On December 27, 2023; The Lord prompted this question in my spirit.
“What would’ve happened if Adam would’ve acknowledge his sin, (instead of saying the woman who gave me she gave it to me and I ate?”

What if, instead, he (Adam) acknowledged his sin properly, and knowing the character of God… Adam knew that God could help to reverse that curse, and they could eat from the tree of life and live forever.

The Bible teaches us that God doesn’t change. He was merciful then and He’s Merciful now. (His Mercy is from EVERLASTING TO EVERLASTING) (Psalm 103:17).

This question that the Lord brought to my spirit brought me to a deep dive into prayer and study to search out a possible answer to this question.

I first started my study by looking into the word “acknowledge” in the Bible and went from there.

The Lord took me to Psalm 32, here David is talking about the contrast between 2 types of people. People who are forgiven and set free from guilt/shame/sin and people who are not.

Person #1 is blessed and Person #2 is distressed.

Person #1

• Blessed/happy
• Forgiven, covered, justified
• Spirit is honest and sincere

Person #2

• Bones grew old
• Groaning all day long
• Heaviness
• Vitality turned into drought

But here’s the thing… The two people are actually the same, only difference… ACKNOWLEDGEMENT vs SILENCE

but when I acknowledged… (when I made known my sins)

Psalms 51 (David’s repentance) says the same thing “I acknowledge my transgressions”

Proverbs 3:6 in all your ways ACKNOWLEDGE HIM

This concept takes us to one of the main points of this lesson/study… Being naked and not ashamed in front of God. (Genesis 2:25)

To understand this concept, I went back to Genesis 2 and 3 (during the first temptation and the fall of man.) Trying to gain understanding on this question God asked me “what would’ve happened if they (Adam and Eve) acknowledged/confessed?” 

After the sin and fall of man, God’s first question to Adam was “where are you?” Adam answered and told God where he was and why he was there. (hiding in the trees because he heard the voice of God and was afraid BECAUSE THEY WERE NAKED. (Genesis 3:8-10)

So God asked another question based on Adam’s answer and He said “who told you that you were naked? (more on the voice that spoke to them that they were naked on another Bible Study 🤪) Have you eaten from the tree which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:11)

Adam’s next response is significant…

God’s question was for Adam, and Adams’s first response was “the woman”

So God went to the woman, and her response was “the serpent” 

So God said to the serpent… and curses were loosed… (Genesis 3:14-24)

Neither Adam, or Eve acknowledged in the right way. The did not take ownership and responsibility.

What would have happened if God came to Adam to confront him about his sin and Adam responded like David in 2 Samuel 12?

What would have happened if Adam said “Have mercy on me O God, For I sinned and you said the wages of sin was death, and Yes I did eat the fruit and I deserve to die, Your judgment is righteous but have Mercy on me O God according to your mercy and compassion. I willingly followed Eve into sin knowing that you had the power to free us from death and not kill us……etc”

I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT IF ADAM AND EVE WOULD HAVE CONFESSED RIGHT AFTER THEIR SIN, GOD WOULD HAVE FORGAVE AND WE COULD BE LOOKING AT A DIFFERENT STORY/OUTCOME. (this is my opinion but I believe there’s Bible for it) (Obviously God knew what would happen from the beginning and had a redemptive plan).

Why? Because the Bible says that God doesn’t change, that He is no respecter or persons and His mercy is from Generation to Generation and Everlasting to Everlasting.

Let’s Compare Adam and Eve’s response to David’s response (2 Samuel 12 and Psalm 51) to help prove this out.

“Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.” (2 Samuel 12:13,14)

After David is confronted with his sin and transgression, the very first thing he does is confess. Nathan immediately replies and says that God took his sin away and he’s not going to die. (God forgives and forgets sin but he does not take away consequences of sin).

Davids Prayer of Repentance is continued in Psalm 51…

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and guilt. And cleanse me from my sin. For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; My sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned And done that which is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak [Your sentence] And faultless in Your judgment.” (Psalms 1-4 AMP)

“ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.“ (Psalm 51:3-4 ESV)

“For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; My sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned And done that which is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak [Your sentence] And faultless in Your judgment.“ (Psalms 51:3-4 AMP)

Here we are getting into some context for a Biblical Principle in the Word of God… God (in any capacity) confronts us about our sin, iniquity and/or transgression , and our response (obey or disobey) reveals our heart and determines if God can really use us to fulfill His Will through us.

Examples of a call to Confession and Repentance: 

• God confronted Adam and Eve (Genesis 3)
• Samuel confronted Saul (1 Samuel 15:1-30)
• Nathan confronted David (2 Samuel 12)
• God confronted Solomon (1 Kings 11:9-12) 
• All of the Prophets confronted the Israelites (Hosea, Joel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jonah etc)
• John the Baptist confronted the people (Matthew 3:1-8)
• Jesus confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matthew 4:17, Matthew 23 etc)
• Paul confronted the Churches (Epistles and Letters)
• John confronts the Churches (Revelation)

Confession and Repentance are not the same… for example…

Some of these examples above show that some people flat out ignored God’s confrontation, some confessed, some confessed and repented; and those are the ones God will not only forgive but HE CAN USE.

DAVID AND SAUL BOTH CONFESSED THEIR SINS, BUT THEY DID NOT BOTH REPENT!

