Sin, Forgiveness, and God's Promise

The story of the Bible begins in a garden. God created a beautiful place where His presence dwelt with creation in peace. Then He made a man and a woman in His image to represent Him and extend the peace of this place called "Eden" to the rest of creation. God gave humanity dominion over the earth and commanded them to take care of His creation.

God placed a tree in the garden called “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” God forbade Adam and Eve from eating from this tree and told them that if Adam and Eve rebelled against Him and ate from this tree, they would surely die.

The purpose of this tree was to give humanity a choice. As long as there is an option, humanity can choose to love God and live in relationship with Himself. Love means nothing when there is no choice.

What is sin?

So why would the punishment for this rebellion be death? It’s just a tree, right? What’s the big deal?

Well let’s back up and first try to understand God. God is the Author and Sustainer of life. Nothing exists without Him. Just as there are physical laws that govern the universe the Bible tells us that there are similarly moral laws that govern the universe. Rebellion against God is rebellion against life. We call this rebellion “sin.” Sin is a transgression against the moral order of the universe. Another definition for sin is to fall short of our design and purpose. Sin is more than merely making a mistake, sin is a violation of our design and a rebellion against life. If you rebel against the Author of Life, what is there to turn to but death?

Read the following verses

1. Romans 6:23

2. Romans 3:23

3. Galatians 5:13-26

• What is sin according to these verses?

• What is the consequence for sin?

• According to these verses, who is guilty of sin?

After some time, a serpent came to Adam and Eve and tempted them into disobedience against God. What was his tactic? The serpent (who was actually satan) told Eve, “God knows if you eat of this tree you will become like Him knowing the difference between good and evil.”

Did you catch that? Remember that Adam and Eve were both created in the image of God but the serpent convinced them that God was actually holding out on them. They needed to rebel against God in order to become like Him. What a tricky lie! And humanity fell for it.

The consequences of sin

Because of humanity's rebellion against God, we were banished from the place of His presence and peace. This is still the consequence for sin—banishment from God’s presence. The Bible says that those who live in rebellion against God will receive eternal banishment from the place of God’s presence and peace. We call that state of banishment, “hell.”

As if this weren’t bad enough, remember that God gave dominion over the earth to Adam and Eve? Well, the Bible later calls satan, “the ‘god’ of this age” and “the prince of the power of the air.” Humanity was supposed to rule, but now the serpent is in charge! How did that happen?

In our rebellion against God we turned to obey sin. The Bible says whoever sins is a slave to sin. In humanity’s rebellion against God, satan began his rule of chaos. Gone was the true peace and harmony with creation that we all know we should be experiencing. Now we live in a world that is fallen.

So the Bible says that the consequence of sin is eternal banishment from God’s presence and peace and that everyone is guilty of this rebellion. So how can there be any hope for anyone? How can anyone be forgiven and have a right relationship with God? Here’s the good part!

God Made a Promise

When God came to Adam and Eve to punish them for their rebellion and banish them from His presence, He made a promise to Eve and the serpent, 

“And I will put enmity   between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15)

This was the first prophecy about Jesus, “the seed of the woman,” coming to crush satan. Remember that the wages of sin is death? Well, God made a plan to redeem humanity from their rebellion and sin before He ever made the world. God sent Jesus, His only Son, to bear the consequences of our sin upon Himself.

Read the following verses:

1. John 3:16-17

2. Isaiah 53:4-6

3. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

4. Romans 6:23

Instead of punishment, God is offering forgiveness! Instead of death, God is offering life! So how is this possible?

Read the following verses:

1. Romans 10:9-11

2. 1 John 1:9

3. Ephesians 2:1-10

4. Colossians 1:19-23

• According to these passages, what do we need to do in order to receive forgiveness from our sins and right relationship with God?

• Is it possible to earn our forgiveness and right standing before God?

• What would be different about your life if you were to truly believe this?

• Is there anyone in your life that needs to hear this?

Watch these videos, either with your Christian friend or before you meet: