1 Now the serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Genesis 3:1-3

There are some questions we have no business trying to answer.

The first sin in human history wasn’t just pride. That’s the common interpretation, and it’s partially true, but it’s not the whole story. The first sin was disbelief in something God had said. A promise He had made. And it all started with an innocent question.

Satan implanted four simple words in Eve’s mind: Did God really say? An innocent question. But a question she had no business trying to answer. He got her to scrutinize something she was simply called to believe. She fell for it. Ate the fruit. And people have now been scrutinizing God and His promises ever since.

Satan’s strategy towards us is still the same today. His primary question is still: Did God really say…? If he can get us to innocently question God’s promises or His character, the rest will take care of itself. Just ask the Israelites who listened to the 10 spies’ negative report of the Promised Land.

Now of course there’s room to ask tough questions about God. You’d have a mindless faith if you didn’t. Of course there’s room for wondering how we navigate the tensions of this world that we live in that’s so often a waiting room between the promises God has made and their fulfillment. You wouldn’t live in reality if you didn’t.

Nevertheless, we always have to remember:
Like the Israelites in the Promised Land, you’re called to explore God’s promises, not scrutinize them.

There really are some questions you have no business trying to answer. Questions whose only answer can ever really be, “God has said.”

Is God really good if people are dying in Japan and from tornadoes?
Can God really heal people?
Has God really forgiven me?

That’s not land you’re supposed to scrutinize. Not because it isn’t important. But because God hasn’t called you to validate His promise of His goodness. His healing power. His forgiveness. Or any other promise He has made. He’s called you to believe it.

Is it difficult? Of course. But since when has faith ever been easy?

Don’t waste time trying to validate a promise that God has simply called you to believe.

Some people will say that just means you’re brainwashed.
I say it just means you’re born again.
And you don’t want to repeat the mistakes of Adam and Eve again.

Grace and sin have a complicated relationship.

In one sense, you can’t separate them. You see this in Romans 5:20-21 when Paul says:
But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Where there is sin, there will always be grace. Every time sin raises its ugly head, the grace of Jesus rises even higher like a sweeping tide and covers over it. Every sin. Every time. No matter what you do.

The problem is if you just read these two verses, you could easily conclude that grace should be proportional to sin. If the more I sin, the more grace I receive, why not sin more and receive more grace? If I can do anything I want and still be saved, why not do anything I want?

Why not continue to look at porn?
Why not continue to live selfishly?
Why not continue in my old patterns of living?

These are good questions. For an unbeliever.

Because while grace means that I can do absolutely anything I want, it also means that what I want is now being informed by grace. And not just sin.

While in one sense you can’t separate grace and sin, in another sense grace and sin should be continually growing apart from each other. Right after Romans 5:20-21, Paul goes on to say:
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Romans 6:1-2

For the believer who loves Jesus, grace and sin should be inversely proportional. The more grace we receive the less we should want to sin because God’s grace empowers us to live for Him. Grace will never lead you to continue doing the very thing it just rescued you from. True grace will never lead you to take it for granted by trampling on it.

Does grace mean I can do anything I want and still be a Christian?
Yes.

But it also means I won’t.

Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”
Acts 3:2-3,6

I think one of the great difficulties in life is letting go of what we think we need so that we can have what God wants for us.

The man wanted money. It’s what he desired. It’s what he thought he needed.
But it’s not what he got. Peter and John’s monetary resources were limited. But the power of Christ that was at their disposal was unlimited. And so he walked.

While the man ended up rejoicing, I can’t help but wonder what he thought when he first heard Peter say that they didn’t have any silver or gold. He was probably disappointed. Silver and gold was exactly what he wanted. But the truth is that if Peter would have had money in that situation, the man would never have gotten to walk. And what’s better: having some money, or being able to walk for the rest of your life?

Not getting what you want or are expecting is never easy. It can sometimes feel like you’re getting shortchanged by God. You can come to believe that you’re missing out on your best life. That you’ve lost something irreplaceable.

But like the crippled man, we have to flip our perspective. We have to understand that if we got what we wanted, it might mean forfeiting what we really need. If God shuts down the thing you desire, it may be because He desires something even better. If God doesn’t do what you’re hoping He will, He must be planning to do something bigger and better.

For example, what’s better:
The relationship you had that you thought would last a lifetime, or the relationship God has for you that He wants to last a lifetime?
The job you really wanted but didn’t get, or the job God has custom tailored for you that’s waiting in its place?

Your destiny never depends on anyone or anything that leaves your life. Or on a desire that doesn’t end up being fulfilled. Let go of what you wanted. Take hold of what God wants for you.

God will never shortchange you. If God has shut down something you desired recently, I dare you to believe that He’s got something better for you on the way.

There’s a tension that exists in the Bible that we all feel and live in every day.

In Genesis 1, God made the heavens and the earth and He called them good. So there’s some things that are good simply because God has made them and called them that.

The earth. Life. Marriage.
All God-made and good things.

But not everything is good. We have Genesis 3 to thank for that.

There’s the earth, but there’s also earthquakes.
There’s life, but there’s also death.
There’s marriage, but there’s also divorce.

This is where we live. And we could say that that’s just something we have to accept. It’s a tension that we have to live with. We’re going to have some good and some bad in this world.

While in a sense that’s true, I think there’s something we frequently overlook – the reality of Romans 8:28:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

This changes everything. It eases the tension. Because here’s the truth:

Some things God makes and calls them good.
Some things He makes work together for the good of those who are called.

Either way, there is absolutely nothing in your life that isn’t good or beyond God’s ability to work for your good.

Your body, which is good. Or the cancer in it, which is terrible.
Your wife, who is good. Or her death, which was tragic.
Your children, who are good. Or them walking away from God, which is heartbreaking.

This is why Paul can go on to say in Romans 8:39 that nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God. It’s because there is nothing in all creation that God did not make or that is beyond the scope of His redemptive power to remake.

You might think you’re the exception, but you’re not. Romans 8:28 isn’t a statement of probability or possibility. It’s a statement of reality. It’s not, God can make all things work for your good, but maybe that doesn’t apply to you. It’s that every second of your life He is making all things work for your good.

Whether you can see it now or not, your life is one of the greatest testimonies to the goodness and creative capabilities of God you’re ever going to behold. For what He has already given you that’s good. And for how He can redeem your life after it falls apart, or remake your heart after it’s been shattered.

No matter what position you’re in, there’s no place where God’s love cannot find you and recreate you. No matter what you have experienced, your life is stamped by the goodness of God.

Yes, there’s good and bad. But it’s all for your good.