Why the Tree?     A fascinating Answer to the age-    old Question

THE OPENING CHAPTERS OF GENESIS,      the first book of the Bible, claim to be a      detailed, day-by-day, description of how the world began.   Naturally, such a claim has not gone unchallenged. Genesis has received many attacks throughout the ages as each new generation of skeptics takes its turn scoffing at the creation account.    And yet, while the scoffers and nay-sayers have come and gone, the Bible still lives on, changing lives daily with its revealed truths.   It is still the number one bestseller of all times -- a testimony to its supernatural claim to being the everlasting Word of God. One often-asked question . . . Those who truly know God and His Word find no discrepancies in the creation account.   But there is one question that even born again Christians in love with God's Word have always pondered: Why did God put the tree in the garden? In other words, why would an all-knowing, all- wise, future-predicting God put a tree containing "forbidden fruit" in the midst of Eden, knowing perfectly well sooner or later man would be tempted to pick its fruit? Furthermore, why would the same all-loving God threaten man with dire consequences if and when he partook of a fruit that God put there in the first place?    To many throughout the years, this scenario has never made sense.   And yet, the most likely

answer to this question has such profound implications, that after hearing it, many may never view God the same again. We begin prior to the creation, when there was    only God and the angels.   We know    the angels were around prior to    man because, in the Book of Job,    we find God asking Job the    following:       "Where wast thou when I LAID    THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE    EARTH? declare, if thou hast    understanding.....   When the    morning stars sand together, and    all the sons of God shouted for    joy?" Job 38:4-7 "the sons of God" is an Old Testament term for angels, and we find them shouting for joy as God created our physical realm of three- dimensional space, with its one dimension of time.   No doubt, the angels were impressed.   You would have been too. The angels witnessed the all-powerful God creating everything out of nothing.   But apart from God's obvious power, how much more did the angels really know about Him?   What other aspects of God's character would be self-evident to them or any other casual observer? Man's hindsight can readily cite God's judgment, His righteousness, His love, His mercy, His grace, His longsuffering, His wrath, etc.   But how many of the attributes just mentioned would we or the angels know about, first hand . . . . . . if there were no sin?

Even born again
Christians in
love with God's
Word have
had this one
question come
across
their mind.

NO ONE IS INSINUATING that God       purposely introduced sin into the       Universe.   Such a claim would be a gross violation of Scripture. It was man's yield to Satan's temptation that started the whole sinful mess.   Perhaps, if man had never partaken of the fruit, we would all be living in Eden to this day.   God would never have tempted man to sin.   The Bible clearly states:    "LET NO MAN SAY when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, NEITHER TEMPTETH HE ANY MAN: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away OF HIS OWN LUST, and enticed."   James 1:13-14 And yet, ironically, to fully know God's character and His moral attributes, sin must be present.   Considering God's desire to reveal Himself, one can almost say that sooner or later, man's fall into sin was inevitable.   The tree's presence served a purpose, after all. No tree--no fall.   No fall--no judgment.   No fall--no wrath.   No fall--no need of mercy.   No fall--no need for grace.   No fall--no example of God's love. Without that tree, there would be no justifiable opportunities for God to openly demonstrate any of the aforementioned attributes.   Yes, God could describe them to both men and angel, but what would a verbal description mean to any of us? A mere warning rarely carries the same weight as an open demonstration; Adam and Eve were warned about God's judgment, but they sinned, nevertheless.

