Lesson 27
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Bible Study 1 - Genesis 9
Series: SIN’S PROGRESSION
Genesis 9:1-29 THE REST OF THE STORY
Genesis 18-29 will be the main text and focus of the study for this lesson. In the introduction I am giving a synopsis of the first 17 verses leading into the area of study of which I want us to primarily concentrate.
SYNOPSIS of VERSES 1-17
“And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. ”
The story and event of Noah is a lesson that teaches us that the reason we do well is because God has blessed us. We depend on God in all we do and we should always remember to be thankful to Him. We should always be thankful for the benefits and pleasures we receive from all the animals God has created and also for the protection we enjoy because of the fear God has placed in their hearts toward man that keeps us safe from many dangers. God fulfilled His promise to us when He provided animals of the field and forest as a blessing for food for us to use nourishment not to abuse for sick entertainment.
VERSES 4-7
“But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.”
God prohibited us from the eating of blood, obviously was in order to keep the worshippers mindful of the shedding of blood in the great atonement. Most likely it was also intended to prevent mans cruelty, so he would not become so accustomed to shedding and feeding on blood that they would become insensitive toward them and also become numb to the idea of shedding human blood. Man must not take away his own life. Our lives belong to God, not us and we must only give them up when He pleases. If we in any way hasten our own death, even though we may be a Christian, (one who has received Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord) we are accountable to God for it. When one person unjustly takes the life of another person God requires the life from that person that took it away unjustly. That murderer cannot reproduce life or bring back a life after it has been taken, therefore the murderer must submit his own life instead. At some point, either in this world or in the next, God will reveal all who are murderers, and they will be punished beyond man's power to punish. There are those who are ministers of God who are to protect the innocent, by being a terror to evil-doers, and they must not bear the sword in vain. Romans 13:4 says, “For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” Unjust willful murder should always be punished with death. The reason is because one person has destroyed the life of another person that was made in the image of God and was the prized possession of God and it brings dishonor to God.
VERSES 8-17
“And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there anymore be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.”
The old world as God created it was perfect until sin soiled and ruined it and “Sin’s Progression” continued until God destroyed it as a monument of justice. Today this world is once again and is still soiled by sin, but the difference now is that it is a monument of mercy. However, the sin that drowned the old world, will in the last day burn this one. God has made His promises which are sealed, solemn and sure to His satisfaction. The seal of God’s promise is the rainbow. Ironically, the rainbow seems to appear most often when we have the most reason to fear the rain storms prevailing. Nevertheless, it is after the passing of the storm or the rain that God then shows this seal of the promise, that the storm and the rain shall not prevail. Most often, the thicker the clouds, the brighter appears the bow in the clouds. Thus, as threatening afflictions abound in our lives and fear shivers up and down our spine, faith in God’s abiding promises and encouraging consolations do much more abound. The rainbow we see in the sky is the reflection of the beams of the sun shining upon or through the drops of rain. All the glory of the seals of the promises of God are derived from Christ, The Sun of Righteousness. Weep as we may and as we must, He will shine glory through the tears of His saints. When you think of a bow it can paint a picture of harm and terror, however this bow has no string and no arrow to render hurt or harm. This bow is not directed toward the ground but toward the heavens in order to comfort not to frighten. Without the rainbow, the revelation of the gracious assurance of God would not be there to remind us and to accompany and bolster our faith in the blessings that are before us.
INTRODUCTION:
Do you like to read biographies or autobiographies? Many people do. You can learn a lot about people this way. However, maybe you’ve had this experience: You’re reading a biography when all of a sudden you turn the page and discover a grinning skeleton lurking in the closet of someone you admire. American columnist Russell Baker said, “The biographer’s problem is that he never knows enough. The autobiographer’s problem is that he knows too much.” But when God writes a story, He knows everything about everybody and He always tells the truth. According to Romans 15 verse 4 He does this for our own good. There we read, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
The history of Noah and his family moves from rainbows in verses 12-17 to some pretty shadowy things in verses 18-29. As the late Paul Harvey would say, “Here, we learn ‘THE REST OF THE STORY.’” I do not believe anyone can truly be a child of God if they do not believe the Bible is God breathed, heaven sent, Holy Spirit inspired, THE WORD OF GOD! I could spend many pages telling you why I believe the Bible is the Word of God but one of many reasons I am convinced is because its authors never covers up the sins of the saints. They refuse to pull any punches; instead, they flat-out tell it like it is! This reality should never embarrass us or discourage us but it should encourage us. If the great men and women of God in the beginning and throughout the history of the world committed sin and God still used them, it just goes to prove that He can certainly use you and me as well. Before some of you start to climb on your spiritual high horse let me advise you that we need to be honest and acknowledge that Christians are far from perfect and no matter how much we try to do everything right we mess up, but God always uses us in spite of ourselves. In the verses that follow, God gives us three warnings. If we take these warnings to heart and heed these warnings, we will be glad we studied this and learned what God is teaching us. However, if we ignore these warnings, we will live to regret our negligence possibly in the near present or in the future.
