October 3, 2011

Root Not the Fruit

Reading: Genesis 3:6, 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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (NASB)

Have you ever wondered from this passage why God did not proclaim a command throughout all time to not eat fruit? That is what Adam and Eve did wrong. They ate fruit. Of course, we know that the real wrong that they committed was not eating fruit, but, rather, disobeying God. Often, we tend to not see our own sin so clearly. We focus on the “fruit” instead of addressing the root issue. I John 2:16 states, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” NASB. The root of all sin is based in these three elements. Notice Genesis 3:6 above, “saw [it] was good for food”, lust of the flesh; “delight to the eyes”, lust of the eyes, and; “desirable to make one wise”, pride of life. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, 1) turn stones to bread after fasting, lust of the flesh; 2) look over the kingdoms of the world and their glory, lust of the eyes, and; 3) fall from pinnacle for angels to save Him, pride of life. Hence, as is stated in Hebrews, Jesus was tempted in every point as we are. To truly acknowledge our sin, we have to stop looking at the “fruit” of our sin, alcohol, pornography, greed, anger, etc., and begin focusing on the roots so we can uproot them. If you struggle in an area of the lust of the flesh, it may take on a difference face as a different fruit, until you deal with destroying the actual root of the lust of the flesh. Let’s tear our sin up by the roots.

Next to each root, write sins with which you struggle:

Lust of the flesh:

Lust of the Eyes:

Pride of Life:

How can you tear each of these sins up by the root and destroy the 3 roots of sin in your life?
End of the Day Review

How were you able to uproot your sin today?


How did this impact the outlook that you have of your sin and how did this impact your day?