THE FALL (5)
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) The fall of man
(Text: Genesis 3:1-24)
1. What is the text all about?
a) Adam and Eve learned by painful experience that because God is holy and hates sin, he must punish sinners. The rest of the book of Genesis recounts stories of lives ruined as a result of the fall. Disobedience is sin, and it breaks our fellowship with God. But, fortunately, when we disobey, God is willing to forgive us and to restore our relationship with him.
b) Satan is our enemy. He will do anything he can to get us to follow his evil, deadly path. The phrase "you shall bruise His heel" refers to Satan's repeated attempts to defeat Christ during his life on earth. "He shall bruise your head" foreshadows Satan's defeat when Christ rose from the dead. A strike on the heel is not deadly, but a crushing blow to the head is. Already God was revealing his plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world through his Son, Jesus Christ.
c) Adam and Eve' s disobedience and fall from God's gracious presence affected all creation, including the environment. Years ago people thought nothing of polluting streams with chemical wastes and garbage. This seemed so insignificant, so small. Now we know that just two or three parts per million of certain chemicals can damage human health. Sin in our lives is similar to pollution in streams. Even small amounts are deadly.
d) Life in the garden of Eden was like living in heaven. Everything was perfect, and if Adam and Eve had obeyed God, they could have lived there forever. But after disobeying, Adam and Eve no longer deserved paradise, and God told them to leave. If they had continued to live in the garden and eat from the tree of life, they would have lived forever. But eternal life in a state of sin would mean forever trying to hide from God. Like Adam and Eve, all of us have sinned and are separated from fellowship with God. We do not have to stay separated, however, God is preparing a new earth as an eternal paradise for his people.
e) The cherubim were mighty angels of the Lord.
f) This is how Adam and Eve broke their relationship with God;
@1. they became convinced their way was better than God's;
@2. they became self-conscious and hid;
@3. they tried to excuse and defend themselves.
#1) To build a relationship with God, we must reverse those steps:
i) we must drop our excuses and self-defenses;
ii) we must stop trying to hide from God;
iii) we must become convinced that God's way is better than our way.
2. Prayer focus
a) Pray that we would obey God's commands for our own good only.
The End ...
0. Introductiona) The fall of man
(Text: Genesis 3:1-24)
1. What is the text all about?
a) Adam and Eve learned by painful experience that because God is holy and hates sin, he must punish sinners. The rest of the book of Genesis recounts stories of lives ruined as a result of the fall. Disobedience is sin, and it breaks our fellowship with God. But, fortunately, when we disobey, God is willing to forgive us and to restore our relationship with him.
b) Satan is our enemy. He will do anything he can to get us to follow his evil, deadly path. The phrase "you shall bruise His heel" refers to Satan's repeated attempts to defeat Christ during his life on earth. "He shall bruise your head" foreshadows Satan's defeat when Christ rose from the dead. A strike on the heel is not deadly, but a crushing blow to the head is. Already God was revealing his plan to defeat Satan and offer salvation to the world through his Son, Jesus Christ.
c) Adam and Eve' s disobedience and fall from God's gracious presence affected all creation, including the environment. Years ago people thought nothing of polluting streams with chemical wastes and garbage. This seemed so insignificant, so small. Now we know that just two or three parts per million of certain chemicals can damage human health. Sin in our lives is similar to pollution in streams. Even small amounts are deadly.
d) Life in the garden of Eden was like living in heaven. Everything was perfect, and if Adam and Eve had obeyed God, they could have lived there forever. But after disobeying, Adam and Eve no longer deserved paradise, and God told them to leave. If they had continued to live in the garden and eat from the tree of life, they would have lived forever. But eternal life in a state of sin would mean forever trying to hide from God. Like Adam and Eve, all of us have sinned and are separated from fellowship with God. We do not have to stay separated, however, God is preparing a new earth as an eternal paradise for his people.
e) The cherubim were mighty angels of the Lord.
f) This is how Adam and Eve broke their relationship with God;
@1. they became convinced their way was better than God's;
@2. they became self-conscious and hid;
@3. they tried to excuse and defend themselves.
#1) To build a relationship with God, we must reverse those steps:
i) we must drop our excuses and self-defenses;
ii) we must stop trying to hide from God;
iii) we must become convinced that God's way is better than our way.
2. Prayer focus
a) Pray that we would obey God's commands for our own good only.
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