live on the earth.

And then he created me. And note the special care. Instead of simply stating, “Let there be Adam,” he formed me with loving care from the dust of the ground. And then he breathed life into me. I received life from him in a special way. He endowed me with a soul. What’s more, he made me in his image, meaning that my will and his will were in perfect harmony. And then he gave me authority over all that he created to use it and enjoy it in a perfect way.

But he wasn’t finished yet. Inside this perfect world he made a special place for me to live, literally a paradise on earth. It was called the Garden of Eden. Here I lived in perfect harmony with all the plant and animal life. It was amazing! Everywhere I looked I was surrounded by evidences of God’s astounding love for me. I lacked nothing. I had all I wanted in perfect measure.

Your reading from Genesis made special reference to the trees in the garden. It was full of trees and many of them were ladened with perfect fruit to eat. I never got hungry. All around me were fruits and vegetables just waiting to be eaten.

But there were two special trees—the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were in the middle of the garden and God took special effort to point them out to me.

Connected to those trees was this clear command from God, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” The man from whom your church denomination gets its name—Martin Luther—called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil my church, my altar and my pulpit. Here’s where I showed my love for God by not eating of that tree. Here’s where I declared the amazing love God had showed me by providing all that I needed. Here’s where I called upon my God to help me resist the temptation to eat of that tree. And in his love for me, God gave me the ability to obey him perfectly. I wasn’t simply some robot that God programmed to obey him. I obeyed him out of love from a perfectly free will.

My wife Eve shared that image of God and perfectly free will with me. And she’s another example of God’s amazing love for me. He wanted me to enjoy this perfect world with another human being that corresponded precisely to me and me to her. He created her from me to be my perfect helper. I was made to serve her by leading her in enjoying this perfect life, and she was made to serve me by helping me through this perfect life. In every sense of the term, we enjoyed a perfect marriage in a perfect world. And it was all due to the love God had for us.

But then came the day that Satan inhabited the body of a serpent. Some people scoff at such an idea, but, as good Bible readers, you know that’s not so unusual. Look at how many demon possessions Jesus faced during his days on earth. And a legion of demons once inhabited an entire herd of pigs. Satan is able to use living objects to make his presence known. And that’s what he did on this day.

And before I go any further in this terrible account, I want you to know that Eve wasn’t alone that day. As the text relates, I was with her.

First, Satan engaged her in conversation. Actually, he was setting her up for a fall. He got her to defend God by stating something that was blatantly false. He asked, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” If he did, that would be preposterous. The garden was full of trees that were full of fruit that was desirable and good to eat. And Eve defended God. She told Satan that we were free to eat from the trees in the garden. However, he did forbid us to eat from one tree, the one in the middle of the garden. The punishment for doing so was death.

And then came Satan’s bald-faced lie. “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” His lie asserted at least three things about God that weren’t true. First, God isn’t so good. He doesn’t only want what is best for us. Second, God can’t be trusted. He knows something and he’s keeping it from us. Third, he’s preventing us from reaching our full potential. We could be just like he is, knowing good and evil, as if knowing evil was a desirable and beneficial quality.

And just that quickly it happened. Our roles were reversed. I was there all the time. I was created to serve Eve by leading her into all things that were God-pleasing, but I failed. I said nothing. I did nothing. I let her go.

Instead, she took the lead, but not in doing something God-pleasing. Just the opposite. She took some fruit and ate it and gave me some to eat as well.

Immediately we were changed, just as Satan had said, but not for the better. For the absolute worst. And now we knew evil and it infected us all the way to our hearts and minds. Instead of being filled with holy thoughts and desires about each other as we had since the day we were created, we experienced the opposite. We thought about how to use each other for our own gratification and we were filled with shame.

You know the rest of the story. From that moment on our world fell apart. My daily life from that moment on became an unbroken string of sinful days. Eve gave birth to children that were sinful just as we were. It wasn’t long before the world became a mess of sinful people. I’ll accept my responsibility. As the Bible states, “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin” (Romans 5:12). I’m that one man. I’ll take the blame. Here’s how our world became such a mess.