Confession is admitting it happened, Repentance is making a mental 180 degree turn to make sure it doesn’t keep happening (Confession should lead us to repentance)

A child who stole a toy and got caught can confess he did it, but still not change his attitude and actions for the next time there is a temptation to steal.

Our response to the confrontation of sin in our life reveals the contents of our heart. The goal of God confronting us about sin isn’t to shame us (like satan), but it’s to get us to acknowledge our sin and do something about it (humility, like David in Psalm 51) and lead to a repented/changed life.

That’s what CONVICTION OF THE WORD IS…

A man of God is ministering something that begins to confront US about how different we are from God and it is a call to repent and change and BE LIKE JESUS.

Another example is when are reading the Word and all of a sudden you read something in there, that is contrary to the way you have been living. This is one of God’s ways of speaking to His people to get us to BE LIKE JESUS. (we decrease and he increases) (John 3:30).

WE CAN’T HAVE MORE OF GOD WITHOUT HAVING LESS OF US. (WE ARE FIXED VESSELS AND NEED TO BE EMPTIED OUT OF US AND HAVE MORE OF HIM PUT IN) Praise God!

TRUE CHRISTIANITY, means to follow Jesus and to BE LIKE JESUS.

This is one of the many reasons the Word of God is important. The Bible tells us that WORD IS GOD. When we fellowship with the Word we are putting the very DNA of God into ourselves and it is cutting (Hebrew 4 :12) out the bad and putting in the good. (THERE IS LITERALLY SPIRITUAL SURGERY TAKING PLACE IN US).

The Word of God is like a mirror. God shows us who we are in comparison to His Holy Word (whether through our prayer and study or through the ministered Word). 

When God shows us a discrepancy between us and Him, we need to confess and Repent.

God cannot elevate us to the next level in His Kingdom if we don’t have the character (through a repented heart and contrite Spirit) which comes through His Spirit and Word convicting us about who we are vs who He is. 

The 1st step to change /repentance is always

AWARENESS 

(You can’t change something you don’t know about).

So God reveals it to us , and gives us an opportunity to admit wrongdoing

Resulting in the 2nd step

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

After acknowledging our sin, God can forgive us

And God can begin cleanse us and create in us a clean heart and renew in us a right Spirit though turning from sin and unto righteousness.

Resulting in the 3rd step 

REPENTANCE 

This whole process is detailed in Psalm 51.

• David is confronted with His sin (made aware of it) 
• David Acknowledges his sin
• David Repents of his sin 
• David is transformed by a Renovation of His mind (and Spirit) 
• David will use His experience to help others
• David reenforces that God loves/delights in a Brokenness and Contriteness (Godly sorrow leads to repentance) 
• David asks that God would do good to the church (His people/Kingdom)
• That He (God) would have favor on them (His people) and Build a wall about them 

After the heart of the Church is restored THEN…

• God would be please with sacrifices and offerings (action)
• Isaiah 1 emphasizes this also that works need to have the correct Spirit and Heart behind them for it to be acceptable (ATTITUDE BEFORE ACTIONS)

David said this because you would later read in the book of Kings the sins of the King would effect ALL OF ISREAL 

• 1 kings 14:16 
• 2 kings 13:2-6 
• 2 kings 13:11 
• 22 more times in the book of kings it mentions “made Israel to sin” 
• All these kings sinned and “made Israel to sin” 
  • It’s mentioned often that the sins were the sins of Jeroboam (REBELLION) (1 kings 11-14) 
• IF YOU DONT DEAL WITH YOUR SINS IN THE RIGHT WAY, IT WILL NOT ONLY AFFECT YOUR SPIRIT BUT ALSO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU AND YOUR KIDS FOR GENERATIONS TO COME (sinning against God is more than just about you) 
• Solomon’s sins affected His sons and on and on, Jeroboams sins affected his sons and so on, and ALL the Israelites for GENERATIONS to come.

We all need to put on sackcloth and ashes (humility and repentance) and get back to a place of being naked and unashamed in front of God (nothing to hide and no shame from sin) 

Sackcloth and ashes (humility of confession must proceed repentance) (Matthew 23, James 4, 1 Peter 5:6)

Sin leads to shame, because we become uncovered Shame comes from the wrong type of nakedness,(more on this in other lessons) BUT if you are naked in front of God, he will cover you, but if you try to cover/hide yourself before God, then shame will cover you)  (Genesis 2:25 , Isaiah 47:3, Jer 3:25 Revelation 3:18)  

Shame is a covering and God is a covering, you can’t be covered by both. 

Which one will be pick? (God helps us pick to be covered by you and not our shame). 

Shame = disgrace. When we are prideful and don’t confess our sins in humility leading to grace, we are covered by shame leading to DISGRACE. 

God is freely giving his grace to forgive us and cleanse us by His blood, and when we don’t humble ourselves to receive His Grace, we DIS-GRACE. (Proverbs 11:2). Meaning we oppose Grace. We are resisting Grace

Biblical Principle: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to humble” Proverbs 3:34 James 4:6-10, 1 Peter 5:6)

We as the people of God need understanding on what TRUE CONFESSION AND REPENTANCE looks like…

God I pray that everyone who reads this study would receive the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation on Humility and Repentance. I pray that this Word would get into the deep places of our Spirit and you would grant us an understanding heart and willing Spirit to sustain us! IN JESUS NAME! Amen.