How Is Your Guilty Soul Clothed? (Covenant of Grace part 1)

Well, together we've preached through the Gospel of John up until John chapter 18,

John 18 · chapter mention

and we've also preached through Ruth and Jonah, and a few other parts in Psalms 1 through 8.

So that's our normal method, but we've taken a special pause now this semester to do a series called Covenant Theology.

A covenant, I'll try to give a definition real quickly.

So covenant, it's been described as being more committed and in higher stakes, more binding than a normal relationship,

but it's also more warm and more personal than a mere contract.

That's what a covenant is, and the covenant is the way that God has given us to understand who He is.

How can a holy God have a covenant with people like us?

That's what we're trying to understand from God's Word.

We've seen this sermon text before, Genesis chapter 3, but we saw it with the lens of the covenant of works.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

We saw the curses that Adam's sin brought on all of humanity.

Now we're going to see that same chapter, but now with the lens of the covenant of grace.

How is it that sinners under Adam's curse can receive grace?

So I'm going to read all of Genesis chapter 3, even the verse before and the verse after,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

but we'll really focus on verse 15.

So this is Genesis chapter 2, verse 25.

Genesis 2:25

After God created the whole world, He said,

It's very good.

The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

That sounds like an odd verse to start with,

but pay attention because that's the theme of our sermon today.

So now starting in chapter 3,

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

And He said to the woman,

Did God actually say to you,

You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?

And the woman said to the serpent,

We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

but God said,

You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden,

neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

But the serpent said to the woman,

You will not surely die,

for God knows that when you eat of it,

your eyes will be opened,

and you will be like God,

knowing good and evil.

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,

and that it was a delight to the eyes,

and that the tree was to be desired,

to make one wise,

she took the fruit and ate it.

And she also gave some to her husband,

who was with her,

and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both were opened,

and they knew that they were naked.

See why it's important?

And they sewed fig leaves together,

and made themselves loincloths.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God

walking in the cool of the day.

And the man and his wife hid themselves

from the presence of the Lord God

among the trees of the garden.

But the Lord God called to the man

and said to him,

Where are you?

And he said,

I heard the sound of you in the garden,

and I was afraid,

because I was naked,

and I hid myself.

He said,

Who told you you were naked?

Have you eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you not to eat?

The man said,

The woman you gave to be with me,

she gave me the fruit of the tree,

and I ate.

Then the Lord God said to the woman,

What is this that you have done?

The woman said,

The serpent deceived me,

and I ate.

And the Lord said to the serpent,

Because you have done this,

cursed are you above all livestock,

and above all beasts of the field.

On your belly you shall go,

and the dust you shall eat

all the days of your life.

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring.

And he shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.

And to the woman he said,

I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing.

In pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,

but he shall rule over you.

And to Adam he said,

Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,

and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,

you shall not eat of it.

Cursed is the ground because of you.

In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,

till you return to the ground.

For out of it you were taken,

for you are dust,

and to dust you shall return.

The man called his wife's name Eve,

because she was the mother of all living.

And the Lord God made Adam,

made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin,

and clothed them.

Then the Lord God said,

Behold, the man has become like one of us,

knowing good and evil.

Now lest he reach out his hand,

and take also of the tree of life,

and eat, and live forever.

Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden,

to work the ground from which he was taken.

He drove out the man,

and at the east of the garden of Eden,

he placed the cherubim,

and a flaming sword that turned every way

to guard the way to the tree of life.

Chapter 4, verse 1.

And Adam knew his wife,

and she conceived and bore Cain,

saying,

I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God indeed.

You may be seated.

The Bible says that the grass withers,

and the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord endures forever.

Let's pray.

Father, we are here together,

under your word,

under the word of God, creator,

who spoke, and it came to be.

From your mouth came all of creation.

We praise you, Lord,

that your word goes forth still today.

We ask that by the power of your Holy Spirit,

will your word go forth,

and will you cause with power

to create anything, Lord,

that you desire in our hearts today.

Lord, may we receive the truth

that you've given us.

I pray, Lord,

that each one here, Lord,

will hear from you

what you need them to hear this morning.

I pray that you will give me clarity.