But will you take responsibility for your part in it as well? I’ll let any sinless person here this morning point their finger of blame and judgment at me. Go ahead. That’s what I thought. No one is perfect. Our sinful records are the same. We’re impatient and judgmental. We lack compassion and care for our fellow human beings. If we’re not lashing out at others, we’re throwing personal pity parties. When times are good, we over-indulge and when times are bad, we complain. We don’t even trust our God who has been nothing but loving towards us. Instead, we worry and stress over the smallest situations. I could go on and on, but you get the picture. Here’s how our world became such a mess.

But that’s why the Second Adam came. He came to undo all the damage that we had done. Where I failed to resist Satan and where you failed to resist Satan, he succeeded, every time. By his perfect life he sent Satan home defeated. And then he crushed him. It happened on another tree, a tree in the form of a cross punched into the side of a hill called Calvary. There the Second Adam suffered the punishment of hell—separation from God—for us. And when he cried out, “It is finished,” his work was over. The payment for all sins of all time had been made. How do I know it was sufficient? How do I know that it was for me and for you and for every sinner? The Second Adam rose from the dead just as he promised he would. And Satan and all his demons screamed in horror.

Here’s how our world became such a mess and here’s what our loving God did about it. He did it for you. Lent give you and me the opportunity to marvel at his love for us and, in response to that love, to rededicate ourselves to walking closer with Jesus, the Second Adam. Walk more closely with him this Lent and receive the victory over Satan. Amen.

See All the Divine Glory You Need!

Last Sunday after Epiphany, Transfiguration of Our Lord, 3/2/14
2 Peter 1:16-21


See All the Divine Glory You Need!
I. At the top of a mountain
II. On the pages of God’s word


Did you get a chance to enjoy that warm weather a little more than a week ago? The sun was shining, most of the snow melted and you could run errands in a light jacket instead of slugging your way around with a heavy jacket on your back, boots on your feet and gloves on your hands. After the winter we’ve been having, just a little sun and warmth made such a huge difference in our lives!

But then we went right back into the deep freeze. Sub-zero temps. Snow flurries. Slick roads. If only spring would arrive!

But you didn’t come to church today to hear a preacher drone on and on about the weather. You came here for some spiritual help for your life. You came here because life out there isn’t easy. In fact, it can be cruel and brutal at times. It can be painful and depressing. And you try so hard to make things better for your loved ones and yourself, but it just doesn’t happen, at least not for very long. Just when you think things are going well--Bam! Another crisis comes slamming into your life.

And then the thought occurs, “Why doesn’t Jesus just make everything right for me? Why doesn’t he take away my pain? Why doesn’t he let me enjoy happiness and success?” In theological terms, what those questions are really asking for is this, “Show me some glory here on earth in my life right now.” Isn’t that what all of us want?

If so, then you’ve come to the right place. Today we see that glory, the glory of our Lord and Savior in the account of his Transfiguration. But you might want to object. You saw this same glory a year ago and, honestly, things didn’t get much better. You’re looking for more glory on earth than this.

The Apostle Peter would beg to differ with you. In his words before us this morning, he reminds us that he was an eyewitness of the Lord’s glory and he joined us in wanting to see more of that glory. But Jesus didn’t allow it. It ended and then they made their way down the mountain. But the three disciples with Jesus had seen enough divine glory. In fact, they had seen all they need.

That’s our assurance this morning as well as we deal with our sinful lives in a sinful world. The Lord encourages us to see all the divine glory you need! May our God strengthen our faith as we view that glory again this morning.

Part I.

“Like it was only yesterday.” We use that phrase quite often as we recall the pleasant times in our lives. The middle-aged mother whose children are now young adults recalls holding them in her lap after they’ve just had a bath and are in their jammies ready for bed. Like it was only yesterday. The 90-year-old man now confined to a wheelchair recalls his younger days when he enjoyed hard physical labor. Like it was only yesterday.

Like it was only yesterday. No doubt that’s what Peter was thinking as he wrote these words, “We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.” We were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Surely Peter had in mind our Lord’s transfiguration when Jesus appeared for a limited time in all his divine glory, but his memories weren’t limited to that. He and all the disciples witnessed the glory of Jesus in every one of his miracles. More importantly, they witnessed the risen Lord Jesus with his glorified body.

