The Serpent and the Seed Genesis 3:1-24

A study was published in August of the most religiously diverse counties in America. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that Montgomery County is the most religiously diverse county in America.[1] 1 People have different responses to religious pluralism. First, many people respond, “All the religions are equally false. There is no spiritual realm; the material and physical realm is it.” This is usually held in tandem with a belief that the only true knowledge is scientific, that which is empirically verified. The problem is that this viewpoint cannot itself be empirically verified. How could you test in nature if something is beyond it? How could we use the laws of physics to test if something was above them? Furthermore, many people find this view unsatisfying because it means that life has no meaning or purpose. The second response to religious pluralism is to say, “All the religions are equally true. They are all just different paths leading up the same mountain to the divine.” The problem with this viewpoint is that in the name of honoring all the religions, it dismisses the real differences between them. Are there many gods or one? Is salvation escape from the physical world or the renewal of it? Are we right with the gods through good deeds or through grace? A third response to religious pluralism, one that we find in the Bible, is that each religious tradition, in its own unique way, is seeking what is fully revealed in Jesus Christ. For example, in Acts 17, Paul enters Athens, the great seat of ancient learning. Paul affirms the Greek’s desire to worship and their belief that humanity is accountable to God. Paul then explains how the true object of worship, and the one through whom everyone will be judged, is Jesus Christ. 2 This Sunday, we’ll consider the nature of spiritual evil. Many religions assert the reality of spiritual evil, only the Bible explains its origin, nature, and defeat. In Genesis 3:15, God promises that the off spring of the woman will contend with Satan and triumph over him. “The Church Fathers called this verse the protevangelium, the first gospel. Jesus’ resurrection from death is proof positive that he is the Seed of the woman who gained the victory over Satan. As Hebrews 2:14 puts it, Christ shared our flesh and blood, “so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” 3