Lesson 2: “Death Through Sin”

Download a handout that can be filled out.

Lesson 2Download

Text Under Consideration: Genesis 3-11

Scriptural & Historical Context:

A couple of matters need to be kept in mind when studying the early chapters of Genesis. First, God was not trying to establish a definite historical timeline. We simply do not know exactly when the events of Creation, the Fall or the Flood occurred. Taking the genealogies recorded in Genesis 5 & 11, along with other chronological information in Scripture, we can ascertain that Creation occurred at least 4000 years before the birth of Jesus and the Flood occurred at least 2500 years before. Second, God was not trying to give us a complete history of humanity in Genesis. Well over 1000 years elapsed between the Fall and the Flood and that large span of time was covered in only two chapters! Rather, God recorded the information we needed in order to realize a fundamental truth: we need salvation because death comes through sin (Romans 5.12)!

Key Verses & Events:

• Man and woman sin by disobeying God’s command and are cast out of the Garden (Genesis 3).
• Because of the sinfulness of mankind, God sends a flood to destroy the earth. Righteous Noah and his family are saved (Genesis 6-10).
• Man continues to rebel against God, building a tower so they will not be dispersed on the earth. God confuses man’s language (Genesis 11).
• “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, ESV) The first promise of how the Messiah would redeem man.

The Story

1. God reveals what we need to know — not everything we’re curious about, but what’s necessary for understanding His will and law.
2. Satan’s three tactics — distorting God’s words, directly contradicting them, and casting doubt on God’s character — remain effective throughout history.
3. Sin’s root cause — mankind chose fleshly desire, lust of the eyes, and pride over obedience to God, falling for Satan’s deceptions.
4. True death is separation from God — not just physical death, but removal from God’s presence, which explains both Hell and earthly suffering.
5. The curse on creation — pain, sorrow, and suffering in the world result from mankind’s separation from God; they disappear when man is ultimately reunited with Him.
6. Sin is a universal problem — from Cain’s murder to the Flood to the Tower of Babel, Genesis 4–11 shows humanity repeatedly and increasingly departing from God.
7. All men sin individually — Scripture teaches personal accountability for sin rather than inherited guilt, yet sin has spread to all people and always leads to death.
8. The gospel is redemption — the good news is that man can be forgiven and restored to relationship with God.
9. Noah as proof of salvation — God’s rescue of righteous Noah demonstrates that He can and will save the godly.
10. The first gospel promise — Genesis 3:15 introduces the coming of God’s Son, whose victory over Satan is the thread running through the entire gospel story.

Before we lay out the important aspects of the gospel story contained in these chapters, consider these words delivered by Moses: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29, ESV) The point is that God doesn’t reveal everything we might want to know, He reveals what we need to know. This is an important point to remember when reading Genesis, for while we might want to know exactly what the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is or what was Satan’s origin story, God simply did not reveal that to us. What He did reveal was that man fell for Satan’s lies, resulting in catastrophe!

Satan’s tactics are on full display in Genesis 3. They are important to note because he continues to use these tactics, with great effect. First, Satan distorted what God actually said (Genesis 3.1). Remember, God had forbidden man to eat from one tree (Genesis 2.17), but Satan changed that to “any tree”. Second, Satan plainly contradicted what God said (Genesis 3.4). Finally, Satan cast aspersions on God’s character, creating doubt rather than faith (Genesis 3.5). The result was that mankind saw what they wanted (Genesis 3.6) and disobeyed God’s command. Jesus described Satan as “the father of lies” (John 8.44) and man has constantly fallen for his deceptions by choosing “the desire of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life” (1John 2.16) rather than obedience to God’s will.

God had warned man that “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2.17). Significantly, while physical death did result from man’s sin (Genesis 3.19) true death isn’t the cessation of physical life, but removal from the presence of God (Genesis 3.22-24). This point is significant in understanding both the pain and suffering that exist in the world, as well as the doctrine of Hell. God decreed that as a result of man’s sin, “cursed is the ground because of you” (Genesis 3.17). That curse is the result of creation’s separation from its Creator and the reason why this life is filled with pain and sorrow. Significantly, these all disappear when man is ultimately reunited with his God (Revelation 21.3-4). Furthermore, Hell is described as the “second death” (Revelation 20.14; 21.8) and “eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord” (2Thessalonians 1.9). If Heaven is man being reunited with his God, it makes sense that Hell is the result of man forever being separated from God.

This helps us understand why the punishment for sin is so severe. We noted in the first lesson that God is holy and man is called to emulate His holiness. Man was created in God’s image (Genesis 1.26-27) and was thus described as very good (Genesis 1.31). But when man failed to trust God and disobeyed His word, man was no longer holy like his God. Scripture declares that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1John 1.5-6). God is light, and the only way to be with Him is to walk according to the truth of His word. When we depart from His word we are not in fellowship with Him… and that is death!

Genesis 4-11 show how sin is a universal problem. Man didn’t improve after his punishment was decreed, rather he continued to depart from God’s word.

• Cain killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4.8).
• Lamech boasted of murder (Genesis 4.23).
• Man’s thoughts became so bent on evil that God destroyed the earth with a flood (Genesis 6).
• Man continued in rebellion by constructing a tower so they would not be dispersed (Genesis 11).

While Scripture does not support the doctrine that man inherited the guilt of Adam’s original sin (note Genesis 4.6-7; Ezekiel 18.20; etc.) the Bible does show that since the beginning sin has spread to all men; “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5.12; see also James 1.14-15). Sin is a universal problem, and sin always leads to death (Romans 6.23). 

The gospel story is the good news of how man can be redeemed; he can be forgiven of his sins and restored to his relationship with God. That story comes through even during the bleak events of Genesis 3-11. Consider that while the world was destroyed in the Flood, God saved righteous Noah and his family (Genesis 6.9-22). The salvation of Noah furnishes proof that the Lord can and will save the godly (see 1Peter 3.20-22). But how could holy God save unholy man? God would do so by sending His Son to become man. The coming of God’s Son was first foretold in Genesis 3.15 (the seed of woman would one day crush the head of Satan) and we will see how this promise is developed throughout the gospel story. 

For Further Consideration:

1. How do you see Satan using his tactics in your life? How does he distort God’s word, contradict His word and/or prompt us to doubt God?
2. Why is it important to realize that each one of us is responsible for our own sins (Romans 3.23; James 1.14-15)? What happens if we don’t take responsibility for our actions?
3. Read Hebrews 2.14-15. How did Jesus fulfill God’s promise in Genesis 3.15?