The Gospel & Salvation: Fig Leaf Solutions

Fig Leaf Solutions

Genesis 3:7 and Selected Scriptures

 We are in a series that is very different than the way we usually approach God’s word. We typically study verse by verse through books of the Bible, as you know if you have been here very long. But we are currently in a series that is focused on the gospel and the work of salvation. For the first several weeks of this series we have been in Genesis 3 looking at where the problem of sin. To understand the problem of sin it is necessary to study the passage that tells us where sin began. The gospel is the good news that the sin problem has a solution. Unfortunately, many gospel presentations fail to tell people the truth about how bad the problem really is. They offer a gospel as a self-help program that will make all your problems go away.

The biggest problem man has is his sin problem. If a man or woman leaves this world without finding the solution to that problem, his eternal destiny is not a desirable outcome. We looked at the eternal consequences of sin last week. It isn’t a fun message to deliver, but it is a necessary message. We should come away from a message concerning the eternal consequences of sin with a greater appreciation of just how desperate we are for a solution to the problem of sin. We have spent weeks looking at the spiritual, relational, natural, generational, and eternal consequences. We have seen that the problem of sin is the most important problem we face. There is no aspect of our lives that is immune from the devastating consequences of sin.

So, doubtless, sin is a problem and sin brings problems into our lives. But what is man’s approach to problems? When man encounters a problem, man most often develops a solution to the problem. God created us in His own image. He is a Creator with unmatched creative genius. One aspect of the imprint of God’s image on mankind is our capacity to create things. Our creative capacity has equipped us to create solutions to the problems we encounter. When man wants to build a road from one place to another, and he encounters a river, he builds a bridge. Problem solved. When mankind encounters an illness, he develops a drug or a surgical procedure that will take care of the problem.

Solving problems is just what we do. Our educational system is designed to train us to be problem solvers. That is the only useful purpose I can think of for algebra. I have never once used algebra in real life. It makes no sense to me to add letters to numbers to try to solve a math problem. The only think I can think of that algebra is useful for, is training people to be problem solvers. We need problem solvers. So, before you kids start complaining about algebra to your parents or teachers and blaming me for telling you that it is useless, do your algebra with a good attitude and train yourself to be a good problem solver. People who can solve problems are a blessing to humanity.

The problem with humanity as problem solvers is that when we get good at problem solving, we tend to start thinking we can solve any problem. In my days as a maintenance manager I focused my professional skills at solving problems. I used to say that I had done so much for so long with so little that I was now imminently qualified to do almost anything with absolutely nothing at all. Now you should immediately recognize the absurdity of that statement. None of us has done so much with so little for so long that we are qualified to do almost anything with absolutely nothing with which to work. To be able to do anything with nothing would be to do the impossible. This just illustrates the mindset of mankind. We see problems and we solve problems.

While there is within mankind the incredible and impressive ability to solve many problems, if not most problems, there is one problem man cannot solve. Man cannot solve his sin problem. But that hasn’t stopped men from trying. While this is the indisputable truth taught in the Bible, and it is clearly taught in the Bible, man has been led to believe that when it comes to overcoming sin and the certain consequences of sin, he is qualified. Man has been led to believe that he is capable of overcoming the sin problem on his own. In reality, man would have to be able to do the impossible, and to do it with nothing to work with, if he was going to be able to solve the dreadful and deadly consequences of sin.

Man develops religions as solutions to the sin problem. There are only two kinds of religions in the world. There are many false religions and one true religion. All false religions are religions of human achievement. The one true religion, which is biblical Christianity, is the religion of divine accomplishment. All the false religions of the world teach that the solutions to man’s sin problem can be overcome through human effort or involvement in certain religious activities. They teach that if you do enough of certain things, and you do them faithfully enough, and meet certain criteria, you will, through human achievement, earn God’s favor. 

