sin

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

Dying You Shall Die

Dying You Shall Die

God gave Adam and Eve all the trees of the garden to eat from except for one. He told them they must not eat from one particular tree:

“16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 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.”” (Gen. 2:16–17 ESV)

Of course, they did eat from the forbidden tree, but they did not die the day they ate from it. What’s going on here? Why didn’t they die on the day they ate? Did God say one thing and mean another? If God meant what He said, why did He let them off the hook? Wasn’t God’s penalty for eating from this tree capital punishment? 

There are three common interpretations that attempt to reconcile what God said would happen with what actually transpired. 

  1. Adam and Eve died immediately in the sense that they lost their immortality.
  2. Adam and Eve began the process of aging and dying.
  3. Adam and Eve died spiritually. 

I propose that none of these three explanations are correct and that God did indeed mean that He would enact judgement in the form of death on the very day they ate.

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Genesis, Grace, Judgement

Churchy Words: Repent

Christians have their own insider language

Nearly every group, profession, guild, etc. has their own insider language which they understand amongst themselves, but sounds like gibberish to outsiders. Likewise, Christians have their own insider language which can sound really strange to new Christians and non-Christians alike. These “churchy words” are increasingly unfamiliar to a society that is no longer biblically literate and is largely secularized. 

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Word Studies

The Sin That Really Kept Moses Out Of The Promised Land

Moses messed up. He did something which resulted in God banning him from the Promised Land. What did he do to warrant such a punishment?

The typical answers all have one thing in common. They all seem more like inferences or guesses than solid biblical answers.

Does the Bible reveal the sin that really kept Moses out of the Promised Land?

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Faith, Misconceptions

When Disciples Sin

sad-face

It is an unfortunate truth that as long as we live, we will continue to do things which are not pleasing to God. One of the biggest differences between a disciple of Jesus and those who are not is that disciples do not want to sin! Furthermore, when a Christian sins, he or she will feel remorse and sorrow at their spiritual failing and endeavor not to repeat it. What should a Christian do when he or she gives in to temptation?

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Posted by Eddie Lawrence in Basics