The One Behind The BookSample

The Fall - The choice that changed everything

THE STORY SO FAR...

God created an amazing and beautiful world, and then he made human beings for the special purpose of having a perfect and loving relationship with himself. God gave Adam and Eve the task of taking care of his world, and to multiply and be fruitful. God’s aim is for each one of us to share in his endless joy and love, and to be with him always.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The Bible teaches us that God is love (1 John 4:8, 16) and that he wants a loving and trusting relationship with every single person, including you and me! Adam and Eve enjoyed this type of relationship with God. However, God did not create us as robots, forcing us to love him. Instead, he gave us the freedom to choose to love and obey him or not. For this reason, God said that Adam and Eve were free to eat the fruit off ANY tree except one particular tree. This was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they ate from this tree they would die. It was a critical moment in history. Would they obey God, or would they ignore and disobey him?

The devil, who appeared to Adam and Eve as a snake, told them not to listen to God and to go ahead and eat the fruit off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The devil said to them if they ate the fruit “you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5b) Tragically, instead of trusting God, they listened to the devil and ate the forbidden fruit. The Bible calls disobedience to God sin, and this is when sin first entered the world.

The result was disastrous. The perfect relationship that Adam and Eve shared with God was broken. They would now die, a reality that every human being faces to this day. The land that provided them food was also cursed, and they experienced pain and suffering. Things no longer functioned in the perfect way that God had intended.

We can’t just blame it all on Adam and Eve, we’re also guilty of sin today. Just like Adam and Eve, we can choose to obey or disobey God. At times every single one of us disobeys the way God intends us to live. This is a problem because God is perfect in every way and the consequence of our sin is that we are separated from God. We can’t have the relationship with him that he desires for us.

Thankfully, there is great news! God did not give up on us! He graciously allowed Adam and Eve to live for a long time and blessed them with children. He also gave them a fascinating promise in Genesis 3:15. God said that one day someone would come and defeat the devil. This someone is our Saviour Jesus. Throughout this resource we will discover that the Bible is all about Jesus and how he shows God’s love to us.

30 word recap

Humans misuse their freedom and disobey God. Sin enters the world with terrible consequences for everyone – suffering, separation and death - but God promises that all evil will be eventually defeated.

Questions

1. Read Genesis 2:15-17. Why do you think God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden?

2. Read Genesis 3:1-6. What was the snake trying to do to Adam and Eve? Why do you think they listened to him instead of listening to God?

3. What do you think sin is? How does the Bible describe sin?

Personal reflection

God does not give up on us even when we disobey him. The Bible speaks many times of God’s unfailing love. What do you think it means for God to have unfailing love for you?