Let us suppose that we could hear Adam and Eve telling Cain and Abel, their two boys, how they received a conscience. Conscience, you know, is the knowledge of good and evil which mankind acquired through the fall, when sin entered the world.
First of all they would tell how God put them in the lovely garden of Eden where they were once so happy. Adam would tell of naming all the animals, and then how God made Eve to help him. Then they would come to the sad part of the story—how they believed Satan’s lie instead of obeying the word of God. They would speak of that tempting-looking fruit and of how they took of it and ate it, even though God had forbidden them to do so. It tasted so good, and they thought it would be so wonderful to be like God Himself. Then they would remember their amazement and sorrow when, after eating it, they received the knowledge of good and evil. Yes, they had a conscience, but it was a guilty conscience.
Now they knew that they were naked before God, and so they made aprons of fig leaves. They worked hard, as they never had before, trying to finish them before the Lord walked in the garden that evening. Soon the last leaf was sewed together and presently they heard the voice of the Lord calling them. Strangely enough they felt afraid, even though they had their “lovely” fig-leaf aprons on. They had sinned and they knew it, and what was worse still they found out that after all their efforts to cover themselves they were still unfit for the presence of a holy God. His voice startled them and they ran to hide. God called out to Adam and said, “Where art thou?” A voice inside of Adam seemed to whisper, “There is no use trying to hide from God. He can see you right where you are.”
Then there were further questions asked by God Himself. Adam and Eve made excuses for their sin, Adam blaming Eve, and Eve blaming the serpent, but it was all to no avail for all their excuses, their each blaming another, and their fig-leaf aprons, did not, and could not, remove the solemn conviction that they were guilty before God. Oh, how miserable they were! If they had only obeyed the voice of God instead of listening to the voice of Satan! It was too late then. The harm was done. They were fallen creatures and they must die just as God had said.
What sorrow must have filled the hearts of Adam and Eve as they told this to their children, and alas they knew only too well that their children were sinners too. Thank God, there was a remedy provided by God Himself, of which we shall speak next month, but we would like to impress upon the mind of any unsaved reader of these lines, your own great need. All the works that your guilty hands can do, all the excuses you can make, will never take away the guilt which rests so heavily at times upon your guilty conscience. Attendance to religious observances, or all your money, will never put away your sins from before a thrice holy God, and what is worse still if you die in your sins your conscience will continue to trouble you through all eternity in that awful place “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:4444Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:44). May God grant that your conscience may he so thoroughly awakened that you will not find rest or peace until it has been purged of all guilt through Christ’s finished work.
ML 02/26/1950