Welcome to Sola Scriptura, the preaching ministry of Beaverton Grace Bible Church, where our motto is the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible. Our focus is on the glory of our sovereign God. Through the systematic verse-by-verse preaching of the Holy Scriptures for the sanctification of the saint and the salvation of the sinner, our mission is to declare the narrow path of Jesus Christ in a broad path world. And our invitation is to put on the full armor of God and join us in the gospel battle. Hello, this is Chuck O'Neill, pastor of Beaverton Grace Bible Church, and today's message is Reversing the Fall, Part 2. In the fall of mankind, the devil went around Adam to subvert the order that God had designed, deceiving Eve into eating of the forbidden fruit, and Eve gave to Adam with her, and Adam followed her knowingly into sin. We must reverse the fall of mankind if we will see our families established in righteousness, if we will see our children becoming the godly offspring that God designs for them to be. This message series is from our annual men's retreat and is dedicated to that end, to reverse the fall of mankind. Join us now for Reversing the Fall of Mankind, Part 2. At the very beginning, God lays out a design with principles intact that will protect you from a world of sin and iniquity and death that comes from it, that will establish you on a path of righteousness and blessing and glory for God. One man, one woman for life. Man created in the image of God, not a God in flesh, created out of dust, lowly, and yet an image of God set above all the other critters. Not good that he should be alone. God brought a helper. A helper. Men, that's what your wives are to you. You are the leader. She is the helper. Men, you are to be leaders. You young men hear me? Not dopes, not twerps, not prunks, not video game masters. Leaders in righteousness. Leaders. Somebody worth marrying. And men who are married. Some poor woman's already roped into your life. Be a man. It is worth being married to. Lead her in righteousness and truth and love and holiness, purity of heart and mind. Intentionally living out a life to glorify God. Genesis 320. Genesis 3.20, Adam's rulership, his dominion doesn't stop here. Adam called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living. Adam names Eve her personal name as an act of his authority, of his dominion, of his rule. He named first her gender? Woman. Take it out of man. Woman. And then he names her her proper name, her personal name. Eve, mother of all living, showing his leadership, his authority, his dominion in a righteous, loving manner, but, oh, a real authority, a real dominion, and Eve shows no resistance of such. She didn't say, well, I've always, you know, thought of, you know, the past day, Yvette would be nice. No, Eve was just right. Mother of all living. What did her name point to? The glory of her role as helpmate. Mother of all living. That she would be a mother. A mother. That she would give birth and raise up godly offspring for the glory of God. That's what her name pointed to. And it's Adam who gave that name. In the first couple, in the design of God and Adam, the design of God and the helpmate Eve, the helper comparable to Him, woman taken out of man, being brought together in holy matrimony, one flesh, naked and unashamed, her name being called Eve, mother of all living, we see the design for all of society, the design for every man and woman set in pages of Scripture. and upon the earth for all of mankind. And what we really find is commonality among all people groups in the earth, among all of those called mankind. We find that, to some level, they have embraced this design. They have marriage. They have an idea, for the most part, of one man and one woman for life. How faithful or not they are to that is another issue. But it started with the Garden of Eden. It started with Adam and Eve. And it was good. It was holy. It was right. It was for their blessing and for the glory of God. And we need to reverse the fall, men, and get back to that standard. Get back to that design and rejoice in it. To stand in it. To live in it. To walk in it. To embrace it fully. It's there that we will be the most blessed. It's there that our wives will be the most blessed. It's there that our children will find the greatest blessing. It is there that God will get the greatest glory. It is there that our nation will prosper. It is there that business prospers. Everything prospers when we embrace firmly and do not let loose of God's design for humanity, mankind. And so, God's order is established in God's initial creative act of Adam and Eve, and we must reverse the fall and get back to that order. Reversing the fall of mankind. Reversing the fall of mankind. By God's plan and design, man, Adam, was created first and thus had authority over the land, the plants, the animal life, and woman, Eve, his wife, his helper comparable unto him. In Genesis 3, 1 through 19, we find the horror of the fall. We find the sad story, the sad historic account of the fall of mankind. That which came in and corrupted God's beautiful order. Genesis 3, 1. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." What do we know here? We know that the devil in the form of a serpent came into the Garden of Eden and that God allowed it to ultimately for his glory. And that serpent came seeking whom he may devour, roaming to and fro. That serpent came more cunning. The devil is wise in an evil way. Cunning. more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman..." Who did he speak to? A woman. The helper. He went around the headship of Adam. The devil subverted the creative order of God in order to lead man into a fall. Take note of that. Don't ever forget that the initial fall of man into sin, sin entering into mankind, started with a subversion of the order of God's creation in the home. The serpent was more cunning than any beast of the fields the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, God's order here is subverted, has God indeed said? God's word is challenged. First, he subverts the order of God. going to the woman. Then, he challenges the Word of God. He undermines the Word of God. Has God indeed said? And Satan continues to sift mankind through these two very powerful attacks over and over and over and over again. And if you will be honest, Recollect and think back, reflecting on your