THE FIRST WARNING IS FOUND IN 9:18-21
“And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth: and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah: and of them was the whole earth overspread. And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.”
EXPLANATION:
BE CAREFUL OF FAILURE AFTER A GREAT VICTORY
Moses lists Noah’s three sons (“Shem and Ham and Japheth”) again because this particular narrative is especially concerned with them. Then we come to a statement that explains or qualifies something in verse 18. I think the big word is “parenthetical.” Moses writes, “and Ham is the father of Canaan” This phrase was not just haphazardly thrown in. On the contrary, it has great relevance because it anticipates the rest of the story. Verse 19 states that the whole earth was populated from Noah’s three sons. Those three sons are to carry out God’s commission to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.”
Everything seems to be going along just fine when all of a sudden in verses 20-21, we read these tragic words: “And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.” Sometime after leaving the ark, Noah took up farming like his father Lamech in Genesis 5:28-29. He then planted a vineyard and made some fine wine. Now as you may know, this process does not occur overnight. After planting his vineyard, Noah had to wait until the grapes were ready for fruit bearing, which usually takes three to five years. He then had to harvest a crop, gather it, and extract the juice from the grapes. Finally, he had to allow the grape juice time to ferment into wine. This reminds me of an unforgettable commercial I used to see back a few years ago. The legendary Orson Welles was endorsing Paul Masson’s Emerald Dry Wine. On this particular commercial, he turns down a stereo, and then compares a good wine to a Beethoven symphony. At the end, he says, “We shall sell no wine before its time.” Whenever I think of this episode, I imagine Noah as an Orson Welles like character knocking back his own fine wine. The point that I’m trying to make is this: There were quite a few steps that led to Noah’s drunken stupor.
Some scholars make a gracious but desperate attempt to excuse Noah’s behavior. It is argued that Noah did not really know what would happen to him by drinking all this wine. This is special pleading and pushing the envelope if you ask me because Noah was no novice. Noah was a wise and discerning man and he knew exactly what he was doing. Undoubtedly, according to Chapter 6 verse 5, before the flood, plenty of people got drunk. Noah was far from naive. On the contrary, this great man of God sinned with his eyes wide open and he knew exactly what was going to happen to him after he overindulged.
This leads to an important excuse on the subject of alcohol. Before I begin to discuss this topic, it is important to acknowledge that most people have strong opinions on the use of alcohol. But the real issue is not what you think or what I think. The issue is what does God think? Ultimately, God’s opinion is the only one that matters. So I will limit our discussion to, what does the Bible have to say about alcohol? I will not take up very much time here.
I will give the positives and then the negatives of alcohol, however, that is not our topic and issue here so I will be brief. Surprisingly, the Bible speaks a whole lot about alcohol. The word “wine” occurs over 200 times in our English translations. Even more surprisingly to some of you is the fact that in most cases the Bible holds alcohol in high regard, depending on how it is used.
THE FOLLOWING LIST PROVIDES THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR ALCOHOL.
1. Wine is viewed as one of God’s gifts to humankind. (Ps 104:15).
2. Every burnt offering and peace offering was accompanied by a libation of wine in (Numbers 15:5-10).
3. Moses implies that it is a good thing to drink wine and strong drink to the Lord (Deut 14:26).
4. Joy in the Lord is compared to the abundance of wine (Ps 4:7).
5. Honoring the Lord with one’s wealth is rewarded with the blessings of abundant stores of wine (Prov. 3:9-10).
6. Love is compared to wine repeatedly in the Song of Songs, as though good wine were similarly sweet (1:2, 4; 4:10; 7:9).
