"Good News, Bad News"
“Good News, Bad News”
Sin (The Fall) > Genesis 3
Goal: That those present would understand what sin is, how it came to mankind, and how their sin causes them to be in need of a Savior.
Response: That those present would place their trust in Jesus Christ as a result of what have learned about sin.
Introduction: Good News, Bad News
Transition:
Last week Rick preached from the book of Matthew on the Cross. (Explain) That's Good News! Next week, Easter Sunday, is all about the Resurrection of our Savior! Once again, that's Good News! In fact, the word “Gospel” means Good News – the Good News about Jesus Christ coming to be born in a manger, living a perfect life, offering Himself as a sacrifice for us, and then rising from the dead to live for eternity at the right hand of God the Father. That's the Gospel in a nutshell – the Good News. But the very reason that there's Good News is that there was some Bad News. The “Bad News” is what I would like to talk to you about this morning, and we read about that bad news in Genesis 3.
The Setting (Gen. 1 & 2)
Adam & Eve…
…were created perfectly (perfect DNA)
…were living in a perfect world – just the way God wanted it to be.
…were created with a free moral will (the ability to make choices – both good and bad)
…were given one rule to follow - don’t eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (2:16-17)
…were also given the result (consequence) if they failed to live up to the one rule – death.
The Sin (Gen. 3:1-6)
v.1 Talk about the Serpent & Satan. (See Rev. 12:9, 20:2)
Talk about Historical Narrative
One of Satan's most effetive weapons is doubt. Satan first tries to get Eve to doubt God’s word (Notice that Satan misquotes God's Word in the first place – something he is very good at doing)
v.2-3 Eve changes what God said (either she didn’t remember, or she changed it deliberately to make God appear more harsh than he really was.) “Either Eve did not know God's command very well or did not want to remember it.” Allen Ross in The Bible Knowledge Commentary. (Contrast this with Jesus response to Satan's temptation in Matt. 4.)
v.4-5 Satan continues his temptation by casting doubt on God’s character. (Notice that Satan, the Father of Lies (John 8:44), mixes the truth with a lie to make it seem more believable.)
(Compare with 1 John 2:16) Selfishly Eve ate from the Tree, and then gave some to Adam, who also ate the fruit.
So what is sin? According to this story that we just read, how would you define sin?
Even though the word “sin” never appears here, the New Testament clearly tells us that this act of Adam and Eve was the entrance of sin into the human race. So how would you define the term “sin”?
When I ask people the question “What is sin?” the most common response is “Doing bad things.”
I always explain that this is not a very good definition because what a person considers to be “bad” depends on what standard they are using.
In the verses that we just read, who set the standard? Who came up with the one rule that Adam & Eve were expected to adhere to? Who set the standard of what was acceptable and what wasn't? God!
You see, sin is much more that simply doing something “bad” - sin is when we step outside of God's desire for our lives. When we fail to live up to God's desire then we sin.
1. Sin is failing to live up to God's desire for our life >Show Point 1<
Transition: There's something else I want you to know about sin. Sin always has consequences!
2. Sin always has consequences >Show Point 2<
When we fail to live up to what God desires for us, there are always consequences! Sometimes they're immediate, sometimes their delayed, but be assured that sin always has consequences. What were some of the consequences that Adam & Eve had to face because of their sin?
The Results / Consequences (Gen. 3:7-24)
Immediate Results
v.7 Consequence #1: Shame. Response #1: Tried to fix it themselves
v.8-10 Consequence #2: Fear & Alienation. Response #2: Hiding
v.11 God confronts them. (Notice what Adam was most concerned about the results of his sin and his appearance than he was about the actual sin. God gets to the heart of the issue – their failing to live up to his standard – their disobedience.)
v.12-13 Response #3: Blame
When we are confronted with our sin, our human response tends to be the same as Adam & Eve’s response. But how does God want us to respond?
- Realize that only God can “fix it”
- Confess your sin (get it out in the open; agree with God)
- Take responsibility for your sin and the consequences of your actions.
Further Results (Consequences)
You can choose your choice, but you can’t choose the consequence.
God addresses each of them in turn.
Snake (3-14): Physical changes (crawl on belly)
Satan (3:15): 1) Perpetual hatred between Satan’s kingdom and God’s Kingdom. (Skip the 2nd half of v.15 till later.)
Eve (3:16): 1) Greatly increased pain in childbirth, 2) Desire to step outside of God’s design in her relationships.
Adam (3:17-19): 1) Weeds, 2) You’ll have to grow what you want to eat (I will no longer provide it for you), 3) It will take much harder work to provide for you and your family, 4) Physical death
Adam & Eve (v22-24): 1) Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, 2) Now that they “knew” evil, God did not want them eating from the Tree of Life and continuing to live forever.
Transition: Ultimately, sin resulted in just what God said it would...
3. Sin results in death >Show Point 3<
Rom. 5:12, 6:23
Adam & Eve experienced death (both physical [3:19] & spiritual [NT])
Adam & Eve's sin is passed on to you and me (See Rom. 5:19, 3:10, 3:23)
Transition: As we read through Gen. 3 and see all of the consequences of sin and it's effect on the human race, there is a theme that is woven throughout the chapter – That sin keeps us from God's best!
4. Sin keeps us from God's best >Show Point 4<
Eternal life... the Garden... provision without pain... an open relationship with the Creator of the Universe... Unashamed intimacy between Adam & Eve...
Transition: So what can we do about the results of sin? What can we do about this Death Penalty that we are under as a result of our sin? Absolutely nothing!
5. Sin requires a savior >Show Point 5<
Eph. 2:8-9a, Isa. 64:6
Since we can't “fix it” ourselves, we need some outside help! We need someojne to rescue us!
Transition: And that's where God's provision comes into play. It easy to see, as you read through Gen. 3, God's punishment for sin. But what many of us fail to see in this same narrative is God's provision!
God's Provision
Judgment & Grace, Punishment and Provision
But along with the bad news that is clearly seen here in Gen. 3, you can also get a glimpse of the good news to come. It is easy to see God's judgment in His communicating and carrying out the consequences of Adam & Eve's sin. But if you're not careful you'll miss a very important part of this narrative – God's provision!
(3:16): 1) Greatly increased pain in childbirth (provision: John 16:21)
God covered their shame (provision) (v.21): 1) Blood had to be shed to cover up Adam and Eve’s shame. 2) Their own attempt to cover their own shame was not good enough.
God provision: A Savior >Show Good News<
John 3:16, Titus 3:5
(3:15) God's promise of a Savior 1) You may have won the battle but you will lose the war, 2) the first time a savior is mentioned
Ch. 3 Themes (See note from Bible Knowledge Commentary.)
From the Bible Knowledge Commentary
“The motifs (themes) in chapter 3—death, toil, sweat, thorns, the tree, the struggle, and the seed—all were later traced to Christ. He is the other Adam, who became the curse, who sweat great drops of blood in bitter agony, who wore a crown of thorns, who was hanged on a tree until He was dead, and who was placed in the dust of death.”
Conclusion: You need a Savior!
Verses
Rev. 12:9 (NIV)
The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Rev. 20:2 (NIV)
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
John 8:44 (NIV)
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
1 John 2:16 (KJV)
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Romans 5:12 (NIV)
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—
Romans 6:23 (NIV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:19 (NIV)
...through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners...
Romans 3:10 (NIV)
As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;
Romans 3:23 (NIV)
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
John 16:21 (NIV)
A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.
Titus 3:5 (NIV)
He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit...