Seeing the Trees in the Forest

How Christians Are Not to Miss All the Good Things God Has Given to Us

Good Morning,

This year as we’ve gone through a “Christianity 101” series on Sunday morning we have moved from the Trinity to now talking about covenant theology. This past Lord’s Day we looked at the covenant of works made with Adam in Genesis 2:15-17. For your benefit let’s look at the text:

Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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.”

As I preached this passage I made note that there are a lot of things going on behind the scenes, particularly two things. First, that Adam is promised eternal life for the keeping of the covenant (the consequent of breaking it is death, hence the keeping of it is life), and secondly that the means of enjoying the garden is not to be found in the successful act of not eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge and good and evil, but in enjoying the garden God placed him in.

Last week in this space I made the point that as believers seek truth they are always pointed back to the Lord and who and what He is. The Godness of God is the foundation of our knowledge of such since as part of the gospel work of reconciliation we are receiving more than just forgiveness of sin, but the fullness available to us in God Himself. It is a relationship, as much as it is a religion. There should be a sense in which our heart beats to His beat and yearns to match His rhythm as well. That may sound weird, but it doesn’t need to. As we grow in grace one of the lessons we are to learn from Adam’s sin is that as long as we are seeking God we will not be lost.

Often in the Christian life we think abstaining from sin is the highest good, when in fact is to be found in resting in the way our Lord has designed His creation. It is in seeing the beauty of the whole and the bounty of the plethora of opportunities available in the Garden that Adam through observing and focusing on the pleasures available should have spent his time, redeeming it in a positive manner. Adam should have understood that this is the heart of Christian obedience. To use a pertinent example even from after the Fall, in our own cases we are to love our wives well by loving our wives well, not by effectively staying away from adultery, though that certainly is part of it. It is for sure not the only way we show love by any means. There is something more.

The same can be said for the obedience we give under the covenant of grace. The call is always to look forward at the heavenly places granted and given by Christ. The more we keep our eyes on the prize the walk we walk will see us heading in the right direction. Gleaming and bright is the city of God in our eyes, and the cesspool of sin awaiting our look to the right or the left is out of our vision and not even in our thoughts. I’ve made mention in recent weeks about living a Luke 9 life. Putting our hand to the plow and not peaking back at our former ways means that we have a new creaturehood guiding our what matters to us now. We gander at the steel as it cuts the sod, and our own grip as we conduct all things forward into the bounty available in grace. Our hearts lift up in satisfaction as our minds consider the benefits which come from a job well done.

I want you think some more on this front. If we spend our limited time in life grousing and whining about what we don’t have then we won’t enjoy what we do have. That seems like a pretty obvious truth, yet it is something we would be wise to consider more deeply. Let’s go back to Adam for a second. The reason why he eventually ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil can be grounded in many sins, but as we noted yesterday it all came down to simple idolatry, not that it is ever simple.

When Moses gives the Israelites a warning in the book of Deuteronomy and Samuel reminds them of this truth in 1 Samuel concerning the seeking of a king it is brought to everyone’s attention that a king like the nations will bring ruin for he will demand you of things that only God can demand, as well as only things that He can provide. One of the most important differences between the kings of this world versus the king God does give them later in the story is that the earthly, fleshly prince demands more than God does, because he needs it. The “taxes” we see laid out in the law are not confiscatory nor punitive. They are for the blessing of the whole, and seek no more, and no less than what is needed. It is a keen reminder that every time we bristle at the meek requirements of the commandments what we are saying is that God is not good, but withholding from the good. That He in our understanding is keeping from us what would be of benefit to us. Do we really want to be found testifying to something such as that?

I hope not.

In closing, the effect of what Adam’s example does for Christians is cause us to not only lament what he failed to do for us in his sin. It also in a positive way should move our hearts to learn to be thankful for all that we have received in the second Adam, Jesus Christ. We lack nothing, nor will we ever do so. Look to the cross, the empty tomb, and the witness of God’s love for you and be at peace in this great gift and grant of faith. It’s worth it to rest in His word for life.

Another thought:

https://timmybrister.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/legal-vs-evangelical-obedience-nine-differences/

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser

Pastor, Bethany ARP Church