I pray that you will guard my lips,

help me to not speak anything untrue,

and even in my limitations, Lord,

I pray that your Holy Spirit

will work in my weakness,

and that Jesus Christ will be glorified

through this sermon text today, we pray.

Amen.

Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the question I want to put before you today is this.

How is your guilty soul clothed?

You and I are body and soul,

and under the curses of Adam,

our souls are guilty before the Holy God.

How is your guilty soul clothed?

I was going to say that the human species

is the only one to wear clothes,

and that used to be true.

I remember my dad's a farmer,

and I remember the first time

we were at a mall in a big city,

and this lady was walking a large poodle.

It had like a pink vest with a turtleneck,

and as it got closer,

we noticed it also had pink polish on the nails.

Maybe some of you do that to your animals.

My dad's comment,

the farmer was just something like,

poor dog.

In the USA,

$380 billion are spent every single day

in covering our bodies.

Clothing and makeup,

$380 billion industry just in America.

Around the world,

that number is $3 trillion

spent every year on covering our bodies.

We need to understand

what is it that is going to cover our soul?

And this is not a sermon against fashion.

One of the Proverbs,

I think it's Proverbs 21,

it says,

you know,

the drunkard and the sluggard

leads to wearing rags.

You know,

so it doesn't mean that we should hate,

you know,

looking nice or anything like that.

But it simply means that

if our outward efforts

are to cover up our bodies,

and maybe even it has nothing to do

with clothing or style,

maybe it has more to do with good works

or achievements,

and it's not a curse.

If we don't have to do it,

if we don't have to do it,

we don't have to do it,

we don't have to do it,

then that's wired into us

from the curse.

And the bigger question is not

how can you make yourself

look good on the outside?

The real question is

what clothes your guilty soul

before the holy God?

Naturally, when we're born,

our souls are like a neglected orphan

under the abusive tyranny

of Satan himself.

That's the world a soul

is brought into.

We see from Scripture

that you and I,

we were born spiritually naked,

humiliated,

and exposed to the deadly elements

of this present evil age,

to use the language of Galatians 1.4.

That's why our guilty souls

need to be covered.

So I've done my best

with this chapter

to pull some truths

that I want to put before you

and you decide

if you think this is true as well.

Number one,

as guilty sinners,

we work to cover ourselves

because we know

our sin deserves death.

Look at verses 3 and 7.

Let's start with verse 3.

See, God made Adam good,

but Adam was not immutably good.

Adam could fall.

And in the covenant of works,

God held out to Adam life.

But under that covenant of works,

which said,

do this and live,

Adam sinned.

And now all of us

are under that same principle.

We have to work, work, work, work, work, work,

thinking we can save ourselves.

That's what we hear

in Galatians 3.12.

The one who does these works

shall live by them.

Are our works good enough?

Look at Genesis 3.3.

God said,

you shall not eat

or touch the fruit of the tree

in the middle of the garden

lest you die

from the lips of Eve.

She was adding on

to the law of God.

God said,

do not eat of that tree of life.

That's something God would withhold

and give for obedience.

She says,

we can't even touch it.

She knew the principle,

disobey death.

So Adam was there

ruling over the garden temple

that God made

and it was a period of probation for him.

He could have had the tree of life offered,

but instead he chose,

by his free will before the fall,

he chose to sin

and by sinning

to bring death

and condemnation

on himself

and all who would follow after him.

And that includes you and me.

Look at the effect

of Adam's sin

in verse 7.

Genesis 3.7.

The eyes of both

Adam and Eve

were opened

and they knew

that they were naked.

Their guilty conscience

was pricked.

You sinned.

God gave you a law

and you trespassed

the boundary.

And notice

what is their reaction.

What do they have to do now?

They sowed fig leaves.

They got to work

with their own hands

to try to cover themselves.

Second London Confession of Faith

chapter 7

verse paragraph 2

says that man

brought himself

under the curse of the law

by Adam's fall.

And the response

of everyone

under Adam

is that we must

now work

to cover

ourselves

before God.

In the covenant

of works

see Adam

stood before God

the creator

and there was

no mediator

between God and man.

And when he fell

he put himself

into a position

of utter

hopelessness.

