Matthew
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Join date: 2008-07-22
Age: 24
Location: Spring Hill, FL
 | | Subject: Introduction to the Problem of Sin and of Evil 7/8/2008 & 7/16/2008 Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:23 am | |
| THE PROBLEM OF SIN AND OF EVIL - THE FALL Romans 8:18-25| Quote: | | For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. |
In this lesson we are going to get an idea of what it means that man is a sinner, and why the story of Adam and Eve is important for us today.
The verses above from the book of Romans basically say that suffering and calamity are a result of the fall. There were no catastrophic earthquakes or tsunamis or children born blind or stillborn before the fall. After God created everything He said it was all very good.
Genesis 1:31
| Quote: | | And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. |
This included man. God formed man out of the ground and breathed life into him, thus making man in His image. Everything he created was good.
Genesis 1:27
| Quote: | So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them. |
Every man and woman has been created in God's image.
God's whole creation was very good.
Characters in the Fall
Adam (The First Man)
Eve (The First Woman)
The Serpent (Satan)
The Lord God
What is the fall?
The fall is the term used for the first sin of mankind.
This is when death and suffering entered the human race.
When did the fall happen?
After God formed Eve out of Adam's side, when they were the only humans on the planet.
Technically, we don't know how long ago it happened.
Where did the fall happen?
In the Garden of Eden, which is in the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Why did the fall happen?
The fall was a result of man's actions influenced by Satan's deception.
It also was decreed by God so that there would be liberation from the bondage to corruption of the human heart and all creation. We'll get into this more later.
How did the fall happen?
This is what we will look into next. First of all, what did man fall from? He fell from perfection. Perfection was being on good terms with God. Adam and Eve walked and talked with God most likely every day. But when they fell, they became imperfect when they disobeyed a commandment.
What was the ONLY commandment given to man in the Garden of Eden?
God created man and woman as perfect creatures. At this time, God did not give Adam and Eve the ten commandments. He didn't tell them to go to church. In fact, God only commanded Adam and Eve to do ONE thing - to not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil!
Genesis 2:16,17
| Quote: | | And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." |
Genesis 3:1-7
| Quote: | Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"
2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. |
What is the definition of crafty?
Craftiness is skill in deception; cunning, dodgy, tricky, subtle, sly
Did Satan, the serpent, accurately quote God?
No
What did Satan do with God's commandment?
He changed God's words. In verse 1 he changed it from the tree of knowledge of good and evil to any tree.
Did Eve know what God's commandment was?
Yes, she quoted it in verse 2
What did Eve NOT do about Satan's interaction with her?
She did not flee from him or defend what was right. She was deceived into letting herself be tempted.
In verse 6 we learn a very important truth about the nature of temptation.
Three traits of the fruit that Eve found attractive.
1. Good for food
2. Delight to the eyes
3. Would make her wise
It was these 3 things that Satan ended up using against her, as is clearly seen in verse 4. Satan did not make Eve do anything, he didn't force her to touch the tree or eat the fruit. Instead, he deceived her by pointing out the things about the tree that she desired. This is how Satan tempts every person, by presenting them with what they desire. We can get a better understanding of this elsewhere in the Bible.
1 John 2:15-17
| Quote: | | Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.16 For all that is in the world---the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions---is not from the Father but is from the world. |
From this passage in 1 John we can see a parallel with the 3 desires of Eve for the fruit in the Garden.
Desire for the Fruit (Gen. 2:6) -----> Parallel with Love for Sin
Good for food ------------------------> Desires of flesh
Delight to the eyes -------------------> Desires of the eyes
Would make one wise ----------------> Pride in possessions
The desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and having pride in our possessions are what lure us into sin.
James 1:14,15
| Quote: | | But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. |
So, you may be asking, where was Adam when all of this took place? Adam was right there with Eve and ate the fruit after she gave it to him to eat. However, Adam ate of it willingly, he was not deceived. He basically gave into his desire to please his wife, whereas Eve gave into her desire to please herself.
1 Timothy 2:13
| Quote: | | and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. |
Eve sinned out of ignorance, Adam sinned deliberately.
For time time being, lets move on in the story.
Genesis 3:7
| Quote: | | Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. |
When they realized what they had done, they knew they were naked and felt ashamed for it. They tried to cover their nudity. And when they heard God walking around in the garden, they hid themselves. They obviously knew they had done something wrong. Their conscience told them so, just as it tells us when we do something wrong.
Some Other Observations
Man's weakness is being passive and giving into the demands of those around him.
Woman's weakness is that she is easily deceived since she is so moved by her emotions. |
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