175 Anniversary – Christ For Us is the theme for the first Sunday in our celebration of God’s grace over our church body. Christ For Us is also basis of our faith. So much of what we do is Christ living in us. That all starts with God’s rescue mission for his children. That started in the garden of Eden. Right away we see a model of confession and absolution.
Pointing Fingers
What exactly had Adam and Eve done wrong? All we see in our text is the messy fall out and finger pointing, but do you understand that Adam and Eve really only had one rule to follow in the Garden of Eden – this is a tropical paradise. There were trees in this garden. One tree in particular was very important, it was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It was not meant to be eaten. In fact God told Adam and Eve that they could eat from every other tree in the garden except for that tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And by NOT eating from it they could show God obedience, appreciation, and thanks. Luther said that tree was their church and their altar. They walked and talked with God everyday because they were perfect. That tree was how they worshiped him.
This is not how it stayed – the story of first temptation by Satan and the fall into sin go beyond the scope of this sermon. Know that they failed miserably – only one command!! Now what?
What Changed
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. What changed? This had never happened before. Ever! Had Adam and Eve ever felt fear? Nope, not until now. Now they are afraid of the one person, the only one who could help them. Confession is good for the soul, but they don’t know that yet. They are not free from guilt; they are filled with shame.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s message taken from Genesis 3, 175 Anniversary – Christ For Us.
Book(s): Genesis
Series: Christ Through Us
Tag(s): Confession
Speaker(s): Fred Guldberg