Understanding the Fall in Genesis 3: Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones on Sin and Salvation

What does Genesis 3:7-8 reveal about the human condition after sin entered the world?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, Genesis 3:7-8 reveals that immediately after sin entered the world, humans experienced several profound changes in their condition. First, "they at once became conscious of a loss" - they knew they were naked, suggesting they were deprived of something they had before. Lloyd-Jones suggests this may have been "a kind of glory even about his body" that was lost when sin entered. Second, they immediately tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves, showing man's attempt to solve his problems through his own efforts. Third, they experienced guilt and fear, causing them to hide from God when they heard His voice in the garden. These verses demonstrate the immediate consequences of sin: loss, futile self-remedy, and fearful separation from God.

Why does Dr. Lloyd-Jones believe every person has a sense of loss or incompleteness?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones teaches that every person has a sense of loss or incompleteness because we all were "in Adam" when he fell. He states, "There is in every one of us a recollection, a memory of what we once were. We were all in Adam. Man was made perfect in the image of God... And though we've lost it, and though we've never known it, a memory lingers." This explains humanity's universal restlessness and searching - we have "this innate feeling that [we were] meant for something bigger and something higher." Lloyd-Jones describes it as "a memory, a recollection. We are ever trying to recapture something that we know we once possessed." This sense of loss is not just philosophical but experiential and universal to all humans.

How does modern civilization attempt to deal with humanity's sense of loss according to the sermon?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, modern civilization attempts to deal with humanity's sense of loss in several ways that parallel Adam and Eve's attempt to sew fig leaves together:

1. Cultural pursuits: "He's always tried to do it along cultural lines" through philosophy, knowledge, understanding, history, arts, and music - thinking these will "make himself complete" again.

2. Political solutions: "Man has always believed, and still believes, that somehow or another, by means of legislation, he can put things right."

3. Religious systems: "All the religions of the world tonight... are nothing but repetitions of this ancient action" - man "trying to answer the question and to fill the gap."

Lloyd-Jones calls all these attempts "inadequate... ridiculous... amateurish" because they repeat Adam's error of trying to cover spiritual nakedness through human means rather than accepting God's provision.

What does Dr. Lloyd-Jones say about humanity's universal sense of guilt and fear?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones asserts that despite modern denials, all humans experience a universal sense of guilt and fear. He states, "The whole tragedy of mankind tonight is this, that man is in this contradictory position. He says he's not afraid, and yet he's terrified. He says he doesn't believe in sin and in God, but he's got a sense of condemnation." Lloyd-Jones points out how people try to cover these feelings with intellectual arguments, yet cannot escape them. He cites Shakespeare's Hamlet ("Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all") to illustrate how the fear of death and judgment prevents people from ending their miserable lives. This deep-seated awareness comes from the fact that "every man born into this world has within him a sense of God and a sense of judgment" - something we cannot rationalize away regardless of our intellectual objections.

Why do people run away from God according to this sermon?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, people run away from God "because he doesn't know him. Because he's believed a lie about him. Because he's altogether wrong with respect to him." This tragic misunderstanding stems from Adam's original deception - man "doesn't realize that it is the very God against whom he's rebelled... is the only one who can save him and is prepared to do so." Lloyd-Jones calls this "the saddest and the most tragic thing of all about man." People flee from God thinking He is against them, when in reality, God comes seeking them for salvation. The sermon emphasizes that people run to every other solution except the one God offers them, repeating Adam's pattern of hiding among the trees while God calls to them with grace and mercy.

What is the only solution to humanity's problems according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, the only solution to humanity's problems is Jesus Christ. He states emphatically: "There is nothing under heaven tonight and there is no one save Jesus Christ and him crucified who can meet your need." Only through Christ can people find what they're restlessly searching for, quoting Augustine: "Thou hast made us for thyself and our souls are restless until they find their rest in thee."

The solution comes through believing that Christ has taken our guilt upon Himself on the cross: "Jesus Christ was crucified on Calvary's hill... he bore your judgment. The wrath of God fell upon him." By believing in Him, we receive forgiveness, freedom from guilt, a new relationship with God, and a transformed view of life and death. Lloyd-Jones urges listeners to "come out of your hiding place" and cast themselves at Christ's feet, promising that God "will smile upon you and let you know that he has received you."