“Jesus,

 the  Kingdom,  &  Us:      

Living  Here  &  Now  as  God’s  Missionary  People”  
New  City  Church:    Northridge  ~  Fall  2009  
 
Session  #4:    Understanding  My  Story  in  Light  of  God’s  Story  
Part  3—The  Fall    
 
"The  very  word,  'sin,'  which  seems  to  have  disappeared,  was  once  a  proud  word.  It  was  once  a  
strong  word,  an  ominous  and  serious  word.  But  the  word  went  away.  It  has  almost  disappeared  -­  
the  word,  along  with  the  notion.  Why?  Doesn't  anyone  sin  anymore?  Doesn't  anyone  believe  in  sin?"  
Psychiatrist  Karl  Menninger  in  Whatever  Became  of  Sin?  
 
I. Quick  Review:    Creation  
A.    Key  thought:    “To  the  extent  that  we  
misunderstand  the  story  of  creation  we  
will  also  be  confused  about  the  Gospel”  
(M.  Wittmer,  Heaven  is  a  Place  on  Earth)      
 
B.  The  Goodness  of  Creation:  Genesis  1  
“…And  God  saw  everything  that  he  had  
made,  and  behold,  it  was  very  good.”  
 
• C.  Plantinga,  “…central  in  the  classic  
Christian  understanding  of  the  
world  is  a  concept  of  the  way  things  
are  supposed  to  be.    They  ought  to  be  
as  designed  and  intended  by  God....”  (Not  the  Way  It’s  Supposed  to  Be:    A  Breviary  of  Sin)    
 
• Plantinga,  “The  webbing  together  of  God,  humans,  and  all  creation  in  justice,  fulfillment,  
and  delight  is  what  the  Hebrew  prophets  call  shalom.    We  call  it  peace,  but  it  means  far  
more  than  mere  peace  of  mind  or  a  cease-­‐fire  between  enemies.    In  the  Bible,  shalom  
means  universal  flourishing,  wholeness,  and  delight—a  rich  state  of  affairs  in  which  
natural  needs  are  satisfied  and  natural  gifts  fruitfully  employed,  a  state  of  affairs  that  
inspires  joyful  wonder  as  it’s  Creator  and  Savior  opens  the  doors  and  welcomes  the  
creatures  in  whom  he  delights.    Shalom,  in  other  words,  is  the  way  things  ought  to  be.”  
 
II. The  Fall:      Genesis  3  
A. The  Tactics  of  the  Tempter  
1. Questioning  God’s  word:    “Did  God  really  say…?  
2. Challenging  God’s  authority,  “You  will  not  surely  die.”  
3. Slandering  God’s  character:    “God  knows…that  you  will  be  like  God.”  
 
B. The  Anatomy  of  Temptation,  cf.  1  John  2:16-­17  
1. The  Desires  of  the  Flesh:    “When  the  woman  saw  that  the  fruit  of  the  tree  was  good  for  
food…”  
2. The  Desires  of  the  Eyes:    “…and  pleasing  to  the  eye….”  
3. The  Pride  in  Possessions:    “…and  desirable  for  gaining  wisdom…”  
 
 C. The  Root  of  Rebellion  
• Autonomy  =  self-­‐law,  or  a  law  unto  one’s  self.    Doing  what  is  right  in  one’s  own  eyes.  
 
• M.  Wittmer,  “…She  is  now  considering  them  [i.e.,  the  claims  of  the  Serpent].    But  Eve  isn’t  
thinking  clearly,  for  she  has  become  autonomous,  believing  that  she  is  able  to  decide  for  
herself  what  is  right  and  wrong,  true  and  false.    Rather  than  obediently  submit  to  God’s  
word,  Eve  grants  equal  consideration  to  the  serpent’s  interpretation  of  the  tree.    She  
elevates  herself  as  the  judge  between  God  and  the  serpent,  choosing  to  rely  on  he  own  
mind  to  determine  who  is  telling  the  truth.    It  is  this  move  toward  autonomy  that  is  the  
nub  of  the  fall.    Once  Eve  sets  herself  up  as  judge  over  God  and  his  explanation  of  the  tree,  
eating  the  fruit  becomes  a  foregone  conclusion”  (Heaven  is  a  Place  on  Earth)  
 
• J.  Bridges,  “Sin,  in  the  final  analysis,  is  rebellion  against  the  sovereign  Creator,  Ruler,  and  
Judge  of  the  universe.    It  resists  the  rightful  prerogative  of  a  sovereign  Ruler  to  command  
obedience  from  His  subjects.    It  says  to  an  absolutely  holy  and  righteous  God  that  His  
moral  laws,  which  are  a  reflection  of  His  own  nature,  are  not  worthy  of  wholehearted  
obedience.    Sin  is  not  only  a  series  of  actions,  it  is  also  an  attitude  that  ignores  the  law  of  
God.    But  it  is  even  more  than  a  rebellious  attitude.    Sin  is  a  state  of  heart,  a  condition  of  
our  inmost  being.    It  is  a  state  of  corruption,  of  vileness,  yes,  even  of  filthiness  in  God’s  
sight  (Transforming  Grace)      
 
D. Finding  Ourselves  in  This  Story  of  the  Fall  
• The  lure  of  autonomy:    we  want  to  call  the  shots,  to  be  our  own  judge  
• The  suppression  of  what  we  know  to  be  true:    our  Creator  owns  us  &  defines  reality  
• The  ratification  of  Adam  &  Eve’s  decision:    we  endorse  their  rebellion  every  day  
 
III.    The  Fallout  of  the  Fall  
A. Sin  is  the  ‘vandalism  of  shalom.’  
• Plantinga,  “…shalom  is  God’s  design  for  
creation  and  redemption;  sin  is  blamable  
human  vandalism  of  these  great  realities  
and  therefore  an  affront  to  their  architect  
and  builder.”  
• Plantinga,  “God  hates  sin  not  just  because  
it  violates  his  law,  but…because  it  
violates  shalom,  because    it  breaks  the  
peace,  because  it  interferes  with  the  way  
things  are  supposed  to  be….God  is  for  
shalom  and  therefore  against  sin….In  short,  sin  is  culpable  shalom-­‐breaking.”      
 
B. The  Vandalism  of  Shalom  is  a  major  connection  point  with  everyone.  
• IOW,  everyone  knows  that  things  are  not  the  way  they  are  supposed  to  be.  
 
Key  Point:    As  God’s  missionary  people  here  &  now,  we  engage  a  world  in  which  things  are  not  
the  way  they  are  supposed  to  be,  one  that  is  fundamentally  broken  and  twisted  by  the  Fall.    
Moreover,  we  engage  this  world  as  broken  and  fallen  people  ourselves—not  simply  as  people  who  
have  been  harmed  by  it,  but  also  as  people  who  have  also  contributed  to  its  brokenness.    This  
should  produce  a  deep  humility  within  us  even  as  we  name  the  ways  in  which  this  world  is  broken  
while  pointing  people  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who  is  the  answer  to  this  world’s  sin.