Have you ever made a wrong decision and it led to more bad things? In high school, I made a dumb decision and started hanging out with friends I should not have been around. That was bad decision number one. Then I started to join in on the vandalism and other dumb stuff that this group of friends partook in. That was bad decision number two. Then I started lying to my parents about where I was going, and what I was doing. That was bad decision number three. Eventually, I was hanging around these kids so much that I started bringing more of my other group of friends into this group. That was bad decision number four. Luckily for me, I started getting caught and grounded, so I was not allowed to hang out with this group of people. Sadly though, I lost all trust with my parents, my reputation at school was ruined, and my one group of friends continued to hang out with the “bad kids” as they never really got out of that circle. One wrong decision can lead to many.
1. When is a time you saw one bad decision lead to other bad decisions?
Read Genesis 2:15-17 and Genesis 3:1-7.
2. What lousy decision did Adam make? What lousy decision did Eve make?
Read Genesis 3:8-13.
3. What did Adam and Eve try to do after they ate from the tree? What do you do after you sin?
4. Why did God make eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil such a big issue?
5. How would you explain sin?
6. Why is sin such a hard thing to completely understand?
God created everything perfectly. Due to sin, things like pain, rebellion, brokenness, hopelessness, and despair began to rule in people’s hearts. Because of sin, no matter how hard we want to honor Jesus, there is always that side of us that is trying to rebel against God and seek out our interests. Sin is like poison ivy. When you have poison ivy, that rash sits on you, and all you want to do is itch it. That itchy feeling never goes away and intensifies until you finally scratch it. Sadly, the moment you scratch it, all you do is spread it more. The more you sin, the more you will want to sin. Sinning once can quickly become a tendency, then a habit, and then it can slowly become a lifestyle.
Read Genesis 3:22-24.
7. Why does God kick Adam and Eve out of Eden?
8. Why does sin separate us from God?
Read Romans 5:11-15.
9. What does it mean to be reconciled? How did Jesus reconcile us?
10. What did Adam’s trespass bring? What did God’s grace bring?
11. Why is it important to look at sin as a big deal?
If we look at sin as just a paper cut, Jesus’ work on the cross is minimized. We must never minimize what Jesus did for us on the cross.