The Whole Christmas Story
“The Sinfulness of Man”
Genesis 3:1-13
Wayne J. Edwards, Pastor
When it comes to the Christmas story, we must get the whole story historically and theologically correct, lest our understanding of the gospel is wrong.
- Today’s version of Christmas describes Jesus’ first coming as a human tragedy rather than a divine assignment, which means Jesus was just a man who died as a martyr and not as our Savior.
- However, in John 1:1-14, the Apostle said the “WORD” was with God in the beginning and was the agent of creation, and then that
“WORD became flesh and dwelt among us.”
- That “WORD” became flesh through Mary’s womb, and as the angel instructed Joseph, they called His name “Jesus,” for He was sent to save His people from their sins.
In the original New Testament Greek, the term “Christ” is a translation of the Hebrew word “Mashiach,” which means “the Anointed One.”
- “Christ,” is not Jesus’ last name. Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ; the Messiah, the One God sent to be our Savior.
- “Mass” is a Latin word that describes the central act of worship in the Catholic Church.
- Christ-mas is the worship of Jesus, who was and is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Word of God, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Triune God, the Savior sent from and by God, in the form of human flesh, to redeem lost humanity from the wages of sin.
According to 2 Timothy 1:9, even before time began, God the Father decreed that He would create human beings with the freedom to choose what they would do with their lives.
- They could live according to His plan and purpose for their lives and enjoy His blessings, including eternal life, or they could rebel against God’s plan and purpose and suffer the consequences, which would include everlasting death.
- However, even before mankind was created, God the Father’s plan to redeem those who rebelled against Him was made as a promise to God the Son.
- If God the Son would become the Supreme Sacrifice for man’s sin, God would grant eternal life to those who saw their sin, their need for a Savior, and Jesus as the Savior they needed.
According to Genesis 3:1-13, God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden, which was also known as the Garden of God.
- In Hebrew, the term, “Garden of Eden,” means heaven or paradise.
- Since sin had not yet entered in, Adam and Eve were surrounded by beauty and blessed with everything they needed, i.e., they lived in perfect peace with God and with each other.
- God forbid them from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, Satan drew them to the tree, deceived them into doubting God’s Word, and enticed them to eat of its fruit.
- After both of them ate from the fruit of that tree, sin entered into the world, severing their relationship with God, and damaging their intimacy with each other.
- As this was the first act of disobedience to God by a human being, this event is called “The Fall of Man,” or the “Original Sin.” However, it was the origin of sin.
1. The Origin of Sin – Isaiah 14:13-14 – “You have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most-High.”
- God did not create sin – Job 34:10 – “Far be it from God to do wickedness, or for the Almighty to do evil.”
- When Adam and Eve listened to Satan and disobeyed God, they opened the door for sin to enter the human race.
- In the Bible, sin is described as lawlessness, lack of reverence for God, and deeds of comission or omission against God or man, which includes thoughts, words, and actions.
- However, the root of all sin is man’s rebellion against God’s will.
- Lucifer was a glorious angel full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. But he became so prideful of himself that he desired to be equal with God and exalted above his peers.
- His five “I wills” describe the essence of a self-obsessed life that refuses to submit to authority.
- Satan also led 1/3rd of the angelic host to join in his rebellion against
God, and not only were he and his followers cast out of heaven, but they will soon be cast into the bottomless pit forever.
- Sin began in heaven with an angelic rebellion against God, and it continued on earth when Adam and Eve rebelled against God, and that sinful nature spread to all humanity.
2. The Contagion of Sin – Romans 5:12 – “Just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all have sinned.”
- As Adam and Eve began to multiply, that sinful nature was transmitted to their children and their children’s children like a virus. It infected and affected the whole human race.
- Some say, “Well, I’m no so bad! I’m certainly not as sinful as many others. Surely God can overlook my small sins.”
- Every person is a sinner by nature and by choice, and unless that sin nature is dealt with through our expressed faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we will face an eternity in hell.
- Total depravity does not mean every man is as bad as he can be, but that, of his own volition, he will never be as good as he needs to be to be acceptable to God.
- Total depravity means that every part of our life has been infected by sin and that proneness toward sin draws us away from God and divides us from others.
- God told Adam and Eve if they ate from the forbidden tree, they would surely die, and in Romans 5:12, the Apostle Paul said that sentence of death was passed on to all men, “for all have sinned.”
- The term “death” is better understood to be “separation.”
- The moment Adam and Eve sinned:
- They were spiritually seperated from God. (Ephesians 4:8)
- They began to die physically – to be separated from the living.
- They began to die eternally – the combination of the first two.
- Sin is not a “mistake, or a wrong choice, or an error in judgment.”
- Sin is an act of rebellion against God, and regardless of how simple we might think it is, someone has to die for that sin, which leads to a new understanding of Christmas.
3. The Extermination of Sin – Matthew 1:20-21 – “Joseph, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit, and she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
- Isaiah 7:14 – “A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son.”
- Luke 1:26-33 – “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.”
- Matthew 1:18-21 – “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
- Luke 2:8-12 – “I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people, for there is born to you this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord.”
- From Isaiah 53 – “He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement for our peace was upon Him. The Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.”
- 1 John 3:5 – “Jesus appeared to take away sins.”
- 1 Peter 1:18-19 – “You were ransomed from your futile ways with the precious blood of Christ.”
- From Acts 2 – “Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God by His miracles, wonders, and signs, was delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God. God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ.”
- Adam, the first man, brought sin an death to all mankind. Jesus, the second man, brought purity and life to those who believed in Him. Therefore, the whole Christmas story is: By one man’s disobedience, many were made sinners. But by one man’s obedience, those sinners can be redeemed and made righteous. That’s what Christmas means.
