1.     I am going to preach this morning from one of the most important chapters in the Bible – both historically and theologically.

2.     Genesis 3 describes the fall of man.  The Genesis account of the fall of man is the only possible explanation of the present condition of the human race. How else are we to explain the universality of sin?

3.     The apostle Paul says in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

4.     Genesis 3 not only explains the problem with sin, but also the mystery of death.  In I Corinthians 15:21, Paul says, “For since by man came death…” And then, “For as in Adam all die” (I Cor. 15:22).

5.     A.W. Pink, in his book, Gleanings in Genesis, says, “The divine record of the Fall of man is an unequivocal refutation of the Darwinian hypothesis of evolution.  Instead of teaching that man began at the bottom of the moral ladder and is now slowly but surely climbing heavenwards, it declares that man began at the top and fell to the bottom.”

6.     In fact, Genesis 3 not only refutes the false teaching of evolution, but all liberal views.  Liberals teach that we can eliminate crime and poverty by more government programs, better schools and housing, and so on. 

7.     But the real problem is sin.  Sinners do not need more help from the government; they need to get saved!

8.     Liberals say that if people live in a better environment they will stay out of trouble.  But Adam and Eve lived in a perfect environment and they got into trouble – serious trouble – and it has been the same way ever since.

9.     If you like brief outlines, you can jot down these four words: Satan, sin, suffering, and salvation.

I. SATAN WAS BEHIND THE FALL OF MAN (3:1-13).

1.     Here for the first time in Scripture we are introduced to the devil.  Satan came to Eve in the form of a serpent.  The Book of Revelation refers to Satan as “that old serpent” in Rev. 12:9 and Rev. 20:2.

2.     Sin was not part of God’s original creation. Genesis 1:31 says, “And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

3.     Sin came as the result of the temptation of Adam and Eve, whom God had created with the power of choice.

4.     Notice that immediately the devil begins his conversation by tempting Eve (3:1). Satan is referred to as “the tempter” in Matthew 4:3 and I Thessalonians 3:5.

5.     Satan is a master of deception.   He is very good at confusing people and putting doubts in their minds.

6.     Satan confuses people regarding the reliability and accuracy of God’s Word.  He said to Eve, “Yea, hath God said?”  In other words, “Are you sure God really said that?”

7.     Here we find the first question mark in the Bible.  Unbelievers love to question the veracity of God’s Word, and when they do that they are following the example of Satan.

8.     Behind every religious cult, and behind every false prophet, and behind every liberal and agnostic and atheist is the voice of the serpent – “Yea, hath God said?”

9.     In Revelation 12:9, Satan is identified as “the great dragon…that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.”   He is an expert in deception.

10. In John 8:44 our Lord said this about the devil, “When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

11. Interestingly, two of Satan’s lies are still very popular to this day: (1) “Ye shall not surely die” (3:4) – reincarnation, no hell, purgatory, etc.

(2) “Ye shall be as gods” (3:5) – paganism, humanism, New Age, etc.

12. We need to remember that Satan has limited power.  He is a liar, and he is powerless without man’s assent and consent.  James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

13. Also, while the devil questioned God’s Word, and then denied God’s Word; Eve was also wrong to add to God’s Word (Gen. 3:3).

14. Proverbs 30:6 says, “Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

15. Satan told Eve, “Ye shall not surely die” (3:4).  Sin and misery, broken lives, war, and billions of graves attest that God is true and Satan is a liar.

II. SIN ENTERED INTO THE WORLD (3:6).

1.     James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  Eve should have never listened to Satan’s lies.  She was wrong to get into a conversation with him.

2.     Sinful desire often leads to sinful action (3:6).  Sin soon engulfed both Eve and her husband Adam.

3.     The apostle Paul tells us in I Timothy 2:14 that, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.”

4.     Notice in Genesis 3:17, God says to Adam, “Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife…”

5.     Adam sinned with his eyes open.  And by his foolish act of disobedience, “sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12).

6.     This is what is known as “the fall of man.”

7.     Their new knowledge did not make them happy (3:7).  Their eyes were now opened but not in the way they had anticipated – now they were experiencing guilt, sorrow, shame, fear, and misery – emotions they had never experienced before they sinned.

