??Introduction：Do you ever feel sad as you think about all the trouble in the world？It seems every day we hear bad news of war, earthquakes, disease, or other disasters. Many times people ask “Why did God let this happen？”
??In our last lesson we learned that when God created the world, there were no terrible things like war, earthquakes, storms, sickness or death. God created a perfect world. But what went wrong？Pay careful attention to our lesson today, and you will find the answer.
??Do you remember some of the things God created？The plants and trees; the sun, moon and stars; the sea creatures and birds and animals. What was God’s most special creation？It was people! God made the first man Adam in His own image and gave him a soul that will last forever.
??Genesis 2：8 & 9 says, “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Why do you think God went to all the trouble to plant a special garden just for Adam？Because He loved him so much!
??Did you know God loves you just as much as He loved Adam？How do I know？Because you too were created by God. God says in Jeremiah 31：3, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” Your perfect Creator God knows the day you were born, and already has a perfect plan for your life. His plan for your life includes knowing God and having wonderful fellowship with Him. No one could ever love you as much as your Creator God loves you.
??Because God loved Adam so much, He planted a special garden just for Adam’s enjoyment. God told Adam to keep up the garden, but that was not hard work, for at that time there were no weeds! God told Adam he could freely eat of any tree of the garden except one, and that was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God warned Adam that if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would surely die.
??God loved Adam, and even brought all the animals and birds to Adam so that Adam could choose names for them! How would you like to have all the animals and birds in the world for your very own pets! At that time all of the animals and birds were tame, they did not harm people or each other. Do you think Adam might have spent many happy hours enjoying the animals and birds？Even so, there was one more thing God saw that Adam needed. God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone, ” so God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and as he slept, God took one of his ribs and from that rib God made a woman, a mate, for Adam. Because God created Adam and knew everything about him, God knew just how to make the perfect mate for Adam. Can you imagine the happy surprise when Adam woke up to see this wonderful mate waiting for him？He called her Eve. What a perfectly happy world Adam and Eve enjoyed then!
??Because there was no sin, Adam and Eve had a perfectly pure conscience and enjoyed a close friendship with God. In fact, God’s Word says, “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”
??Lurking in the garden where Adam and Eve lived so happily was a creature called a serpent. A serpent is a snake, but this serpent was no ordinary snake like we see today.
??It was Satan, God’s enemy, speaking through the serpent.
??Did you know that at one time Satan was an angel in Heaven？His name was Lucifer, and he was a beautiful shining angel. But Lucifer became proud and tried to rebel against God, because he wanted to be God. God could not allow that rebellion, so he threw Lucifer and his followers out of Heaven. Now we call him Satan, or the devil, God’s enemy. Satan hates God and he hates you and me. He works night and day lying and deceiving people to try to turn them against God. He began with Eve in the garden.
??Satan disguised as a serpent came to Eve one day, “Has God said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden？” Eve knew God’s rule and replied, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden：But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Do you remember the name of that tree？It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
??Satan gave a deceitful reply：“You will not surely die, for God knows that the day you eat of that tree, you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
??Now Eve had a very serious choice. The Bible tells us “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; ” Eve had deliberately made the choice to disobey God’s voice and listen to Satan, her enemy. She ate the fruit and gave some to Adam, and now Adam had a choice. Would he also disobey the God Who created and loved him and had done so many wonderful loving things for him？Yes, Adam chose to disobey God and he
??ate the fruit Eve gave him. Through their disobedience, sin came into the world.
??Even though Adam and Eve were the first two people to sin, they were not the only ones. Because of the sin nature we inherited from Adam and Eve, we were all born with a want-to to go our own way and disobey God. Romans 5：12 says, Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Do you pretend not to hear your parents when they call you？Have you been thinking angry thoughts about someone？Do you pout to get your way？Those are some ways that boys and girls sin.
