MBTS - Genesis 3

Introduction

            If you have a Bible, go ahead and grab that, and let’s open to Genesis 3. If you don’t have a Bible, there is a hard-backed black one at the Welcome Table. That is our gift to you! While you’re turning there:

My grandmother was a Sunday school teacher for many years. She loved Jesus and loved teaching children. Saturdays were here experiment days. She would put the craft for the class together to make sure it worked. She would stay awake into the night to make sure she would have the lesson down as well as an activity that helped her teach the Bible. She was dedicated to making disciples through her Sunday school class.

            In 2008, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. For sixteen months, I watched as she struggled through treatments and discomfort, yet she never stopped trying to reach people with the gospel. Through the pain, I never heard her pray for the Lord to spare her life rather she prayed that God would receive all the glory regardless of what would happen.

            Her hope was not set on survival. Her hope was not set on the temporary live that we are doomed in. Her hope was set on Jesus. She knew that worrying and putting her trust in this life would not ultimately satisfy her. She was ready for whatever the cancer brought to her because her hope was God’s grace alone.

The people of Israel received the book of Genesis as they are preparing for the battle of the Promised Land. They’re intimidated by the reality of this major war because they don’t know what to do. Moses writes Genesis to the Israelites in the power of the God who had chosen them to be His people. They just heard about the power of God in Creation, and now Moses reminds them of the exit of the garden of Eden, when despite our brokenness God shows us grace.

As we look at the book of Genesis, we need to know where to place our hope. It’s not in our ability, our money, our country. The “Big Idea” for our time today is “Our Only Hope Is God’s Grace.” Let’s stand together as we read Genesis 3:1-6.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LordGod had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Leader: This is God’s Word. Everyone: Thanks be to God. Have a seat.

            Well, that’s not good. Up to this point, everything was more profoundly glorious that we could ever image. God had created the heavens and the earth, everything had life and joy, nothing was wrong! There was no sickness, death, or anything wrong. Colors were vibrant, the entire creation sang God’s praises, everything was wonderful. God created mankind and lived with them in a garden with perfect harmony. God was with mankind in the most beautiful way.

Our imaginations cannot comprehend the perfection of Eden. None of us have ever lived in a perfect world. It does not take long for us to reach the reality that our world is broken. There are unspeakable things that take place and everything we see is affected by evil. Our text today explains why that is. Adam and Eve were given a view of the other side. The serpent approached Eve and presented her with a counterfeit view of a better world, which ultimately led to their destruction. The serpent showed them greener grass.

Genesis 3:1-19 – God’s Grace Is Better

            My son Silas is four years old. We moved about two years into a nice blue house near the city we were going to plant a church in. Occasionally, we visit where we lived before in a small, run-downtown, in a house that we outgrew quickly. We lived in a two-bedroom, one bath house that was held together by prayer and Scotch tape. We drove by it one day, and my son said, “Daddy, can we live at old house again?” We live in a beautiful house, that’s big enough for our family, that has awesome neighbors and no politics—yet my boy wanted to go back because “the grass seems greener.”

            We have a grass is greener approach to God when we think we can do better than what He has given us. The serpent led Eve to believe that the grass would be greener than what they had. What does He tempt her with? He begins by introducing her to the sin cycle. Sin always starts with doubt. “Is this really that bad? I think I can control it.” The serpent said, “Did God actually say…” (Genesis 3:1). Eve responds with an exaggeration of what God said, but the serpent takes her a step forward, “You will not surely die…” (Genesis 3:3). He introduces her to the idea that she might actually get more than what God had given her! She could be like God!

            The doubt, led to temptation, which led to her eyes being opened (vv. 6-7). She saw that the tree was good and that she could be wise like God, and she took it and ate and gave some to her husband, Adam, who was with her. Adam did not protect his wife and crush the serpent, but he just stood there and let it happen! Adam was supposed to have dominion over the animals, but he was passive! He should have stomped the snake, but he just let it happen, which led to both of them sinning—all because the grass might be greener over there.

         God’s grace is better than anything the world had for us. Living in a fallen world, we are often met with comparisons, and we try to trade for a better deal. We live with a universal idea that the grass is greener on the other side.

         Now the woman would have pain in childbearing and relational issues with her husband. Adam was given the easiest job in the most beautiful garden, but now the work would be difficult, and he’ll work until he dies. Both of them are not naked and aware of their shame. Sin is a warping of what God has made good because we believe that the grass is greener on the other side. This is why we take good food and use it for gluttony. The gift of sex is distorted and turned into adultery, pornography, homosexuality, abuse. Work becomes an addiction for the greedy. Childbirth now has paid, loss, and depression. All of these things are a result of believing that we can have better than what God has provided for us.

            What confirms for us, Church, our first point is that God’s grace is better. It’s better because it ultimately leads to our salvation. This leads to our second point; God’s grace saves us.

