The ORIGINAL SIN
Text: Genesis 3:1-24 W. Max Alderman
Comments about chapter 3 – This chapter shows how sin entered into the human family. This chapter also shows the way in which God made a way of escape for the lost and doomed sinner (Gen. 3:15). This is certainly a sad chapter that records a very sad day in the history of mankind.
I. MAN’S SINNING IN THE NEW WORLD vv. 1-13
A. Notice the ENTICEMENT to sin. (Vv. 1-6)
Satan by this time had lost his exalted position (Is. 14:13) due to his own personal rebellion against God. Satan, after God “cast him to the ground” (Ezek. 28:17), became the “adversary” or “accuser.”
1. The subtleness, or the treachery, of the serpent. (Vv. 1-5)
This is illustrated as Satan takes on the form of a beautiful creature. In this form, Satan began to lie to (John 8:44) and to deceive Eve, causing her to disobey God and then partake of the forbidden fruit.
2. The snare, or the trap, for the sinner. v. 6 Satan’s trap involved an appeal to Eve’s physical, emotional, and spiritual make-up.
B. Notice the EVIDENCE of sin. vv. 7-13
One of the first indications that things were sinfully different now was the shamefulness of their nakedness.
1. Their communion with the Lord was destroyed. (Vv. 7-10)
Sin affixed a great spiritual gulf, destroying the sweet communion and fellowship that they previously enjoyed.
2. The character of their living was also defiled. (Vv. 11-13)
Both Adam and Eve lacked the truthfulness of heart to admit their own sinfulness when questioned by God. Eve and Adam passed the blame to someone else.
II. MAN’S SORROW IN THE NEW WORLD (Vv. 14-23)
A. Notice sin’s sorrowful EFFECT. (Vv. 14-23)
This section spells out the awful reality of sin and its damaging effects.
1. It brought a curse upon the serpent. (Vv. 14-15)
The beautiful creature became a loathsome, slimy reptile that would perpetually serve as a symbolic reminder of sin’s awful curse.
2. It brought a cost to the sinners. (V. 16)
The suffering that women experience during childbirth would serve as a reminder of the on going suffering caused by sin. Man is faced with the difficult task of toiling and extracting from the cursed soil the food necessary for survival.
3. It brought a curse upon the soil. (Vv. 18-19a)
Every prickly thorn and briery thistle is a glaring testimony to the fact that “man sinned.”
B. Notice sin’s sorrowful ENDING. (Vv. 19b-23)
The seeds of decay were planted and they then germinated when man sinned. The inherited sin-traits and sin-state have been passed on to the offspring of each generation, excluding the Lord Jesus Christ who was virgin born. Sin’s sorrowful ending is always devastating (vv. 20-23). These verses show the drastic change and the loss of liberty that resulted from the curse of sin.
III. MAN’S SOJOURN IN THE NEW WORLD (V. 24)
A. His journey was FORCED. (V. 24a)
Now that man was in a degenerative state, he could not partake of the tree of life lest he be in a state of eternal ruin, trapped in a condition of living death.
B. His journey was FATAL. (V. 24b (cf. Rom. 5:12; I Cor. 13:22)
Death came upon the human race; therefore Adam and Eve’s life journey would end in death.
Concluding Remarks: All the benefits that were made available to Adam and Eve, in paradise, were lost when they sinned. They lost their home, their happiness, and their relationship with Christ.
