January 30, 2009

Remember the Other Tree

“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.’” (Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV)

“And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:9 NKJV)

You know how everyone is always claiming that God is not fair, that is those who won’t submit to Him? They get upset saying if God is sovereign then man never had a choice. Well here is proof that he did. Adam was in the garden in a state of innocence [having the capacity to sin, but not having sinned] and there are two important trees there, the tree of life and the forbidden tree.

The tree of life was like the forbidden tree in that its affect was final. Adam had a clear choice, and he chose death. Apparently, he could have chosen life. However, once he chose death, God graciously protected him from eating of the tree of life, which would have sealed his lost condition forever. Notice how God drives him from the garden.

 “Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" — therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:22-24 NKJV)

Today, man continues to choose death over life. God has made it clear that the soul that sins shall die; still men reject God’s revelation willfully.

Never allow yourself to blame God for your poor choices. It is true; God is sovereign. However, He never does harm to the will of man by His sovereignty. Everyone is responsible to resist temptation and choose life.

We must be thankful that God has given man a second choice for life in Christ. Let this truth affect your daily life; and let it influence your evangelism. There are far too many people declaring a gospel that says receive Christ without rejecting sin. Just like the forbidden tree, you can’t have your sin and eternal life also.