own life. You can see times in your life where God sifted you and sifted your wife and sifted your children and your family to some level by subverting the order of God. Going around you, not getting you off the hook, but the devil going around you and challenging God's word. undermining God's Word. Has God indeed said? So much of the emergent movement today is just that. I would call it a satanic attack upon the Church of Jesus Christ, because really that's the chief dogma, the chief doctrine of the emergent Church. Has God indeed said? The chief issue, passion of the emergent church, seems to be just that, that there can be no dogmatic truth. We should hold all truth humbly, all truth loosely. As God indeed said, and with these anti-doctrine teachings, anti-dogma teachings, we find the church subverted. As God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And so first, the devil questions the Word of God. He has not the heart to come right out and reject it. He simply questions it. Beware, men, of people who would come into your life, whether they come through the radio, whether they come in the form of your family members, father-in-laws, mother-in-laws, friends, other family members, even your children coming in and saying, has God indeed said that which is plain in the text, black and white on the page? Has God indeed said? This is rebellion, seeds of rebellion being sown, and the devil subverted the order of God, went around Adam who was to protect, Adam who was to defend, to Eve, and effectively sowed those seeds. Has God indeed said? The devil is cunning. To outright say that God's Word is not true is rarely where the devil begins. If ever he is cunning, first you question the Word of God. Then there may be times where your wife will question the Word of God. Has God indeed said that the rod shall drive foolishness from our children's hearts? Has God indeed said you shall beat your son with the rod and save his soul from Sheol? Has God indeed said that you are the head of the home and I'm to submit unto you as unto the Lord? Has God indeed said that I'm a helper and not a careerist? And that if my career prospers and yours isn't doing so well, perhaps you should stay at home with the kids and I should go off and win the bread? Has God indeed said? And so, let us guard our family. Because the devil subverted the order of God, going to the woman, and bringing a question to her, has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, at first she stood her ground. We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Now where did Eve learn that? It would seem that Adam had taught her that, men, you have a job, to wash your wives with the water of the Word. Ephesians 5, to protect them by teaching them, to protect them by leading them and bringing the Word of God consistently to them. So should you be away, should you not be in earshot, should the devil come with a subverting question, an undermining question, an attack on God's truth, your wife can stand firm in the very truths that you have helped establish in her heart and her mind. There's no greater blessing to me than to hear my wife speaking a truth with passion that I taught her. There's no greater blessing to me than to hear my wife counseling my children with passion, correcting them with passion and love in a truth that I taught her. Because that's my job. That's God's commanded order. And in doing that, and in seeing that carried out, I'm seeing the reversal of the fall of mankind. But where I am unfaithful, where I will not teach, where I will not instruct, where I will not build up and protect, then I see the fall take effect in my house, in my wife, in my children, in my own life, just like in Adam's. So, she stands her ground initially. It would seem she adds just a little bit, even, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Verse 4, Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. So he starts with a half-truth, or a question of the truth, as God said. Then he goes to a full-on frontal assault. You will not surely die. And again, this is the path of liberalism in the church today. This is the path of the devil continually attacking the truths of God. First you question it, then you deny it. Then you deny it. Beware of questioning the truth of God. Because it quickly leads to a denial of God's truth. It quickly leads to, you will not surely die. And these thoughts, these little concepts that we play with and tease out in our minds and sometimes in church pulpits, they never long stay in the realm of thought. They move quickly to action. Action! And in this case, The action is absolutely devastating, not just for themselves, but for all of their posterity, which includes you and I. You will not surely die. God's word is denied. Verse 5, For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. And indeed, their eyes were opened, and in one sense, like God, knowing good and evil. But note there, you'll be like a God. We've already seeing how one of the errors in an understanding of mankind is that we would make ourselves like gods, not subject to our Creator, not a lowly creature, a created being, but make ourselves like God. The other end of the spectrum, we make ourselves like critters with no eternality, not created in the image of God. But here the devil tempts them with you, or tempts Eve with this, that you shall know good and evil and be like God. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, that it was desirable to make one wise, pride, she took of its fruit and ate. Eve was deceived by the devil because Adam did not protect her. Adam did not defend his bride, his Eve, his helper, comparable unto him. And she was deceived, she was sifted by the devil. She believed him. That this, that God is absolutely forbidden or you'll die, suddenly became appealing to the eye, to the flesh, and to the mind. And that's where you and I, and our wives, and our children will go as well, if we do not fight the good fight, reversing the fall of mankind. First, they'll question God's truth. Then, at some point, they'll outright deny God's truth. And then, they'll be directly living out a life and thinking that flows into that living in a way that is opposed to God's truth. And then she acts, thinking that this is good, this is a good idea. With faulty data, you finally find yourself with faulty action. So the tree in her eyes was good for food, it was pleasant to the eye, and desirable to make one wise. She took its fruit, she ate, she was deceived. