February 1

Read: Genesis 3:6-13

I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid (Genesis 3:10).

Evidences Of Carnality

Sin always raises barriers between our souls and God. In the place of joyous fellowship in the presence of God, our first parents were now afraid of the Creator’s voice. They sought to hide from Him. The carnal mind. which is the enemy of God, always makes us afraid of Him. We are afraid of God because we know that inside of us there is a spirit of opposition to Him.

Instead of accepting personal responsibility for their wrong choices, an evil disposition in our first parents sought to place the blame on others. Adam blamed Eve; “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” When God turned to Eve and asked, “What is this that thou hast done?” she too passed the blame along: “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”

The first man and woman had once been happily obedient, accepting God’s suggestion as the rule of life. They now had an evil spirit of resistance and had to be driven by force to, obey, Formerly a mere knowledge of God’s will had been enough for obedience, Now only the threat of a flaming sword was sufficient to prevent forthright rebellion.

The inward disposition of man had changed, Sin, entering through the door of choice, deranged the whole of man’s nature. His original holiness was lost. Some quality of spirit that attracted him to God had died. The image of God in which we were ,created was broken and our moral likeness to the Creator was marred. Man had fallen.

Questions For Today

Am I afraid of God? Am I unwilling to accept responsibility for my conduct? Do I have a spirit of rebellion against God’s will? Are these attitudes fruits of the Holy Spirit or of a carnal spirit?