This past Sunday the sermon was on being in awe of God. It was well put together and presented with energy. Oen of the lines that I thought had punch was “If Adam and Eve had trouble obeying God in a perfect world (I would say the pre-fallen world) then we need to try harder”.

It is a very good point and insightful, but it ends with the wrong emphasis. If the solution to disobedience is found in us, then we have missed the point of the redemptive work of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit. No, it is not that we must try harder but that we must rely upon the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

So I would rephrase this. I would say, if Adam and Eve had trouble obeying God in a pre-fallen world, then we need Jesus all the more. We need to be people of surrender.

We need to surrender our urge to be self-sufficient, to be willing and anxious to lean into our relationship with God, and to call upon the Spirit to guide, strengthen and direct our lives.

Trying harder is nigh to idolatry – it is in fact the very thing that led to Adam and Eve’s fall. They wanted to be LIKE GOD. To be strong, to be independent.

Theology matters, and we need to be clear there is no such thing as self-salvation. In every matter we need Jesus.

And in this fallen world we need Jesus now more than ever.