A Simple Choice: Sin Or Obedience? Series

Alpha and Omega, Part 8

A simple choice: Sin or Obedience?

Genesis 3:1-13

Introduction

- We’ve begun 2023 with “one purpose”: Knowing there is a God!

-- Continuing our series, “Alpha and Omega”; examining the beginning to the end

- Last week’s big ideas:

- 1. Our purpose in the Garden was simple: to care for what God created

- 2. God’s plan for woman was because man was incomplete

-- We needed a partner, someone to walk with us and share responsibility

-- Woman was planned as a counterpart to man; to compliment and comfort

- 3. She was to become one flesh with matching natures (intelligence & biology)

-- They were to value and cherish one another by being brought together

-- They were given a blameless life, filled with everything we would need …

- A note of personal observation as we dive in today …

-- We need to see God for who He is (holy), and see ourselves for we truly are …

-- Right now, there is a movement of God happening in this country

- Biblical revival has tangible results, and it looks like this:

-- A resurfacing of a love for God, an appreciation of God’s holiness, a passion for His Word and His church, a convicting awareness of personal and corporate sin, a spirit of humility, and a desire for repentance and growth in righteousness

- FACT: from Asbury to Georgia, Minnesota to Texas Tech, Oklahoma Univ, Wisconsin, Iowa State, North Dakota, Cedarville, & Samford … God is moving

-- WHY? I think the reason is clear: This generation has realized who they are, and how much they need God in their lives … and I wonder if we’d do the same?

-- I wonder if we would seek God in the same manner, and need Him also?

-- Truth: Even in our sin, God still loves us – and we need to grasp that today

- Let’s dive into our passage for today … Read Genesis 3:1-13 / Pray

- OPEN CHALLENGE: I want us to see most importantly, our role/response in all of this!

Point 1 – The serpent uses doubt to divert our eyes from God

- Key things to remember … man was:

• Created deliberately

• He received life by the ‘breath of God’

• Was given dominion over everything God created

• He was also innocent of sin (there was nothing to keep him from God)

- This is critical in our understanding today - must know who we are

-- Innocence is different than righteousness and they are not interchangeable

-- Righteousness can only be given by a just (sinless) God (it is His to give)

- It is only God who has the power to redeem us … because we are His creation

-- APP: We must live like we value what God offers more than this world does

- This is why Jesus is called righteous - He maintained His innocence (sinless)

-- His life that demonstrates for us how much God wants us to be His

-- His death on the cross took on our punishment - for the sins we would commit

-- Face it: We fail at temptation daily … it is the reason we need a Savior

- KEY: Temptation has the capacity to strengthen us or the ability to tear us apart

-- Working through (avoiding) temptation is how we develop character (strength)

- This is a critical point to grasp: when tempted we often fail ... why?

-- APP: It is because of the war of the flesh that rages within us day and night

-- Being created with the “ability to choose” is where we get to choose Him

- But we choose to sin - we choose to disobey (God nor the devil makes us sin)

-- Life App Here: Don’t give the devil this much credit, especially as a believer

- Comedian Flip Wilson used to say “The devil made me do it” ... untrue!

-- The devil simply put the idea out there - the choice to do it is ours!

- In Gen 2:16-17 God gives man very clear instructions (condition) on how to live

-- Read: We can eat anything in the Garden; but avoid tree of knowledge good/evil

- Satan is introduced (v1), and his ability to utilize any creature is exposed

-- Now, don’t glance over this … because Satan is more crafty than we realize

-- Also, the fact that we have a talking snake here is NOT the key issue

-- APP: Have to get past this else we will get hung up on what doesn’t matter

- FACT: Satan has ability to change his appearance; even appear appealing to us

-- EX: Speaking of false prophets and how dangerous they are, Paul reminds us that in 2 Cor 11:14, “… even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”