7. One of the symbols for Israel was the vine (Isa 5:1-7; Mark 12:1-11).
8. Wine is symbolic of great blessing (Isa 25:6).
9. The lack of wine is viewed as a judgment from God (Jer. 48:33; Lam 2:12; Hos. 2:9; Joel 1:10; Hag 2:16); and, conversely, its provision is viewed as a blessing from the Lord ( Gen 27:28; Deut 7:13; 11:14; Joel 2:19, 24; 3:18; Amos 9:13-14).
10. Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine (John 2:9-10).
11. Jesus drank wine (Matthew 11:18-19; 15:11; Luke 7:33-35).
BUT THE BIBLE ALSO WARNS ABOUT THE DANGERS OF WINE.
THE FOLLOWING LIST DEMONSTRATES THIS.
1. Nazirites were to abstain from all alcohol and wine (Num 6:3-4).
2. Priests were forbidden to drink prior to officiating in the sanctuary, lest they die (Lev 10:9).
3. In Proverbs 20:1 we are told that “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.”
4. Drinking too much wine was dangerous to people and offensive to God (Prov. 21:17; 23:20-21, 29-35; Isa 5:22).
5. Drunkenness was especially reprehensible when it led to self-exposure (Hab. 2:15; Lam 4:21).
6. The exposure of one’s nakedness was not only publicly demeaning but also incompatible with the presence of the living God (Exod. 20:26; Deut 23:12-14).
7. The Bible speaks very harshly about becoming enslaved to alcohol or allowing it to control a person, especially to the point of drunkenness (Eph 5:18; cf. Deut 21:20; Eccl 10:17; Luke 12:45; 21:34; Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 5:11; 1 Pet 4:3).
We must understand that alcohol is a problem in our culture but we must understand what the Bible teaches. The Christian faith is about what pleases God, and using that which God has provided for us in order to bring honor and glory to Him. In Biblical days and even today in areas of the Middle East and in other areas there is no water that is suitable for human consumption, and wine is the only suitable source of healthy nourishment. But God has so blessed us here in the United States that wine is not a necessity for physical survival of the body to please God. So what is the conclusion in this matter? Three important principles should suffice.
1. Everything is a gift of God and use those gifts as needed according to His will. (1 Tim 4:4).
2. Obey government which God has established and ordained to rule over us, (Rom 13:1-7).
3. Allow differing opinions but do that which you are convicted will please God based upon the blessings of God upon your life for survival and existence, not for entertainment purposes. (Rom 14:1-23).
As for me, God has provided enough to drink that is healthy and nutritious that I do not need wine or any kind of alcohol in this body which is God’s to survive. I believe that is true for everyone in this country therefore any kind of alcohol consumption is displeasing to God.
NOW BACK TO THE REST OF THE STORY.
After Noah became drunk he “uncovered himself inside his tent.” The Hebrew word translated “uncovered” (galah) which means “to be disgracefully exposed.” Now this certainly complicates matters. Noah evidently felt warm because of the effect of the alcohol, took off his clothes, and then passed out in his tent. Alcohol is a depressant. It “loosens” people up because it depresses their self-control, their wisdom, their balance, and judgment. Noah became drunk and careless. He did the normal pass-out routine for drunkenness and in the process discarded his robe. So he is lying in his own room sprawled out naked on the floor or possibly on his sleeping area.
Moses is drawing our attention back to the first few chapters of Genesis. In 2:8, God planted a garden for man to enjoy. Here, Noah plants a vineyard in verse 20. Moses also establishes parallels between Noah’s disgrace, where he took of the fruit of his orchard and became naked, and that of Adam and Eve, who took of the fruit of the garden and saw that they were naked. In pointing out the similarities of Noah and Adam, Moses wants to show us that even after being saved from the flood, man’s enjoyment of God’s good gifts could not be sustained. Noah, like Adam, sinned, and the “Progression of Sin” were to be felt in the generations of sons and daughters to follow. As in Genesis 3, the effect of Noah’s sin is seen in his “nakedness” in Chapter 9 verse 22.
When Noah and his family were introduced for the first time, Moses wrote, “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” in (Gen 6:9). In the New Testament, Noah was called “…the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness…” in 2nd Pet 2:5. He is also included in the hall of faith of Hebrews 11 where we read “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. ” Noah was a great man of God. If Noah can sin, anyone can sin. This includes you and me. But the point of this story and the whole of Genesis is not merely that anyone can fall but that everybody does Rom 3:10-12 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
The time when most Christians fall is on the heels of a great victory. Man’s tendency is to ease up when the conflict lessens. If it happened to Noah, it could happen to you and me. Whenever we feel like things are going especially well, we need to beware and stay humble. The apostle Paul says, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 1st Cor 10:12. We are very vulnerable people. Every Christian is capable of committing even the most heinous of sins. This is why we so desperately require the accountability of a local church and a small group of believers.
