“Tempted to Blame the Other Guy”

            Genesis 3:1–21 ¹Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” ²And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, ³but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” ⁴But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

            This is Lent, it is a time for reflection on our selves, and it is a time to repent, admit, be sorry, be fearful of our Lord, and ask for His grace and mercy.  The truth is God’s grace and mercy are a free gift, however He leads you to be fearful of Him so that you may be sorry for your own sin.  This is looking at our need for a savior, and knowing that we have one.  Lent is that journey Christ took to the cross for each of us and all of us.

            It was simple all he had to do was to make sure that no one would eat from the one tree that God had commanded not to eat from.  One rule, one request that caused more than one mess from the time it was broken and the mess continues to grow even now.  Sin, we are all riddled with it and we all like to point out the failures and sin of another person to take the focus off ourselves following our predecessors from the beginning.  Adam blamed Eve, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”  Eve blamed the serpent, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”  Notice God didn’t ask the serpent what he had done.  The serpent was not the concern of God’s affection.

            The serpent was not the one who disobeyed God’s rule and the serpent had already sealed his fate with God during the fall of the prince of the world.  The serpent was not the one who chose to go against what God commanded Adam.  The serpent, though a creature that chose to be against God, certainly committed the sin of tempting but is not guilty of Adam’s and Eve’s sin nor their choices.  Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the Serpent, and we blame anyone or anything like Adam and Eve to twist the focus of the sin.  Adam and Eve did not have the law written for them and we are quick to forget the words our Lord commands us when we point the finger at others.

            Deuteronomy 5:20 ²⁰ “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

            Luke 6:41-42 ⁴¹ Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

            John 8:7 ⁷ And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

            This is why forgiveness is so important, forgiveness from each other and especially from God.  We like to blame, and this too is falling to temptation.  Temptation is not the cause of your sin; it is the choice you make to fall to the temptation that is the sin.  Adam was looking for an excuse to say he was not at fault.  Adam wanted the attention drawn off him and on to Eve so that he might escape God’s anger.  Adam knew he had disobeyed God’s command and that he might die now because of it.  Not only did Adam disobey God but he also didn’t try to stop Eve from making the wrong choice.  Desire is the tempter; the serpent was just the vessel it used to disperse itself on Eve and Adam.  Adam stood in fear of God and death.  He was going to be separated from His beloved creator.

            Romans 5:12–19 ¹²Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ¹³for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. ¹⁴Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

            The temptation is to blame Adam, Eve, our weaknesses, or our sinful nature, but it still comes to this, it is we who choose to sin and therefore we are the ones to blame for our own sin.  Adam and Eve both sinned because their desire was for themselves.  We too sin because we let our desires take over.  Certainly there are good desires, but what we might think is a good desire might not be good to God.    Good desires are measured in that they go with God’s will rather than against His will. 

            From the time of the fall of Adam and Eve though there was no written law sin happened, blame happened, separation from God flourished, and forgiveness to those who believed happened too.  Look at Cain, Noah, Abraham and Lot, Jacob, Joseph and his brothers, and even Moses and Elijah.  They all were examples of those who believed and were forgiven.  Each knew of their own sin, each repented of their sin being sorry for their transgressions, and asking God’s forgiveness.  Each in their way with God were a type of the one to come and showed the world that they were a Jesus like figure as they each led God’s people towards Him.

            Romans 5:17–19 ¹⁵But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. ¹⁶And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

            Matthew 4:1–3a ¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ²And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³And the tempter came

            Christ was one who took the blame as He took upon His shoulders the sin of all the world past, present, and future.  Christ being tempted while in His weakest state of being in human form felt the pains and the pull of temptations we would feel, and while cast into a grievous hunger He still chose to turn away from the tempter.  Christ showed us that we have a God who knows our pains and tribulations, and therefore gives us His grace and mercy as a free gift.

            Our transgressions are forgiven, by God, through Christ who took the cross as a means to save all whom God loves and God loves us all.  Our reward for being forgiven is eternal life and relationship with our God.