It’s easy to look around and ask what has happened to our world. Why have things gotten so bad? Who’s fault is this?
The truth is, it all began with the sin of one. The failure of one introduced sin and our perfect world was forfeited. That doesn’t seem fair, does it? It seems so totally unfair that someone we don’t even know forever ago screwed up and now we all pay the price for it.
BUT – isn’t there someone else a really long time ago that we’ve never met who did something right that paid the price to save us?
Neither are fair. We are fallen because of one and we are saved because of one. That’s not easy to understand.
Romans 5: 18-21:
“Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Humanity failed. Jesus fixed it.
God said, “Don’t do this,” and we did it anyway. So Jesus did what we couldn’t do.
The first sin was from Adam and Eve. Because of their sin, we live in a fallen world where bad things happen. Perfection has been cut off because of the presence of rebellion and our own way. I’ve always read their story and felt like it had nothing to do with me. It was their problem and their punishment, so why would I still be paying the price for it? But I’m beginning to see it very different now. Let’s study it together.
Genesis 2, God creates the first man and breathes life into him to become a living person. Then God plants a garden in Eden and puts the man in that beautiful garden. In the middle of that garden he placed TWO trees, one was the tree of life and the second was tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warns the man, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden – EXCEPT the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
Fair enough. You can live in this paradise. You can have anything you want and do anything you want, except for this one thing. That one tree is not good for you, don’t eat it’s fruit.
Then God takes one rib from the man and he makes a woman. Now together, they live in paradise. But literally a few verses after the introduction of this first man and woman, there comes a shrewd snake into the garden and that snake whispers to the woman. He whispers a suggestion that is a twist on God’s truth. Notice what he says. Genesis 3, begging in verse 1, “Did God REALLY SAY you must not eat the fruit from ANY of the trees in the garden?”
“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die!'”
“You won’t DIE!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened and they sudden...