GUIDE BOOK 1

GUIDE BOOK 2

KNOWING GODLIVING IN THE LIGHT OF THE TRUTH

1

GOD JUDGES THE FALL

How do people tend to define or explain – moral wrongdoing?

Last week we looked at the joyous story of our first parents, Adam and Eve

in Genesis 1-2. To understand ourselves we have to see that we were made

in God’s image – to commune with Him in worship and loving obedience, to

cultivate His creation under His authority, and to live with companionship with

others. But sadly, to understand ourselves, we need to also look at the tragic

events of Genesis 3. Known as ‘the Fall’ this is the source from which every tear,

cry, war, misery, fear, sickness, injustice, relationship breakdown, pain and death

flows.

Read: Genesis 3:1-19

A biblical word for our moral wrongdoing against God is ‘sin’ but Genesis 3 is the

story to help us understand sin and temptation in our lives.

From this story, how does sin work to trick and deceive us?

2

From this story, how is sin a personal act of rebellion?

From this story, how does sin bring ruin?

Why is that when we are tempted to sin, it doesn’t feel like we’re tempted

towards rebellion or towards something that will bring ruin?

THE ORIGIN & EXTENT OF SINChristian writers and philosophers have discussed for centuries how the serpent

(Satan) and temptation came into a perfect garden in the first place. There is

something unanswerable about this but it’s important to uphold four essential

biblical truths:

1. God is all powerful and sovereign

2. God is perfect and good and there is no evil in Him.

3. Sin really does exist

4. Sinners are full responsible for their own sin.

As sinners we are fully responsible for our own sin, and paradoxically, we are also

held responsible for the sin of Adam. This is the concept of ‘original sin’.

Read: Romans 5:12-14.

Also, all of humanity is born into a sinful corrupted condition, that is, we are

born with inner lives that are directed towards ourselves, what we want, and not

directed towards God. We sin because we are sinners, in the same way that an

apple tree bears apples because it is an apple tree ie. it is not the case that an

3

apple tree becomes one, once it bears its fruit.

And though all humanity retains the image of God (Genesis 5:1-3; James 3:9) and

so any person can have a conscience and do virtuous things, without saving

grace no one is able to do anything to please God because it is not done in

faith as an act of worship and love for God (Romans 8:8). Humanity is ‘totally

depraved’, not meaning that people are as evil as they could possibly be, but

that every motive, word, deed and thought is affected and stained by sin

Read: Isaiah 64:6; Romans 1:26-32; 3:9-18; Titus 1:15-16, 3:3

Here are two quotes from Christian protestant reformed writers who give a

colourful but biblical picture of the influence and power of sin:

“nothing remains after the ruin except what is confused, mutilated, and

disease-ridden.” John Calvin

“It has, as poison, diffused itself into all the parts and powers of the soul.”

Thomas Watson

What do you find personally challenging or helpful about this doctrine of

sin in humanity?

SIN, OUR RESPONSE & THE GOSPEL

How common in ourselves are any of these strategies for responding to our

own sin:

Minimise – compare your sin to someone else

Rationalise – refer to external circumstances that ‘made you do it’

4

Diversion – change the topic so you won’t be confronted and challenged by

your sin

Worldy Grief – regret the consequences of your sin but not the sin itself

In Genesis 3:15 we have the protoevangelion (meaning ‘first gospel’) where God

promises the coming of his Son who would crush Satan and bring salvation to

sinners. Even at this moment of judgement for the sin of Adam and Eve there is

grace offered, and the story of the bible is about God who continually responds

with grace to his hard-hearted stiff-necked people who want to go their own

way. Eventually Jesus comes to pay the price at the cross for our sin so that

through faith in Him we might have forgiveness and new life. Here are words of

the apostle Paul to explain our depravity and hopeless state, but also the lofty

heights of God’s grace towards his chosen people.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you

used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler

of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are

disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the

cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we

were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God,

who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in

transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:1-5

What should be our response to sin that still unfortunately besets God’s

forgiven Spirit-filled people?

5

GOD JUDGES - HELPFUL RESOURCES

BOOKS

VIDEO

ESSAY

The Bible Project – Kata: “Sin”

www.youtu.be/aNOZ7ocLD74

Respectable Sins

Jerry Bridges

The Nature of Sin

www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-nature-of-sin/

Confessions of St Augustine

St Augustine

6

GOD PURSUES COVENANTS

In your group, hand out some paper and invite people to take some time to

‘story-board’ the main events of the bible. Choose between 5-10 moments and

after writing things down, present to the group and explain why you chose those

particular moments. If you struggle to write things down, that’s ok, it’s a chance

to hear from others.

If we trace through the previous weeks of our ‘Knowing God’ series, we’ve

covered these aspects so far of who God is: God Is – Trinity, God Speaks –

Revelation, God Makes – Creation, God Images – Humanity, and God Judges –

The Fall. But now we come to an aspect of God that perhaps is new to us or just

isn’t much in our thinking. It’s that God Pursues. This theme helps us to see that

the bible is not a random collection of stories and teachings, but offers one story

that unfolds and advances in God’s unrelenting plan to redeem a people for

himself and establish his Kingdom. This unifying thread comes to us in the form

of biblical covenants.

In our study today we’ll quickly work our way through the bible to see how

covenants form the backbone to the storyline of the bible, but firstly, thinking

about Sunday’s message, how should we define and explain a covenant?

