Just five days after (football) accepting the position as head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team in December of 2001, George O’Leary resigned in disgrace. An investigation had revealed that more than twenty years ago he had included false claims on his resume, including saying that he had lettered in football when he was not even on the team and that he had a master’s degree which he had not earned. The lies had not been discovered at any of his previous coaching jobs, but the high profile nature of Notre Dame’s football team led to his exposure.
In a statement O’Leary said: “Due to a selfish and thoughtless act many years ago, I have personally embarrassed Notre Dame, its alumni, and fans. With that in mind, I will resign my position as head football coach.” Though a considerable amount of time passed between O’Leary’s deception and its discovery, it did come to light with devastating results. He had seemingly reached the heights of his profession, only to wake up and find it all taken away. (Source: New York Times, December 15, 2001)
Believer, we must never forget the destruction of sinful choices.
Doubt & Do: The sinful deed is completed
3:7 – doubted God and then rebelled against His command
There was no long thought-out plan to sin. Sin is sin whether premeditated or a gut reaction. So, it is vital that my heart & mind are filled with wisdom (& not foolishness…Prov. 3:7), filled with righteousness (& not corruption…hunger after righteousness, Matt. 5:6), and with the clarity of God’s love for me!
The longer I stand doubting God’s Word…the sooner I stand rebelling against God’s Word. Warning! There is movement among evangelicals today to use less of God’s Word. Did you know Andy Stanley (Charles Stanley’s son) said this in the Outreach Magazine article he wrote for the October 5, 2016, issue.
“Close to half our population does not view the Bible as authoritative either. If you’re trying to reach people with an undergraduate degree or greater, over half your target audience will not be moved by the Bible says, the Bible teaches, God’s Word is clear or anything along those lines.”
“As part of my shift, I stopped leveraging the authority of Scripture and began leveraging the authority and stories of the people behind the Scripture. To be clear, I don’t believe “the Bible says,” “Scripture teaches,” and “the Word of God commands” are incorrect approaches. But they are ineffective approaches for post-Christian people. I don’t regret teaching my children that the Bible is God’s Word. But my grown-up kids understand their confidence in the Bible is rooted in their confidence in who Jesus is based on the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, James and the apostle Paul.
Shifting the conversation away from the authority of Scripture to the authority, to courage and faithfulness of the men and women behind our Scriptures has not only enabled me to better connect with post-Christians, it’s done wonders for the faith of the faithful.” (Outreach Magazine, Why “The Bible Says So” Is Not Enough Anymore, by Andy Stanley – 10-05-16)
Believer, we must fight this philosophy from taking residence in our own hearts! This is a dangerous position indeed – but it is also indicative of today’s church. Here is the truth:
God loves you, so stop fighting His way for you
God has blessed you, so stop meditating on what you don’t have and start meditating on what you DO have in Jesus
God knows you, so trust Him and that His way is best for you
Shame & Smokescreen: The deadly deception was unveiled
3:7 – They experienced guilt for the first time. The loss of glorious innocence was also realized.
I can remember a time when a police officer pulled out on to the road as I passed him parked on the side of the road. I maintained a steady speed and he maintained a steady speed --- right behind me. I turned off that street – and he turned off that street. No matter what I did for the next few miles he followed me all the way…then he eventually passed me and went on his way.
Guilt follows sin everywhere it goes.
Guilt will overwhelm you with fear, embarrassment, anger, regrets, even depression! So, our common response to that guilt is to cover the sin.
There is nothing of our own doing that will enable us to truly cover our sin, but Jesus has shed His own blood to cover our sin for us on our behalf!!
Disgraced & Duped: The irreversible disgrace was felt
3:8 – they hid from the presence of the Lord…is that even possible?
Satan wants us to think sin is full of pleasure and advantage with no harm to us or those we love. He wants us to think only of the pleasure and not to worry about the consequences.
Adam & Eve felt the horror of disgrace before the One who loved them the most (God Almighty). They try to do the impossible and hide from the Lord.
There is no out running God, hiding from God, or justifying my sin to God.
My sin is lawlessness (I John 3:4).
My sin is wicked and requires Jesus’ blood to be shed (Heb. 9:22)
My sin must be confessed & forsaken (I Jn. 1:9; Prov. 28:13)
On August 13, 2004, Hurricane Charley brought fierce destruction to areas of Florida. During the storm, 25-year-old Danny Williams went outside to seek protection under the branches of a 55-year old banyan tree. Friends and family said that the protective branches of the spreading tree had been a favorite peaceful place for the Fort Myers man. But on that day, his place of safety became a death trap. The tree fell on Mr. Williams and killed him. (Source: First Coast News)
Sometimes, the places and situations we look to for protection can ultimately be the most harmful.
Winston Churchill said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.”
That may be a common response to truth, but it places those who respond this way on the road to tragedy and destruction. There is no way to love and follow God without loving and following truth. The two cannot be separated.
Our reasoning often brings us to wrong conclusions!
“Lying will protect me.”
“Stealing will provide for me.”
“My anger is justified because of what another person said or did.”
“Thinking this way is wrong, but no one will know.”
“I’ll do this because my parents/boss will never know.”
Consider your home. What do you know is true, but you rebel against it anyway? Are you rebelling thinking you are missing out on something better than Jesus?
Here are 4 reminders of truth:
Build your family on God and His Word (Ps. 127:1)
Highly favor your children (Ps. 127:3-5)
Embrace your role (Eph. 5:21-33; Col. 3:18-21)
o Men are to yield to God as their head, love their wife, cherish their children, and not to stir up their children to anger (Col. 3:19, 21; Eph. 5:25-33)
o Women are to yield to their husband as their head (Col. 3:18; Eph. 5:22), to respect her husband (Eph. 5:33), to love her husband and children (Titus 2:4), and to be the keeper of the home (“workers at home”) (Titus 2:5).
o Children are to obey and honor their parents (Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:20)