A Problem Worthy of God
Genesis 3:15
Textual Introduction:
This is a remarkable verse. As
one writer said it introduces us to the God who does not destroy rebels. This
God plans for the rebel’s redemption.
This morning we’re going to take a closer look at that promise
which is so crucial to understanding Biblical history. [The sermon was preached as we approached
Holy Week.]
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“A problem worthy of God,” that’s what Martin Luther called it.
Remember what had happened in that garden paradise. The Man and the Woman rebelled against God,
ate the fruit God had forbidden. The
stipulation was clear: Eat the fruit and
you die.
The very fact that Adam and Eve did not collapse and begin to
decay at that very moment, the fact that they continued to breathe, to accuse
one another, to hide from and to fear the One who was both their Creator and
Companion suggests that God had meant something more profound in that threat
than the mere cessation of biological mechanisms. Although the “death” caused by their sin
would have a physical dimension, it also had a spiritual, social, and moral
aspect as well. The immediate
consequences included expulsion from the beautiful garden; further consequences
would be discovered as the human imagination, now twisted by rebellion against
God, explored more and more ways to manifest its separation from God. The war raging in the garden’s old
neighborhood is just one of the curses which resulted from that first act of
defiance. Indeed, the problem of sin
would be the greatest problem humankind ever faced.
Yet, even while that curse was just beginning to work itself
out in human personality, God made a promise:
He would ultimately deal with our problem through the work of a Savior
who would somehow be wounded.
With that promise began a drama that spanned centuries.
In time, this drama would see the birth and death of
nations. It would make heroes of prime
ministers and shepherd boys, kings and scholars, priests and farmers, virgins
and prostitutes.
For hundreds of centuries the story is painted in broad strokes
as the relentless account of human folly is punctuated with cameos of solitary
saints who refused to forget that once there was a garden where a man and a
woman walked with God as with a friend.
About four thousand years ago the story introduces us to a man
and a woman who were willing to hear and obey God, hear and obey the God who
may have only seemed like a vague rumor to most of their neighbors and
friends. This couple, at an age when
they should have been watching their great-grandchildren chasing after their
own toddlers, had their first child.
From this unlikely beginning, the nation of Israel was
born. The bulk of the Old Testament
tells how that nation became the channel through which God would bring the One
who would fix the problem that began with a single act of rebellion. That Man, who would live in obscurity for all
but the final three years of his earthly life, would provide the solution to
the problem worthy of God.
What exactly is this problem worthy of God?
To understand this problem we have to remind ourselves that we
don’t mind living with compromise, we don’t mind saying one thing and doing
another. We might feel guilty for a
while but eventually excuse ourselves by saying, “I’m only human, after all.”
But not so God. The
Bible tells us that a chief characteristic of God, if not the chief
characteristic of God, is holiness.
Holiness is a characteristic which is complex but must include the
quality of integrity. God must be true
to his nature. Because of this His word
may be trusted, his promises considered reliable. Holiness is reflected in God’s justice. God does what is right; he punishes sin and
wrongdoing.
The Bible also tells us that a chief characteristic of God is
goodness; this quality of goodness is seen in God’s love and mercy.
Do you begin to see the problem? God is holy—to be true to himself he will
punish sin. God is good—to be true to
himself he will offer love and mercy.
How it must have pained the Creator, the giver of life, to
pronounce the death sentence upon the rebel man and woman. Yet, to be true to himself there was no other
choice. But, the Life-giver would not be
thwarted by death; even before the man and the woman had left the garden to
begin their long pilgrimage toward the grave, they heard God’s promise to
provide a Savior.
Certainly the woman heard him.
Soon after the expulsion from the garden she gave birth to her firstborn
son. The Bible tells us, “Now Adam knew
Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have gotten a man
with the help of the Lord’ Genesis 4:1 (ESV)." Most students think Eve believed Cain was
the fulfillment to the promise God had given.
She was so very wrong but the trust in God’s word shines through.
[At least two translations render Eve’s words as “I have gotten
the man that the Lord promised.” This is
going too far but several commentators do believe the idea is suggested.]
She couldn’t know but the promise would not be fulfilled until
much later, until the earth was inhabited with billions of her
descendants. The fulfillment of that
promise would be in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ would be the solution to the problem worthy of
God. Paul expresses this thought in his
letter to the Romans.
Near the conclusion to the lengthiest discussion of the notion
of sin found in the Bible, Paul introduces the work of Jesus. These are important words because, as A. T.
Robertson says, “Nowhere has Paul put the problem of God more acutely or
profoundly.”
Romans 3:21-26 (ESV)
But
now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although
the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— [22] the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no
distinction: [23] for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, [24]
and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus, [25] whom God put forward
as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's
righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former
sins. [26] It was to show his
righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the
justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Did you hear that explanation for Christ’s life and death? Jesus died so God “might be just (true to his
holiness) and the justifier (true to his goodness) of the one who has faith in
Jesus.” Robertson goes on to say “to
pronounce the unrighteous righteous is unjust by itself. God's mercy would not allow
him to leave man to his fate. [Yet,]
God's justice demanded some punishment for sin.”
In three word pictures, Paul describes how Jesus did his work
as the solution to the problem worthy of God.
1.
We were like guilty
prisoners standing before the sentencing judge, a judge ready to pronounce the
death sentence. But instead, he declares
us to be pardoned, pardoned because someone else had willingly received our
sentence.
2.
We were like slaves in a
market place, chained and hopeless, ready to face a life without freedom. Suddenly the slave dealer approaches us and
removes our chains. He explains that
someone has provided the price of our redemption, the price of our freedom.
3.
We were like sinners
standing empty-handed before an offended deity.
We possess no sacrifice offer for our sins. But suddenly we are pronounced forgiven
because God himself has provided the sacrifice.
Several years ago I visited the Columbus Museum of Art where I
took a long look at Reuben’s depiction of the risen and triumphant Christ. Angels were ministering to Christ while under
his foot a snake was writhing in the agonies of death. The promise of Genesis 3:15--called the First
Word of the Gospel--is the theme of many religious pictures.
Those paintings remind us of how a God-sized problem was
solved. The cross is at the heart of
God’s solution to the problem. Christ
received the punishment due to us.
Because of his perfect life, he was able represent us and, yet, defeat
death.
Conclusion
The problem of sin is too big for you and me to solve. It is a problem worthy of God. God has dealt decisively with the problem
through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Still, too many of us try to solve the problem on our own. Too many of us ignore the solution God has
provided. And, too many have never heard
of God’s solution.
You and I need to have the humility to let God solve the
problem we could never solve. And we
need the determination to make sure the world hears of God’s solution.
As we approach Good Friday and Easter, we’ll be thinking a lot
about the cross and the empty tomb—the symbols of God’s solution.
If you haven’t already, it would be a good time to embrace
God’s solution.
If you have already embraced God’s
solution, it would be a good time to tell others about it.
