“And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 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.”
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.”
Thus began debate about the authority of God and the veracity His word. Despite the rather bad outcome for Eve, her descendants continue to question God’s word. Man’s desire to be like God, exercising supreme authority, has not been abated by banishment from Eden or the lingering consequences of rebellion. War, famine, pestilence and death are the price we pay to avoid surrendering our autonomy. The notion of God with loving concern for, and absolute authority over, every situation in life is abhorrent to the cursed nature of Man. “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
The practical truth is that every man operates under a shared code of conduct derived from a source beyond himself; his governments and his instincts. Our ability to bend and break that code does not diminish its existence or its demands upon the human heart and mind. We know, “Thou shalt not steal.” We demand our fellow Man obey it. Yet, all the while, we find excuses to break it ourselves or come up with explanations as to why it doesn’t apply to our particular circumstance. If we choose to dig honestly and deep, we will discover that this inherent code of behavior is the product of our Creator. It is the word of God; passed to us in His likeness; fastened to us by His Curse; and revived in due season by His Spirit.
God has revealed Himself to Man by conscious, by law and by spirit. For the most part, Man remains unmoved; choosing instead to worship himself and the gods he can create. Rousseau was right, free-born man is everywhere in chains. But they are shackles of his making, forged of self-will and secured by a spirit of rebellion. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are…” God’s word is not hidden, neither is it unknown.
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”
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