“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21).
TEXT — Genesis 3:13-24
Message
In his book, Experiencing God’s Forgiveness, famed Evangelist Luis Palau told the story of a mother who approached Napoleon seeking pardon for her son. The Emperor replied that the young man had committed a particular offence twice and justice demanded death. ”But I don’t ask for justice,” the mother exclaimed. “I plead for mercy.” ”But your son does not deserve mercy,” Napoleon replied. ”Sir,” the woman cried, “it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.” ”Well, then,” the Emperor said, “I will have mercy.” And he spared the woman’s son.
Considering the gravity of the sin of Adam and Eve in the text, they deserved to be judged. God had expressly commanded them not to eat the fruit of the tree at the centre of the Garden of Eden. But Satan deceived Eve and she fell under his subtle serpentine spell and even persuaded her husband to join in the forbidden feast. However, God responded with mercy. Yes, He sent them out of the garden so that they would not access the tree of life and the last state worsens. However, God clothed them in their inglorious state of nakedness. That was unexpected, but that is our God – merciful, gracious and long-suffering.
God did not clear Adam and Eve of their iniquity, but He showed them mercy through the redemptive work of the promised Seed, Jesus Christ. This mercy is still available to everyone who will come to Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the world and surrender to be saved.
This mercy has no bounds. It is for everyone – all categories of sinners. It is available even for the worst of sinners that the world will not offer hope of mercy. The only condition is to receive it willingly through genuine repentance.
Thought for the day
Rejecting God’s offer of mercy confirms a sinner’s hopeless doom.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
