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Origins: The Effects of Sin (A Case Study) | Genesis 4:1-16
Use this review as a means for digging deeper into these verses and growing in your understanding of God’s Word this week. Here’s a few tips:
Begin by reading Genesis 4:1-16. This account serves as a great case study for the three major themes of our series: God’s design, sin’s disaster, and the hope of deliverance. Verse 5 tells us that not only did God reject Cain’s offering, he rejected Cain himself. Why? Well, 1 John 3:12 gives us insight into the reasoning. It says, “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.” The motivation behind Cain’s offering was not pure because Cain did not truly worship God. God’s design for us is to worship him with authenticity. What does this mean and what should this look like in your life? Sin’s disaster is that it always produces evolving corruption. It has a natural progression of growing and getting worse inside of you over time. Look at the flow of this story and how sin’s degrading power grew inside of Cain. After God rejects his offering, Cain is overwhelmed with anger that leads him to wallow in self-pity (verse 5-6). God comes to Cain and offers a chance for him to make this right. He offers Cain an exit ramp off of this dangerous road he is heading down (verse 6-7). However, Cain doesn’t heed the warning and so his anger evolves and begins to control him. This eventually leads him to commit premeditated murder against his own brother (verse 8). How many times in your life has God extended grace to you by offering you an opportunity to repent and get off of the dangerous road you were on? How did you respond? In the midst of this terrible tragedy, there is still hope for deliverance, a promised redemption. God said in Genesis 3:15 there would be a male offspring of Adam and Eve who would one day defeat the Serpent. Ultimately, that male offspring would be born many years later in a small village named Bethlehem. His blood would cry from the ground like Abel’s, but his blood “speaks a better word” than Abel’s (Hebrews 12:24), for it is the power to save people from their sins. Only through faith in Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection are we freed from the bondage of sin that held Cain captive and holds us captive today. How does knowing how much Jesus has sacrificed for you affect the way you sacrifice for others? Thank Jesus for being the promised One. Praise him for his powerful transforming grace. Ask him to help you treat others with brotherly love. For further study: read 1 John 3:11-16
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Origins: Dealing with Sin | Genesis 3:7-24
Use this review as a means for digging deeper into these verses and growing in your understanding of God’s Word this week. Here’s a few tips:
Begin by reading Genesis 3:7-24. Last week we saw how sin was introduced into the world through Adam and Eve’s disobedience (Gen 3:1-6). This week’s text shows us how Adam and Eve improperly dealt with their sin and how God righteously deals with it. Verses 7-13 show us how humans improperly deal with their sin. Verse 7 shows us that we humans try to cover or suppress our feeling of shame after we sin with anything we think will make us feel better. For Adam and Eve, it was fig leaves. For us today it may be money, relationships, or even religion. We use these things to “cover” our feeling of shame in a feeble attempt to either deny or diminish the seriousness of our sin. What are some “fig leaves” you have used or are using to cover your feeling of shame? What is the proper response to our sin? Verses 8-10 show us that we try to hide from or avoid God after we sin. When our hearts are full of shame, we become fearful and do not feel like praying or talking to God, because we do not want to face him. Instead of avoiding prayer, what should we do instead immediately after we sin? Verses 11-13 show us that we try to blame others or our circumstances for our sin. Blaming others or our circumstances are cheap ways to try to absolve our guilt and shame. Instead of blaming, what should we do? Verses 14-24 show us how God righteously deals with sin. First, God exercises judgment on sin. He does this toward humans by allowing them to experience the functional consequences of their sin (verses 16-19), but also enforcing the legal consequence of their sin (verses 19, 22-24). Why couldn’t God overlook Adam and Eve’s sin? Why couldn’t he have just swept it under the rug? (Hint: think about what it means for a good judge to exercise justice in today’s world) Verses 14-15 show us that God also exercises judgment on Satan and evil, and will one day destroy them completely. Not only does God exercise righteous judgment, he also offers grace. Verse 15 is the first hope of the gospel in the entire Bible. Verse 21 also points us to the hope of the gospel. One day many years later, the offspring of Adam, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, would be sacrificed and his blood would cover our guilt and shame completely. Have you confessed your sins to God and asked him to forgive you, trusting him and him alone for your salvation? 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Thank Jesus for his sacrifice for you. Praise him for being holy, just, loving, and merciful. Confess your sins to him and ask him to forgive you and cleanse you. Rejoice that you are a forgiven child of God! For further study: read Romans 5:12-21 and Revelation 22:1-3. |
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