Good morning,
The death of George Floyd has caused our nation to revisit the discussion on social injustice. Protests over police brutality have been marked by peaceful assemblies and those bent on destruction. The result of the destruction has been looting, crimes against police, and murder. Innocent people, who were just coming back from the COVID-19 pandemic, have been affected.
Why? The root cause of this violence is sin. It is rebellion against God, His purposes, and His love for mankind. Neither side in this conflict seems to recognize God’s control.
However, if you think this is a new phenomenon, you would be wrong. God through the apostle Peter gave us a graphic picture of this two thousand years ago.
This week we will look at 2 Peter 2. We will begin with the root of the problem found in Genesis 3. Then we will see how the false teachers of Peter’s day caused rebellion and destruction. They too were trying to destroy those who worshipped God.
Genesis 2:15-17
God’s first command
“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Genesis 3:1-15
First sin
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?2 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Man rebelled against God. He ate from the tree God commanded him not to eat. From this simple act of rebellion, sin entered into the world. All that was perfect became tainted.
That first sin was passed down through the generations to us.
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” (Romans 5:12)
This is the root cause of all the rebellion we see today.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001
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