We are guilty.  And unfortunately we are often guilty more than once before we are willing to admit our actions.  When we stop and consider our crime we knew it was wrong before we did it.  Sometimes we tell ourselves it just felt good to do it.  This good feeling does not come from God.  The good feeling from sinning comes from the adversary who cheers us on to what suits his purpose.  But the good feeling does not last for long.    We can rationalize our actions, it met our needs or it corrected the situation but deep within us we know it was wrong.  We have sinned.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

We are to confess to God but confessing to God goes so much farther than telling God I did it.  A person could be found in the room of a crime and as they have the weapon or stolen possession in their hand they could confess.  Or perhaps they confess after they have been put under a glaring light with few comforts and a lot of accusations.  They know they did it and they are ready to admit their part in the crime.  Some may even be as bold as to loudly declare I did it.  And they show no regret.

This is not the confession God wants from us.  In the garden God approaches Adam and Eve.

Genesis 3:8-11 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

God asks “Where are you?” remember at this point there are only two people on earth so Adam and Eve were not lost in the masses, they were hiding from God in the Garden.  And remember God is the all-knowing God.  Why does God ask them where they are?

God wanted them to confess, if Adam and Eve had handled it properly they would have been calling to God to come to them in the garden.  They should have been pleading with their whole heart desiring for God to come to them.  They should have been seeking God. But the story continues.  Adam answers God:

Genesis 3:10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

Adam is still having trouble coming clean about his actions so God helps him by asking more questions:

Genesis 3:11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

We can see by the next verse Adam won’t give it up, he does not openly admit his part he is already rationalizing and in doing this he enters God’s actions into the picture.

Genesis 3:12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

Adam explains: Eve is the problem, maybe if God had not put that woman there with Adam it would not have happened.  Maybe it would not have happened at that point in history if Eve had not been there but it would have happened.

God does address Adam’s statement by speaking to Eve next:

Genesis 3:13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Eve is not beyond sharing the blame, the serpent is at the cause of her actions.  This is still not the confession that God wants from us.

We will continue to explore what the confession is God wants from us next week in part two of “I did it!”

Written by Joyce E Poggensee

Verses referenced:  Romans 3:23,  Genesis 3