He knew

how badly

he had broken

that bond

between him

and God.

God

have you had

that feeling?

I have.

I have sinned.

In an earthly sense

I deserve to be

put away on an island

all alone

and flogged

for the rest of my life.

I've sinned against God

not to mention

the harm I've done

to my loved ones

and others.

George Swinnock

a Puritan

wrote that

innocence at first

was man's

splendid robe.

How lovely

did he look

in that heaven

spun attire.

Oh just to see

the garden of Eden

with Adam and Eve.

God's perfect design

for God himself

to declare

this is very good.

Swinnock wrote

but sin

caused

shame

and shame

called

for clothes

to cover it.

You and I

when we sin

when we feel

shame

for our sin

we want to

cover our souls

we want to

clothe ourselves

somehow.

We read

in Isaiah 64 6

that all

our righteous deeds

are like

a polluted

garment.

No matter

what we try

to put on

to cover

our guilty soul

it looks like

rags

because it's

tainted by

our own sin.

Since Adam

broke the covenant

of works

all mankind

is now

utterly exposed

as being

spiritually sick

dying

isolated.

And it doesn't

just stay

in Eden

in the book

of Genesis

this is

all mankind

in Ecclesiastes

7 20

we read

for there is not

a single

just

or righteous

man

upon the whole

earth

who does

good.

and does

not

sin.

How is

your guilty

soul

clothed?

If you are

not in the

covenant of

grace

through the

work of

Jesus

as your

mediator

then you are

still under

the curses

of this

broken covenant

between God

and Adam

and your

instinct and

mine will

always be

I have to

work to

cover up

my guilt

and shame.

as guilty

sinners

we work

to cover

ourselves

because

we know

our sin

deserves

death.

