Do you get the point? Going to Paradise does not solve the problem of sin. Sin began in Paradise. Going to Heaven will not solve the problem of sin for you. Sin began in Heaven around the Throne of God.

You didn't need to hear this, did you?

All people could ever desire was to be found in the garden in Eden, including the Presence of the Lord as we said.

There was also a snake from Heaven there. Think of it! A snake from Heaven!

One thing was missing. Can you guess?

The Kingdom of God.

If the Kingdom of God had been formed in Eve she would have said, "Get behind me, heavenly snake!"

If the Kingdom of God had been formed in Adam he would have said, "For crying out loud, Eve, why did you do that?" They both would have spoken in Hebrew, of course.

You want to remember Eve was a sanguine creature, impulsive, whimsical, very dramatic, flitting from one interesting object to another, always pirouetting around and chattering merrily. Adam was a choleric personality but he loved his butterfly and indulged her. Eve was just what Adam needed to keep him from getting careless. However she had just made a serious move.

Had Christ been formed in him Adam would have brought Eve immediately before the Lord, asked forgiveness, got some clothes from the Lord, and promised that neither of them would eat any more apples. Something like this.

Are you beginning to get the picture? Paradise is a place. The Kingdom of God is the rule of God. If Adam or Eve or both of them had had the Kingdom of God in them they would not have sinned.

We teach that you have to be born again to be saved. What do we mean by saved? Do we mean we go to Paradise when we die? Or do we mean we are saved from sin so if we are tempted we do not eat apples when we have been told not to? Obviously going to a peaceful garden and being immunized against sin are not at all the same thing. Do you agree?

By now you probably are wondering whether or not you are saved.

The Bible does not say we have to be born again to be saved. It says we have to believe and be baptized to be saved. Right?

Aren't being born again and believing and being baptized the same thing? Hardly.

Let me ask you. Is to believe something and to be immersed in water the same thing as being born?

To believe is one matter. To be baptized in water is something else again.

To be born of God, to actually be born of God, is different yet. Belief, water baptism, and being born again may take place at the same time but they are not the same thing, obviously.

To be continued.