The resolve to heighten our knowledge
is something we are all driven to do from our first breath. It is inbred into
our makeups; it is part of who we are. A new born child soon learns what his
mother’s teat is for and before long they know exactly where to go when hunger
kicks in. And so life progresses and we all inquire after knowledge to equip us
to better our existence.
What I find a rather interesting
thought this morning is that the forbidden fruit placed in the Garden of Eden
was all about the Knowledge
of Good and Evil! The rest of God’s persona was never withheld from Adam. In
fact God even allowed Adam to name all the beasts of His creation. Why was it
held from their understanding, is the tenacious question.
I have a few pressing thoughts that
drive home with a loud voice but before I unpack them I must first receive
confirmation from the Word of God that they are in line with God’s voice and
not my own imaginations. The Bible must confirm them before I can say with any
certainty that they are accurate.
It is obvious that they were not ready
to receive that knowledge at that time in their lives, for if they were, God
would have allowed them access to it. Why were they not ready? When we consider
the sons of God (the angels) who were created and who lived within the presence
of God; they, just like Adam and Eve, saw God in all His glory and yet one
third of the angels were banished from heaven for admiring Satan’s beauty over
God’s goodness and for choosing evil over good. I suppose it may just have been
a similar concern that God had with mankind, not allowing them to understand
the difference so that they did not end up like the fallen angels, banished
from God’s presence.
Why do evil people act on evil deeds? They
actually believe it is more pleasurable to be evil than good. It becomes a way
of life, but where we make the mistake is that we too believe that we are
better than others on our own merits, when in fact we are by nature all drawn
to sin because of the fall. No matter who you are, you are tainted by sin and
have a skewed perception of what is good and evil. Like the Lord Jesus taught, you may be
faithful to your partner in practice but in thought ponder all types of
indulgences, the conclusion, you are then guilty of adultery (God’s standard of
what is good and not mans understanding of what he thinks is acceptable). That
is the kernel of it all! There are no exceptions! Can I prove this? Yes! “As
it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one
seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." (Romans
3:10-12)
This knowledge that we now have, a
skewed perception on what is good and what is evil (I speak as a man with a carnal
mind-set and not with the mind of Christ) leaves mankind by default cleaving to
that which is evil, even if they don’t know it! Which outside of Christ’s rescue,
they are oblivious to their dilemma. You have been blinded by sin!
Let us go back into history to
establish some important principles…
Prior to the flood God looked down
upon mankind from the heavens and was appalled with what they had become and I
must remind you that because of Eve’s noncompliance to God’s instruction in the
Garden of Eden mankind had now ended up here and under the influence of the serpent
(Satan), she short circuited God’s plan for mankind’s awareness of the true
understanding of what is good and what is evil. They were not ready to receive
the tuition about “good and evil” but she hankered after it regardless. Here is
how the Bible records the state of mankind prior to the flood; “The
LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually.
And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to
his heart. So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from
the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the
heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them."” (Genesis
6:5-7) – Humanity had fallen very far from where it had
all started no differently to the fallen angels that had been banished from
heaven under Satan. And because of the state of mans heart (“his heart was
continually evil”) God destroyed the known world by a great flood, except the
few that found grace in the eyes of God, Noah and his family with the animal
rescued in the Ark prior to His judgement.
Therefore the law teaches us to apply
ourselves to certain criteria and if we abide by Gods law we remain guiltless
before Him. It is only when we break one of His laws that we stand condemned.
This was the reason for the introduction of the Ten Commandments; it was to
teach us what was required from us if we wanted a right relationship with God.
God being merciful then introduced sacrifices to cover sins and once a breach
happened in a person’s life; a sacrifice was required to cover that particular
sin. God had singled out the Jews as His people and these laws then applied to
them and this agreement is known as the “first covenant”. Which proved the
point that it was impossible to overcome evil by our actions, the law was a
tutor to teach us that we needed to find rescue. It was only after that had
been established that God introduced a better covenant, the second, which
abolished the first in and through the Lord Jesus’ sacrifice. “For
by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it
is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
But in order for the second covenant to
stand God needed to live as a man and overcome sin n the flesh. Which He did!
Praise the name of Jesus now and forever more! – “So
Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for
him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28)
In
other words the first covenant was something that needed to be continually
repeated. A man sinned and then made a sacrifice unto God seeking out His
forgiveness for that particular sin and so on. It was a repetitive requirement.
That covenant has now been abolished because of Christ’s obedience. We have now
entered into the era of the second covenant which is on offer for all of
mankind and not only the Jew. Here is the proof; “But as it is, Christ has
obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better,
since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there
would have been no occasion to look for a second.” (Hebrews 8:6-7)
And yet I will remind you, that God as
the director, was never caught off guard, as it was all part of His scripted
manuscripts, which He penned prior to the creation of the worlds. Which will eventually arrive at a conclusion, with
all of God’s people living and praising Him with the true knowledge of good and
evil and from there on in only ever choosing that which is good. The
inhabitants within the New Jerusalem (the new habitat for God’s elect) will now
be in a position to differentiate between good and evil as God sees it. Good triumphing
over evil! Praise God now and forever more, Amen!
This then will be the end for the pursuit
of the knowledge of good and evil. There will be a final separation of all that
is good and evil; “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
"Behold, the dwelling
place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,
and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every
tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be
mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed
away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making
all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are
trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the
spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have
this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the
cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually
immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake
that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."” (Revelation 21:3-17)
In conclusion none of us in ourselves can claim
to be good people; this type of reasoning is a twisted understanding of what is
true before God’s eyes. But God has not left us to our own destruction and has
made a way of escape for the “whosoever”; turn to the Lord Jesus Christ
repenting of all your ‘dead works’ (trying to score points with God by what you
do and have done) and call out to Him asking Him to forgive and save you from
the eminent judgement that is on the horizon known as the Great White Throne
Judgement. You must be covered by the Second Covenant if you are to escape the
judgement for your sins. Hang onto the First Covenant and you will be judged by
it and with a single breach to it, you will be found wanting, with hell as your
final destination.
Signing off
Tyrone
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