When we study the scriptures it’s very interesting to find the Apostles’ starting point for their message was never with Adam. They didn’t start their letters or gospels talking about how Adam sinned and as a result we are all now sinners. They never followed the logic that if unbelievers can see the sin in themselves, they will then repent and be saved. They didn’t seem to take this approach at all when sharing about God. It seems that the Apostles were far more captivated by the glory of Jesus than the sin of Adam.
The Apostle John is the author of the gospel of John. In his gospel, he actually tells his readers that he has written the gospel in the hope that they would believe in Jesus and be saved.
Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:30-31
John had a heart to write a gospel that would get his readers to become believers. With this purpose in mind it’s interesting to look at how John starts his gospel. Did he start his gospel by revealing to the reader that they are a sinner? Did he start by discussing the sin of Adam? No he didn’t, instead John starts his Gospel by establishing three eternal truths:
- Jesus was with God before the world began, and through Jesus all things were created.
- Jesus is glorious, and we can see his glory.
- Jesus gave us grace.
God’s eternal plan was to give us grace and this eternal plan was purposed in Christ. In all the writings of the Apostles you can find these three eternal truths continually taught.
The account of Adam is a message of disgrace.The truth is that telling non-believers about disgrace will only push then further away from God; We need to learn from the Apostle John and start by telling them about God’s eternal truth, Jesus gave us grace!
It is not the message of disgrace that is anointed by the Holy Spirit; it is the message of grace! Pointing people to the sin of Adam will get nobody saved because they will simply follow in the footsteps of Adam and shift the blame anyway! Let’s learn a lesson from the Garden of Eden. What happened when Adam and Eve were confronted by God for their disobedience.
And God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said “The serpent deceived me, and I ate”. Genesis 3:11-13
Did Adam and Eve suddenly get a revelation and repent because their sinful nature was pointed out to them? Not at all! On the contrary, Adam blamed God as well as Eve, and Eve blamed the devil. They had an attitude that basically said ‘I’m not to be blamed, it’s not my fault!’
When a Christian today tries to point out an unbeliever’s sinful lifestyle, they only achieve the same sad results. If their sinful nature is pointed out, they simply shift the blame onto God, someone else or the devil!
We all want to see people to come to know God, for this to happen let’s all remember we shouldn’t be pointing out their disgrace, but rather pointing them to the grace of God!
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Interesting point.