Genesis 3:8-24: Easter 2021: Man Falls, God Rescues

Introduction

Most seen image over the last couple of weeks ship stuck in Suez canal. How did the boat get there? Rising tides of the full moon helped to free the ship. Divine intervention!

The Easter Story - You were STUCK in sin and needed divine intervention.

Gen. 3 = Rom. 6:23 - the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life.

Gen. 3 foundational in understanding why Jesus came. Gen. 3 shows us why the world is so hopeless, and Gen. 3 show us why we can be so hopeful.

The Easter Story - God has come to rescue you. For Christians - we celebrate today. If you’re not a Christian - an opportunity to be rescued and join the celebration because God will rescue anyone who calls out to Him in faith.

Three truths this morning as you consider the significance of the resurrection.

You can never cover your sin on your own.

Gen. 3:1-7 - The enemy masterfully deceives Eve. Eve takes the first bite and passes the fruit to her husband who had done nothing to stop Eve from eating. He eats just like his wife.

They went from friends of God to enemies of God. (Romans 5:10)

vs. 8 - God “walking” in the garden. This is what God wants! God wants to walk with you… He wants you to walk with Him in intimacy!

This is what Adam and Eve enjoyed - walking with God in intimacy. But, now it’s different. God is walking. Adam and Eve are hiding.

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit everything changed immediately. They lost their innocence, their intimacy with God and with each other, and ultimately they lost their lives. They died spiritually.

They hid – For the first time they did not want to be in God’s presence. (This is what sin does…)

They covered their bodies – instead of naked and unashamed, now clothed and very ashamed.

But God pursued – “Adam, where are you?” God came looking… If you are a follower of Jesus, aren’t you glad that God came looking for you? Adam and Eve’s story is your story: you were hiding, but God pursued you.

Adam: “I hid because I was afraid.” Afraid of the One who loved him intimately… He doesn’t confess but he knows his sin demands judgment.

Adam points the finger. He blames God and Eve for his failure. He sees himself as the victim. This gift that God had given Adam didn’t seem like such a gift anymore. Adam not only blamed Eve, he blamed God.

Eve points the finger as well. She blames the serpent.

You do the same thing. You try to cover your sin, but you can never cover it up. You are guilty. Take responsibility.

You hide - You avoid people who love you, you avoid the church, and you avoid your relationship with God.

You blame – “If God didn’t put me in such trying times, then I would obey Him.” Or, “If my wife were more attentive, I wouldn’t struggle with lust.” “If my boss were more understanding, I wouldn’t have such a bad attitude at work.” “If my kids were better behaved, I wouldn’t lose my temper.” “If my teachers didn’t make assignments so difficult, I wouldn’t cheat.”

We always think the problem is outside of us, but it’s inside of us. Your sin is yours and yours alone – Don’t point the finger. Own up.

Instead of owning up you try to cover yourself – For Adam and Eve it was with clothes, for you, it’s with works and deeds. “I know that I have a bad attitude at work, but I work hard every week. I’m always on time.” “I know I shouldn’t gossip, but I really am a caring person.” “I know I don’t give generously, but I teach Sunday School.” “I know I lose my temper with my children, but I am a good provider for my family.”

You can’t cover up your sin. God sees right through your blame game, and He sees right through the deeds and good works you try to clothe yourself with.

Hebrews 4:12 – Nothing hidden before God

https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/whats-viral/a-50-year-old-man-fails-driving-test-for-record-192nd-time-after-trying-for-17-years.html - Man can pass driver’s test. Needs to accept reality and rely on UBER. You need to accept reality about who you are.

You cannot escape the consequences of sin.

Notice the consequences of rebellion in this passage:

Serpent – come back to this.

Eve – God created marriage to be a joyful and harmonious partnership and much joy in filling the earth (Be fruitful and multiply), but sin would permanently taint the home. For a woman, pain in childbirth – Every birth, while joyous, is a reminder of suffering – you’ve suffered and your child will suffer. Every woman will have conflict with man. There will be constant power struggles. She will desire him - in the sense of wanting to rule over him, and he will want to rule over her - instead of complementing each other. You’ve seen this struggle in your home!

BUT through broken people, God would eventually bring forth a Messiah - Our brokenness doesn’t stop God’s work! The struggle is a reminder that God will be victorious. (Romans 8:22-24)

Man – Nothing is going to come easy - hard work, difficult, unfulfilling at times – conflict with the boss, misunderstandings, bad communication, unable to complete tasks, never satisfied with our work.

