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12
Apr
2021

Churchy Words: Atonement

Atonement

Atonement is a word rarely heard outside of a church service or Bible study. The English word atonement is defined as “the act of making amends or reparation for guilt or wrongdoing.” The act of atonement brings about reconciliation between two parties when something happened which damaged their relationship.

In the Bible, atonement is used to translate the Hebrew word kipper (כִפֶּ֣ר). The word appears over 100 times in the Old Testament. Just as in English, the Hebrew word kipper denotes the idea of reconciliation or the making of amends. 

Can you cover me?

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Atonement, Word Studies
05
Apr
2021

Wearing The Sacrifice

Wearing the Sacrifice

Have you ever noticed that our first reaction after committing sin is to cover it up? It’s a universal response to violating accepted rules of behavior. This is true for adults as well as small children. When we do something wrong, we don’t want anyone else to notice.

“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” (Gen. 3:7 ESV)

When we do wrong, our natural inclination is to hide or eliminate the consequences. After Adam and Eve sinned their very first recorded act was an attempt to clothe themselves. It seems they felt an instinctive need to cover their nakedness. Clearly, there was a direct connection between their sin and their attempt to cover. 

They made loincloths of fig leaves which only covered their reproductive organs. As is always the case when humans try to “fix” their sins, their coverings were inadequate. God intervened and made alternative clothing for them. 

“Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” (Gen. 3:21 NKJV)

Why didn’t God just add more leaves?

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Atonement, Genesis
29
Mar
2021

Was There Death Before Adam Sinned?

Assumptions and misconceptions

Isn’t it interesting how easily assumptions and misconceptions about the Bible become established dogma? Almost everyone assumes that the serpent was Satan, that Adam and Eve were created immortal, and that they “died spiritually.” 

Another common assumption is that there was no death in the world prior to Adam and Eve’s fall. It is said there was no pain nor unpleasantness in the world prior to Adam & Eve’s sin. Is this true? What does the Bible say?

Was there death before sin entered the world?

The Bible does not say one way or the other if there was death prior to Adam and Eve’s sin. At the very least we can safely conclude that plant life died because Adam and Eve’s consumption of food caused the death of whatever plants and fruits they ate. From this observation, can we extrapolate that animals also died? 

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Genesis, Mortality
22
Mar
2021

Are We All Guilty Because Adam Sinned?

Guilty Because Adam Sinned

Both Jesus and Paul looked to the opening chapters of Genesis as the basis for some of their teachings (e.g. Mt 19:4-6, 1 Tim 2:11-14, etc.). In other words, their hermeneutic (method of interpretation) was based on life in the garden of Eden prior to Adam and Eve’s sin. The garden was God’s ideal place where He could live together with mankind. It’s also the ideal that God has been working ever since to one day restore. Therefore, anything we can glean about life in the garden should shape our theology. 

Did mankind inherit a sinful nature from Adam?

Common wisdom tells us that several things happened when Adam and Eve sinned. For example, one author says:

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Calvinism, Genesis, Hermeneutics, Original Sin
15
Mar
2021

Eve’s Quest For Wisdom

No moral compass

Mankind’s basic problem is that we have no moral compass. God didn’t create us with one. It’s true that He gave us a conscience, but without training and wisdom our conscience can mislead us. Just ask the Apostle Paul. 

Even after persecuting, imprisoning, and murdering Christians (before he became one himself) Paul was able to say, “I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day” (Acts 23:1 ESV). He thought he was doing the right thing when he was persecuting Christians, but in reality he was a cruel and insolent man whose actions were dictated by his own ignorance (1 Tim 1:13). Conscience is only a safe guide if properly trained and conditioned!

We all think we are doing the right thing until the aftermath of what we have done catches up with us. We are our own worst enemy because we can’t tell the difference between wisdom and ignorance. We think we can tell the difference between right and wrong all by ourselves. So did Adam and Eve.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Genesis