7

THE CREATION COVENANTThe word ‘covenant’ doesn’t appear until Genesis 6:18 so there’s an argument to

be made that we can only identify covenants when they are explicitly identified (as

in all those that follow in this study) but it’s also possible that the idea of covenant

as a solemn binding commitment/oath with blessing and curse, is there between

God and his people at creation. God in his sovereignty made Adam and Eve to

image him and rule over his creation. God also gave a warning, and yet they ate

from the forbidden tree and they experienced the curse of

the fall.

But by God’s grace, at the time of judgement upon Adam and Eve, the gospel of

Jesus is in fact there – the promise that the woman’s offspring would eventually

triumph over the serpent. (Genesis 3:15, Revelation 12:9-12)

COVENANT WITH NOAHFrom Adam to Noah, the story is a sad downward spiral of sin. Evil and corruption

permeates the world, and God promises to wipe all things out except for Noah and

his offspring. In a way, Noah is like a new Adam of a new earth and the creation

covenant with Adam is rejuvenated (Genesis 6:18; 8:20-9:17) and yet salvation will

not come through Noah – he along with the rest of the human race persist in sin.

COVENANT WITH ABRAHAMFrom the spread of the human-race (with ever spreading sin), God chooses a

single line of people - Abraham and his descendants. Sin is the rebellious human-

heart wanting to make a name for itself, but it will be God who will make Abraham’s

name great, and through the nation that will come from him, God will bring a

reversal from cursing to blessing that will be for all the world (Genesis 12:1-3).

Read: Genesis 15 and Genesis 17:1-14

What seems to be important features of covenant-making that God

establishes with Abraham and his descendants?

8

COVENANT WITH ISRAELGod rescues the descendants of Abraham out of slavery in Egypt in

remembrance of his covenant (Exodus 2:24-25) and Israel is eventually brought

to Mt Sinai where they are given the law. The focus is not on what Israel must

do in order to inherit the land, but how they must conduct themselves as God’s

chosen people so that they might be his ‘kingdom of priests’ to all the world

(Exodus 19-1-6).

Read: Exodus 24:1-7

What is similar with this covenant (sometimes called to Mosaic Covenant)

to previous covenant making moments.

In the giving of the law, God promises blessing if they obey, but also cursing if

they violate God’s law. Indeed, though land was always promised, Israel would

be rejected and go into exile if they turn their hearts away from the Lord (e.g.

Deuteronomy 29-30).

COVENANT WITH DAVIDAfter Israel’s establishment in the promised land, they have a succession of

kings, the greatest of whom is David. David wants to build a house (ie. a temple)

for God, but God promises to build a house (ie. a dynasty) for David. 2 Samuel 7 is

the moment of God’s great promise to David and in passages like 2 Samuel 23:5

and Jeremiah 33:21, it is called a covenant.

Read: 2 Samuel 7:8-13

In what ways can you discern that God’s covenant for David is intertwined

with his covenant with Abraham and Israel?

9

From King David is to come ‘the king’ anointed to rule as God’s representative

forever. But the promised offspring never eventuates. Something is radically

wrong with the kings and the nation, and so in their hard-heartedness they

are eventually expelled from the land as God had warned. Throughout all the

covenants, God had pledged future blessing where all enemies are defeated,

but it looks like the promise was going backwards!

THE NEW COVENANTBy God’s grace, though Israel had made a mess of things, we should remember

that the promise of Genesis 3:15 is unconditional – the Lord has guaranteed that

story won’t end with Israel in its disastrous state of judgement and exile.

The later prophets of Israel (who see God’s promised covenant cursing come

true) speak of a future day when God’s ruler would come to make things right.

This future day would be the day of God’s new covenant when he delivers

peace and transforms the heart of his people. Jeremiah 31:30-34 and Ezekiel

36:26-27 are two such key passages. In each stage of the old covenant there

is a promised one to come (offspring, seed, king) and in the new covenant we

discover it is Jesus the second member of the Trinity himself who comes into

human history to bring perfect obedience and offer himself as a perfect sacrifice.

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks,

he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my

body.”

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them,

saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is

poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from

this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in

my Father’s kingdom.” Matthew 26:26-29

The old covenant anticipated the new covenant in Jesus and the new covenant

is superior in every way – blessing, land, sacrifice, priest, prophet, king, rest,

temple, law, obedience (eg. Hebrews 8-9). The story of the bible is one of

covenants - one connected story of God pursuing a people for himself who will

enjoy the blessing of forgiveness, the freedom of Spirt-filled living, and the hope

of eternal life as His redeemed people.

10

Throughout the Old Testament, there is a specific word for God’s particular

covenantal love (hesed) for his people which is often translated as ‘faithful love’.

For example, Psalm 136 has a beautiful repeating line, ‘His faithful love endures

forever’. Perhaps ‘The Jesus Story Book Bible’ for children says it best of all in

referring to God as a covenant making and covenant keeping God - “God loves

us with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever

Love”!

GOD PURSUES - COVENANTS & OUR LIFE

How should the truth of God who Pursues shape our worship of Him?

How should the truth of God who Pursues shape our mission and our

discipleship of others?

11

GOD SPEAKS - HELPFUL RESOURCES

VIDEO

ESSAYS

The Bible Project - Covenants

www.youtu.be/8ferLIsvlmI

The Biblical Covenants

www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-biblical-covenants/

‘Why We Must Understand the Covenants to Understand the Bible

www.crossway.org/articles/why-we-must-understand-the-covenants-to-

understand-the-bible/

Why We Can’t Unhitch from the Old Testament

www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/irresistible-andy-stanley/

12

13