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The text for this lesson is Genesis 3.

Key Point

  • Through Adam, sin spreads to all people. Through Christ, God offers forgiveness to all people.
  • Law: Because I sin, I will die.
  • Gospel: God sent His Son, Jesus, to crush sin, death, and the devil, and through Him, God forgives my sins and gives me eternal life.

Discussion Points

  1. Today, we learn how God’s perfect creation was ruined by sin. A sin occurs when someone disobeys a command of God. Are we sinners because we commit sins, or do we commit sins because we are sinners? After discussing this, see Psalm 51:5 for insight into this topic.
  2. To set the stage for Genesis 3, we must review Genesis 2:8–9, 15–17. Read these verses. To whom did God directly give the command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Why might God give such a command? What made the fruit deadly to those who ate it?
  3. Read Genesis 3:1–3. What did the serpent throw into question in his temptation of Eve? Did she accurately quote God’s original command? In Genesis 3:6, we find that Adam was with Eve. As head of his household and recipient of God’s original command, what should Adam have done to prevent this disaster?
  4. After the fall, God could have simply destroyed the creation and started over from scratch. Yet He had created the world “very good,” and He would not give up on it. Read Genesis 3:15 and John 3:16. Why did God not destroy the world? How far was He willing to go to redeem His creation?
  5. In Genesis 3:21, God gave garments of animal skin to cover Adam and Eve’s shame over their sin. This pointed forward to the sacrificial system of Israel and ultimately to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Read Hebrews 9:22, 27–28 and Galatians 3:26–27. How did Christ’s death on the cross fulfill God’s Law and reverse the effects of Adam’s sin? What garment does God give us to cover our sins?
  6. In Genesis 3, Satan casts doubt on God’s Word in order to tempt Eve. Read 1 Peter 5:8–9. Whom is Satan most interested in tempting? What is Satan’s ultimate goal? What is our best defense against Satan?
  7. In Genesis 3:22–24, we see that if Adam and Eve had eaten of the tree of life after the fall, they would have lived forever in their sinful condition. When God banished them from the Garden, how was this an act not only of wrath, but also of grace? How does God’s Law function to show us both God’s wrath toward sin and also His love for our well-being?

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