Genesis 3:12-13 English Standard Version
12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Yesterday I said “ Here are the important attributes of sin. Sin has accomplices and victims.”
Today we see getting caught in sin causes the blame games to begin. Adam blames Eve and Eve blames the serpent. If they had not been called out for their disobedience they would have not thought to seek to blame someone else for their own choices.
Hidden within Adam’s finger pointing is an accusation against God Himself. “The woman you gave me.” If God had not given Adam the woman he would not have sinned. Or would he? We will never know if Adam would have listened to the serpent because it didn’t happen.
Guess what, if God had not said “don’t” there would have been no knowledge of sin.
Here is the crux of the law, with the law there is knowledge of sin.
Romans 5:13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
Romans 7:7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
God said no to just one thing and Adam didn’t obey. What makes any of us think that we could obey all 613 laws of the Torah? If you think 613 laws are too many to obey then you don’t know much about the laws of man.
Congress has enacted approximately 200–600 statutes during each of its 119 biennial terms so more than 30,000 statutes have been enacted since 1789. That does not even include state and municipal ordinances.
Here is a sidebar to Romans 5:13, sin still exists even if they are not counted. Ouch? So what is the point of sin counted or not?
Exodus 3:5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
1 Peter 1:16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
The unholy are not allowed to approach God, therefore no personal relationship because of sin.