Bible Study Text for New Christians
Chapter 3. Man's Sin
"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Gen 3:6)."
● Summary of the last chapter
God created man under the condition that everything was perfectly ready. Therefore man was supposed to live thanking God for what God gave. The purpose of God's creating man was NOT to have man make the world more prosperous that God created. The words "God saw that it was good" mean that the world was perfect from God's point of view. So, there was nothing for man to add. God created man in the image of God, and made man rule over the world that He created. God really wanted the world to be filled with the life of God, so man had to be created in the image of God in ruling over the world. This was the will of God who created man.
● What to Learn Today
In chapter 1 you learned that God judges the world He created with His own hands. Why does God judge the world that He really liked? This is because the world lost its original shape when God created it, which means that the world God really liked became the target for God's judgments. This is the result of man's sin. Therefore it is very important to know what man's sin is because God's judgments, Jesus' birth, death, resurrection, and salvation are all related to man's sin.
What do you think sin is? Maybe you consider murder, stealing, deceit and so on as sin. Of course they are sin. But if they are all about sin, those who do not murder, steal, deceive other people wouldn't consider that they themselves sinned. In other words, people think that they are good and have not sinned if they do not commit something that the world considers as sin.
If we look around our neighborhood, there are many so called "good people." They help other people and get praised and respect from other people. But Bible says they are also sinners. Therefore those who think they have done no harm to others, have done nothing wrong, and have been living according to their conscience will never accept they are sinners. They will complain. "Why am I a sinner?" They think they don't need Jesus. They don't understand Jesus who came to the world and died on a cross for sinners because they think they did nothing evil. So, those people think that they can go to the kingdom of heavens without Jesus only if they live a good life.
This is why I told you that it is so important to know what man's sin is. If you don't know what sin is though you confess you believe in Jesus, you cannot believe in Jesus Christ who died on a cross because of your sin. From now on, I will tell you what man's sin is. Through this, I hope you could get to know and understand why a person is still a sinner even though he or she lives a very good life.
If we take a look at Genesis 2:15-17, the Bible says "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." God orders man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil though He permits him to eat from any tree in the garden. God says that the man will surely die if he eats it.
Now man can live forever only if he does not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from which God forbade him not to eat. By the way, the serpent in the Garden of Eden approaches Eve. The serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Temptation of the serpent, Satan, was that she can become like God if she eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She didn't overcome this temptation, and she also gave some to her husband, Adam. So, Adam also sinned.
The meaning of death mentioned in the words "You will die if you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" includes not only death of body but also death of soul. If your soul dies, you will be a being without the life of God. When God created man, He made him in the image of God, but the man lost the God's image. The man created in the image of God was a being who God was really happy about, but he is not like the original man because he lost the image of God. Therefore, God judges the world. This is the destiny of the world.
Then, I will ask you a question. Do you think you committed the same sin as Adam and Eve who were the first human beings? Most people think that they have nothing to do with the sin of Adam and Eve, because they don't think that they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil like Adam and Eve. Don't you think like this either? But is that really so?
If we are talking about their behavior that ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, we have definitely nothing to do with their sin. Today the tree of the knowledge of good and evil does not exist any more and we cannot take the act of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But we are not talking about the behavior of eating from the forbidden tree. The content of the temptation that the serpent gave Eve was that she can be like God if she eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Being like God means that human can have the ability like God and rule over the world as the lord of the universe. If so, what does it mean that Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? That means she already conceived that she wanted to be like God. We call this greed. Since this greed made her eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin is greed rather than behavior.
If someone wants to be like God, it means that he or she wants to be better than what they currently are. They want to live arbitrarily in the position of ruling over the world rather than to live in the position of creatures thanking God for what God gave. This is not the original shape of the human God created.
Now, do you understand what sin is? Sin is greed wanting to be better than the current you instead of thanking God for the original shape of human that God created. Hoping to be better means that you are not satisfied with what you are and you are not grateful to God. This is sin in God's point of view. But is there a person who has no greed? Everybody wants to be successful in the world and to be better than now. There is nothing different with eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, the Bible says everyone is a sinner.
Corinth I 10:31 says "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." And Ecclesiastes 12:13 says "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Man is God's creature. The whole duty of creatures is to live for the glory of God and to fear God. However, all the people forgot they are the creatures and are living for themselves only. They are looking for God and asking Him to make themselves better and happier. This is a shape of sin.
The sin of Adam and Eve still exists inside us. So, we are not in the state of the original human. Since we are not the original humans, God judges all and sends us Jesus to create a new world God really likes. The new world indicates the world that believes in God. When God judges the world, He only sustains the world only who believes in Jesus. Therefore, believing in Jesus means getting saved from the judgments and living forever.
No one can solve the problem of sin even though he or she tries their best. Since good deeds cannot wash out sins, it is very absurd for you to think you can go to the kingdom of heavens due to your good deeds. So, Ditus 3:5 says "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." God does not save man because of righteous things we have done.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 says "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve." God considers the heart of human as being deceitful and severely rotten. Nothing good can come from the deceitful and rotten hearts. So, even though someone lived doing good deeds God does not consider him or her as a good or righteous person because his or her heart is already rotten because of greed.
Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." As the Bible says, what will be given the humans who are already rotten is only eternal death. No one can avoid this using any authority or money. By the way, Jesus died for us because of our sin. Therefore the only hope for sinners is Jesus Christ.
