Intro.

1. We can learn much from the story of Adam and Eve in the first few chapters of Genesis. 
   1. Adam and Eve were our first parents. This is our beginning. This is how we got here. 
2. Adam and Eve sinned and from that time the plan of redemption was put into motion. 
3. At first, man was in a beautiful paradise and had close communion with God. 
   1. However, all of that was lost and can only be regained through Christ in eternity. 
4. In this lesson we want to discuss only a small portion of the story of Adam and Eve. 
   1. We want to look at the questions God asked Adam and Eve after they had sinned. 
   2. God, being infinite in wisdom, asked some very thought-provoking questions. 
       

1. GOD'S FIRST QUESTION WAS: "WHERE ARE YOU?" Gen. 3:9
   1. God knew where Adam was, but He wanted Adam to take an inward look at himself. 
      1. Where are you Adam? His truthful answer should have been: "I'm over here hiding because I have sinned against You." 
   2. We can think of the question, "Where are you?" in terms of our own situation. 
      1. Where are you in your relationship with God? 
         1. Please make the question personal. Where are YOU in your own personal relationship with God? 
         2. Are you a Christian? 
            1. If not, certainly, you need to become one. You need to be "in Christ," and a member of the body of Christ. 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 8:1
         3. Again, where are you? Are you a faithful Christian? 
            1. Where do you stand in your obedience to God? Are you truthfully doing His will on a daily basis? Have you truly given up self that you might live a life of faithful service? Are you a faithful, diligent soldier of the cross? 
            2. If you have need of improvement, will you improve or will you just ignore it? 
   3. Sometimes people say, "I'm not sure where I stand in relation to God." 
      1. We can know where we stand by examining the Scriptures. 1 John 5:13
      2. All of us need to give diligence in showing ourselves approved to God. 2 Tim. 2:15; 2Pet. 1:10
      3. All of us need to understand the essentials of being with God, fearing God, and serving God. 
         1. The writer of Ecclesiastes made a list of the "vain things" of life. Fearing God and keeping His commandments was certainly not on his list. Eccl. 12:13-14 
             

1. GOD'S SECOND QUESTION: "WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU WERE NAKED?" Gen. 3:11a
   1. Adam answered in vs. 10, and God replied with a very pertinent question in vs. 11. 
      1. Adam and Eve were naked all the time they were in the garden. Gen. 2:25
         1. They, as such, were in an innocent state, but now they had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They had sinned and their innocent state had been lost. 

1. 1. People who have knowledge of good and evil know when they are naked. Those who have no knowledge do not know. Heb. 5:14
2. Let's look at the first part of God's question, "Who told you that..." 
   1. Often in talking with people on religious things, they say, "...Such and such seems like it ought to be right." We ask, "Who told you that?" 
   2. When we hear people say, "One can be saved by faith only." We ask, "Who told you that?" James 2:24
   3. "Baptism is not essential to salvation." Who told you that? Mark 16:16
   4. "A preacher ought to be called, Reverend." Who told you that? Psalm 111:9
   5. "You don't need to partake of the Lord's Supper on every first day of the week?" Who told you that? Acts 20:7
   6. "You do not need to come to all the worship services?" Who told you that? Heb. 10:25
   7. Who told you that you do not have to strive to the best of your ability in the kingdom? 
   8. Who told you that you can sit back and be complacent and not be interested in the direction in which the Lord's work is going? 
   9. Who told you that you have no responsibility toward teaching the lost of your community? 
3. Thus, it is good for everyone to think regarding the source of their information. 
   1. Remember, much of the information Adam and Eve had received had come from Satan. 
       

1. GOD'S THIRD QUESTION: "HAVE YOU EATEN FROM THE TREE OF WHICH I COMMANDED YOU THAT YOU SHOULD NOT EAT?" Gen. 3:16
   1. God knew that Adam had eaten, but He wanted him to see his sin. 
   2. Getting people to see their sins is very difficult. Often people can see the sins of others, but not their own. 
      1. We need to be very objective in examining ourselves. 2 Cor. 13:5; Ezek. 18:27-28
      2. All of us sin. 1 John 1:8-2:2
         1. We should never be so bold and brazen as to think we do not sin or live above sin. 
   3. Adam tried to blame his sin on Eve, and Eve did on Satan. Gen. 3:12
      1. This is human nature. We don't like to admit we are guilty of sin. If we have done something wrong, we try to prove that others caused us to do it. 
   4. True godly sorrow is necessary; otherwise, we will never be forgiven. 2 Cor. 7:10

1. There will be many in the judgment who will be lost because they committed sins of which they never repented. 
2. We must walk humbly before God with a broken and contrite spirit. Isa. 66:2; Psalm 32:5; 34:17-18; 51:1-2,17; Luke 13:3; 18:10-13; Acts 3:19; 17:30-31 
    

1. GOD ASKED, "WHAT IS THIS YOU HAVE DONE?" Gen. 3:13
   1. This fourth and last question was addressed to Eve and, again, God is trying to get her to consider the seriousness of her sin. 
      1. No doubt she would like to think that she had only eaten a little fruit off a tree. "Surely, there's nothing wrong with that!" 
      2. Many people have the same attitude toward their sin. "It's not all that bad!" 
   2. What have you done Eve? You did what God told you not to do. 
      1. God had said, "In the day that you eat of it, you will surely die." 
      2. You've lost your home, Eve, in the garden of Eden, and all those wonderful things that went with it. 
      3. What have you done? You've brought sin into the world and all of its consequences. Your sin will affect all people who will ever live. 
      4. What have you done? You've brought sorrow upon women and the pain of child bearing. 
   3. How many through the ages have used the expression, "What have I done?" 
      1. A drunk driver, after having a wreck which killed several people, will say, "What have I done?" Yes, what have you done? 
      2. A married person, through unfaithfulness to their companion, seeing that companion walk out of their lives never to return, will cry in bitter tears, "What have I done?" 

1. 1. Sometimes a mother, after seeing the corruption and rebellion of a child, will say, "What have I done?" 
   2. Sometimes a young person, after becoming addicted to foreign substances in their bodies, will say, "What have I done?" 
   3. In a fit of anger, the father hurts (or even kills) another family member and cries, "What have I done?" 
2. Sometimes the answer to the question, "What have I done?" is, "Nothing." 
   1. What have I done in serving the Lord? The answer is, "I haven't done anything?" 
      1. I've just sat idly by. I've not taken an active part in the kingdom. 
      2. I've not actively tried to teach and influence others. 
      3. I've not tried to teach my family or encourage my brethren. 
      4. I've just sat here and done nothing. James 4:17 
          

Concl.

1. Thus, in the story of the fall of Adam and Eve, God asked some revealing questions that are beneficial to all. 
   1. "Where are you?" Where are you in your relationship with God? 
      1. If you are not a child of God, you need to become one. 
      2. If you are out of fellowship with God, you need to be restored. 
   2. "Who told you that you were naked?" Who told you this or that about how you should live and how you should worship God? What is the source of your information? 
   3. "Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" Have you sinned? Have you done things that are not right, that you are ashamed of? 
   4. "What is this you have done?" Have you done things you need to repent of? Have you humbly repented? 
2. All of us should be able to say, "I have repented of all my past sins and am standing right with God. I am in Christ where there is no condemnation, and if I were to die today, I would be with the Lord forever." 
   1. What a blessed thought! May it be true of every one of us. Rev. 14:13
   2.