You will return to the ground - The ground - Man’s source of joy and life would become source of pain - The ground Adam was created from - the ground that Adam was to cultivate and rule over would be where his body would ultimately end up.

Ultimate consequence – banned from accessing the tree of life - they would not live forever. Adam would die. Separated from God’s presence in Eden. Sin separates us from God. Adam and Eve sent into exile.

Cherubim and a flaming sword guarding Eden. As Moses and people wander in wilderness they build tabernacle. Holy of holies - cherubim behind the curtain on the mercy seat - reminder - no one could access the mercy seat but the high priest once a year with a sacrifice.

Sin - the approachable God of Genesis 2 is now unapproachable because of sin.

Instead of enjoying sin, NT calls us to:

Grieve it. Sin is horrible. It never just affects you, it affects everyone around you, and ultimately it affects your relationship with God. Believer, don’t walk in it.

Grieve the lust that causes you to look at women like an object of your desires.

Grieve the gossip that causes you to talk down about others made in the image of God.

Grieve the judgmental heart that causes you to hate groups of people.

Grieve the worry and anxiety that causes you to stay up at night doubting God’s goodness and faithfulness to you.

Grieve anger that causes you to lash out at those you love.

Grieve the bitterness that causes you to not forgive the person that hurt you so long ago.

-Grieve the laziness that causes you to lack commitment to everything God puts in front of you.

Grieve your sin because of the damage it is doing to your relationship with God and others.

Grieve sin, because grief leads to repentance. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret… 2 Corinthians 7:10

Kill it. Followers of Jesus cannot be content with sin! Follower of Jesus, if you choose to stay in sin, then you don’t understand why Jesus came!

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you… Colossians 3:5

You will never be sinless, but you can sin less!

What sin are you holding on to that has become more precious to you than your relationship with God? What sin do you adore? Selfishness? Pride? Jealousy? Lust? Bitterness? Grieve it and kill it.

https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2000/09/02/coral-snake-bites-boy-on-school-bus/ - Some of you are playing with the snake...

3. Your only hope is to surrender to the One who ultimately covers your sin.

vs. 20 - Adam calls his wife Eve (Eve= living) Faith… Gen. 3:15. Life would be different, but life would go on because of God’s grace.

The garden is a place of judgment but also a place of grace.

God pursues.

God clothes. God provides covering for their shame – kills an animal and knits clothing for Adam and Eve from the skin of the animal – first living thing to die is an animal so that Adam and Eve’s shame could be covered.

God rescues. An animal could never ultimately cover their sin. Hope in the Garden - a Promise. Curse of the Serpent – life of humiliation – will ultimately be defeated. A promise: Satan will bruise the heels of God’s children, but he will not defeat them. Rather, he will be defeated by an offspring of humanity. As soon as Adam and Eve fall into sin God has a plan to save them from their sin. The fall did not take God by surprise.

For an ancient Hebrew: What in the world does this mean?

Eve… One of her sons would bring hope? Cain or Abel? Nope... Generation would come and go, would God make good on His promise?

Galatians 4:4-7… At the right time… born of woman…

Jesus - born of a virgin - (NOT born with a sin nature but born as sinless Son of God.) Born into a war with the Serpent… tempted in every way, but never fell. Satan continually tried to bruise the heels of Jesus. Always nipping at His feet.

Satan - a venomous snake we can’t get away from. But… Jesus comes - He stomps on the head of Satan - although momentarily it looked like Satan had won the victory.

On the cross, Jesus suffers what Adam and Eve, and all of us deserve - real death - “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” The sky goes dark, the earth quakes - Jesus cries out, “It is finished.”

Imagine the glee of the enemy. “It is finished.” It seemed like the snake was victorious. It seemed like he had sunk his venomous fangs into Jesus. It was done - Satan had won.

But, Jesus wasn’t finished. Satan was finished. Jesus had completed the work of the Father - a work of rescue.

Jesus = the second Adam. Romans 5:18 - Act of righteousness - a perfect life and a perfect sacrifice offered to the Father so we might be clothed not in the skins of animals but in the righteousness of Christ.

Three days after His death Jesus rose - proving that He was more than a man and paving the way for us to have resurrected life.

Some day, our bodies will return to the ground - You still feel the consequences of sin - but our bodies won’t stay in the ground - Christ will return, resurrect us, and bring us into the presence of God like He intended in Eden. We will be with our Father in eternal paradise.