Celebrating Righteousness
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7 - New International
Version (NIV)
15 The Lord God
took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of
it. 16 And the Lord God
commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but
you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when
you eat from it you will certainly die.”
3 1 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.
What was “the man” to do (verse 15)?
Which tree could “the man” not eat from (verses
16 and 17)?
How is the serpent described (verse 1)?
What did the serpent ask the woman (verse 1)?
How was the woman’s answer different from the
instruction (verse 17 then verses 2 and 3)?
What did the serpent tell the woman (verse 4)?
How did the serpent tell the woman she would be
changed (verse 5)?
How did the fruit appear to the woman (verse 6)?
Who ate the fruit (verse 6)?
What happened when they ate it (verse 7)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about gaining
or losing righteousness?
Psalm 32 –
New International Version (NIV)
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does
not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should
go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the Lord’s
unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.
11 Rejoice in the Lord and
be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Who is “blessed” (verse 1)?
Who
is also “blessed” (verse 2)?
What
happened to David when he “kept silent” (verse 3)?
When
was the Lord’s hand “heavy on” David (verse 4)?
What happened when David confessed his “transgressions
to the Lord” (verse 5)?
When are the faithful to pray to the
Lord (verse 6)?
What
does the Lord surround David with (verse 7)?
How
will David counsel the listeners (verse 8)?
Why
should listeners not be “like the horse or the mule” (verse 9)?
What
surrounds the one who trusts the Lord (verse 10)?
Who
should “rejoice in the Lord” (verse 11)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In
your opinion, what does this passage teach us about gaining or losing righteousness?
In
your opinion, how does Psalm 32 show what the woman and the man could see when “the
eyes of both of them were opened” in Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7”?
Matthew
4:1-11 –
New International Version (NIV)
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and
forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came
to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become
bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread
alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on
the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of
God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his
angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a
stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord
your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All
this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is
written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Why was Jesus “led by the Spirit into the
wilderness” (verse 1)?
Why was Jesus hungry (verse 2)?
What did the tempter tell Jesus to do if
He was “the Son of God” (verse 3)?
How did Jesus answer the tempter (verse 4)?
Where
did the devil have Jesus stand (verse 5)?
Why
was Jesus to throw Himself “down” (verse 6)?
How
did Jesus answer (verse 7)?
What
did the devil show Jesus (verse 8)?
What
did the devil tell Jesus to do to receive all that He saw (verse 9)?
Why
did Jesus send Satan away (verse 10)?
What
happened when the devil left (verse 11)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In
your opinion, what does this passage teach us about gaining or losing righteousness?
In your
opinion, how is Jesus different in Matthew 4:1-11 than Adam and Eve in Genesis
2:15-17, 3:1-7?
In your opinion, how does Matthew 4:1-11 show us “the
Lord’s unfailing love” that David says in Psalm 32 surrounds those who
trust in the Lord?
Romans 5:12-19 – New International
Version (NIV)
12 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.
Why
did death come “to all people” (verse 12)?
What
was in the world “before the law was given” (verse 13)?
What
reigned “from the time of Adam to the time of Moses” even over those who
did not break a commandment (verse 14)?
Who
did “the gift that came by the grace of the one man” overflow to (verse 15)?
How
many sins did the judgment follow (verse 16)?
What
did the gift follow (verse 16)?
What
does God give an “abundant provision” of (verse 17)?
What
did “one righteous act” result in (verse 18)?
How
were many “made sinners” (verse 19)?
How
will many be “made righteous” (verse 19)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what
does this passage teach us about gaining or losing righteousness?
In your opinion, how does Romans 5:12-19reveal
the significance of what happened in Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7?
In
your opinion, what does Romans 5:12-19 help us understand about the forgiveness
that David sings about in Psalm 32?
In your opinion, what does Jesus’s
resisting the temptations of Matthew 4:1-11 help us understand about the “gift
of righteousness” discussed in Romans 5:12-19?
In
your opinion, what do these passages from Genesis, Psalms, Matthew, and Romans teach
to us about the consequences of sin?
In your opinion, how do we celebrate with David and “Rejoice in the Lord and
be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!”
today?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