The second

truth I want

to put in

front of you

is this

the fall

of Adam

it was

devastating

it bound

the will

of each

person

under

Satan

to be

naturally

incapable

of repenting

the fall

of Adam

bound

the will

of each

person

under

Satan

to be

naturally

incapable

of

repenting

let's

read verses

8-13

after they

sinned

Adam and

Eve heard

the sound

of the

Lord

walking

in the

garden

in the

cool of

the day

and the

Lord God

called to

the man

and said

where are

you

and he

said

I heard

the sound

of you

in the

garden

and I

was

afraid

because I

was naked

and I

hid

myself

he said

who told

you that

you were

naked

have you

eaten

of the

tree

which I

commanded

you

not

to

eat

can you

imagine

that

terrifying

feeling

as a

child

we've

all played

hide and

seek

and you

find a

good

spot

and you're

hiding

and at

night

kids

often will

feel a

little bit

scared

they're

thinking

something

bad

could

happen

and it's

that

combination

they're

hiding

and they're

afraid

and I

get afraid

when I

hear something

walking up

the steps

it's a

mere human

and I

don't know

what it

is

they hear

the sound

of God

entering

his temple

presence

this is a

penetrating

exposing

presence of

God

the holy

God

who fills

his temple

and pushes

everything

out of

its way

and that's

how Adam

fell from

being good

to being

an effaced

image bearer

of God

he not only

failed to

merit heaven

by his

obedience

but he has

also now

demerited

communion

and fellowship

with God

for himself

and for

all mankind

and the

foil is

set

Adam

in darkness

hiding

in fear

he's a

disgraced

prophet

priest

and king

Adam

the king

let the

enemy

infiltrate

the dominion

God had

put him

to steward

as ruler

Adam

the priest

failed to

worship God

and instead

robbed fruit

from God's

garden temple

for his

stomach

and Adam

the prophet

let Satan's

lies rule

over himself

and his

wife

instead of

the authority

of God's

word

now look at

verse 12

the man

said

as God

comes to

judge

I want you

to see how

he's incapable

of repenting

the man

says

it was the

woman

that you

gave to

be with

me

she gave

me fruit

from the

tree

and I

ate it

there's no

repentance

naturally

in fallen

man

let's see

if Eve

is any

better

look at

verse 13

then the

Lord God

turned to

the woman

and said

what is

this that

you have

done

well at

least Eve

can now

blame

Adam

who did

she learn

this

blame

shifting

from

she says

it was

the serpent

who deceived

me

and I

ate

neither

Adam

nor Eve

by nature

under the

curses

of the

fall

repent

you and

I are

no better

either

under the

curses

of sin

and death

in the

words of

Micah

3

2

we hate

the good

and we

love

the evil

that's the

bit of

our heart

see how

if we are

left in this

natural state

under the

fall

there is

no way

back

there is

no hope

Fred Malone

even pointed

out further

God

was not

morally

obligated

to give

Adam

or his

descendants

another

covenant

this is

what we

deserve

this state

fallen

broken

unrepentant

and incapable

of turning

back to

God

is that

how your

soul is

still

clothed

today

the fall

of Adam

it bound

the will

of each

person

under

Satan

to be

naturally

incapable

of repenting

well here's

the good

news

the third

point is

this

that God

promised

way back

in the

garden

to Adam

and Eve

God

promised

to change

the hearts

of his

people

not by

their work

but by

God's

sovereign

grace

God

promised

to change

the hearts

of his

people

not by

their work

but by

God's

sovereign

grace

I want to

make sure

we don't

take this

for granted

still

see by

nature

you and

I

in the

words of

Psalm

52

3

we love

evil

more than

good

and we

love

lying

more than

speaking

what is

true

but we

see the

good news

in

Genesis

Genesis 3:15

chapter 3

verse 15

that's how

we are

but God

gives this

promise

in Genesis

3

15

he says

I

will put

I

will put

enmity

between you

and the

woman

God

will make

the seed

of Eve

hate

the serpent

God

will make

sin

loving

sinners

hate

their sin

this is

something

no sinner

can naturally

work into

their own

heart

this is

an early

kernel

version

of

regeneration

and it

happens by

the power

of the

word of

God

it's

word

act

God

said

let there

be

light

and there

was

light

God

said

and it

happened

God

said

I

will put

enmity

in your

heart

against

sin

and

Satan

and it

happened

we sang

this hymn

long

my

imprisoned

spirit

lay

fast

bound

in sin

and

nature's

night

that's

how we

should

be

but

God's

eye

diffused

a

quickening

ray

I

woke

the

dungeon

flamed

with

light

my

chains

fell

off

my

heart

was

free

I

rose

went

forth

and

followed

thee

this

is a

promise

of

justification

second

london

chapter

11

paragraph

6

says

that

justification

of

believers

under

the

old

testament

this

includes

adam

and

eve

it

was

in

all

respects

one

and

the

same

as

the

justification

of

believers

under

the

new

testament

how

can

that

be

Christ

hadn't

even

entered

history

see

God

applied

Christ

future

work

to

regenerate

all

those

elect

ordained

to

eternal

life

before

the

