Sin and the fall of man

Next few weeks I’ll be posting an outline series on a Christian theology of sin.

Purpose: In this session we shall see two questions concerning the Fall and Sin so that we lay the foundation to understand our need for Christ and the Gospel.

• What lead to the Fall?
• What are the results of the Fall?

 

What lead to the Fall? (3 truths from Genesis 3:1-6)

1. It is important to know about the fall Roger Weil said, “The biblical doctrines of sin and redemption are founded upon the doctrine of the fall. If we have a defective or deficient understanding of the fall it will inevitably affect our understanding both of the extent of sin and our need of redemption.”[1]
2. Truth # 1: There is a spiritual being that want to attack Adam and Eve’s relationship with God and also our relationship with God (v.1, 4-5)
   1. The identity the Tempter
      1. Revelation 12:9 tells us the identity of this Serpent: “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”àThe Serpent is Satan Himself.
   2. The character of the Tempter
      1. A characteristic of Satan is that he is crafty
      2. The narrator tells us that He “was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made” (1)
      3. Satan’s craftiness is also seen in that he caused one of the greatest fall in history with such few words. In this section of passage of verses 1-6, Satan only speaks in verses 1, 4 and 5.
   3. The tactics of the Tempter
      1. Tactic #1: Questioning God’s Word= “And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” (1)
         1. Satan first begin by questioning what God clearly said: “Indeed, has God said…”
         2. Satan’s strategy will involve questioning God’s rules: “has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
      2. Tactic #2: Direct denial of God’s Word= “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!” (4)
         1. Satan began by questioning God’s Word but now He directly contradicts God’s Word.
         2. Satan says “You surely will not die!” (v.4b) which contradicts God in Genesis 2:17 saying “you will surely die.”
         3. Note how similar to God’s Word it sounds even though it is the opposite.
         4. Note the parallel of “will surely” but the emphasis by Satan is on the certainty of what is the opposite of what God said.
         5. Satan is crafty with the use of question then statement because of Satan began with direct statement that would clearly be harder to tempt Eve than beginning with a question.
      3. Tactic #3: Specific denial of consequences with sin= “The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!” (4)
      4. Tactic #4: Asserting things not found in God’s Word= “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (5)
3. Truth #2: The Fall and our sin is the result of not handling God’s Word carefully (Genesis 2:16-17; Genesis 3:2-3)
   1. Point: There is a direct relationship with a low view of God’s Word and the fall into sin.
   2. The end of Genesis 3 shows us the terrible consequences of sin and its impact on our relationship with God and on Adam and Eve’s marriages and children. But how did Adam and Eve get there?  We must examine how Eve began with shifting opinions about God’s Word.
   3. Let us first look at God’s command and prohibition is in Genesis 2:16-17 in its context: “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
      1. Notice that in Genesis 2:16 the verse emphasizes the abundance of God’s generous provision when God said “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely.”[2]
      2. We must not forget the goodness and generous nature of God when we read the prohibition in verse 17.
      3. Note the prohibition is quite limited: “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” (17a)
      4. Note God’s Word is clear on the consequences: “in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (17b)
   4. Eve’s first response to the serpent concerning God’s Word: “The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” (2-3)
      1. Notice there is a weakening of God’s goodness in Eve’s response.
         1. She does not mention the Tree of Life or all else she could eat.[3]
         2. Eve even expanded God’s prohibition by saying God has prohibited from touching it according to verse 3.[4]
         3. Eve also downplay the consequences: God in Genesis 2:17 said “you will surely die” while Eve merely reported to Satan “or you will die” in Genesis 3:3.[5]
      2. It is only after she sees the consequences is less than what God’s Word says it is that she head down the road of sin.
   5. We should also see the danger of not studying or knowing God’s Word with careful observation and emphasis of what God wants to emphasize in God’s Word.
4. Truth # 3: The Fall is the result when we idolize what we want over God’s Word (v. 6)
   1. Point: There is a direct relationship with a low view of God’s Word and one’s sin and problems one causes in one’s marriage.
   2. This is Eve’s second response to the serpent concerning God’s Word:
   3. Note how Eve’s view is changing:
      1. Tree is now good for food
      2. Tree is delight to the eyes
      3. Tree is desired to make one wise
   4. It is idolizing what she wants that leads Eve to sin.

 

What are the results of the Fall?

(Here are 6 truths from Roger Weil in which the points are mentioned verbatim but the handling of Scripture is my own[6])

1. It is important to know about the fall Roger Weil said, “The biblical doctrines of sin and redemption are founded upon the doctrine of the fall. If we have a defective or deficient understanding of the fall it will inevitably affect our understanding both of the extent of sin and our need of redemption.”
2. Truth #1: Man lost his original righteousness since from this point onwards man is sinful: “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)
   1. This is true of Adam.
   2. But it is also true of all those after Adam as we seen in the first half of verse 19.
3. Truth #2: Man lost communion with God and was banished from his presence: “therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:23-24)
4. Truth #3: Man’s whole nature was affected – mind, heart, and will
   1. The point here is that we are totally depraved, every part of us has been impacted by sin.
   2. Man’s mind is hostile towards God: “7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:7-8)
      1. Notice the mind is “hostile toward God”
      2. It does not desire to “subject itself to the law of God”
   3. Man’s will is hostile towards God: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth [l]in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident [m]within them; for God made it evident to them..” (Romans 1:18-19)
      1. Notice Paul states that God has given truths to men about God that is evident within them to such a point that they know the truth (19).
      2. Yet their sinful will goes against the truth in their mind when they “suppress the truth [l]in unrighteousness” (18).
      3. For their sinful will in suppression of truth Romans 1:18 reveal “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven” against such willful suppression.
   4. Man’s sinful behavior gives him an ulterior motivation not to seek God: “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:20)
      1. Note the connection between one’s sinful behavior and how they feel towards God and Christ: “everyone who does evil hates the Light”
      2. Note the reason why people with sinful behavior does not want to seek God: Such an individual “does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”
5. Truth #4: Man is now conscious of guilt and shame: “He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”” (Genesis 3:10)
6. Truth #5: Man became subject to physical death: “By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”” (Genesis 3:19)
7. Truth #6: Man became subject to spiritual death: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,” (Ephesians 2:1)

 

[1] Roger Weil, Foundations of the Christian Faith, (London: Grace Publication Trust, 2011), 71.

[2] Ray Ortlund, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 34.

[3] Ray Ortlund, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 35.

[4] Ray Ortlund, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 35.

[5] Ray Ortlund, Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 38.

[6] Roger Weil, Foundations of the Christian Faith, (London: Grace Publication Trust, 2011), 71-73.