Genesis 3:1-19 – God’s Grace Saves Us

            Through the curses God spoke after Adam and Eve sinned, there was a whisper of hope. In the curse to the serpent, God spoke a promise that there would be a future. He would have been justified to wipe humanity from the face of the planet. But now, through the seed of the woman, God promised an offspring. This offspring “shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heal” (Genesis 3:15). This is a massive reality.

            That’s an interesting threat. Let’s break this down. I served as a youth pastor, and took my students to Panama City Beach, Florida for BigStuf Camps. One of the guys, named Tyler, bought a skim board from one of the shops. Skim boarding is where you wait for the waves to come onto the sand, making it where you can skimacross the wave going back into the ocean. Being the easily peer-pressured-to-do-dumb-things youth pastor I was, I agreed to try it. Why not? I got a running start and did great! For about four seconds—which is a long time on a skim board! However, I did not see the hole that someone had dug, and the board went into the hole and I did a front flip, landing on my back. When my feet came down, my right heel landed hard on the wet sand, which felt like concrete. This was night two of six, so for the next few nights, I limped around with a bruised heel. After a few nights, the pain and soreness went away.

            A bruised heel is a very temporary injury, which causes momentary pain that you will heal from and live to walk another day. The serpent would bruise the heel of the offspring, meaning that he would land a temporary blow. Look at what the offspring would do to the serpent: “He will bruise your head.” This is a permanent and fatal wound! The enemy would ultimately be defeated by the offspring!

            Do you see the connection? God in His grace, promised a Savior, who would be temporarily afflicted by the serpent, but ultimately would conquer the serpent forever. When Jesus died on the cross, He took your sin and my sin onto Himself! We were willful enemies of God because of our sin, but He took our guilt and the accusation of the serpent toward us and was killed on our behalf in His death on the cross. But it was only temporary, because three days after Jesus died, He rose again from the dead, securing our eternal redemption! In doing so, He conquered sin and death forever! Now, through faith in Him, we can be saved from our sins! If you’re here and you’re not a Christian, I want to invite you to trust in this Jesus to deliver you from all your sin.

            Church, what this shows us our second point is our that God’s grace saves us! When you turn from the serpent’s temptation, when you repent of your sins, when you trust in Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, you are saved by God’s grace alone through faith!

Conclusion

            From Genesis 3 throughout all throughout the Scriptures, we find this reoccurring need. God’s grace. All throughout our lives, we have found that exact same need. We are great at making messes of ourselves. We are crummy gods of our own lives. No matter which way we have turned, we make a fool of ourselves. Our only hope is God’s grace.

Here at Graceland, we believe that everyone has a next step to take. Regardless of if you have walked with Jesus for eighty years or eight minutes, each one of us has a step to take toward Jesus. Perhaps your next step is to recognize that God’s grace is better than anything the world has to offer you and receive His grace to save you! If that is you, I would love to have a conversation with you after service. There is no one here beyond Jesus’s grace. Some of you have been running from the Lord because of your sin, just like Adam and Eve. I want to give you good news: You do not have to hide anymore. Jesus laid down His life on the cross to forgive you of your sins! The serpent has been defeated, and you can be brought back into a right relationship with God!

            Another next step some of you need to take is to recognize God’s grace for other people. There is not a person you know who does not need the gospel. We are all under the same guilt as Adam and Eve, and we need grace. I want you to write down the name of someone you want to invite to church to hear the gospel or who you are going to intentionally move toward in hopes of sharing your faith with them.

Every week at Graceland Church we offer a time of response. Some of you need to respond to the call of the sermon and some of you need prayer. The alter is open for both of you.

But there are also some of you that need call out to Jesus to be saved. I’m talking to you right now. What do I mean by saved?

Let's start with good news. There is a God that has created everything, even you. And He is good.

Let’s go to the bad news. After he created us, we sinned against him. Meaning that we turned our back on the God that created us. Romans 3:23 is clear that “all have sinned and fallen short the glory of God.” You are a sinner. And that sin has caused death to come into the world. It has caused us to be at enemies of God. Our sin has given us one destination, a literal Hell.

Now, let's finish with great news. God did not leave us in our sin. Instead, he sent Jesus (His only Son) to step out of heaven, live a perfect life, and then be killed on a cross. To take the death we deserve. Then God defeats death by raising Jesus to life again.

So what does this mean for you? If you repent of your sins, confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved! The Bible draws a clear line in the sand. To cross that line to Jesus, you must privately and publicly repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus as Savior.

Faith is more than praying a prayer, it’s a movement. If the Holy Spirit is stirring your heart to Jesus and you want to, for the first time, publicly declare your faith, I would ask that you come forward and let us pray and celebrate with you what God is doing in your life! We are addicted to changed lives around here. Your story of God’s grace can start today. It begins with you putting your faith in Jesus, and letting the world know about it.

            We want to see God’s grace known by as many people as possible, because our only hope is God’s grace. God’s grace is better than anything this world has to offer us because God’s grace saves us.