Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. - Romans 5:12
Welcome! What a joy it is to begin another week in church together. In Genesis chapter 1 God created the heavens and the earth. In chapter 2 He made Adam and Eve and dwelt with them in the Garden of Eden.
This morning we will begin a 3 week journey through Genesis chapter 3. This is the most disastrous chapter in the entire Bible, as it opens the door for all other misfortunes. Prior to the events of chapter 3, there was no sin and no curse. Everything was perfect, pure, and good. But, as we will see, that all changed.
Today’s message is the 11th in our current sermon series. I have titled it “The Fall of Mankind”. We will be reading and discussing Genesis 3:1-13.
I. DECEPTION AND LIES (v1-5)
Satan, in the form of a serpent, approached Eve and asked her if God had truly forbidden her and Adam from eating of any tree in the garden. She answered that they could eat from all of them except for the 1 in the midst of the garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. She explained that if they ate of it, or even touched it, they would die. The serpent responded, “You will surely not die!” He told Eve that if they ate from it, they’d become like God knowing good and evil.
It is uncertain how long Adam and Eve lived in the garden prior to their encounter with Satan. Some believe they were there for a long period of time (perhaps even millions of years). However, the Bible seems to suggest, and I tend to agree, that it was a relatively brief period (perhaps just a few days or weeks). They had been commanded to be fruitful and multiply and there is no reason to believe they waited to begin having children, yet their 1st child wasn’t born until after they’d been banished from the garden. Seeing that this child inherited a sinful nature, it seems reasonable to believe that he was conceived after Adam and Eve had already sinned. This implies they didn’t live in the Garden of Eden very long.
Just as God had planted the Tree of the Knowledge of God and Evil in the garden, so also He permitted Satan (the serpent) to be present in the garden. In order for mankind’s love for God and obedience to Him to be authentic and genuine, it had to be voluntarily. Without a choice, they would have been nothing more than robots.
Notice that the serpent approached Eve rather than Adam. While God personally commanded Adam not to eat of the tree, the Bible doesn’t say that He spoke directly with Eve. Perhaps, in accordance with God’s intended order, Adam told her what God had said, and thus she received the command indirectly. As such, perhaps she didn’t perceive it to be as authoritative as Adam did. Furthermore, Adam may not have appropriately conveyed the seriousness and severity of God’s command to Eve.
The serpent’s questions were intended to sow doubt in Eve’s mind. If you can eat from all the other trees, why not this 1? Satan twisted the truth and told her that she wouldn’t die if she ate from it, but would instead become like God knowing good and evil. He claimed that God was concealing this from her. It was true that she wouldn’t immediately drop dead, but her disobedience would usher in both her physical and spiritual death. It was also true that she’d know the difference between good and evil, but she would have committed evil to attain this knowledge! Satan is a master at temptation, mixing outright lies with half-truths, omitting the consequences, and subtly questioning God’s motives.
II. TEMPTATION AND SIN (v6-8)
Eve gazed upon the tree, contemplating the serpent’s words, and its fruit seemed delightful. So she took of the fruit, ate it, and gave some to her husband Adam who ate also. Immediately their eyes were opened, they realized that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together to cover their loins. Hearing God walking through the garden, the couple hid themselves in the midst of the trees.
Eve should have dismissed the serpent’s words immediately. Instead she pondered them in her heart and mind while staring longingly at the forbidden fruit. This is the danger of temptation. We must immediately reject it, because when we allow it to linger it becomes stronger and stronger. As for Adam, he had received the command not to eat directly from God. He sinned with full knowledge of what he was doing. His disobedience reflected a failure in leadership.
Once they had sinned, Adam and Eve immediately became aware of their guilt. Unlike before, when they were morally innocent and unashamed of their nakedness, now both were fully cognizant of their condition. They now knew good and evil, and had done evil. They sought to cover their nakedness in order to hide their shame. Furthermore, they attempted to hide from God, as if that is even possible (Jeremiah 23:24).
III. GUILT AND EXCUSES (v9-13)
Although God already knew where they were hidden, He gave Adam the chance to reveal himself. The couple came out from their hiding place, and Adam said that he had hidden because he was naked and afraid. God asked him how he knew he was naked, and Adam admitted that he’d eaten from the forbidden tree. Then Eve confessed that she had eaten the fruit as well.
When confronted by God with his disobedience, Adam blamed Eve for convincing him to eat the fruit. She gave it to me, he said. It’s her fault. But beyond that, he blamed God for giving her to him to begin with. If You had not given her to me, he implied, I would not have sinned. As for Eve, she blamed Satan, saying that he had deceived and tricked her. In other words, “the Devil made me do it.”
In this passage we see 3 types of excuses. Some blame their disobedience on the Devil, some blame it on other people, and still others blame it on God. However, none of these excuses are acceptable. Each person is responsible for their own choices and will be held accountable for them (James 4:17).
CONCLUSION
The passage we’ve read and studied this morning describes the 1st or original sin. The serpent tempted Eve and misled her. She and Adam chose to disobey God. They immediately became aware of their sin and were ashamed. However, when the LORD approached them about it they offered excuses for their behavior rather than simply confessing their guilt.
There is a price for knowing the difference between good and evil. While God is mighty enough to always choose good, we are not. In our weakness, we will constantly succumb to temptation, choose to do evil, and suffer the consequences that go with it. Satan knows this full well, and is constantly on the prowl seeking to lead people into sin.
Next week we will take a closer look at the consequences and Adam and Eve’s sin - not just upon themselves, but upon their posterity. We will discuss how their sin alienated them from God and brought about a curse on mankind. Until then, if you have sinned against God (and we all have), stop making excuses and simply come clean. In Christ, He will forgive repentant sinners and wash them as white as snow.