foundation

of

the

world

it

was

God

all

along

who

was

making

every

believer

in

every

generation

willing

and

ready

and

able

to

believe

in

God

through

the

mediated

work

of

God

our

confession

again

says

although

the

price

of

redemption

was

not

actually

paid

by

Christ

until

after

his

incarnation

yet

the

benefits

of

union

to

Christ

by

faith

were

communicated

to

the

elect

in

all

ages

from

the

beginning

of

the

world

we

know

this

from

passages

like

Romans

4

22

it's

God

counting

faith

receiving

the

promise

he

gave

by

faith

counting

that

as

righteousness

if

you

receive

Christ

by

faith

it

is

because

God

gave

unto

all

those

he

ordained

unto

eternal

life

his

Holy

Spirit

so

it

was

the

Holy

Spirit

in

a

different

way

it's

not

it's

not

the

church

it

was

the

Holy

Spirit

working

differently

to

cause

them

to

believe

and

to

trust

this

promise

and

the

glorious

promise

to

Adam

and

Eve

and

to

everyone

they

passed

it

on

to

is

that

God

will

change

the

hearts

of

his

people

not

by

their

work

but

by

his

sovereign

grace

has

God

changed

your

heart

in

that

way

you

know

that

naturally

you

would

not

love

God

you

would

hate

God

you

know

naturally

you

would

spend

your

Sunday

morning

any

other

way

why

are

you

here

it's

because

God

promised

to

put

enmity

in

your

heart

against

sin

and

Satan

to

speak

life

and

breathe

life

into

you

regenerate

you

and

give

you

the

gift

of

faith

in

Jesus

Christ

the

mediator

between

you

and

the

holy

God

your

creator

so

you

don't

get

any

credit

for

it

all

glory

goes

to

God

here's

the

fourth

truth

I

want

to

put

in

front

of

you

by

this

same

sovereign

grace

God

he

claims

a

people

in

every

generation

as

his

army

against

Satan

doesn't

this

remind you

of the

covenant

of

redemption

we

saw

this

in

psalm

110

his

troops

shall

be

willing

we

saw

this

in

Isaiah

53

and

notice

how

this

same

promise

in

the

covenant

of

redemption

is

given

words

in

Genesis

3

15

I

will

put

enmity

between

your

seed

your

offspring

and

her

seed

how

does

this

play

out

in

redemptive

history

well

let's

take

let's

take

this

exact

line

these

next

chapters

that

follow

in

the

book

of

Genesis

and

if

we're

reading

them

with

this

promise

in

mind

here's

how

it

plays

out

how

does

God

with

his

sovereign

grace

claim

a

people

in

every

generation

as

his

army

against

Satan

Cain

Cain

is Adam

and Eve's

son

he's a

child

of

Satan

he will

kill

Abel

who is

also

the

seed

of

Eve

but

he

will

not

kill

the

promise

God

will

give

Seth

to

preserve

the

promised

seed

a

bit

later

in

redemptive

history

it's

Pharaoh

that

great

reptile

of

the

Nile

who

tries

to

kill

the

male

seed

of

Abraham's

line

but

God

preserves

his

people

he

preserves

an

army

these

slaves

he

raises

up

out

of

Egypt

and

takes

them

to

teach

them

you

belong

to

me

later

on

under

Elijah

the

prophet

it

was

wicked

queen

Jezebel

in

first

kings

18

4

she

was

a

pawn

on

satan's

chess

board

and

she

tries

to

kill

off

all

of

God's

prophets

but

God

preserves

a

remnant

remember

the story

of

Esther

wicked

Haman

he

orders

to

wipe

out

all

the

seed

of

Abraham

through

whom

deliverance

would

come

the gospel

would be

over

God

would

have

no

seed

to carry

out

this

promise

to

Adam

and

Eve

but

God

uses

the

providence

he

places

Esther

in

the

courts

of

the

king

and

he

preserves

his

people

in

the

gospels

we

read

of

wicked

evil

king

Herod

who

killed

the

baby

boys

in

Bethlehem

trying

to

wipe

out

any

male

seed

who

would

become

the

king

and

threaten

his

throne

but

God

preserved

his

seed

God

will

win

the

war

our

confession

states

that

God

communicated

faith

to

every

generation

in

and

by

the

promises

like

this

one

and

also

the

types

and

that's

the

shadows

that

are

pointing

to

a

greater

substance

and

even

by

the

sacrificial

system

he's

showing

them

look

forward

I

will

fulfill

my

promise

God

preserves

and

saves

for

himself

in

every

single

generation

an

army

that

will

go

to

war

against

Satan

the

fifth

truth

I

want

to

put

in

front

of

you

is

that

God

saves

his

people

from

the

curses

of

sin

and

death

by

the

costly

victory

of

his

promised

seed

capital

promised

capital

seed

it's

a

person

God

saves

his

people

how

does

he

do

it

by

the

costly

victory

of

his

promised

seed

the

last

part

of

Genesis

3

15

says

that

he

the

promised

seed

shall

bruise

your

head

Satan

and

you

shall

bruise

his

heel

the

bruising

of

the

heel

speaks

to

the

cost

the

suffering

of

Jesus

but

the

bruising

of

the

serpent's

head

speaks

to

the

victory

of

Jesus

Christ

through

his

suffering

see

dear

friends

the

Bible

teaches

us

that

your

faith

in

that

work

of

the

promised

seed

that's

the

only

hope

you

and

I

have

for

our

guilty

souls

to

be

clothed

the

promised

seed

of

woman

would

go

to

battle