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." Her husband with her. The scriptures strongly suggest here, if not plainly point out, that while the devil went around Adam to get to Eve, Adam was not off having dominion over the fish that day. He was not off having dominion over the fields that day. It would seem that he was right there and allowed this to take place. Men, protect your lives. Don't look the other way. Don't say, I'll deal with that another time. Protect your wives. Lead them in righteousness. Protect them from those that would subvert God's order by going around your headship, that would attack God's truth by saying, is that truth? That would outright, frontal assault, bring a frontal assault to God's truth, saying it's just not truth, and that would lead her down the merry way, like virtually every magazine there that certainly has their pitfalls for men, but those magazines have their pitfalls for women as well, with all sorts of messages. As they go out to bring home the food for their family, they're told that their role as a wife is worthless. They're told that the glory is in being a sex object. They're told that the glory is in being a careerist, and that what they are living for is demeaning and worthless. And so those messages are pervasive, they are constant, and we must protect them continually, unceasingly. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. His lack of leadership, his lack of definite leadership, led to him being led. He became a follower of his wife. She deceived, he knowing that it was wrong, but did it anyway. She also gave to her husband with her and he ate. Men, just because your kids want to do something, doesn't make it right. And when you know it's wrong, and you go along with it, and you allow it, it's not their fault, it's your fault. Men, your wife wanting to do something doesn't make it right, or good, or justify. Well, it doesn't seem wise, or upright, or holy, but we're going to go ahead and do that. Men, you need to be actively leading in righteousness, not passively following. And if it's your wife, men, that has to say, no, that's not righteous. We ought not do that. We ought not say that. We ought not watch that. We ought not be there. And men, I pray you'd feel the shame that you ought to and repent. Because you've left your wife out there blowing in the wind for the devil to sift. And instead of you being her protector, she's playing your protector. Instead of you protecting and providing righteously and spiritually for your wife and children, she's playing the man. And you're playing the little lady. How sad. Let us revive biblical manhood as God originally created it. Adam the provider, Adam the protector. We must be as Adam was before the fall. And when the devil comes with his lies, we defend our wives, we defend our children. She gave to her husband with her and he ate. God's order is subverted as Adam follows the sinful lead of Eve. And the mother of all living became the mother of all damned. And then don't miss this. If you will not lead your wives in righteousness indefinitely and certainly and decidedly, then she may be the mother of your damned children. So God is sovereign. God is sovereign. But God, in his sovereignty, used his fathers and mothers with a passion for holiness and a passion for the souls of their children to see those children saved, even as young Timothy was saved through the testimony of his grandmother and his mother. And so let us lead in righteousness. Eve, who had just been named the mother of all living, became the mother of the damned Cain. How terribly sad. And Adam allowed his authority and leadership to be subverted, allowed the devil to lead his wife into sin, and thus lead him into sin, and thus lead their children to destruction. It's heaven and hell at stake. It's eternity under the wrath of God or eternity under the fullness of God's love that is at stake. the biblical man reversing the fall of mankind. Verse 7, Then the eyes of the both of them were opened, they knew they were naked, they sewed fig leaves together, made themselves coverings, and they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves in the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And so we find them cowering in their sin. We find them previously naked and unashamed, now naked and very ashamed. That which was pure has been perverted. And they're cowering and hiding from the presence of God. Men, when we will not lead our families in righteousness, they need to cower from the holy presence of God. Lead them in righteousness, so they can come rejoicing in the presence of God. They can come gladly into the house of the Lord. They can come gladly into the presence of God's saints. that are clear because they've been washed, and lives that are pure because they have been sanctified by the Word. They hid themselves. In verse 9, then the Lord God called to Adam. Men, when it comes time to give an account for your family, for your children, God is going to call Adam, not the helper comparable unto Him. God is going to call you. He's going to call me. Not our wives. The weight rests upon us. And you young men, one day it will rest upon you. Prepare yourselves now for that day. Adam. The Lord God called to Adam. God's order is immutable. It's unchangeable. Our preferences, our foolishness does not change the order and the accountability that God has established. That message was part two of reversing the fall of mankind, and it was extremely counter-cultural, you probably noticed. Now, why is it counter-cultural? Because our culture has received the effects of the fall of mankind. We are ultimately the children of Adam and Eve, and their sin has become our sin, and we continue in so many ways to rehearse the fall of mankind. We continue to abrogate our authority as men to fail to lead in righteousness, in truth, and in love. And we fail to protect our wives and children from the lies of the devil that would sift our families, our children, and take them to destruction. Thank you for joining us on Sola Scriptura. May the Lord richly bless you as you walk in the light of his word. For more information you can reach the ministry by dialing 503-645-7471 or visit us online at beavertongracebible.org. Once again that's 503-645-7471 or online at beavertongracebible.org.