What is your covering?

by Sandy Simpson, 10/3/15

 

The question every human being must ask themselves is this: “What is my covering?”  Is it fig leaves or animal skins? I state this not literally but figuratively.  Are you depending on your good works or the blood of Jesus Christ to save you?  This is the ultimate question all the way from the Garden of Eden.  It is apparent that those who are truly saved are “in Christ” (Rom. 6:7, 8:1), washed in the Blood (1 Cor. 6:11, Rev. 7:14), crucified and buried with Christ (Gal. 2:20, Rom. 6:4) and born again (John 3:3, 1 Pet. 1:23), anticipating eternal life (John 17:3, Rom. 6:23). But there are also those who rely on their works (2 Tim. 1:9). Every person will be judged according to their works (Eph. 2:8-9, Rev. 20:12), whether they were relying on them to be saved or relying on the work of Christ on the cross for their salvation.  Even many people who call themselves Christians will end up trying to rely on works instead of grace.

 

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

 

Adam and Eve, when they had sinned and essentially made themselves little gods in following the evil one, knew that they had sinned and realized they had the knowledge of good and evil because they noticed, for the first time, they were naked.  But instead of appealing to the Lord, they hid from Him and covered themselves with fig leaves. 

 

Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

 

Fig-leaves in Biblical typology represent mankind’s self effort or good works. Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden revealed their rebellion against God’s authority. Their desire was for autonomy, self determination and independence from God, rather than accepting the Lordship of their Creator and living in harmony with Him. They knew they had offended the Creator, so they tried to cover themselves. They introduced the world to the concept of trying to save themselves, as they tried to atone for their nakedness with works of the flesh.  They sewed fig-leaves together to cover their nakedness and they also tried to take cover and hide from God. But no one can hide from the Creator and God was merciful in that He provided a way of atonement for them—to restore relationship, by covering them in the skins of animals that had their blood shed for them. God slew the animals that provided the animal skins for the salvation of Adam and Eve, and as an example for all time as per the requirements of God for salvation. Animal skins represent the shedding of blood, which is necessary for salvation.  Fig leaves represent the works of the flesh, which were not sufficient for the atonement of sin.  Atonement simply means a covering for sin.

 

Genesis 3:21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

Hebrews 9:22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Genesis 4:3 So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground.

 

Cain followed in the footsteps of his parents in trying to be justified by something other than blood.  Abel had learned the lesson God had taught Adam and Eve, but Cain had not.

 

Genesis 4:5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

 

God has no regard for the works of men in trying to justify themselves. Cain was angry at God about the very thing that would have justified him with God.

 

Jude 1:11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

 

You cannot be saved if you rely on the things of this world, or on false prophesy, or on the works of men.  We see evidence in Jude 1:11 of the sins of the lust of the eyes (Cain thinking his beautiful fruit would save him), lust of the flesh (Balaam, leading people into immorality and mammon worship), and the pride of life (Korah trying to usurp God’s chosen leadership, heavy shepherding).

 

We know that the Gospel shows us that, under the New Covenant, there is only one Blood that can save.  The blood of animals is no longer sufficient now that the perfect Son of God/Son of man has died for our sins.

 

Hebrews 9:12-14 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, [a]having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews 10:4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

 

Only Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty of sin which results in death once for all, if we believe in Him till the end.

 

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

Romans 6:10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

Hebrews 3:6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

 

The illustration all the way from Eden of the fig leaves testifies to one of the main problems of the human race … that of trying to be justified by works.  Trying to be justified by works lays the basis for every false religion, cult and counterfeit Christianity.  It is part of the BIG lie of Satan from the beginning, that humans can decide their own fate apart from God.  This is the lie of eastern mysticism, the lie of Prosperity teachers, and the lie of the paradigm of life as we know it.  This is why God has to renew our minds and change our worldview when we are born again.

 

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

 

This is why the Gospel message is the most important message on earth.