God created Adam and Eve in his image and gave them in a perfect place in which to live. They lived in the Garden of Eden where they had everything they needed. God had only given them one command, which was not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God said that if they ate from that tree they would surely die.
Because God made people in his image, they are unique from all other animals. Each person is an eternal being designed to live in a relationship with God. God made humans with a mind, a will and emotion. People have a mind, which means they can learn about and know God. They also have a free will, which means that they can either choose to submit to God and do things God’s way and experience God’s blessing, or they can choose to go their own way and experience destruction and separation from God. Because people have emotions they often like or desire things that aren’t of God.
Rebellion
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden chose to follow their desires and do what appealed to them. They rebelled against God and disobeyed his command. Genesis 3:1-13 tells the story of their rebellion which is known as “The Fall”.
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, `You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “
4“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 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.”
6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
13Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
In this passage, we can see the crafty way Satan, in the form of a serpent, deceived Eve into following her desires into sin.
Satan’s Craftiness
- First he planted seeds of doubt against God (verse 1), “Did God really say…”
- Then he denied the danger of disobedience (verse 4), “’You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman.”
- Then he promised great benefit (verse 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.”
It was Satan’s deceptive promise that Eve could be like God that led Eve to take the final step into sin. This is the foundation of all sin, the idea of personal sovereignty that I can be in control of my life and make my own decisions about what is right and wrong for me to do. I can be like God. It is rebellion against God and his sovereignty. Whoever is sovereign has the right to rule. If I am sovereign, then I have the right to rule my own life. If God is sovereign, then I am under his authority.
To keep from sinning we have to remember that God is our Creator, our sovereign ruler and we belong to him. He is the one who has set the standard for people to follow according to his good design and his holy and perfect character. We can’t decide for ourselves what is right and wrong. When we do what we want instead of what God wants we sin. Sin leads us down a path of harm and destruction. Because God loves us he wants life to go well for us. God hates sin because he is holy and good and he knows sin hurts us.
Consequences
There were consequences when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God.
7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12The man said, “The woman you put here with me–she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Once Adam and Eve sinned, several things happened:
- They lost their innocence. They recognized that they were naked. They felt shame about their condition and tried to cover themselves up. (vs. 7)
- Their relationship with God was broken and they tried to hide from him. (vs. 8)
- Neither one of them was willing to take responsibility for what they did. Adam blamed Eve for giving him the fruit and Eve blamed the serpent for deceiving her. (vs. 12-13)
James 1:14-15 says, Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Weaknesses
Satan knows our weaknesses and where we are likely to give into temptation. He tempts us in the areas where we have evil desires and are vulnerable and weak. The equation of sin is: evil desires + temptation = sin that leads to death.
Evil desires are any desires that aren’t in line with or submitted to God’s desires. If something is evil, it is not functioning according to God’s good design. Evil is a corruption of what is good. It is anything that is harmful to God’s creation. Evil desires are ones that will end up hurting us or others.
When we follow our own desires or emotions rather than God’s desires and his truth, we end up giving in to Satan’s temptations and we sin.
Sin and death entered the world because Adam and Eve followed their own desires rather than obey God’s command. They gave into Satan’s temptation that they could be like God. Just as Satan’s temptation led Adam and Eve astray in the Garden of Eden it remains a problem for us today.
A saying to always keep in mind is: “Thinking something’s good for you, doesn’t make it right to do.”
- Overview Questions: How did Satan get Eve to eat the fruit? What happened to Adam and Eve after they ate the fruit? What is sin? What was Eve’s first step into sin?
- Thought Questions: Why does God hate sin? What is at the heart of all sin? Why do we resist following God’s commands? Why do we do things that hurt us and others?
- Prayer: Pray that you would recognize when you are being tempted to go down a path of sin. Thank God for his truth and pray that you would believe it with all your heart and therefore choose to follow it. Thank God that he is holy and perfect and wants what is good and right. Pray that you would want what God wants.
- Week’s Memory Verse: James 1:14-15
Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
What causes us to sin?
If we want what is wrong, we will sin.