Breaking the Curse of Humanism

Gen. 3:1-24, 12/29/2024  Sister  Xia

Introduction

In two days we will usher in a new year. In this moment of putting aside the old and welcoming the new, we often count God’s grace with joy and look forward to more grace in the new year. However, sometimes we are unwilling to do one thing, or have forgotten to do it, that is, we cannot reflect on and update our lives, beliefs and values ​​while enjoying grace. Today we will reflect on humanism.

During the discipleship training this semester, the pastor taught us that Genesis Chapter 3 is a foundational scripture that is worthy of our repeated reflection. It has answers to many of today’s problems. In my prayers, God confirmed this passage. I also realize that I have experienced a lot of humanistic bondage at many times.

The truth about humanism

First, let’s think about it, what are the special characteristics of humanism?

Some people would say: Pay attention to human value and freedom, pay attention to equality and respect between people, pay attention to human rationality and human contributions to society. These may seem like brilliant features.

Let us dig further. Humanism believes that people are their own masters. My life does not need God to decide, and it is free from the shackles of religion and God. Is this good? Of course many unbelievers will appreciate and praise it. But according to the Bible, this is displeasing to God and is also a curse on man.

Next, we will look at the true face of humanism from the biblical revelation and the background of its origin.

1.The gaps in people’s understanding of God’s words

The Bible does not describe when the idea of ​​man becoming equal with God arose. But before the snake tempted man to be like God, Eve had a breach in her understanding of God’s words: You must not eat from the tree of good and evil, and you must not touch it. God did not say not to touch, but she added this. The motivation for doing this is unknown. Perhaps it is unfamiliarity with God’s words, or perhaps it is to prove that one is more spiritual than God. No matter what, the lack of the covering of God’s accurate words in our hearts opens the door for further temptation by the devil.

2.The evil’s lies and temptations

The evil was once a bright star, but because he wanted to be equal to the Supreme, he must fall into the underworld (Isaiah 14:12-15). This is “devil-centeredness”, which is to replace divine-centeredness. He also tried to let his “ghostism” bear the consequences of humanism.

He used lies to deceive people: the eyes created by God are not bright enough, and human wisdom can come from eating the tree of good and evil, and eating the fruit of good and evil will not cause death. He also provokes the relationship between man and God: God does not want to see man possessing wisdom and knowing good and evil. And these Adam and Eve believed.

3.The direct motivation for people to commit crimes

The fruit of wisdom looks good and tastes good, which is why Adam and Eve ate it. More importantly, it satisfies people to know good and evil like God. Man must be like God and be his own master. We know that humans cannot have two masters, either gods or humans, or gods or humans. And humanism became the direct driving force behind the final crime and the final act.

This is the background of humanism, which arises from people’s ignorance, the lies and temptations of the devil, and people’s disrespect for God. It’s not as glorious as it seems, right?

The Curse of Humanism

After Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they were described as having their eyes opened? Is this really the case? Has their dream of becoming like gods come true? Not really. What followed was a series of curses.

1.Fall into the abyss of sin

After eating the forbidden fruit, the human body does not die immediately. The eyes seemed to be brighter, but this was their misunderstanding. In fact, the spiritual eyes are blind, and they have eyes but cannot see. Just like in Matthew 8:18, the Lord once said to the disciples: You have eyes but you cannot see. People have really become like this.

Man does not know good and evil as expected, but confuses right and wrong, and has different values ​​from God. Their judgment of themselves is naked shame. And when God created them, they were clearly naked as husband and wife, and they were not ashamed. They also began to hide from God.

Man is unable to save himself and tries to weave a skirt out of fig leaves, but the leaves will wither, but he is deceiving himself.

2.Unable to repent

It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake, just change it. But people who sin try to hide from God. When God sought them out, unable to repent, Adam put the blame on his wife and blamed God for giving him a wife, while she blamed the serpent for tempting him. The sin of humanism causes everyone to be self-centered, blame others, and do their best to shirk their own responsibility. Does this scene seem familiar now?

3.Being kicked out of paradise

Without repentance, man incurs God’s judgment and curse. The curse of women having children, the curse of husband and wife relationships, the curse of men working, the curse of physical death. Not only that, Adam and Eve were also kicked out of the Paradise of Eden and could not return.

The curse of humanism is a series: people become blind, stupid, desperate, and lose their paradise. But people still believe that their eyes are bright and can understand and see, and they mistake the world for their hometown.

