Everybody's Not Playing

I remember years ago, shortly after I first got saved, I attended a church service where we were singing praise and worship.  I lifted my hands and head, closed my eyes, and tried to look spiritual. Why? Because I wanted to look like everyone else...or at least what everyone else looked like to me.

I remained that way for a while after the song ended, and when I finally opened my eyes, one of the sisters in the church was looking at me quizzically.  She asked, "Where were you?"

"I don't know." I responded in an aggravated tone, "Where were you?"  I have to admit that I didn't appreciate her calling me out like that.  Why would she ask me that when I was doing exactly what everyone else was doing?  Wasn't this what we were all supposed to do anyway? Was I just not doing it right? That is when I realized, "Not everybody is playing."

See, I thought you got saved in order to become religious.  You came to Jesus, acknowledged that sin is wrong (which is not the same as repentance by the way), joined a church, and tried to live as a good person.  Nobody was really changed.  Nobody could really know the Lord, let alone hear Him speak directly to them.  Nobody could really overcome sin.  God knows we are flawed human beings and all that He expects is that we try our best to do what is right.  Aren't we all just trying our best to do right?

And Adam Was NOT Deceived

"And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." I Timothy 2:14

Have you ever wondered about this verse?  I have. When I first read it, I am sure my physical expression looked dumbfounded.  What in the world did it mean?

Didn't both Adam & Eve disobey God?  Yes.

Didn't they both eat of the forbidden fruit? Yes.

Didn't they both fall into sin?  Yes.

Then what distinction was God making here?

deceived: Greek word apataō meaning cheated, beguiled, deceived

Satan subtly tricked Eve into believing that his words were true.

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty..." Corinthians 11:3a

Yet Adam, who was with her, was not deceived (Genesis 3:6).  He knew that Satan was perverting God's words and knew that Satan's words were lies.

So that begs the question, why didn't Adam correct & stop Eve?  Why also did he partake of the forbidden fruit?  Knowing fully that such would bring death, why would Adam choose to follow Eve's error?  The answer is clear in God's judgement.