??When sin entered the world, it brought many terrible things with it, but the worst thing is that sin causes you to be separated from God. If you continue in that sin, God says that when you die, you will be separated from Him forever in a horrible place of punishment called hell. Can you see that disobeying God is a serious sin？??Adam and Eve realized too late the serious sin of disobeying God. Because of that disobedience, their whole world changed. They had never known sadness or guilt or shame, but suddenly they felt all those things. The Bible says, “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, ” to make a covering for their bodies. Perhaps you are thinking, “But they didn’t die, as God said they would.” Oh, yes, they did die the worst kind of death. God says that when we are separated from Him, we are spiritually dead. We cannot enjoy fellowship with Him, or be in His glorious Home called Heaven. The day that Adam and Eve sinned, they suffered spiritual death and separation from God. Not only that, but their perfectly healthy bodies would now also have to suffer decay and sickness and death.
??Adam and Eve were so sad and ashamed. The Bible says, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day：and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”
??God called, “Adam, where are you？” Did God really need to ask that？Adam answered from his hiding place, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” When God asked Adam if he had disobeyed God’s commandment, Adam tried to blame it on his wife Eve：“The woman You gave me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.” Then Eve tried to blame the serpent for her disobedience：“The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
??God cursed the serpent：“Because you have done this, you are cursed above every beast of the field. You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.”
??Then God in His great love and mercy made a marvelous promise! God promised that one day He would send Someone into the world Who would defeat Satan and save people from the terrible punishment of sin.
??You and I know that special Someone was God’s perfect Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! When Jesus left Heaven to come to earth to die for your sins and mine, He fulfilled the promise God made in the beginning of the world. II Corinthians 5：21 says, “For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who (Jesus) knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” When wicked men caused Jesus to be beaten and bruised, and nailed to a wooden cross, it should have been you and me. But Jesus Who had never sinned, became sin for us and took our punishment on the cross. It was an agonizing death for the Lord Jesus, but He loved you and knew His suffering would pay for your sin. After the Lord Jesus suffered and died, three days later He came alive again! Jesus is the living Savior Who can forgive you and set you free from everlasting death and separation from God! Jesus is the special Someone God promised Adam and Eve He would send to the world.
??What a marvelous promise God made to the world, even as He also had to pronounce punishment for sin. God told Eve she would suffer pain as she gave birth to children, and that her husband would rule over her. To Adam God said, “Because you listened to your wife, and disobeyed Me, cursed is the ground for your sake.” Now Adam would have to work hard to get food to grow. There would be thorns, and weeds, and other hardships he had never known before. Adam and Eve would know great sorrow for the rest of their life because of their sin.
??Did God still love them？We know He loved them, for even after their sin, God Himself made clothing for Adam and Eve out of animal skins. As we close our lesson today, we read that God did another loving thing for Adam and Eve. He made them leave the Garden of Eden. He knew that if Adam and Eve ate of the tree of life in the middle of the garden, they would live forever in their sin. Genesis 3：24 says, “..and he (God) placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.”
??Life on this earth would never be the same for Adam and Eve. They would be the only people to know how wonderful it was to live in a perfect world, and then to know the deep sorrow of what their sin had done to the world. Adam and Eve would see some of the terrible things that sin brought into the world：fighting, killing, sickness, decay, death, and many other sorrows. All of these terrible things are a result of sin.
??Adam and Eve must have found great hope in the promise God made to send Someone to break the power of sin. Probably they did not realize that it would be the very Son of God, Jesus Christ.
??If you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, He has forgiven your sin and made you His child. You have the wonderful hope of being in Heaven with Him someday. As you read God’s Word and obey Him each day, you will see Him working out His wonderful plan for your life. Even though you see the terrible results of sin in this world, you can thank God that you have been saved from sin’s punishment!
??If you have never believed on the Lord Jesus, won’t you go right now to "How to Be a Child of God" and follow those steps？God is ready right now to forgive your sin and save you from sin’s punishment.
