Don’t Push The Boundaries
October 18, 2021
My son has a beloved board book called “Don’t Push the Button.” If you have been around kids much, you’ve likely encountered this silly tale. There is a monster named Larry who starts off the first page warning the kids not to push the big, shiny, red button. Now, it doesn’t take rocket science to guess what happens next. Inevitably, the reader ends up pushing the button which causes all manner of mayhem.
There is something about mankind: when we are given a restriction, our human will is tempted to push the boundaries.
In the story of our genesis, it does’t take long after God creates all things for the story of Adam and Eve to take a turn for the worst. Only 3 chapters into the first book of the Bible, humanity makes the decision that they don’t want to have someone in authority over them. Adam and Even were living in a Paradise called Eden. They were told by God to enjoy the beauty of the garden, to enjoy one another, and they were given the privilege of walking with God and sharing in communion with Him. Really, they were given everything. They only had one restriction - one rule. They were told not to eat from one specific tree. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Enter: The serpent (“that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray” Revelation 12:9). The most important thing to keep at the top of your mind about the serpent is that he is the deceiver. His goal is to stop God’s plan using whatever means necessary.
Appealing to her humanity, the serpent convinced Eve that she would be like God if she ate the fruit - it would cause her eyes to be open, and she would have the ability on her own to decipher good from evil.
Satan’s tactic for deceiving Eve in the garden is the perfect example of truth-adjacent claims.
1) The serpent told her she would know good from evil and therefore be like God. Yes, knowing good from evil would give her new insight which God had access to, but she could never become like God.
2) The serpent told her that she wouldn’t die if she ate from the tree. That was true concerning immediate death (like the poison apples in fairy tales depict), however sin’s entrance into the world would open the door to death in multiple other facets: spiritual death (all humanity now is born “dead in transgressions and sins” - Ephesians 2:1); physical death (man would not return to the dust from which he was taken - Genesis 3:22-24); and environmental death (“cursed is the ground because of you” - Genesis 3:17).
It was so close to truth that it sounded good. Here’s our first application: We must be on our guard for this tactic of his because he uses it against you and I today as well. The only way you know something is truth-adjacent is by holding it up against truth. Which means we have to know truth!
Rather than choosing to depend on her Maker and Provider to guide her in all of these matters, Eve decided she would take the reins of her life. And isn’t that the posture we take today? We choose not to depend on Him, but rather to muscle through on our own. And it rarely works out in our favor. In making the choice to do what she desired, she became the lord of her own life rather than submitting to the Lordship of God.
Eve was consumed, focusing on the one thing she couldn’t have rather than seeing the abundance of blessing around her. She fell into the scarcity mindset: believing that depending upon God solely wouldn’t be enough. She exchanged God’s truth for a lie.
So she took from the tree. And she ate.
Rebellion. At that moment, a new path was paved. This path is well-worn, trod by every fully-human person who has ever existed. It’s one that we all walk as a result of the fallen nature we were born into. This path is wide - it’s choosing to live for self, to gratify personal desires, to choose our own way, to worship who and what we want. This path may feel good because we get to do what we want, but it stops short of a full and complete life. It does not bring that soul-deep contentment we all so desperately crave. Yet, there is nothing more natural than making self the lord of our lives.
Humanity’s purpose in creation is to be in relationship with God and to give Him glory by reflecting Him as image-bearers, yet our relationship with God was severed at the fall. Our Imago Dei was marred. Without a relationship with Him, we have a void within us that cannot be filled, no matter how hard we try. Without Him, we are influenced by the world who feeds us lies of happiness contentment, and satisfaction that comes from being our own lord. Yet the truth is, without our Creator, we are not enough.
Even though we continue to choose self, God persistently chases after us. Why? Because he wants us restored back to himself. He wants to walk with us again in perfect unity. From the moment, Adam and Eve took a juicy bite of that fruit and decided to go their own way, a plan for redemption was set in motion. After Satan tempted them to eat from the tree, God shared some bad news about how humanity would be separated from God, but he shared some very good news as well.
Not to leave you on a cliff hanger on anything… but I’m going to leave you on a cliff hanger. At the beginning of the study I gave you a spoiler: after creation and rebellion comes redemption and restoration, so you have that to look forward to next week! I know that talking about the concept of sin and rebellion isn’t a feel-good message, but we need to be aware of it in order for the redemption portion to taste sweet. We will get to the hope of restoration next time. I hope you come back to join me next week! I promise it’s going to be epic: it always is when the Creator of Everything pens the story!
Reflection
This area is set aside for some personal reflection - grab a pen and notebook, and spend some time in Romans 1:18-25. I’ll list some reflection questions for you to pray through. I’d love for you to comment with something you learned!
The first step in going to the Word is prayer. Invite the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom which is a gift that he will give in abundance each time you ask! Spend a few minutes in prayer.
What is something you see about God in this passage (and in the creation narrative from Genesis that we just discussed)? It can be something new he has illuminated or something you have previously known, but maybe you see it a little clearer. If you are feeling ambitious, why don’t you start a running list in your notebook, and add to it each time you read Scripture?
Verse 22-23 give a glimpse of that word “image” we discussed earlier. Paul is saying that the godless think they are wise, but they act foolishly. Instead of worshiping the One who created them, they worship “images” of created things. We can (and do) worship the created rather than the Creator. What ways do you see this happening in your life? Prayerfully examine your life. Where have you seen yourself building up idols? Is there anything you find yourself identifying as and placing higher than your status as a child of God?
Verse 24-25 reminds us that it is possible for people to continue in disobedience to an extent that God hands them over to it. While this verse is talking about the unbelieving world, for believers, it can be applied like this: We can either fan the flame of the Holy Spirit inside of us by following his lead, or we can quench his flame inside of us be doing what our flesh wants. In what ways have you felt the Spirit leading or moving you to action lately that you may have been ignoring?