The only true religion is biblical Christianity. I put a strong emphasis on “biblical” Christianity. There are some denominations that are universally recognized as “Christian” that are really false religions. Biblical Christianity is the religion of divine accomplishment, not human achievement. It is important to understand the difference. If this seems to elementary for some of you who have been Christians a long time, I am asking you to bear with me as we build some valuable foundational truth into the lives of some among us who need to understand these things. Biblical Christianity teaches and believes that salvation, or the solution to the sin problem, is not achieved through human effort, but rather is accomplished for us by what God has done for us, not what we have done or can do to earn it.

Every religion tries to answer one question. It is the most important question for which man must find the answer. It was the question posed by Job. In Job 9:1 Job asks, “But how can a man be in the right before God?” Job was probably the earliest book written in the Bible. This book describes Job as “blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:1) God’s own testimony concerning Job is found in Job 1:8. “For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” If there was ever a man who could have made the claim that a right standing before God can be earned through human achievement, it would have been this man. But he knew he could not stand “in the right” before a holy God. He knew he could not stand before a holy God on the basis of his own righteousness, because he knew the depth and breadth of his own sin problem.

Is it possible for sinners to find favor with a holy God, and if so, how? We are going to begin to address this question today and will expand on it in the weeks ahead. And the starting place for the answer is found back in the chapter where we have spent a lot of time over the last couple month. Turn with me again to Genesis 3. We return to this chapter because it not only contains the details of the sin problem. Genesis 3 also contains the promise of the provision of a solution to the sin problem. In this chapter we have the earliest manifestations of the two approaches I have already described. We have the earliest expression of the religion of human effort or achievement seen in verse 7. And we have the religion of divine accomplishment promised in verse 15 and pictured in verse 21.

I think another appropriate name for the religion of human achievement, or human effort, would be “fig leaf solutions.” Let’s read verses 6-7. This is the record of the first man-made solution to the problem of sin. Adam was now aware of his sin problem. He knew something was very different. He knew God. He knew God was holy. He had enjoyed sweet communion when he was innocent. Now that he is a guilty sinner he understands that there is a problem. Something must be done about the sin problem before he encounters holy God.

His solution to the problem is the fig leaf solution. The first couple’s fig leaf solution was just the first manifestation of man’s attempts find a solution to the sin problem. Other man-made solutions involve religions that teach that people can earn a right standing before God through some kind of merit system. This is the most commonly held position of most people I encounter today. They believe that heaven is for good people, and that hell is for bad people. If you ask most people if they believe themselves to be good people, 9 out of 10 will tell you that they are a good person. They believe they will be accepted into heaven because they are good enough.

If they are not good enough now, they believe they have the capacity to pull themselves up by their boot straps and improve their behavior to the point that they will be “ok” when they stand before God in judgment. These people, and this includes most who do not know the Bible or understand biblical Christianity, have embraced a fig leaf solution. They believe in a religion of human achievement. They are sowing fig leaves for themselves as a solution to their sin problem. In reality, they don’t understand the truth about their sin problem.

Other manifestations of “fig leaf solutions” include religions that employ a heavy dose of rituals and rites. If a person prays the right number of prayers, or partakes of the communion, or has last rites administered, or confesses to the clergy, or goes through the confirmation process, then they are admitted into the circle of those in the church. It is so easy for a religion to add acts of devotion to the simple requirement of faith in Christ.

Others manifestations stress self-denial and asceticism. Great acts of self-denial, or self-flagellation, or extended fasts, are all ways to earn the favor of God. Still others advocate jihad or some other manifestation of zealous devotion.

The fig leaf approach of Adam and Eve reveal something of the fallen condition. They realized the need to find a fix for the problem. They mistakenly thought they could somehow justify themselves. They mistakenly trusted in themselves to be able to come up with a solution rather than to cry out to God for mercy.

It is a fundamentally flawed assumption. Man cannot fix the problem through anything he achieves. Yet, this is the thinking that motivates even the most godless secularist to great and generous philanthropy. They need to do something to prove how good they are, so they give enough and try to do enough to compensate for the sinful inclinations of the heart, which they cannot deny. Fig leaf solutions are everywhere.

Fig leaf solutions are never going to solve the sin problem. We know how insufficient the first attempt was because even after covering themselves with the fig leaves, when they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. The religion of human achievement cannot achieve a right standing before a holy God. 