Chapter 3. Man's Sin
"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Gen 3:6)."
● Summary of the last chapter
God created man under the condition that everything was perfectly ready. Therefore man was supposed to live thanking God for what God gave. The purpose of God's creating man was NOT to have man make the world more prosperous that God created. The words "God saw that it was good" mean that the world was perfect from God's point of view. So, there was nothing for man to add. God created man in the image of God, and made man rule over the world that He created. God really wanted the world to be filled with the life of God, so man had to be created in the image of God in ruling over the world. This was the will of God who created man.
● What to Learn Today
In chapter 1 you learned that God judges the world He created with His own hands. Why does God judge the world that He really liked? This is because the world lost its original shape when God created it, which means that the world God really liked became the target for God's judgments. This is the result of man's sin. Therefore it is very important to know what man's sin is because God's judgments, Jesus' birth, death, resurrection, and salvation are all related to man's sin.
What do you think sin is? Maybe you consider murder, stealing, deceit and so on as sin. Of course they are sin. But if they are all about sin, those who do not murder, steal, deceive other people wouldn't consider that they themselves sinned. In other words, people think that they are good and have not sinned if they do not commit something that the world considers as sin.
If we look around our neighborhood, there are many so called "good people." They help other people and get praised and respect from other people. But Bible says they are also sinners. Therefore those who think they have done no harm to others, have done nothing wrong, and have been living according to their conscience will never accept they are sinners. They will complain. "Why am I a sinner?" They think they don't need Jesus. They don't understand Jesus who came to the world and died on a cross for sinners because they think they did nothing evil. So, those people think that they can go to the kingdom of heavens without Jesus only if they live a good life.
This is why I told you that it is so important to know what man's sin is. If you don't know what sin is though you confess you believe in Jesus, you cannot believe in Jesus Christ who died on a cross because of your sin. From now on, I will tell you what man's sin is. Through this, I hope you could get to know and understand why a person is still a sinner even though he or she lives a very good life.
If we take a look at Genesis 2:15-17, the Bible says "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." God orders man not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil though He permits him to eat from any tree in the garden. God says that the man will surely die if he eats it.
Now man can live forever only if he does not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from which God forbade him not to eat. By the way, the serpent in the Garden of Eden approaches Eve. The serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Temptation of the serpent, Satan, was that she can become like God if she eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She didn't overcome this temptation, and she also gave some to her husband, Adam. So, Adam also sinned.
The meaning of death mentioned in the words "You will die if you eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" includes not only death of body but also death of soul. If your soul dies, you will be a being without the life of God. When God created man, He made him in the image of God, but the man lost the God's image. The man created in the image of God was a being who God was really happy about, but he is not like the original man because he lost the image of God. Therefore, God judges the world. This is the destiny of the world.
Then, I will ask you a question. Do you think you committed the same sin as Adam and Eve who were the first human beings? Most people think that they have nothing to do with the sin of Adam and Eve, because they don't think that they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil like Adam and Eve. Don't you think like this either? But is that really so?
If we are talking about their behavior that ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, we have definitely nothing to do with their sin. Today the tree of the knowledge of good and evil does not exist any more and we cannot take the act of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But we are not talking about the behavior of eating from the forbidden tree. The content of the temptation that the serpent gave Eve was that she can be like God if she eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Being like God means that human can have the ability like God and rule over the world as the lord of the universe. If so, what does it mean that Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? That means she already conceived that she wanted to be like God. We call this greed. Since this greed made her eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin is greed rather than behavior.
If someone wants to be like God, it means that he or she wants to be better than what they currently are. They want to live arbitrarily in the position of ruling over the world rather than to live in the position of creatures thanking God for what God gave. This is not the original shape of the human God created.
Now, do you understand what sin is? Sin is greed wanting to be better than the current you instead of thanking God for the original shape of human that God created. Hoping to be better means that you are not satisfied with what you are and you are not grateful to God. This is sin in God's point of view. But is there a person who has no greed? Everybody wants to be successful in the world and to be better than now. There is nothing different with eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, the Bible says everyone is a sinner.
Corinth I 10:31 says "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." And Ecclesiastes 12:13 says "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Man is God's creature. The whole duty of creatures is to live for the glory of God and to fear God. However, all the people forgot they are the creatures and are living for themselves only. They are looking for God and asking Him to make themselves better and happier. This is a shape of sin.
The sin of Adam and Eve still exists inside us. So, we are not in the state of the original human. Since we are not the original humans, God judges all and sends us Jesus to create a new world God really likes. The new world indicates the world that believes in God. When God judges the world, He only sustains the world only who believes in Jesus. Therefore, believing in Jesus means getting saved from the judgments and living forever.
No one can solve the problem of sin even though he or she tries their best. Since good deeds cannot wash out sins, it is very absurd for you to think you can go to the kingdom of heavens due to your good deeds. So, Ditus 3:5 says "He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." God does not save man because of righteous things we have done.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 says "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve." God considers the heart of human as being deceitful and severely rotten. Nothing good can come from the deceitful and rotten hearts. So, even though someone lived doing good deeds God does not consider him or her as a good or righteous person because his or her heart is already rotten because of greed.
Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." As the Bible says, what will be given the humans who are already rotten is only eternal death. No one can avoid this using any authority or money. By the way, Jesus died for us because of our sin. Therefore the only hope for sinners is Jesus Christ.