Accepting Responsibility

Genesis 3:7-13

When God created man, there was no sense of self-consciousness, guilt, or self doubt. Genesis 2:25 states, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” They simply accepted themselves as the y were. That all changed when they ate the forbidden fruit.

“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” (Genesis 3:7)

Suddenly they were able to make moral decisions, not just logical ones. A dog may know that his master will not approve and logically fear his master’s anger, but he makes no moral decision as to whether his actions were right or wrong. Even the decision to disobey God was strictly a logical decision, not a moral one. Eating the fruit changed that by activating the conscience.

According to Romans 5:13, “…sin is not imputed when there is no law.” As long as there was no standard of judgment, man could not be held accountable for his actions. Once the conscience was activated, man had a standard for judgment, and must be held accountable. Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death;…” James I:15 declares, “…and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

As long as man could not be held accountable for his sin, the penalty could not be imposed. The activation of his conscience made him subject to the consequences of sin, seriously damaging his likeness to God. He will need to be restored to the original specifications. Ephesians 4:23-24 describes what is needed. “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

The sense of guilt immediately destroyed their sense of well being. Before they were naked and totally unconscious of it. Afterward, they were so troubled by it that they began to try to hide their nakedness, even sewing fig leaves together to make aprons to hide behind. Like pain, guilt makes us aware of a problem, and thus is valuable. Unfortunately too often we simply try to stop the pain, rather than resolving the problem. Taking a pain pill may prevent feeling the broken bone, but it doesn’t heal it, just covers up the pain. The fig leaves could only conceal their sin, not take it away, and like the pain it still affects even when one is not conscious of it.

“And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.” (Genesis 3:8)

The same guilt that made man conscious of his sin also made him consciousness of unworthiness to face God. When they heard God’s voice, they hid. Sin destroys the spiritual nature, and man is embarrassed to be compared to God’s standard. As a result he hides himself from God. It is that attempt to flee from God that causes such hatred of Christians today, and led to the development of many false religions. Romans 1:28 tells us, “…they did not like to retain God in their knowledge…” Adam and Eve tried to hide so they wouldn’t be questioned. It is the reaction described in Proverbs 28:1. “The wicked flee when no man pursueth:…” Guilt hinders and destroys relationships, and especially with those who are good.

“And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:9-10)

The separation was not God’s choice, but Adam’s. God was still seeking to maintain his relationship. Guilt caused fear, and Adam hid from God. God had done nothing to cause the fear. There is nothing harder to live with than a guilty conscience. God Knew exactly where Adam was, but he will not force himself on people. God was seeking Adam, but Adam had to choose to respond. He responded, explaining that he hid from God because he felt guilty because he was naked.

“And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” (Genesis 3:11)

God was not concerned with Adam’s nakedness. He would not even have been aware of it if he hadn’t disobeyed God. His guilt over his nakedness was just a symptom of the real problem, of having rejected God’s authority. Every sinful action and sense of guilt is the result of having done so. This is the sin God is concerned with. We spend our time, Like Adam and Eve, trying to cover up the symptoms, rather than curing the problem.

“And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:12)

Covering up and hiding didn’t resolve the guilt, so Adam tried to shift the blame. “The woman…she gave me”. Throughout history, people have blamed Eve for the sin, despite the fact that Romans 5:12 declares, “…by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, …” It was not Eve’s sin that made us sinners’ but Adam’s.

Adam even tried to shift some of the blame to God, saying, “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me.” A preacher I know said God must have wanted me to have a temper because he gave me a really bad one. Others say God’s commands are just too hard. God’s not going to accept the blame for our wrong doing, nor will he accept excuses. Adam finally had to admit, “I did eat.” It was still Adam’s choice to eat the fruit. According to I John 1:8-10, until we accept responsibility for our sin we will not be forgiven, and are in effect blaspheming God by implying he is falsely accusing us.

“And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.” (Genesis 3:13)

Eve also shifted the blame. “The serpent beguiled me,” or “he tricked me.”
While it was a true statement, Eve knew God had said “Ye shall not eat of it.” She listened to the lies and chose to believe them rather than God. She still had to accept the responsibility. “…I did eat.” She still made the decision.

Remember this was Adam and Eve’s first sin. They weren’t nearly as skilled at covering up and shifting blame as we are. We’ve had a lot more practice, and probably wouldn’t have accepted the responsibility so easily, but we are just as responsible for our actions. Even being lied to doesn’t excuse our wrong doing