Genesis 3 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring[a] and hers; he will crush[b] your head, and you will strike his heel.” 16 To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” 17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” 20 Adam[c] named his wife Eve,[d] because she would become the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Romans 5:12-21 - Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! 18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. 20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:22 - For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Hebrews 9:27 -  Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment

At creation, God placed man in a paradise known as the Garden of Eden. He told the original couple that they had full access to everything the Garden offered except a specific tree--the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The punishment for eating the fruit of that tree was unmistakable--death.

Both Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the fruit of the tree. Their punishment was expulsion from the Garden as well as death. They didn't die immediately, but death began its work in them and in the world from the moment of their fall. They were banished from the Garden and denied access to the Tree of Life. Death is constantly at war with the power of life. Without access to the Tree of Life, death eventually will win the war. We all die.

Death is more than just the end of life here on earth. It is, instead, a process that is eternal. The definition of death must include the idea of separation. Death is separation from life and from the blessings that come from God.

In creation, God provided abundant blessings. Those who use their time on earth only to consume and destroy the good that God provides them, end up separated from God and from all that is good.

The fall resulted from the eating of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This allowed the original couple to know and experience evil. by experiencing evil, its power began working in them. Evil, or sin, results eventually in physical and eternal death.

When we were born, we received life from our parents, but we did not receive eternal life or spiritual life from them. The life we received from our parents is a temporary life; it is not eternal life.

The forces of death, which are now a part of our existence, will eventually bring our physical lives, as we know them, to an end. Death is the cruel legacy of every person. It is the result of the Fall.

The sin and the fall of mankind actually brought an end to access to the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life. Adam and Even were immediately separated from that tree.

The Book of Revelation informs us that the Tree of Life is now located in the wonderful city called New Jerusalem (see 22:2). Acces to that city also provides access to the Tree of Life.

Clearly, the fall of mankind was bad news. But God would not allow bad news to exist without providing us with some good news to counter-balance the devastating results of the Fall.

God himself went to the Garden, looking for Adam and Eve in order to restore His relationship with fallen humanity. He came with good news--the promise of victory over death and over the Enemy who tempted them to fall.

Victory would come through as a descendant of Adam and Eve. This descendant is called their "seed" (Genesis 3:15). The process would go like this: the seed of the serpent would strike the heel of their descendant and bring Him to His death. But in doing this, the heel of the Seed, the Son, would strike the head of the serpent, bringing about his defeat.

The good news of the glorious gospel is the promise that we can have a restored relationship with God through Jesus' death at the Cross. That relationship comes when we separate ourselves from evil and turn to Christ.

His death brought victory over death itself for all who believe. It was a victory over sin, a victory over hell, and a victory over the grave. Jesus said, "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death" (Revelation 1:18).

This life-giving victory was achieved when Jesus arose and came forth from the grave with resurrection life. There is no way Satan can destroy or alter in any way this glorious fact.

In Deuteronomy 30, Moses issued a challenge so noble, so all-encompassing that it extends to us now. Here is what he said:

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the Lord your God and to obey him and commit yourself to him, for he is your life (vv. 19, 20, NLT).

The challenge is to make a choice. We must choose life. Choices are important. The most important choice we are called on to make is this choice between life and death.

To choose life, you must separate yourself from evil. The knowledge of good and evil is innate in mankind, but is also comes from experiencing and participating in good and evil. The more we engage in something, the more we learn about it. We learn by experience.

The gospel promises eternal life, but we have to decide that we will follow the way of life. Choice and separation are two key words in the vocabulary of the person who wants to become Jesus' disciple.

Although we have all experienced evil in many ways, God calls on us to separate ourselves from evil. We have to make a choice. We are called to abandon evil and dedicate ourselves completely to God.

Be sure you make the right choice! Help others to make the right choice!

1. What limitation did God put on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?

2. Why was this limitation made?

3. What was the punishment for eating the forbidden fruit?

4. When did they receive the punishment for their sin?

5. What is your definition of death? Is it an event, or a process?

6. How does eternal death differ from natural death?

7. Describe the gospel promise of life and how it was achieved.

8. What are the two things we all have to choose between?