If there was ever a group of people who could have figured out a fig leaf solution that should have worked, it would have been the Jews. They had the truth of Scripture, at least the Old Testament. They were devout. They knew the Law of God. They knew about God. They didn’t need to be convinced about the existence of God or the need to believe in God. They believed in God. If there was anyone on earth who could devise a plan whereby man could be right with God through human effort, this would be the group.

This group did, in fact, believe they had it all figured out. Theirs was a fig leaf solution. Theirs was a religion of human achievement. But theirs was a religion that could not solve the sin problem of man. No religion of human achievement can solve man’s sin problem.

Turn with me to Luke 18 and let’s look briefly at the record of an incident that illustrates the fatal flaw of even the best of the religions of human achievement. Read verses 18-23. 

In this section of Luke, Jesus has been answering the most important question in life. This question is asked by the rich young ruler in our text today. “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This is the first time it is asked directly, but Jesus has been answering this question since verse 9 of Luke 18. The kingdom of God has been the topic since chapter 17, verse 20. In Chapter 18 Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the incident of the babies being brought to Him, and the incident of the encounter with the rich ruler to teach how a person enters the kingdom of God. From these three incidents we get a thorough answer about how to enter the kingdom of God and inherit eternal life.

All three incidents were shockingly absurd to the Jews who heard Jesus teach. The fact that a tax collector was made right with God without doing anything to merit such a standing is laughable to those who believed that God’s favor was earned through the keeping of the law of God. Jesus said that whoever does not enter the kingdom of heaven like a little child, or a baby, did not enter it at all. Babies have no capacity to accomplish anything to merit salvation and God’s favor. That Jesus would assert that everyone had to come into the kingdom with this attitude is ridiculous to the Jews. Now, with this incident involving the rich young ruler, a man who misses eternal life because he won’t walk away from his earthly riches, is absurd to the Pharisees. They believed this man’s wealth and position was indisputable evidence of his favorable standing with God.

This record of this real incident involving this rich young ruler illustrates what happens when a person fails to understand the true condition of his sinful heart. This man illustrates what happens to those who love the world and the things of the world more than they love God and eternal life. If you condense the story and look for its central meaning, it is simply this.  No matter what one may believe, no one enters the kingdom unless he humbly confesses his sinfulness and submits completely to the sovereign lordship of Jesus Christ.   This is really an illustration of what Jesus taught in Luke 9:23 to 25 when He said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself." That is to deny that there’s anything good in himself.  "Let him take up his cross," which means he's willing to die which is the ultimate disdain for all earthly possessions and relationships, including even your own life.  "And let him” in those terms, “follow Me." 

Salvation is not just about what you believe concerning God and His work. It is about what you believe concerning your own heart. It is about recognizing that you have, before God, achieved nothing that is of merit or value or worth in terms of salvation. 

Let’s work our way through these verses. Look at verse 18. “A ruler questioned Him…” Matthew tells us he was a young ruler. We know from the text that he was very rich. Being rich and young at the same time indicates that his wealth was very likely inherited. The word “ruler” is  “archon.” It means “a ruler, a prince, chief, or magistrate.” None of the gospel writers indicates exactly what kind of ruler he is, a religious ruler or a civil ruler. He could have been either one. But the fact is that he was young, rich, and prominent.

Whether or not he was a religious leader, he was a very religious man. He saw himself as a keeper of the Law of God. This young man had so much going for him. He believed the truth about God. He believed the Scriptures. He understood judgment. He knew the Law of God. He was a very moral, sincere, seeker of eternal life. He was trying his best to please God. Yet, in spite of his wealth and privilege and knowledge and religious accomplishment, he knew something was missing in his relationship with God. He knew he did not have eternal life. This is why he asked Jesus the question he asked. “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This is essentially the same question asked by Job.

Looking now at the man’s question we see that he asked, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” This indicates several things. First, he knew he did not have eternal life. He knew there was still something missing. In spite of all his human effort, still he knew that he did not have the right relationship with God. Second, his question is an indication of his thinking about how to be right with God. He is very much a part of the works based religion of human achievement. He sees a right relationship with God as being dependent upon something he has to achieve. He just needs to know what else he must do.