This account also serves as a reminder that it is possible for seasoned saints to stumble in the sunset years of their lives. Moses sinned late in his life by striking a rock and taking some of God’s glory to Himself; as a result, he was not permitted to enter to Promised Land. David sinned with Bathsheba when he was in his fifties. Solomon departed from the will of God when he was old. Past successes do not provide power for future victory. The Bible teaches again and again that godly people can be tripped up before the finish line. The former president of Multnomah Bible College, Dr. Joe Aldrich, has said, “The enemy will wait forty years, if necessary, to set a trap for you.” I confess this scares the daylights out of me!
This means we must recognize that the greatest of all believers have weaknesses. The Christian is not a super saint. He is an ordinary person saved by grace. The people of God are upheld by God’s grace. If we are different it is because of the powerful support of God. If we are not upheld we can fall away at any moment. The only thing that makes us different is that we are sustained by God’s mercy. If God should let us go we could slip badly. Who can say what we would do if God lets us go? Noah’s sin reminds us that anyone can stumble into sin.
Noah’s sin also illustrates that when we fall, we usually take someone else with us. Remember those three-legged races at picnics? When you fall down, your partner does too—there’s no such thing as sinning alone. No man lives unto himself and no man dies unto himself—and no man sins unto himself. God warns us to beware of failure after great victory.
BEWARE OF GLOATING OVER THE MISFORTUNE OF OTHERS VERSES 22-23.
In verse 22, we read that “And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.” Apparently Ham’s gaze was not a mere harmless notice or an accidental glance. The verb “saw” has such force that some say it means “he gazed with satisfaction.” After observing his father’s nakedness, Ham told his brothers outside. The word “told” means “to boldly announce with delight.” Ham gloated over his father’s shame. Ham’s heart was intent on mocking his father and undermining his authority as a man of God. He did nothing to preserve his father’s dignity. To the contrary, Ham probably encouraged Shem and Japheth to go into the tent to see this spectacle for themselves.
How do you respond to the sins and failings of others? With delight? With a sense of superiority? Proverbs 17:9 tells us, “He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.” Gal 6:1-2 tells us, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Sadly, most people are far-sighted when it comes to sin—they see the sin of others people but they do not see their own! There are many who love to hear about the demise of others. We would never be so brazen to admit it, but it’s true. The flesh loves to hear about the latest scandal e.g., a marriage on the rocks, an affair, a fallen Christian. Yet, the Lord wants us to grieve when other believers fall into sin. How people respond to the sin and embarrassment of others is an indication of their own character.
In verse 23, we read of a contrast: “And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.” Contrary to Ham, Shem and Japheth covered Noah’s nakedness. They laid “a garment” across their shoulders. They walked in backward and covered Noah. They turned their faces from his nakedness. They honored their father and won the approval and blessing of God. The significance of the contrast between the actions of the sons is seen from the author’s account of the fall in Genesis 3.
In covering their father’s nakedness, Shem and Japheth were like Adam and Eve chapter 3 verse 7 and God in Chapter 3 verse 21 who did not look on man’s nakedness but covered it with coats of skin. They are a living illustration of 1 Peter 4:8, “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.”
How did Noah feel when he awoke from his drunken stupor and realized what he had done? Did he sit on the edge of his bed, head in his hands, retching with nausea and guilt? As his mind raced back over the last few hours and how he could have gotten into such a condition, did the words of God’s covenant come back to his mind 9:9 where God said, “And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you”? What else could he do but just trust in the compassion of a gracious and merciful God? We are warned by God to beware of failure after great victory and gloating over the misfortune of others.
BEWARE OF THE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES OF SIN VERSES 24-29).
In verse 24, Moses writes: “And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.” Noah was no doubt ashamed of what he had done. He was also likely surprised to find himself covered with a garment. Naturally, he must have wondered what happened in the tent while he was asleep. The logical thing would be to speak to Japheth, his firstborn; and he and Shem must have told him what Ham had done.
