Monday, December 24, 2018

2018.12.24 Hopewell @Home ▫ Genesis 3:7-11

Read Genesis 3:7-11
Questions for Littles: What were opened (v7) What did the man and woman know? What did they do about it? What did the man and woman hear in v8? Who was walking in the garden? When? What did Adam and his wife do? From whose presence were they hiding? Where did they hide? Who called to Adam in v9? What did He ask Adam? What did Adam say that he felt when he heard God (v10)? Why did Adam say he was afraid? What two questions did Yahweh ask in v11?
In the Scripture for this week’s sermon, we were reminded of how personal our sin against God has been. The realization of nakedness showed us this. It’s interesting that Adam and his wife make the coverings together and employ them together. They don’t hide from each other, but they hide from God.

To a certain extent, we are ashamed in front of other people. But other people are sinners. There is a certain comfort in knowing that they are bad like we are. And other people have limited knowledge. It’s not like they can see into our souls to know just how bad we are.

Not so with the Lord. His knowledge is complete and penetrates to the depths of who we are. Worse, His righteousness is so great that it demanded the blood of Christ to satisfy for sin. He is perfectly holy—unbearably so for Adam, stained with just one sin. How about for you? How about for me? With our years of continual and innumerable sins?

But it’s not just that we break a code of conduct when we sin. Rather, we despise God Himself when we do so. The Lord underlines this for us in v11, when he calls the tree, “the tree of which I commanded you…” It has been called “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” It has been called “the tree in the midst of the garden.” But here, the Lord refers back to the personal conversation that He had with Adam in 2:15-17.

Have you faced this fact—that your sins are not merely against a code, but against the living God Himself? It’s personal! And this is why it’s so astonishing that He has provided personal forgiveness. He doesn’t cancel out our debt as an act of divine book keeping. No, He Himself personally came. Personally obeyed in our place. Personally bore our penalty. Hallelujah!
How have you responded to your personally betraying God and His personal sacrifice for you?
Suggested Songs: ARP32A-B “What Blessedness” or TPH341 “Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed”

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