Fall

Read Genesis 2:15-17
God initiated covenant relationship and provided everything that his creation could ever want or need: food, relationships, and purpose. He also set up one moral guideline: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God clarified that it was off limits, and if they ate of it they would die.

Read Genesis 3:1-16
It didn’t take much for paradise to be turned upside down. The man and woman are deceived and succumb to the temptation to worship themselves instead of God. This rebellion in Genesis is a description of sin and its entrance into the world.

What is Sin?
One description of sin in scripture is that of missing the mark of God’s perfect standard. Romans 3:23 tells us that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Another description of sin is rebellion against God. Isaiah 53:6 describes this: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way.” Yet underneath these outward expressions of sin lies a much deeper issue, a heart issue. In Romans 1:21-25, Paul says there is something behind our disobedience, rebellion, and inability to live according to God’s standards. The problem is idol worship. Human beings are creatures of worship; we are unceasingly ascribing or expressing worth to something or someone. We were created to worship our Creator. Yet sin entered the world when Adam and Eve chose to worship themselves instead of God.

At the root of their disobedience was a desire for autonomy, for their own good and security; God, apparently, was not enough. Anytime we place our trust or our worship in something other than God we are worshipping idols, and God is very clear that we are to have no other gods before him. To do so is sin.

The Effect of Sin on all of Creation – Genesis 3:7-13
Two things happened as a result of the fall. First, man’s relationship with God was broken. Sin separates man from God and carries with it the punishment of death. (Romans 6:23, Hebrews 9:27) This death is not only physical, but also spiritual and eternal.

Second, the harmonious human-human covenant was affected. In Genesis 3 we see that as God confronts Adam and Eve about their disobedience, accusations fly as to who is at fault. Harmony turns into havoc as their beautiful relationship is ravaged by sin. The effects of the fall have thrown all of creation into disorder and have left us longing for a return to paradise.

What can we do to restore things back to their created state? Nothing. Sin destroys life and relationships; left to ourselves we are powerless to re-establish what God created. But the good news is that our loving God can do something about our problem and he acts on our behalf to redeem us and restore us.