In response to what he learned, Noah said, “…Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” Now this is bizarre. Who is “Canaan”? Verse 18 tells us that “…Ham is the father of Canaan” which is Noah’s grandson. Why does the curse fall on Canaan? It seems that Noah is prophesying that Canaan is already cursed because he is Ham’s son. He is saying, Canaan, you are cursed because Ham is your dad. It is also a warning to Ham that his son is going to treat him like he treated his father. Ham dishonored Noah, and fatherhood in general, so Canaan is cursed by having Ham as his father. The story of history is pretty stunning: One day one son dishonored his dad; as a result, our society has been obliterated with rebellion.
Many are cursed because of their fathers and many men turn out like their fathers. Yet, a little boy wants more than anything to be just like his dad. In our day and age, that’s either a good thing or a bad thing. Men love your children and esteem fatherhood. Be a godly example they can look to.
As the youngest son wrongs his father, so the curse will fall on his youngest son, who presumably inherits his moral corruption. In addition to the Canaanites, Ham’s descendants include some if Israel’s most bitter enemies: Egypt, Philistia, Assyria, and Babylon. Just for your information Genesis 10:6-13 tells us plainly, “And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah, And Resen between Nineveh and Calah: the same is a great city. And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim.” Ham’s indiscretion towards his father may easily be seen as a type of the later behavior of the Egyptians and Canaanites. Noah’s curse on Canaan thus represents God’s sentence on the sins of the Canaanites, which their forefather Ham had exemplified.
When God says that He “visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me” in Exodus 20:5, He means it! For example, Abraham lied to Pharaoh about Sarah. Isaac ended up in the same circumstances and told a lie about his wife, Rebecca; Jacob ended up being a liar and had twelve sons, ten of whom deceived him with lies. There you have it: four generations are affected because of the sin of one of the parents.
In verses 26-27, Noah says, “…Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.” Noah is given a conviction that salvation and blessing will come through the line of Shem. In due course, Jesus would be a Jew, a Semite, and a descendant in the line of Shem through whom the entire human race will be blessed. Japheth is to have extended territory. His line will not lead to the Messiah but there is a blessing in store for him. He had protected Noah and will find protection himself. The language is picturesque. Japheth lives in the tents of Shem. One person is pictured as taking shelter with another.
In the course of history salvation would come through a Semite—Jesus. Then an abundance of Gentiles would come to salvation through a Jewish Savior. The people of Japheth were enlarged in their population and in their territory, but there was more involved here than territorial expansion. The Gospel would come through a Semitic Savior, and when He came, salvation would be for all people everywhere. Many of the people of Japheth around the Mediterranean area would “take shelter” in this Semitic Savior. The Semitic people will be the channel—the cradle, as it were—the conduit out of which the whole of mankind will have a blessing.
Genesis chapter 9 ends with a summary of Noah’s subsequent life. Like his forebears in chapter 5, Noah lived to an advanced age 950 years. Like Enoch, he had “walked with God” earlier in his life. If Noah had not fallen away after the flood, perhaps God would have taken him away as he did Enoch. But in Noah’s case that was not to be. Like his other ancestors verse 29 tells us that Noah died. And though the sin was never repeated, the memory must have cast a cloud to the end.
As I end this study I want to address those that may feel like Noah or Ham. If Satan has won a battle in your life, don’t let him win a second battle. Don’t buy into the lie that it’s too late for you to repent. Satan has three lies that he pawns off on gullible believers.
LIE #1 SIN DOESN’T REALLY MATTER. He just whispers in your ear the lie: “Just do it once, and God will forgive you, and you can control the consequences.”
LIE #2 YOU WILL DO IT AGAIN. When we have fallen, he comes up with a lie: “You’ve blown it so badly there’s no use standing up. In fact, if you receive forgiveness today you might commit the same sin tomorrow, so why bother?”
LIE #3 IT IS TOO LATE NOW. Then once he has you there, he has a lie: “Now look what you’ve done. You’ve gone too far. You’ve committed too many sins and hurt too many people. Just learn to cope with your sins because God doesn’t want to hear from you anymore; you’re too wretched to be forgiven.”
And when the Devil has convinced you that there is no way back, you are stuck with the curse, and so are your children. But God wants to bring you back now so that He can deal with the consequences of sin you have already committed. He says to you, “I want to put My arms around you again. I will blot out your sin with the blood My Son shed for you on the cross of Calvary. THE REST OF THE STORY IS, you can walk before Me in purity and holiness if you will. That is what I want for you. I don’t want you to perish.”
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ALWAYS REMEMBER!
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