Eve – Media 4 Life Ministries

A 2000 + year old desert religion; still relevant for us today?

Christianity cannot be considered a philosophy as some have you believe. Christians believe and know that Jesus is the promised Messiah of the OT. He is the One that would come to be the Savior of the world through the shedding of His blood on the cross.

God made this promise way back in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve took of the forbidden fruit and sin entered the world. Sin brought forth spiritual death (separation from God). Satan the adversary tempted Eve by lying to her. God had told them not to eat of a specific tree or else they would die. They chose not to obey God’s word and gave into the temptation of Satan. He told Eve that they would not die if they ate of the fruit, contradicting God’s word.

What was that fruit? Nobody really knows, I ‘m sure it was not an apple. Because of this the fall occurred. Did they die after eating the fruit? No, they did not die physically but they died spiritually. Satan did lie to them. Jesus said in the gospel of John: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44.

There is no truth in Satan at all. He lied to Adam and Eve and he is lying to the world. He has deceived many over all those centuries and they died spiritually spending time separated from God for eternity. One of his biggest lie is that he does not exist and that God does not exist. Many haven fallen into that trap, including me for many years. They either don’t think much about God or flat-out deny Him. They serve Satan and don’t even know it. Bob Dylan once wrote in one of his songs, “you gotta serve someone”.

The unrepentant world serves Satan and his agenda, willingly or unwillingly. The disobedience of Adam and Eve which caused sin to enter in to the once perfect world resulted in them being cast out of the garden. Adam and Eve saw the consequences of their disobedience, when one of their son Cain murdering Abel. God had created everything perfect but Lucifer a high ranked Cherubim had a pride issue and rebelled against God (Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28). By tempting Adam and Eve, the first recorded murder took place and things got worse after that. Sin was in the world and Satan was then and is now the ruler of this world because Adam and Eve forfeited the earth over to Satan. In the beginning was light but now Satan brought in darkness. The Bible which Christians believe is God’s written word to mankind, and is really a book of redemption. From Genesis to Revelation the book outlines God’s redemptive work, the promised Savior to mankind as promised shortly after the fall. “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15.

This is the first messianic prophecy found in the Bible. The Bible is historically accurate and we have the creation account, the fall, the flood in the days of Noah and the multiplying of people and the origin of nations. The Bible tells us that Noah had three sons, Japheth, Ham and Shem. Japheth and Ham are the fathers of the African, Middle Eastern, Northern European and Asian nations. Through the line of Shem came Abraham, Moses, King David and Jesus. Jesus is the promised Messiah from back in Genesis. He came to the nation of Israel to reconcile them to God as promised. The OT speaks of the suffering Messiah in Isaiah 53. Jesus was that suffering servant who came and was despised and hated by own. He shed his blood on the cross for the remission of sins. The religious leadership rejected Him as the Messiah and because of that, God punished them by dispersing them throughout the world by the Romans in AD 70.

As foretold in the OT the gospel i.e. the good news, would come to all the Gentile nations because of Israels rejection. The Gentiles were grafted into the olive tree. The early Church started in Jerusalem and later went out and it was in Antioch that they were first called Christians or Christ-like. From there the gospel went throughout the whole world. The gospel is really simple and it is as important today as it was yesterday and no other religion or philosophy can save us from our sins. Forgiveness and salvation is only through Jesus Christ and His redemptive and finished work on the cross. The cross was the fulfillment from Genesis. Here is the gospel message in a very simple and easy way to understand:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. What could be more simpler? Jesus purchased back the title-deed to the earth that was forfeited by Adam. God paid a very high price for it, the blood of His Son. Jesus was the the lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. He was the unblemished passover lamb. The blood of the animals could only cover the sins of ancient Israel. The blood of Jesus the lamb takes away sins and God will not remember them anymore. They are forgotten as far as the east is from the west. Why is this “desert religion” still relevant 2000 years later? Because people are still sinners today and in need of forgiveness by God through His Son. The meaning of the word sin is simply “to miss the mark” and all of us have missed the mark. Many people say that they are “good people” and compassionate etc. In the eyes of a Holy God however we all fall short of His glory. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. Sin is death and God can not allow sin in His presence because He is Holy and just and cannot approve of sin. There is a punishment for sin: eternal separation from God i.e. Hell. The Bible teaches that we all will die once and then judgement.

