Sermon Review | Sunday, Oct 4

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: 

• Grab your Study Bible and a pen. 
• Print this page out, or write your answers in your own journal. 
• Take your time to answer these questions thoughtfully.  
• ​Share your answers with your spouse, family, or a friend. 

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.