8.     Notice a sense of guilt and shame gripped them as they spoke to God (3:8-10).

9.     We see from the very beginning that God seeks after sinners (3:9).  Romans 3:11 says, “There is none that seeketh after God.”  Sinners do not seek God but God seeks sinners.

10. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

11. God confronted Adam about his sin, and we see in Adam’s response a familiar pattern – Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent (3:11-13). 

12. Sinners have been trying to shift the blame ever since!  In fact, Adam even tried to blame God – “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat” (3:12).

13. Speaking of the devil, the apostle Paul says in II Corinthians 2:11, “For we are not ignorant of his devices.”  Unfortunately, most people are ignorant of his devices.

14. Satan appeals to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (cf. I John 2:16).

15. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food” (3:6a) – the lust of the flesh.”

16. “And that it was pleasant to the eyes” (3:6b) – the lust of the eyes.

17. “And a tree to be desired to make one wise” (3:6c) – the pride of life.

18. Satan used this same strategy when he tempted our Lord in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11).  The devil has been following this same pattern throughout history.

III. SIN BROUGHT SUFFERING INTO THE WORLD (3:14-19).

1.     First God cursed the serpent (3:14).  Apparently he was originally a beautiful creature but ever since the fall he has been lowly and despised.

2.     God put enmity between the devil and the woman (3:15), and between the devil’s “seed” (the unregenerate) and her “seed” (those who follow after God).

3.     There has been a constant conflict ever since.

4.     Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil…” I do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but you are either a child of God or a child of the devil (cf. I John 3:10).

5.     This goes all the way back to the fall of man.

6.     Specifically this is a prophecy pointing to Christ because the seed of the woman is masculine and singular in the original Hebrew text (Gen. 3:15).

7.     Biologically in conception the seed is delivered by the man, not the woman. But God refers here to the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15).

8.     What seems unusual biologically is explained theologically in Isaiah 7:14.  “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

9.     We see the fulfillment of this marvelous prophecy in Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:35 and Galatians 4:4.

10. Thank God, we have the assurance that the Lord Jesus Christ, the “seed” of the woman will ultimately defeat Satan and his “seed” (Gen. 3:15).

11. Sin brought suffering into this world.  The phrases “bruise thy head” and “bruise His heel” reveal suffering for both sides, but consider the outcome.

12. The final wounds to Satan will be devastating (cf. Rom. 16:20).  When our Lord “bruises” Satan’s head, Satan will be crushed and cast off into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

13. Regarding our Lord’s wounds, He was “wounded for our transgression, he was bruised for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5).

14. After God cursed the serpent, He spoke to Eve (3:16), and then to Adam (3:17-19).

15. All the suffering in this old world can be traced back to the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.  In fact, they were banished from the Garden of Eden because of their sin (Gen. 3:23, 24).

16. There is much suffering in this world, but if you are not saved, your suffering will go on for all eternity.

IV. AFTER THE FALL, GOD PROVIDED SALVATION (3:20-24).

1.     God promised that salvation would come through the seed of the woman (3:15).  Adam believed God because he “called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living” (3:20).

2.     Not only did Adam believe God, but he and Eve must have passed his faith down to his children because we know from chapter 4 that Abel and Seth were believers.  

3.     We also see salvation foreshadowed in the coats of skin (3:21).   There are different ways to look at this Scripture.  Obviously God wanted Adam and Eve to dress modestly.  Adam and Eve’s fig leaves were inadequate covering (3:7).

4.     But in addition to that, these “coats of skins” provide a symbolic picture of the Gospel. Here we have the first sacrifice in atonement for man’s sin, prefiguring the death of Christ on the cross.

5.     We can see many illustrations in these “coats of skins.”

(1)   Blood had to be shed in order to provide the coats.  “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22).

(2)   We have a picture of substitution – the death of the innocent for the guilty.  In order to procure the skins to clothe Adam and Eve, the animals must be slain and their blood shed.

(3)   The Lord furnished the skins, fashioned the garments, and clothed Adam and Eve.  God did it all.  Adam and Eve did nothing.

CONCLUSION:

1.     Sin has terrible consequences.  Sin brings separation from God (Gen. 3:23, 24).

2.     “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

3.     Sin sets up a barrier between you and God.  If you repent of your sin, the barrier will come down.

4.     Unsaved friend, if you do not repent you will be eternally separated from God in hell.