Bible Reading
Genesis 3:1-13 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But 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." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
[26:01]Romans 1:18-32 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
[40:06]John 1:12-13 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
[06:45]Observation questions
- In John 1:12–13, what words describe how a person becomes a child of God, and what sources of identity or effort are specifically ruled out? [09:53]
- In Genesis 3:1–13, what does the serpent question before Eve takes and eats the fruit? What does this question suggest about God’s command and character? [28:57]
- After Adam and Eve sin, what actions do they take, and what questions does God ask them?
- In Romans 1:18–32, what exchanges do people make according to Paul, and what are the results of those exchanges? [44:17]
Interpretation questions
- John says that those who receive Christ and believe in His name are given the right to become God’s children. Why is this different from merely growing up around Christian beliefs, morals, or church activity? [10:10]
- The serpent’s question, “Did God really say?” leads Eve to doubt both God’s word and God’s goodness. Why is doubting God’s character often underneath temptation, even when the temptation looks like a desire for something good?
- Romans 1 describes people worshiping created things rather than the Creator. What might it look like for a good gift—such as family, work, comfort, entertainment, or success—to become a functional god in someone’s life? [30:19]
- God’s Word exposes what is in the human heart, yet believers are invited to draw near to the throne of grace for mercy. How can both of those truths be true at the same time? [21:48]
Application questions
- Has faith in Christ become personal for you, or have you been leaning mainly on your family background, church involvement, or being a generally moral person? What would it look like to personally receive Christ and trust His name? [09:39]
- What is one area of life where the question “Did God really say?” tends to show up for you—perhaps in relationships, honesty, forgiveness, sexuality, money, or control? What truth from God’s Word speaks directly to that doubt? [29:47]
- Is there a created gift that has been carrying more weight than it was meant to carry—such as a spouse, child, career, sports team, comfort, or approval from others? How has that affected your peace, priorities, or relationships? [30:46]
- When sin is exposed, do you tend to hide, minimize it, pretend you have it together, or try harder to fix yourself? What would honest repentance and faith in Christ look like in that situation? [37:30]
- What is the difference between the condemning message, “You have sinned, so God cannot love you,” and the convicting message, “You have sinned, so bring it to Jesus”? Which message are you more likely to believe when you fail? [48:00]
- What would it look like this week to stop measuring yourself by your own performance and to rest in Christ’s perfect righteousness instead? [47:30]