This man knew what he wanted and he had a profound sense of his spiritual need. In Matthew 19:20 he says, "What am I lacking?"  And he's looking at his life and he's saying, "I've done a spiritual inventory, I think I'm as good as I can get, I can't figure out anything else, I can't find another step of goodness.  I can't find another category of spirituality that I haven't accomplished. I don't know what else to do morally.  I don't know what else to do religiously, ceremonially, what is wrong here?

This is a man in turmoil.  This is a man deeply disturbed.  This is not a superficial issue with him.  This is the governing issue in his heart.  All his religion, all his wealth, all his prestige, all his morality hadn't given him confidence, peace, joy, settled hope. He is restless in his soul.  This guy feels deeply the absence of God in his life. 

The answer Jesus gives to this man’s question makes no sense from the standpoint of modern evangelism. Jesus excludes any conversation about faith or grace. Jesus does not compel the man to believe in Him, or ask Jesus into his heart. Jesus doesn’t talk to the man about the emptiness or void or meaninglessness of his life. Jesus points the man back to what he already knew. He pointed him to the commandments of God. Look at verse 20.

Jesus focused the man’s attention on those commandments that govern man’s relationships with others. “Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.” He says, "You know what God has already said.  I don't need to give you any new information from God.  You know the commandments and you know they have come from God and you know that if you want to enter into life on the terms that you understand, on the terms of your religion, on the terms of self-righteousness and works and legalism, that you must keep the commandments. 

We know that we are not saved by keeping the commandments. We are not saved by our good works. Jesus is not advocating the religion of human achievement. So why would Jesus say this? All this man has ever known is works. All he's ever known is the religion of human achievement.  All he's ever known is self-made morality and spirituality and relationship with God. This is the amazing thing about this man’s response. He asserts in verse 21, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” He is saying, “I’ve been as good as a person can be when it comes to the commandments of God.” I’m not an adulterer, or a murder, or a thief, or a liar, and I honored my parents.” The man’s confession is very revealing. He is saying, “I’m a good person, but I still don’t have eternal life.” There is still something missing and he doesn’t know what it is.

This man did not have a true understanding of his own sinfulness because he had not truly applied the demands of the law to his own life. He failed to see that all the law can do is render you a sinner; that the law cannot save you. He had failed to see the true purpose of the law to reveal his sin and he had failed to see the impossibility of using the law to bring himself to salvation. He saw the law as a means of salvation, not as a means of slaughter.  He saw the law as a means of making yourself righteous, not a means of coming to the fact and the realization that you are unrighteous.

You see, it wasn’t just this man’s wealth he was unwilling to part with. He was unwilling to part with his prideful self-achievement. He clung hard and fast to the religion of human achievement. No one who clings to the religion of human achievement gets into the kingdom of God.

"When Jesus heard this, He said to him, 'One thing you still lack.'" I'll grant you, OK?  You kept the law.  Jesus knows that it's a wrong understanding of the law. He says, if, in effect, that were true, there's still one thing you lack.  “Sell all that you possess, distribute it to the poor, you'll have treasure in heaven, come follow Me."  Jesus took this man to the obvious violation of the first commandment which says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” This man’s god was his wealth. This man was breaking the law of God in every way, but he was blind to that reality. Jesus went to the heart of the issue with this man. He did not love God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength. He did not love his neighbor as himself because he was unwilling to give what he possessed to the poor.

This is a very sad story. This breaks our hearts. A man with so much going for him, so much in life, so much potential, so much capacity to be a blessing to others, and he misses the kingdom of God and eternal life. The life of God that he so desperately wanted he does not receive. We have all seen people like this. We have all seen people who were so close, but yet so far from the kingdom of God. It is heart breaking. 

What religion have you believed? Are you trusting in the religion of human achievement? Fig leaf solutions will not save you. The religion of human achievement leaves us out of the kingdom of God. Next week we will begin to look at the religion of Divine Accomplishment. 

Let’s pray.