The Thread – Tying it All Together
August 8, 2021

“Failure”

Main Point: When we can acknowledge our failures we can access forgiveness

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. —Genesis 1:1

When God created human beings He blessed them with…
• His image (Genesis 1:26)
• Relationships (Genesis 1:27)
• Responsibilities (Genesis 1:28)
• Freedom to make choices (Genesis 2:16-17)

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’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 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.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
—Genesis 3:1-5

Satan is on a mission to destroy what God has made

Satan has a strategy for separating us from God
• Get us to question God’s word (“Did God really say…?”)
• Get us to doubt God’s truthfulness (“You will not certainly die…”)
• Get us to doubt God’s goodness (“For God knows… your eyes will be opened”)

The shame and guilt we feel, or try to hide, is a response to knowing we have failed to be the people we were born to be (Genesis 3:6-7)

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. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” —Genesis 3:8-13

God in His grace calls us to come out of hiding and to take responsibility
• “Where are you?”
• “Who told you?”
• “What is this you have done?”

The brokenness of this world can be traced back to this failure to be obedient to God’s word (Genesis 3:14-20)

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 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.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. —Genesis 3:21-24

What can be done about our sinful failures?
• We can stop hiding
• We can come clean
• We can turn from sin
• We can be covered by the blood of Jesus

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
(1 Peter 1:18-19)

Takeaway: In Christ we are not defined by our failures; we are covered by grace

Discussion Questions
* Did you play “hide and seek” as a child? Did you have a preference as to whether you were the hidden or the seeker?

  • The world is blessed by the common grace of God – good things that everyone gets to enjoy whether or not they have received Jesus as their Savior. Look at Matthew 5:45 and Luke 6:35, for example. What are some examples of this “common grace”?

  • The word “sin” can be off-putting to people. Why do you think that’s true? How would you describe sin to someone who had no knowledge of this concept or familiarity with Christian teaching?

  • Paul says (Romans 5) that where sin increased grace increased even more. What do you think he means by that? Have you personally experienced “more grace”?

Table Discussion Question: When have you been able to take an apparent “failure” and discover something good in it? What have you learned from your failures that’s been beneficial for you?