What Was The First Sin?

"For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'” Romans 4:3 Throughout the Scriptures the point is stressed that we will be judged according to how we handle the Word of God. What was the first sin? Most would say, "Eating the fruit from the forbidden tree." But no, eating the forbidden fruit was not the first sin. Believing the lie was the first sin. God had told Adam and Eve that of all the trees they may eat, EXCEPT a certain one. He warned that if they ate from that tree they would die. Satan came along and said to Eve, "Did God really say...? No, you will NOT surely die." He was calling God a liar (Genesis 3:1-4). He tempted them with pleasure which led to their believing him. If it feels good, it must be good – right? "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate." Genesis 3:6 This was the first sin, and it is this same method that Satan uses to everyone everywhere: "Did God really say....? No, that isn't true." On the other hand, along comes Abraham. God told Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. But ...Abraham was very old, and so was his wife Sarah, and furthermore Sarah had been barren all of her life. But they chose to believe God against all of the evidence to the contrary. "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And so it was. From the very beginning, mankind is judged by their response to the Word of God which he gave to us in the Bible. Many times and in many places in the Scriptures there are things written which are hard to understand and seem impossible. That, brothers and sisters, is the test. Will we choose to believe the Word of almighty God only insofar as it makes sense to us? Satan will forever tell you that this passage or that passage is not true. He will tell you to take all that appears good to you. Whatever is pleasant to the eyes, desirable, and whatever appears good - go for it, and that the rest "isn't really true." It is absolutely essential that we NOT believe Satan when he casts aspersions against the Word of God. Here's a poignant example of this: "Then Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." John 6:53 Can you imagine being there and hearing that? How shocking! How stunning! It makes no sense to the carnal mind. And as expected ...MANY left him because of that saying: vs 66: "From that time many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more." Notice here - and this is vitally important: Jesus didn't run after them saying, "wait, don't leave, let me explain it further." No. HE LET THEM GO. This is one of the most hard-hitting and tragic passages in the Scriptures. HE LET THEM GO. Then ...he offered even his twelve apostles the opportunity to leave him at this point if they wished: vs 67: "Then Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you also want to go away?'” Then Peter made the ageless statement: vs 68-69: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” The twelve had heard the same incomprehensible statement that Jesus made, for which so many left him. It was no clearer to the twelve than it was to the others. The difference though, was the choice they made. The Word of God is not something we look through and decide to keep what meets our standards or our approval. Almighty God reserves the rights to his Word whether or not it meets our standards. Our fate is determined by what we do with it. How have you reacted when you've seen something in God's Word that you did not understand? Will you reject it? Or -- big question -- will you believe in the INTEGRITY of God?