Breaking the Curse of Humanism

How many people are willing to live with such a curse?

Let’s go back to Adam and Eve’s initial encounter with the snake. If they had made another choice, they might not have suffered the curse of humanism.

1.Return to theocentrism

If they remember God’s words and do not add “tangibility”, if they tell the devil, God’s eyes are bright enough, and if they tell the devil, those who believe in eating the fruit will surely die. Man can only be humble and obedient before God, and does not need to be arrogant. Man’s wisdom can only come from God. Let the snake go away in the name of the Lord. They will defeat the temptations and temptations of the devil just like the Lord Jesus did.

The victory of Jesus Christ proves that the original Adam had the ability to overcome temptation, thereby demonstrating the perfection of God’s creation and the unnecessary need for humanism!

However, they did not go this route. People have gone further and further down the road of humanism, and now they are so unfamiliar with theocentrism. Since the Renaissance, humanism has become a universal value in the world. A skirt made of fig leaves is more popular than a coat of leather made by God, and a salvation wrought on the cross.

The truth is: don’t be afraid of what the world says, and don’t be fooled by the world. The Bible tells us that returning to theism is our only choice.

2.Where am I?

When God was looking for Adam and Eve after they sinned, he asked them: Where are you? This is a question that everyone needs to think about and answer.

When I know I will be preaching at the end of the year, I sometimes have some vague worries. Especially when writing sermons, I have a lot of worries: I must speak well and not embarrass myself; how to choose materials to show my level; I will feel sad and anxious when my exegesis does not go well, and I worry that my eloquence is not good enough, etc. wait. What was originally an opportunity to serve God turned into a pile of toil and worry, and I deeply felt the bondage of caring about my own glory. Thank you Lord for allowing me to reflect on where I am at this time. Am I centered on my own glory or God’s kingdom? I am nothing but an unworthy vessel, and God’s pulpit can only glorify God. The thought of this brings relief and peace.

Where I am determines whether our lives are cursed or blessed. Some time ago, a woman chose to go to Switzerland to commit suicide because she couldn’t bear the pain. Opinions on this are divided online. Some time ago, another famous female writer committed suicide at an advanced age.

It’s really a question of where I am. Rest in peace for the deceased, I have no intention of judging them. But I must point out their blind spot: they believe they are the masters of their lives, but this is not true. They believe that by ending life, they will be relieved of pain, but this is not true either. It’s not like people blessed them: there will be no more pain in heaven, but they have gone to a more terrible place. Not knowing that I have been under the curse of humanism.

Also some time ago, our pastor and we went to Stockholm to visit a 107-year-old sister. She followed the Lord all her life, and when she was dying, she gave the sovereignty of her life to the Lord. At the last moment, we were given the opportunity to visit her and sing hymns, allowing us to see the presence of the Lord. Although we are heading towards death, we are getting closer and closer to the Lord who created us and controls life.

In the current difficult situation, because we know where we are, we will also cherish our own lives, will not retaliate against society, and have more patience and hope.

3.New Year and New Prayer

I know that I am a very selfish person. For a long time, I only saw personal glory and interests. When I see the curse of humanism, I see its causes and consequences, and I am willing to repent deeply. Of course, this old self’s thick dirt requires constant prayer and asking God to cleanse it. Reflecting on removing the curse of humanism is a focus of my prayers for next year. I also pray that God will move every brother and sister to reflect on their own humanistic bondage and have new prayers and new lives.

Conclusion

If it were not for the revelation of the Bible, we would not be able to see the background of humanism, the curse it creates, and we would not know how to break it.

Sometimes we get used to humanism, or are unaware of its existence, bondage, and curse. Although reflection is sometimes painful, being able to have a clear understanding of yourself at the beginning of the new year, a new beginning of repentance, and cherishing your life is full of God’s grace.

Gen. 3:1-24

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

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 

3 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.’” 

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 

5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

6 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,[b] she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool[c] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 

9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 

11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 

12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 

13 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.”

14 The Lord God 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 dust you shall eat  all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,  and between your offspring[e] and her offspring; he shall bruise your head,  and you shall bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;  in pain you shall bring forth children.  Your desire shall be contrary to[f] your husband, but he shall rule over you.”

17 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;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;   and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 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.”

20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.[g] 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 

24 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.