CreationChoice

Relationship

Key words…

With Creation

God gives us…

He wants tobe in a… With Him!

Our 2nd Word Is:

Genesis 2:9The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from

the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit.

What doyou see?

In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life

and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Gen 2:16-1716 But the Lord God warned him, (commanded/instructed)

"You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden

17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

How would you define it?

Despite all his power,God can not force anyone

to love him!

To understand the context…

We need to visit thedesert of Israel where

much of the Biblewas written…

“The Bedoin’s best friend…”It grows for centuries along the edge of a river bed, or Wadi, where it is dry most of the time. Wadi’s flood during the rainy season…Roots go down and out to the middle of the Wadi to get water when it flows… When there is no water, it goes dormant until the next flood, then comes alive and flowers.

It provides suave, medicine, camel food,wood for fire, as well as shade.

It provides all kinds of things to sustain life in the meager part of the desert.

The Acacia Tree

Arar or Sodom’s Apple TreeVery rare in desert…Grows in the middle of nowhere. Roots go down a couple of hundred feet to reach water and survives in harsh desert conditions.

The tree gets very green and has fruit the size of small grapefruit.

But when you open it up, it is full of air,

and a milky substance that is poisonous… It is worthless and ends up in death.

1st: The Temptation> An enticement or invitation > to sin, (i.e. make the wrong choice)

> with the implied promise >of greater good >to be derived from following the way of disobedience.

2nd: The SinAny action, word, desire, purpose, or omission, contrary to the law of God;

By omitting to do what God's law requires or By doing what it forbids.

A violation can occur in: THOUGHT (what you think in your mind) WORD (what you speak) or DEED (what you do)

Genesis 31 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made.

One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?“2 "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden," the woman replied.3 "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat.

God said, 'You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.‘“

4 "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman. 5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.“

6 The woman was convinced.

She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her.

So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.

So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

venial sin1. able to be forgiven or pardoned; not seriously wrong, as a sin.2. excusable; trifling; minor: a venial error; a venial offense.

mortal sin a sin regarded as involving total loss of grace

Is there such a thing asgreater or lesser sins?

unintentional sins -forgiven at Yom Kippur

& by the Messiah

intentional sins –only forgiven by

the Messiah

So what does God say?James 2:10

For the person who keeps all of the laws

except one is as guilty as a person

who has broken all of God's laws.

ANY Sin is devastating…no such thing as greater or lesser!

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

Sin is not represented in the Bible as the absence of good, or as an illusion that stems from our human limitations.

Sin is portrayed as a real and positive evil.

Sin is more than unwise, inexpedient, calamitous behavior that produces sorrow and distress. It is rebellion against God's law- the standard of righteousness (Ps 119:160).

Since God demands righteousness, sin must be defined in terms of mankind's relation to God.

Sin is thus the faithless rebellion of the creature against the just authority of his Creator.

James 114 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

15 These desires give birth to sinful actions.

And when sin is allowed to grow,

it gives birth to death.

Genesis 38 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. so they hid from the Lord God among the trees.9 Then the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"10 He replied, "I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.“

11 "Who told you that you were naked?" the Lord God asked. "Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?“

12 The man replied, "It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.“

13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, "What have you done?"

"The serpent deceived me," she replied. "That's why I ate it.”

Genesis 316 Then he said to the woman, "I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth.

And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.“

17 And to the man he said, "Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.

18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. 19 By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made.

For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

Romans 3:23For everyone has sinned;

we all fall short of God's glorious standard.

W h a t i sb e t w e e n ?

Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death…

? ?

Death

Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death…

GULF

YourSinfulLife

God’sHoly

Standard

Remember James 2:10?For the person who keeps all of the laws

except one is as guilty as a person

who has broken all of God's laws.

Psalms 51 By King David 3 For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.

4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 5 For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

Proverbs 14:12There is a path before each person

that seems right, but

it ends in death.

Game Time:

You must not have any other god but me. Has God Almighty always been #1 in your life?

You must not make for yourself an idol of anything. Have you ever lifted up a sports hero, model, etc. as super special, been greedy for money, protective of a special car, toy, etc.?

You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. Have you ever cussed using God’s name? “God damn it?” “Oh my God!”, “Jesus H. Christ”

Have you ever….?

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Have you ever worked on the Sabbath and/or not used it to focus on God and His Word?

Honor your father and mother. Have you ever spoken back to your parents, or disobeyed something they asked you to do?

You must not murder. Have you ever killed someone? Have you ever been angry at someone?

You must not commit adultery. Have you ever been to bed with someone other than you spouse (in your dreams or for real)? Have you ever thought about that in your mind or looked at pornography?

You must not steal. Have you ever taken anything from anyone? A friend, spouse, family member, employer?

You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. Have you ever lied or gossiped?