Adam

Go back with me. Let's visit Adam and Eve. I want to take a brief look at Adam before the Fall.

Adam had a phenomenal life back then. Think about it. For food he simply picked up groceries ... whenever he felt like it. No complex processes. No cooking. Hungry? Grab a bite. Done. For work he simply tended the plants and animals which were not, at that time, fighting against him. And then there was his social life. He had the perfect woman, the prototype, the first and the best. The two were one. There were no conflicts, no fights, no disagreements.

Theologically, Adam was in paradise. There were no complex questions about the Law. He didn't have to figure out what "adultery" meant, for instance. "Does it mean the act itself, or does it include intent? What does it mean to 'look on another woman'? What constitutes lust?" Not even a hint of it. His "Law" was singular: "Don't eat of that tree." That's it. Nothing complex. Nothing to figure out. Imagine that. No shades of gray. No question of motivation or intent. No situational ethics. It just doesn't get any simpler than that. As for his relationship with God, it just doesn't get any better. Adam didn't have to operate from the starting point of deserving Hell. He didn't sin. He didn't need salvation. His relationship with God was perfect. Not only did he have a clear relationship with God, but he also had the opportunity to actually talk to Him. They walked together in the cool of the evening. Imagine that! Any question that might come to mind ... could be answered ... then ... verbally. No problems about exactly what God meant when He said ____. Just ask. What was God like? Just ask. What did God want? Just ask. Adam didn't have a Bible because he didn't need a Bible; he got it all straight from the mouth of God.

Adam had it all. He had family support. He had simplicity of theology. He had simplicity of Law. He had no sin nature. He had no financial woes, no physical ailments, no hardships. He had comfort and ease, a perfect relationship with his wife, and a perfect relationship with God in a perfect Garden.

And Adam sinned. One thing ... only one thing that he could violate, and he did it.

Sometimes we tend to think, as we're sitting in church on Sunday, that we're "getting there". We're in the presence of God and His people. We're singing His praises and listening to His Word. Here, in the quiet sanctuary of the sanctuary, we are close to sinlessness, at least for a moment.

When you start to think that, remember Adam. Putting it in the words of the old hymn, "Nothing in my hand I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling." There, clinging to that cross, totally and completely dependent on the Savior that Adam didn't even need when he started out, that's where we'll stay. It's the reason God sent His Son. Adam proved that not one of us have the capacity to reach sinlessness. We will always need to remain at the feet of our Redeemer. It's a good place to be.