Beth-El Baptist Church
02/19/06
Greg Tomlinson
Why couldn’t God just forgive Adam and Eve and avoid going through all of this suffering since He is supposed to be a forgiving God?
For many who hear about God and His love and the teaching about hell from many church pulpits, there is a desire by many to raise questions about the truthfulness of God’s love if He cannot just forgive, forget, and not bring about judgment.
1. Why would God need to forgive Adam and Eve anyhow?
Genesis 1:26-28; 2:7; 2:15-17; 3:1-8
From these passages we learn that God made man from the dust of the earth and he was made in the image of God. He was to be very much like God. Man was given the task of maintaining the Garden of Eden made especially for man to live in. God placed boundaries on man’s behavior to demonstrate his love for man and to evaluate man’s love for God. The only restricted behavior was the eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. With the restriction came the penalty or consequences of violating the command of God. That restriction was death.
When man ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it was man who made his decision regarding his relationship with God. God had clearly specified the command, God had clearly specified the consequences of violating the command, and man clearly violated the mandate of the command. The question that needs to be asked now is whether or not God would keep his word to Adam about violating His clear command.
2. Does God keep His word?
Genesis 41:32
Psalm 89:35
Proverbs 14:5
Isaiah 46:11
Titus 1:2
Every word of God can be confirmed. When God makes a statement, He means it and does not speak lightly of things. He will bring about His word, His commandments, and His promises.
With respect to Adam and Eve, God was now bound to His command and the proper punishment or response to their violation of His command.
3. Why would God punish Adam and Eve’s violation?
Psalm 51:4
Hebrews 12:7-11
Just as we understand that punishment from human parents actually shows the love that we have for them, God’s punishment of Adam and Eve demonstrates His love for them. If He had not punished them for violating His command, He would have actually indicated to them that He did not care for them or about them. He would also indicate to them that He would not keep His word and would ultimately be untrustworthy.
By punishing Adam and Eve, we know that God loves them (and us) and that He can be trusted to keep His word, both in regard to hell and heaven.
4. Why would the punishment be so severe?
Exodus 33:17-23; 34:5-8
Numbers 14:20-22
Job 42:3-6
Isaiah 6:1-5
Matthew 19:17
Romans 3:10-18
Just seeing God is sufficient for anyone to understand the depth of their sinfulness in comparison to God’s Holiness. God is perfectly holy and perfectly good. The sin that resides in men results in the righteousness of the man infinitely far from the righteousness of God. It is not that we are ‘good’ people, for only God is actually and truly good. The rest of us are very, very far from being like His nature and character. In other words, we properly do deserve the punishment of eternity in hell. While the doctrine of Hell will not be expounded here, the essence of this penalty was discussed in "What is the penalty for sin?"
5. Does God forgive people?
1 King 8:30-39
Psalm 103:11-13; 130:3-4
Jeremiah 31:34; 36:3
Daniel 9:9
Matthew 6:9-15
Mark 2:5-12
Acts 5:30-31; 13:38-39; 26:18
Ephesians 1:7
Colossians 1:14
There is more than sufficient evidence that God does forgive people for their sins. He has forgiven sins in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
6. What are the requirements for forgiveness?
Leviticus 4:20
Hebrews 9:12-14, 22
The primary requirement for forgiveness of sins is the shedding of blood. In the Old Testament, this was accomplished through the blood sacrifices at the tabernacle or the temple in Jerusalem. Without the sacrifice of blood, the penalty for sins must be paid by the blood, or life, of the offender. In the New Testament, it is the sacrifice of Jesus that pays the penalty.
Leviticus 4:22-24
Acts 16:30-31
Romans 10:8-11
In order for the blood of the sacrifice, whether of goats, sheep, cattle, or Jesus, it is the responsibility of the offender to personally identify with their sins being passed to the sacrifice. In other words, they have to recognize and acknowledge that their sins are being paid for by the death of the sacrifice in their place. In the Old Testament, this is accomplished by placing their hands on the sacrifice. In the New Testament, this is accomplished by means of faith, through a heart felt believing.
7. What about the nature of God requires that He NOT just forgive and forget?
Exodus 20:7; 34:7
Leviticus 19:35-37
Psalm 89:13-15
Proverbs 25:2
God is a God of justice. He judges rightly to punish the guilty and not condemn the innocent. In order for God to be a just God and to exercise true justice, He is compelled to not just forgive and forget. It is because of His grace that God is willing to not execute judgment against the guilty. The penalty for the sins must still be paid, but it is executed against the atoning sacrifice which stands in the place of the guilty.
8. What is justice?
Ezra 9:13-15
Psalm 51:4
Justice is the delivering to the guilty the proper judgment or punishment for their transgression or violation of the law.
9. Can God be a just and righteous God without having a penalty?
No. Justice without penalty and without responsibility is not justice. It is a perversion of justice. In this case the guilty are let off and the violation still stands.
10. What is mercy?
Matthew 15:22-28
Mercy is the reality of receiving a benefit without having any rights to that benefit. This is not the withholding of what is rightly deserved, in the case of punishment that is grace. Mercy is beyond withholding punishment, it is the bestowing of a benefit, in the case of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, grace is the forgiveness of sins, mercy is the gift of eternal life.
11. How can one receive mercy from God?
Matthew 19:16-21
John 3:14-17; 10:27-29
The only way to receive mercy from God is to trust Jesus Christ as your sacrifice. This entails the recognition of who He is, the Christ, the rightful King of Israel and your life. It means full allegiance and obedience to Him.
God could not just forgive Adam and Eve for their transgression against His law because if He did, then God would neither be loving nor just. He would be an unrighteous God who lies to His people. It is the very just nature of God that requires God to condemn the guilty and protect the innocent. The basic problem of man is that he now has an inherited nature that sins and needs a sacrifice to take his place with regards to the sins of the man. This sacrifice, provided by the grace of God, is Jesus who more than sufficiently appeased the righteous anger of God against mankind.