But this event on the Mount of Transfiguration stuck out in his mind. This had been a slice of heaven on earth. Peter himself didn’t want it to end. If you had experienced such a thing, do you think you could ever forget what it was like? I wouldn’t be surprised if Peter thought about it every day and wished he could experience it once again.

But his memories weren’t limited just to what he saw; just as impressive was what he heard. Imagine it. Hearing the voice of God the Father from heaven proclaiming Jesus to be his Son, the One who was carrying out his work as the world’s Savior just as the Father had planned it. He couldn’t be more pleased with the job Jesus was doing! What a confidence-builder for Jesus as the darkest days of that work were just down that mountain! What a confidence-builder for Peter and the other two disciples as they dealt with questions and doubts about the way Jesus was going about that very same work! Peter recalled it like it was just yesterday.

And we’re the ones who benefit from it. With our faith in Jesus we benefit from this eyewitness account even though we didn’t physically see and hear it. We don’t have to. Our confidence in our Savior’s glory and in his saving mission for us comes to us through faith in him. That faith centers in the truth that Jesus is the almighty Son of God who accomplished our salvation by suffering and dying for us. That’s what the Transfiguration is all about.

See all the divine glory you need. See it at the top of a mountain.

The glory the disciples witnesses on that mountain would be cruelly balanced in just a few weeks as they saw him beaten, bleeding and dying in the most inhuman way. Why couldn’t he have stayed on that mountain, sharing his glory with his followers and ultimately with you and me? Why not skip the suffering and simply go from the glory on the Mount of Transfiguration to the glory of Easter? You know the reason. A payment had to be made for sin. For my sins. For your sins. Without that suffering and dying he would not be our Savior. There would be no glory for him or for us. There would be no approval from his heavenly Father. Instead, there would be divine rejection of him and of us. The divine glory he displayed assures you and me that payment was made by the Son of God. That divine glory coupled with his innocent sufferings and death assure us of our forgiveness and our eternal glory with him. And to tell the truth, that’s all we need right now as we live in this sinful world. See all the glory you need on the top of a mountain.

Part II.

“Gather ‘round! I’ve got a story to tell.” Those words have launched countless tales. And everyone loves to hear a good story—young and old alike. We love the way good triumphs over evil. We’re mesmerized by a good mystery. We can all use a laugh or two from a humorous story.

Some would call this account of the Transfiguration a good story. But Jesus’ glory is no story. It’s fact. What Peter saw and heard actually occurred. As sure as we are here in worship today, Jesus appeared in glory on that mountain.

But how can we be so sure? Because God states it right here on the pages of his holy word. Peter writes, “And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” He tells us to pay attention to God’s word until the Lord Jesus returns. That word is prophecy fulfilled. In other words, on page after page of Scripture we have the promises of God in black and white and we have the account of those promises being fulfilled in black and white. God has not failed to keep a single word of his promises.

Most importantly, those promises and their fulfillment center in the way to salvation. Peter refers to it as a light shining in a dark place. Without this word, we’d be forever in the blackest night of unbelief. We’d be left to believe the lie that we somehow have to work our own way out of the darkness. But in his amazing grace God has saved sinful wretches like you and me.

We can be sure of that promise of salvation because God’s word is God’s word. Peter states that truth with these words, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Peter didn’t write his own thoughts about the Transfiguration or salvation. He wrote God’s truth as it was shared with him by the Holy Spirit. We call that verbal inspiration. In his holy word God reveals his glory to us in his Son, Jesus Christ. In his holy word God promises to share that glory with us in heaven.

See all the divine glory you need. See it on the pages of God’s word.

I join you in wishing for a mountaintop glorious experience like Peter witnessed. I sure could use it, on a daily basis. Imagine the confidence and strength that would give to you and me. But we can’t expect it. That glory for us is going to have to wait until we see our God face to face in heaven. But that doesn’t mean God has left us helpless. Not by a long shot. He’s given us his word, the very word of our God to assure us of our forgiveness, to point us to our Savior, to uphold us and guide us. As Peter states, pay attention to it. Let it fill your hearts and minds and in so doing, see all the glory you need. Amen.