Now, will you notice, and when the woman
saw, notice that, that the tree was good
for food, that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree to be desired to
make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, did eat, and gave also unto her
husband with her, and he did eat.
Now, you notice the appeal that he made
here is quite an interesting appeal.
It was an appeal to the flesh, but
that's not all.
That's not really the thing that is really
important.
It's pleasant to the eyes, and a tree
to be desired to make one wise.
It was an appeal to the flesh, an
appeal, if you please, to the psychological part
of mind, is mind and a tree to
be desired to make one wise, and that
is an appeal to the religious side of
man.
And if you'll check this, and I'm not
taking time to deal with that today, you'll
find out that's exact temptation that Satan brought
to the Lord Jesus.
First of all, make these stones into bread.
It's a good deed.
And then he told him, I'll give him
the kingdoms of the world.
I tell you what an appeal that is,
and showed him the kingdoms of the world.
Pleasant to the eyes, appeal to the mind,
and then a tree to be desired to
make one wise.
Cast yourself down from the temple.
And do you know that today, I don't
think he's changed his tactics.
He uses the same tactics with you and
me, and I think the reason that he
still uses the same tactics is because it
works.
He doesn't need to change his tactics.
We all seem to fall for the same
line.
And John wrote, for all that's in the
world, the lust of the flesh, that's it.
Good to eat, the lust of the eyes,
good to look at, the pride of life.
Cast yourself down from the temple.
These things are not of the Father, but
of the world.
Now, this is an appeal that he makes.
Jesus said that these sins of the flesh,
though, come out of the heart of man,
way down deep.
And this is where he's making his appeal,
you see.
That's where he's going in after man in
a very definite way.
And it's this method, frankly, that he's using
here, in order that he might reach in
and that he might lead mankind astray.
Well, he did it.
You see, they were told they'd know good
and evil.
And what happened?
Well, we have the result of the fall
of man.
The eyes of them both were opened.
They knew that they were naked, and they
sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
Well, what do we have here?
Well, we have the eyes open.
That is their conscience.
You see, man before the fall did not
have a conscience.
He's innocent.
Innocence is ignorance of evil.
Man did not make conscience.
May I say that there is an accuser
that each one of you and I have,
lives on the inside of us.
The psychologist says today that we all have
a guilt complex.
A leading psychologist in a university here in
Southern California, who's a Christian, said to me
that the guilt complex is as much a
part of man as his right arm is,
and he can no more get rid of
that guilt complex in a psychological way than
you can get rid of the arm except
by amputating it.
And they knew they were naked.
These fig leaves concealed, but did not cover,
really.
And they did not confess.
They just attempted to cover up their sin.
The eyes of them both were open, and
they knew that they were naked.
They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves
aprons.