Welcome! What a joy it is to begin another week in church together. In Genesis chapter 1 God created the heavens and the earth. In chapter 2 He made Adam and Eve and dwelt with them in the Garden of Eden.
This morning we will begin a 3 week journey through Genesis chapter 3. This is the most disastrous chapter in the entire Bible, as it opens the door for all other misfortunes. Prior to the events of chapter 3, there was no sin and no curse. Everything was perfect, pure, and good. But, as we will see, that all changed.
Today’s message is the 11th in our current sermon series. I have titled it “The Fall of Mankind”. We will be reading and discussing Genesis 3:1-13.
I. DECEPTION AND LIES (v1-5)
Satan, in the form of a serpent, approached Eve and asked her if God had truly forbidden her and Adam from eating of any tree in the garden. She answered that they could eat from all of them except for the 1 in the midst of the garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. She explained that if they ate of it, or even touched it, they would die. The serpent responded, “You will surely not die!” He told Eve that if they ate from it, they’d become like God knowing good and evil.
It is uncertain how long Adam and Eve lived in the garden prior to their encounter with Satan. Some believe they were there for a long period of time (perhaps even millions of years). However, the Bible seems to suggest, and I tend to agree, that it was a relatively brief period (perhaps just a few days or weeks). They had been commanded to be fruitful and multiply and there is no reason to believe they waited to begin having children, yet their 1st child wasn’t born until after they’d been banished from the garden. Seeing that this child inherited a sinful nature, it seems reasonable to believe that he was conceived after Adam and Eve had already sinned. This implies they didn’t live in the Garden of Eden very long.
Just as God had planted the Tree of the Knowledge of God and Evil in the garden, so also He permitted Satan (the serpent) to be present in the garden. In order for mankind’s love for God and obedience to Him to be authentic and genuine, it had to be voluntarily. Without a choice, they would have been nothing more than robots.
Notice that the serpent approached Eve rather than Adam. While God personally commanded Adam not to eat of the tree, the Bible doesn’t say that He spoke directly with Eve. Perhaps, in accordance with God’s intended order, Adam told her what God had said, and thus she received the command indirectly. As such, perhaps she didn’t perceive it to be as authoritative as Adam did. Furthermore, Adam may not have appropriately conveyed the seriousness and severity of God’s command to Eve.
The serpent’s questions were intended to sow doubt in Eve’s mind. If you can eat from all the other trees, why not this 1? Satan twisted the truth and told her that she wouldn’t die if she ate from it, but would instead become like God knowing good and evil. He claimed that God was concealing this from her. It was true that she wouldn’t immediately drop dead, but her disobedience would usher in both her physical and spiritual death. It was also true that she’d know the difference between good and evil, but she would have committed evil to attain this knowledge! Satan is a master at temptation, mixing outright lies with half-truths, omitting the consequences, and subtly questioning God’s motives.
II. TEMPTATION AND SIN (v6-8)
Eve gazed upon the tree, contemplating the serpent’s words, and its fruit seemed delightful. So she took of the fruit, ate it, and gave some to her husband Adam who ate also. Immediately their eyes were opened, they realized that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together to cover their loins. Hearing God walking through the garden, the couple hid themselves in the midst of the trees.
Eve should have dismissed the serpent’s words immediately. Instead she pondered them in her heart and mind while staring longingly at the forbidden fruit. This is the danger of temptation. We must immediately reject it, because when we allow it to linger it becomes stronger and stronger. As for Adam, he had received the command not to eat directly from God. He sinned with full knowledge of what he was doing. His disobedience reflected a failure in leadership.
Once they had sinned, Adam and Eve immediately became aware of their guilt. Unlike before, when they were morally innocent and unashamed of their nakedness, now both were fully cognizant of their condition. They now knew good and evil, and had done evil. They sought to cover their nakedness in order to hide their shame. Furthermore, they attempted to hide from God, as if that is even possible (Jeremiah 23:24).
III. GUILT AND EXCUSES (v9-13)
Although God already knew where they were hidden, He gave Adam the chance to reveal himself. The couple came out from their hiding place, and Adam said that he had hidden because he was naked and afraid. God asked him how he knew he was naked, and Adam admitted that he’d eaten from the forbidden tree. Then Eve confessed that she had eaten the fruit as well.
When confronted by God with his disobedience, Adam blamed Eve for convincing him to eat the fruit. She gave it to me, he said. It’s her fault. But beyond that, he blamed God for giving her to him to begin with. If You had not given her to me, he implied, I would not have sinned. As for Eve, she blamed Satan, saying that he had deceived and tricked her. In other words, “the Devil made me do it.”
In this passage we see 3 types of excuses. Some blame their disobedience on the Devil, some blame it on other people, and still others blame it on God. However, none of these excuses are acceptable. Each person is responsible for their own choices and will be held accountable for them (James 4:17).
CONCLUSION
The passage we’ve read and studied this morning describes the 1st or original sin. The serpent tempted Eve and misled her. She and Adam chose to disobey God. They immediately became aware of their sin and were ashamed. However, when the LORD approached them about it they offered excuses for their behavior rather than simply confessing their guilt.
There is a price for knowing the difference between good and evil. While God is mighty enough to always choose good, we are not. In our weakness, we will constantly succumb to temptation, choose to do evil, and suffer the consequences that go with it. Satan knows this full well, and is constantly on the prowl seeking to lead people into sin.
Next week we will take a closer look at the consequences and Adam and Eve’s sin - not just upon themselves, but upon their posterity. We will discuss how their sin alienated them from God and brought about a curse on mankind. Until then, if you have sinned against God (and we all have), stop making excuses and simply come clean. In Christ, He will forgive repentant sinners and wash them as white as snow.