People sinned - God gave a Promise

Confirmation Study & Review Sheet

Week presented: 09/30 & 10/07/03

Topic: The Fall; God’s Promise (Genesis 3)

God created Adam and Eve in His image. That means were originally perfect and without sin—just as all creation was perfect. But all that changed when Adam and Eve sinned. God surprised them, though, with a promise to rescue and save.

Genesis 3:
Some basics

4 Satan’s plan: sinàbroken relationships
àshame and guiltàseparation from God

God’s plan: To show grace and mercyàto give the promise of a Savioràto rescue us and overcome the evil one through Jesusàour relationship with God is restored

4 Satan’s ways: He is a counterfeiter and liar. He tries to make his ways look just like the real thing.
* illustration: What would a counterfeiter do to try to pass off a fake $20 bill? He would make it look as real as possible.
* Satan was offering Eve a “counterfeit” or fake type of wisdom—that she would be “like God,” knowing both good and evil (Genesis 3:4-5)
* Satan may twist God’s words, or imply that God is a liar

4 Most all sin has something to do with wanting to “play god”—to think that we know better than God and can get along without Him. (Genesis 3:4-5)

4 Misery loves company: Eve gave Adam some of the fruit after she ate it. (Genesis 3:6)

The Results: (Genesis 3:7-13)

4 Adam and Eve were ashamed they sinned. They tried to cover their nakedness.

4 Adam and Eve hid from God. Their relationship with Him had been damaged.

4 The blame game - not taking responsibility—Adam blamed Eve, and he even blamed God for his own actions. Eve blamed the serpent.

4 God’s once perfect creation would now be forever damaged by sin.

God’s Reaction:

4 You might think that God would be so angry that he’d destroy Adam and Eve, scrap the whole earth, and then start over again…BUT

4 INSTEAD, God gave a promise to send a savior. (Be sure to read Genesis 3:15)
* An offspring of the woman (Jesus) would come to crush Satan and all the forces of evil.
* It would cost Jesus something to crush Satan—He would have to give His own life. But Jesus’ mission would be accomplished and Jesus would rise again.

4 God still took care of Adam and Eve after they sinned. He made garments of skin to clothe them.

4 There were still “this world” consequences for sin (pain in childbirth, hard work to survive); but God took care of the ultimate consequences for sin—death and eternal separation between us and God.

What do we learn about God through all this?

4 God comes looking after those who go astray.

4 God is merciful and gracious. He does not treat us as our sins deserve.

4 God is righteous—there are consequences for sin. Jesus paid the ultimate price to take away the penalty of our sins. (Jesus gets the ultimate punishment for sin.)

4 God is more powerful than Satan. (That also tells us that He can help us when we’re tempted.)

4 God is a God of hope. He makes promises—promises that He always keeps.

Conclusions: The stories of the Bible really tell us about who God is, what He is like, and help us to know what we can expect from God. For example, from Adam and Eve, we can learn not to run from God and hide when we’ve sinned. We can turn to Him, confess our sins, and receive His forgiveness—and receive His help and strength as we face temptation in the future.

back to confirmation main page

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and School
8304 Old Keene Mill Road; Springfield, VA 22152
703.451.5855 - church; 703.451.6177 - school
703.569.0978 - FAX
www.poplc.org