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” Hebrews 9:27, 28

A believer in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will not be judged as the unbelievers and those who reject Jesus and God’s plan of salvation. No religion or philosophy, good behavior and good deeds will get a person into heaven and eternal life. There is only one way and Jesus said so Himself:

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

Personally I think that this “desert religion” is very relevant today. Considering that there will be a judgment of God and realizing that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. No one can stand before God and defend themselves on that day. The punishment for sin is eternal separation from God which is also called the lake a fire where the fire is never quenched. I am not sure how exactly that looks like, but I’m sure I don’t want to be there. Thanks to God because of His love and mercy towards us, He has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him. Jesus Christ the righteous and by believing in Him by faith, His righteousness is imputed onto every believer. It is His righteousness God the Father looks at, not our righteousness which does not exist. All sins past, present and future are forgiven and there will be no eternal judgment but eternal life with Him. That’s the good news and I hope that you have thought of your life and where you will be spending eternity. Jesus is real and He is alive and He will come again to take the believers home. The Bible says today is the day of your salvation. Tomorrow may never come. Should you die tomorrow, do you know where you will be going?

Jesus can give you that assurance by receiving Him as your Lord and Savior. He can forgive you of all your sins and you will be a new creation in Him. Don’t just believe me, read the Bible. Start with the gospel of John and learn about Jesus who He is and how you can know Him personally. Learn about Him, seek Him with all your heart and you will find Him. May the Lord Jesus Christ reveal His love to you.

Christianity; the oldest “religion” in the World. (media4lifeministries.com)
You reap what you sow… (media4lifeministries.com)
Simply teach the word Simply (media4lifeministries.com)
For unto us a Child is born… (media4lifeministries.wordpress.com)

Why did God punish Adam and Eve?

God punished Adam and Eve because of disobedience. They disobeyed His word and the consequence of that disobedience caused separation from God and spiritual death. In Genesis 1 God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the earth.

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Gen 1:28

God in the beginning created everything perfect and everything was good, He walked daily with Adam and there was a communion and fellowship in the garden. God in Genesis 2 told Adam: “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.” Gen 2:16, 17

God said this to Adam before Eve was created and in Genesis 3 we read how Satan deceived Eve by twisting and questioning the word of God:

“Now the serpent (Satan) was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Gen 3:1-5

Satan questioned and twisted the words of God, given to Adam and he lied to Eve by saying that they will surely not die. After Eve gave of the fruit to Adam, they did not die physically but they died spiritually. Though this one act of disobedience sin entered the world and sin brought forth death i.e. spiritual death, a spiritual separation from God. Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin by clothing themselves with fig leaves, which God did not accept, He clothed them with animal skins which signified that God instituted animal sacrifices and that blood was required to atone for sin. Adam and Eve fell for the lie and believed Satan rather than God and thus they forfeited the dominion over the earth to Satan. The Bible calls Satan the ruler of this world. “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” John 12:31

Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, and had to labor and experience hardship, and later in Genesis we read about the results of sin i.e. Cain killing Abel and mankind became separated and increasingly wicked, which ultimately resulted in the judgment of mankind by God causing the earth to be flooded with water.

The disobedience of Adam and Eve also illustrates that God created man with a free will to choose, He did not create them as robots, He wants a genuine relationship with man who comes from the heart and not an artificial mechanical relationship that has no meaning. God looks at the heart of man and not on the outside appearances as mankind does. God declares in Jeremiah: “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” Jer 17:9

Sin has caused mankind to be separated from God and God required blood to atone for their sins i.e. animal sacrifices. The blood of certain animals was the only way to cover the sins of the people in OT times. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” Lev 17:11

Throughout the OT times people had to sacrifice animals until God gave His only son to shed His blood for mankind once and for all. Jesus was the perfect and unblemished sacrifice that was able to take away the sin of the world for all of those who would believe in Him through faith. Mankind cannot cover their sins on their own merit, we must come through Jesus who the only way to be reconciled to God the Father. “For as by one man’s disobedience (Adam) many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience (Jesus) many will be made righteous.” Rom 5:19

God is a just and righteous God and thus He cannot let sin go unpunished, light cannot dwell with darkness. “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Jhn 1:5

God provided a sacrifice as He had promised to Abraham when he was tested to offer up his only son Isaac on Mount Moriah which is the same place were Jesus 2000 years later would give His life for us on Calvary’s cross.

“Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Gen 22:2

“But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.” Gen 22:7, 8

“And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” Gen 22:14

This promise God kept and fulfilled in giving His only son for us on the same mountain that Abraham was asked to offer Isaac. Sin has separated us, but we can be reconciled, forgiven and be born again spiritually through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Jhn 3:16

The Trinity; is it biblical?

The doctrine of the Trinity, simply stated, is as follows: The Bible teaches that there is one eternal God who is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He is the only God that exists. However, within the nature of this one God are three persons, or three centers of consciousness – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three Persons are co-equal and co-eternal. They are also distinguishable or distinct from one another. These three distinct Persons are the one God. Everything that is true about God is true about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While the Bible teaches that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God it is wrong to say that God is the Father, God is the Son, or God is the Spirit. God’s nature consists of three distinct Persons. Therefore it is incorrect to limit God to one particular member of the Trinity.

We find all three members of the Trinity at the baptism of Jesus.

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased”. Mat 3:16, 17

God the Father acknowledged God the Son, while God the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus.
The doctrine of the Trinity was not clearly formulated until after the New Testament was written. However there are anticipations of the doctrine in the Old Testament. A hint of the doctrine of the Trinity can be found in the first verse of the Bible. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen 1:1

The Hebrew word for God is Elohim. Elohim is a plural noun but it is used here with a singular verb bara. In the remainder of the Old Testament, when Elohim speaks of the true God, it is always used with a singular verb. The conclusion to be drawn is that in some sense God is both singular and plural. The doctrine of the Trinity states this – within the nature of the one God there are three eternal persons. We find a further hint of the Trinity in Genesis 1

“Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth” Gen 1:26

The phrase “let us” again gives the idea of plurality. The word “Us” cannot refer to angels because angels do not create.
Therefore, in the first chapter of the Bible we have a hint of the Trinity with the plural title Elohim used with a singular verb and God speaking and saying, “Let Us.”

The words “Let Us” is used elsewhere of God speaking in Genesis. After Adam and Eve sinned the Bible records.
Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” Gen 3:22

At the incident at the Tower of Babel we read God saying.
“Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” Gen 11:7

Isaiah the prophet recorded God saying.
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me” Isaiah 6:8

There is one statement in the Old Testament that gives a fairly clear indication of the Trinity.
“Come near me and listen to this: “From the first announcement I have not spoken in secret; at the time it happens, I am there. “And now the Sovereign LORD has sent me, with his Spirit. This is what the LORD says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:16, 17

In verse sixteen, God the Son is speaking. He identifies the Father [the Sovereign Lord] and His Spirit as having sent Him. In the next verse, the Son is clearly spoken of as the Lord. Consequently these verses identify three distinct Persons who are God without denying the fact there is only one God.

The concept of the trinity is clearly taught in the Bible, there are many more verses in the OT and of course in the NT where the trinity is more explained. People that try to deny the triune nature of God, do so to diminish Jesus and His deity. The baptism of Jesus mentions all three, Father Son and Holy Spirit. When Thomas who was doubting that Jesus had risen wanted proof. Jesus appeared to him: “Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” John 20:27, 28

Thomas clearly calls Jesus God. In Acts we find Peter calling the Holy Spirit God when he confronted Ananias about his deceit: “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Acts 5:3, 4

Peter clearly calls the Holy Spirit God. There is one more example, in the account of Steven who was the first martyr we read this: “But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” Acts 7:56, 57

Here we can clearly see that the Holy Spirit was indwelling Stephen, God the Father on the throne and Jesus standing on the right side of the throne to receive Stephen.

The trinity or triune nature of God is clearly taught in the Bible and was not made up later as some claim, there are some religions like Islam, Cults and even some Christian denominations who would deny the trinity. I personally can not see why anybody would or can deny the trinity given the overwhelming evidence in the Bible about the triune nature of God.