No tree--no love . . . It is in man's subsequent salvation that the tree's presence revealed the greatest attribute of God: His love.   The Bible says: "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for GOD IS LOVE."   1 John 4:8 At the risk of sounding blasphemous, perhaps our love for God would not be possible without sin's presence.   Ask yourself: did Adam and Eve love God prior to the fall?   We sometimes assume they did, and yet they blatantly sinned against their Creator. Granted, many who have loved God throughout the ages have also sinned against Him.   But remember, these people all had a sin nature, whereas, prior to the fall, Adam and Eve did not; They were sinless.   So why did Adam and Eve sin?   Was it strictly the result of temptation? In Matthew Chapter 4, Jesus Christ was also tempted.   He, too, was sinless.   He, too, was tempted while alone (like Eve was).   He was tempted by the same devil, and with the same threefold temptation: "The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life."   1 John 2:16 So, all things considered equal, why did Eve sin, when Christ did not?   Was it because Jesus loved God?   Yes, His response to Satan clearly demonstrates it.   During His temptation, Jesus told the devil: "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and HIM ONLY SHALT THOU SERVE."   Mat. 4:10 Go back and read Eve's temptation account and you'll find her blatantly violating the very

commandment you just read.   Adam and Eve had no reason to love God.   They didn't know much about Him.   And as we read earlier, "He that loveth not KNOWETH NOT GOD; for God is love" (1 John 4:8).   Our love for God comes from knowing Him, particularly from knowing about HIS LOVE toward us: "We love him, BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US."   1 John 4:19 The Lord, Himself, taught this profound truth when referring to the harlot's love toward Him: "Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to WHOM LITTLE IS FORGIVEN, THE SAME LOVETH LITTLE."   Luke 7:47 No tree--no forgiveness We love God because He first loved us.   His love extends a hand of forgiveness to any sinner willing to repent and trust Him as his/her ONLY Lord and Saviour. However, forgiveness has its price, a price we would never know about without the tree's presence.   The Lord Jesus Christ stated the price of forgiveness when He defined the greatest expression of love.    The Lord said: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR his friends."   John 15:13 No tree--no death, the              greatest example of love My friend, if God was going to demonstrate the fact that He IS love, wouldn't He carry out the greatest expression of love, as defined by Himself?   This is exactly what He did:    "BUT GOD COMMENDETH [PROVED] HIS LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, CHRIST DIED FOR US."   Rom. 5:8

"For God so loved the world, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."   John 3:16 No tree--no knowledge of God The "bottom line" for our existence is to know God.   Our creation and subsequent reason for living is to know and love our Creator.    God tells us what our ultimate goal in life is: "But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD."   Jer. 9:24 As stated above, we are to understand and know God.   And part of that knowledge involves knowing that God exercises "lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth[.]"   None of these three attributes could be truly known-- experienced first hand--were it not for the tree's presence. My friend, no one has tried to glorify sin, or imply that it is essential to our existence.   No one is even suggesting sin is a necessary evil.   Sin is wicked, an affront to a thrice holy God.   It is to be avoided at all cost.   Sin cost God His only begotten Son. However, when we try to figure out why God allows certain things, such as the presence of a tree, it is important to keep in mind that often the goal behind God's actions is His self- revelation toward His creation.    Perhaps the tree served that very purpose, once man utilized it through his rebellion.

IF you were to die today, are you 100% SURE you would go to Heaven?   The Bible says YOU CAN BE SURE (1 John 5:13). BUT FIRST, you must realize that what keeps you from going to Heaven are your sins, because: "...your iniquities [sins] have separated between you and your God," Isaiah 59:2. In fact, in God's eyes YOU ARE A SINNER: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3:23. SECONDLY, you must realize that there is NOTHING you can do to save yourself and earn Heaven: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."   (Eph. 2:8-9)   Baptism, good deeds, church membership, self-righteousness are all examples of good works that cannot save you, because, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he [Christ] saved us," Titus 3:5. THE ONLY WAY you can get saved is through Jesus Christ.   He said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."   (John 14:6)   THAT'S WHY: "...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."   Romans 5:8-9 THEREFORE: You must REPENT (change your mind); admit that you are a Hell deserving sinner and can't save yourself.   And call upon Christ, and Him alone, to save you.   "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus [REPENT], and shalt believe in thine heart [TRUST] that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."   Romans 10:9 SEND THE LIGHT P.O. Box 815   Fargo, ND 58107

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