Milo Plan

Folks, Milo Baptist Church posted commentary for "Admit Your Sin Problem", our lesson from Genesis 3 &4 this week.

I've cut and pasted it into this blog entry (below), since their link is not permanent.

BTW, does anyone know what happened to "Bob" at Hampton Road Baptist Church? He used to post wonderful lesson plans, but suddenly stopped about a year ago.

ADMIT YOUR SIN PROBLEM
Gen. 3:1-4:26
KEY VERSE: And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. Gen. 3:6

All people struggle with temptations and often sin against God.
Paradise did not last long in the garden of Eden. Though God had provided everything the man and woman needed, they fell prey to the serpent's temptation to want more. After dialoguing with the serpent, the woman broke God’s one command by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The man quickly followed his wife's action (Gen. 3:1-6).

Realizing their nakedness, the man and woman fashioned crude coverings from fig leaves and hid from God when He came to walk with them in the garden. Knowing what they had done, God provided the man and woman an opportunity to confess their sin, but they refused to admit their guilt and instead blamed others. God punished the serpent, the woman, and the man by making life for more difficult for each. Adam named his wife Eve because she "was the mother of all living" (3:20. God demonstrated He cared for them by providing the appropriate clothing, but He also sent them out of Eden so they would not eat from the tree of life (3:7-24).

Adam and Eve became the parents of two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain become a farmer like Adam, while Abel became a shepherd. When Cain and Abel worshiped God, God accepted Abel and his offering of firstborn animals but not Cain and his offering of produce. When Cain became angry, God warned Cain not to fall prey to sin. Yet Cain ignored God’s and killed his brother. When God gave Cain the opportunity to confess, Cain, like his parents, refused. God punished Cain, driving him further from Eden; but God also protected him from possible enemies. Cain's line made great contributions to civilization but also maintained a spirit of vengeance (4:1-24).

Eve bore Adam another son whom they named Seth, who then had a son named Enosh. With this new line, the worship of God began again (4:25-26).1.

TEMPTATION LURES US (Gen. 3:1-5)1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the tree of the garden. 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. The first two chapters of Genesis focus on goodness and life. Chapter 3 provides the answer for the question, Why is there evil and death? How can evil be reconciled with God's goodness and the fact that everything originated with Him?

The origin of sin is found in the choice of the man and woman to obey the voice of the serpent rather and the voice of God. The serpent, speaking briefly and only twice, caused the woman to doubt first God’s word (3:1) and then God's goodness (3:4-5).THE SERPENT (GEN. 3:1)

Bible students long have argued over the serpent's identity in Gen. 3. Some Bible students suggest the serpent was symbolic of pagan fertility religions or representative of the forces of evil and chaos that opposed the created order.

Other Bible students believe the serpent symbolized life and wisdom since it was reborn on a regular basis through the shedding of its skin and cleverly survived even without limbs. Still other Bible students state the serpent symbolized humanity's inner desires that lead to sin (Jas. 1:13-14).

None of these views are based on the New Testament, which understands the serpent to be Satan employed the serpent, spoke against God and His command, and thus tempted the man and woman to sin. Even as Satan used Peter to attempt to dissuade Jesus from His mission (Matt. 16:22-23), Satan used the serpent and still uses situations and people today to tempt individuals to question and disobey God.

According to Genesis 3:5, the serpent promised that man and woman would "become like God knowing good and evil." But according to verse 7, all they really came to know was that they were naked.

That Adam and Eve struggled to cover themselves indicates that they felt guilt as a result of their sin.

All people sin and experience alienation from God and, to some degree, alienation from one another.

In what ways do we try to hide ourselves from other people? In what ways do we also try to hide from God.11. SIN ALIENATES US (Gen. 3:6-10)6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be sired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made them selves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; AND Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

The focus of the serpent's beguiling speech was subtle: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil must have been intended by God to keep knowledge of good and evil from people. But people, created in God's image, need this knowledge to be like Him. By placing the tree off limits, God had declared that the ability and right to know what was good and what was not good for people was something that He had reserved of Himself.

The woman, enticed by the serpent (cp. 2Cor. 11:3), ate of the tree and in turn gave some of its fruit to the man, who ate willingly. In flaunting God's right to know and trying to be wise in their own eyes (3:6), the man and woman decided that they no longer needed God. The ultimate source of evil is not explained in Genesis, two facts are clear: evil did not originate with God, and it is subject to His power and will.

Created to be free and exalted beings, people have the capacity to choose God or to reject Him. Beginning with Adam and because of Adam, all people have chosen to elevate their own desires over the desires of God.111. GOD CONFRONTS US (Gen. 3:11-13, 22-23)11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat....................22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know god and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Old Testament writers understood the corrupting effect of sin on humanity (Jer. 17:9). But it was the apostle Paul who most clearly set out the doctrine of original sin. Paul noted that sin had entered the world and spread to all people because of the sin of one man (Rom. 5:12). He drew a comparison between Adam-the one who had originally been without sin-and Jesus who-although also without sin-was punished for the sin of Adam (Rom. 5:14-21).

People, created in the image of God, succumbed to the temptation to become even more like God than they already were (3:5). As a result, they would share the dust of the serpent (3:14, 19). But someday the Messiah would come to defeat sin and bring people back into a right relationship with God.

All sinners must face the consequences of their sin, and the primary consequence is separation from God.

We need to recognize all people face temptations to sin against the Lord.

We need to realize all people sin and experience alienation from God and, to some degree, alienation from one another.

Because God holds all people accountable for their sins, we need to admit our sins and confess them honestly to Him.