Week 4

QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL THOUGHT AND SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

What Believers Believe, Week Four: Sin

Before jumping into this week’s questions, please take some time to read slowly and carefully through Genesis 3:1-13 and James 1:12-15.

As you begin your discussion time with your group, please take a moment to read or recite together the following words of the Apostles’ Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead. On the third day, He rose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

From there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Read Genesis 3:1-13 out loud in your group.

What stands out to you as you read or listen to these verses? Is there a word or phrase you find particularly meaningful or insightful or possibly confusing? What are your immediate thoughts and responses to this passage of Scripture?

As we take time this week to understand what believers believe about sin, this passage takes on special significance since it presents the introduction of sin into this creation, the very first sin committed by humanity. As the prototype for sin, therefore, there are certain patterns or elements of sin found here that are often common to sins in general.

In the serpent’s temptation of Eve, how does he begin (v. 1)? Why do you think he began with this particular question? Notice his use of the word really (actually in ESV, indeed in NKJV). What was his purpose in using this particular word?

The inevitable effect of asking, “Did God really say...,” was to move Eve to question, to move her to doubt. Did God really say that, or am I remembering it wrong? Did God really say that, because that seems unfair and extreme.

What role does doubting God and His Word play in sin? If you really trusted God always to be right and always to have your best interests at heart, would you ever intentionally choose to ignore His instructions or prohibitions? In many ways, sin can be thought of as trusting your own assessment of what’s best or most fulfilling over God’s Word on the matter. Contemporary American culture is filled with examples of people believing their ways or desires are better or more rewarding than God’s ways and will. What are some examples you can think of?

In v. 4, the tempter moves from questioning God’s Word, to denying it outright. God said, “You will surely die” (Genesis 2:17b); but the serpent said, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4a). Specifically, he was denying the consequences of sin, saying in effect, “You can do what God said not to do, and you will not suffer for it.”

From there he went on to entice Eve with the possible benefits of disobedience (v. 5). Eve was told half-truths (“Your eyes will be opened”) and bald-faced lies (“You will be like God”), and it worked.

What are some of the lies and half-truths people believe today that help move them toward disobedience and sin? What lies are most prominent and most accepted in our culture today? Think of some of the more significant sins you’ve committed in your past. What lies were you believing that helped you commit those sins? How can we best help people who are caught up in lies and, therefore, bound up in certain sins?

Read Genesis 3:6 again. That sentence is meant to produce a deep sense of sadness.

However long and complicated the lead up to sin may be, the sin itself is always very simple and straightforward. The actual sins of Adam and Eve, the sins that plunged this entire creation into brokenness and death, are stated simply as “she took some and ate it” and “he ate it.” They ate it. The thing God said, “Do not eat.” It was really that simple. The issue was not the subtle and lengthy temptation. The issue was they acted on it. Whatever else happened before, the bottom line was: they ate it. And nothing was ever the same again.

People often try to excuse or at least minimize their sin by suggesting it’s more complicated than it really is. Do you ever do that? Can you think of a specific example?

Read Genesis 3:6-8 again. Immediately their sin resulted in guilt, fear, and separation from God. They sought to cover their nakedness (v. 7b); they were afraid (v. 10); and they hid from the Lord when He came near (v. 10).

Have you ever walked through a season of sin in which your estrangement from God became very clear to you? If so, would you be willing to share some of your experience with the group?

Read Genesis 3:9-13 again. We’ve already discussed the sinful human tendency to try to excuse or minimize sin by trying to make it seem complicated. One of the most common ways people seek to do that is by blaming someone else. Adam tried to blame Eve (v. 12), but the bottom line is, “he ate it” (v. 6b). Eve tried to blame the serpent (v. 13b), but the bottom line is, “she took some and ate it” (v. 6).

Recognizing that, since Adam and Eve, all people have sinned (see Romans 3:9-18, 23), God has made a way through Jesus for people to be forgiven and cleansed of their sin. What does that way begin with (hint: see I John 1:9)? How does this condition help eradicate the tendencies to minimize or blame shift? Logically speaking, if one minimizes the true extent and nature of one’s sin, should he not then expect only to be forgiven merely for minimized thing and not for the full thing?

The more complete and honest you are in your confession, the more free you can feel in your absolution.

Read James 1:12-15 out loud in your group.

According to v. 14, what is the real source of your temptations?

James identifies your “want to’s” as the birthplace of temptation and sin. Afterall, people are rarely tempted by things they despise. In high school and college, for example, I had absolutely no interest in drugs. As a result, I was never seriously tempted by them – even when they were offered. There were other things, however, I found very tempting, because I had a genuine interest or desire for them. This passage of Scripture suggests that Christians would do well to pay much more attention to their “want to’s.”

How do Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:27-30 relate to James 1:14-15?

Notice that this passage in James suggests that sin often goes through a progression, beginning with an inappropriate or disordered desire. This sinful “want to” should be confessed as sin and repented of. If it’s not, however, it will gestate in the heart until it one day erupts into the open as active sin. Think of the Christian young man who desires to be chaste, yet privately fantasizes for months about having sex with his girlfriend. The likelihood that his sinful “want to” will one day result in a sinful act is very high.

Read Proverbs 4:23. What does this verse mean and how does it relate to this discussion of sin?