First Sunday in Lent

 Sermon Text: Genesis 3:1-15

 Other Readings: Romans 5:12-19 and Matthew 4:1-11


 

  1. Scripture makes clear that the talking snake is really Satan embodied in the snake (Revelation 20:2). But Genesis chapters 1 and 2 are silent about Satan. So, where did Satan come from? Confer Jude 6 and 2 Peter 2:4.
     
  2. Martin Luther called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil “Adam and Eve’s altar.” What do you think he meant by that?
     
  3. Some commentators point out a progression of Satan’s tactics here. First, he questions God’s word. Then, he denies God’s word. Finally, he questions God’s motives. When it comes to tempting you, which tactic of Satan is most successful?
     
  4. However you answered question #3, how can Jesus’ defeating of Satan’s temptations (Matthew 4:1-11) help you to do battle against Satan and his tactics?
     
  5. The gospel is the good news of God, especially that he saves us. Where is the gospel in Genesis 3:1-15?
     
  1. Satan was one of the angels that God created during the six days of creation. Thus, like the rest of creation, Satan was created perfect. But Scripture shows how Satan, along with some other angels, rebelled against God sometime after creation was finished. As punishment for that rebellion, God prepared hell for them and expelled them out of heaven.
     
  2. Luther meant that this was the place they could worship God, and they would worship God every time they obeyed his command not to eat from the tree. Whenever we meditate on God’s word, teach it correctly, and apply it in our lives, we are showing God how much he is worth to us.
     
  3. Answers may vary. After we fall into a sin, it can be helpful for us to reflect on where and how things took a turn for the worse. That way, we will be better prepared for the next temptation.
     
  4. For one, Jesus shows us that God’s word gives us all the ammunition we need to expose the devil’s lies. Secondly, Jesus shows us that when we tell Satan to go away, he has to listen to us because we have Christ’s power living in us. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, Jesus’ victory over the devil assures us that he was perfect and that his righteousness has been given to us.
     
  5. We most clearly see the gospel in verse 15, which is a prophecy about Jesus. God is promising that he would send his Son, born from Eve’s family line, to thoroughly defeat Satan. In fact, this is the first salvation promise in all of Scripture.