??引子：当你想到这个世界上的各样麻烦的时候，你是否感到很忧伤？似乎我们每天都会听到各样的坏消息，诸如战争、地震、疾病及其它的灾难。很多时候，人们总会发问：“为什么神让这样的事情发生呢？”
??从上次的课程里我们明白，当神创造世界的时候，并没有像战争、地震、风暴、疾病或死亡等可怕的事情。上帝所创造的是一个完美的世界。但是，什么事情不对劲儿了呢？仔细听我们今天的课程，你就会得到答案。你还记得上帝创造了哪些事物吗？有地上的草和树木、太阳、月亮和星星； 有海里的动物、鸟类和野兽等。但什么是上帝最独特的创造呢？是人！上帝以他自己的形象和样式造了第一个人亚当， 并给了他灵魂使他可以永远活着。
??创世纪第二章8至9节说：“耶和华神在东方的伊甸立了一个园子，把所造的人安置在那里。耶和华神使各样的树从地里长出来，可以悦人的眼目，其上的果子好作食物。园子当中又有生命树和分别善恶的树。” 你会想神为什么不嫌麻烦立了一个特别的园子给亚当呢？因为上帝非常地爱亚当！
??你知道吗？上帝也同样地爱你，就如同爱亚当！我怎么知道呢？因为你也是上帝所造的。上帝在耶里米书31章3节中说, “我以永远的爱爱你.”我们的神，完美的创造者，知道我们出生的日子，并从那天起就对我们的生命有一个完美的计划。他对我们生命的计划包括认识神并与他有美好的交通。从来没有人会象创造你的上帝一样爱你。
??因为上帝如此得爱亚当，他立了一个特别的园子供他安居。上帝要亚当照看园子，但那并不是辛苦的工作，因为那时尚没有荆棘长在地上！除了那棵识别善恶树上的果子以外，上帝要亚当尽情享用园中其它任何树上的果子。上帝警告亚当说，如果他吃了那棵识别善恶树上的果子，就必定死。
??上帝爱亚当，甚至将所有的动物和鸟都带到亚当的面前，让他给它们起名字！世界上所有的动物和鸟都成为你自己的宠物，你会有多高兴呀！那个时候，所有的动物和鸟都是驯服的，他们不害人也不彼此伤害。你不觉得亚当一定花了很多时间跟那些动物和鸟一起游乐吗？既是如此，上帝仍然看到亚当还需要一样东西。上帝说：“这人独处不好。”
??于是上帝使他熟睡，他就睡了。上帝取了他的一根肋骨，用肋骨造了一个女人给亚当作配偶。因为上帝造了亚当，了解他的一切需要，他也知道如何为他造一个完美的配偶。当亚当醒来后发现有这样一位美妙的配偶在等着他的时候，你能够想象他有多惊讶和快乐吗？亚当称她为夏娃。那时亚当和夏娃所居住的是一个多么美好和快乐的世界啊！
??因为那时人还没有犯罪，亚当和夏娃的心灵纯洁，与神的关系亲近甜蜜。事实上，圣经说，“当时夫妻二人，赤身露体，并不羞耻。”
??在亚当和夏娃所乐居的园子里，潜伏着一种叫作毒蟒的活物。毒蟒是一种蛇，但这种蛇不像我们现在所常见的普通蛇。他是撒旦，上帝的敌人，借着蛇说话。
??你知道吗？撒旦在天上曾经是一个天使。他的名子叫鲁西弗，曾是一个美丽明亮的天使。但因为他想自己做神，就变得骄傲起来，试图背叛神。上帝不允许这样的背叛，就将鲁西弗及他的追随者一同抛出天国。现在我们称他为撒旦，或者魔鬼、神的敌人。撒旦恨神，也恨你和我。他昼夜不停地欺哄人，想使人也背叛神。他从伊甸园中的夏娃开始下手。
??一天，撒旦假扮成蛇来到夏娃面前，说“神岂是真说，不许你们吃园中所有树上的果子吗？”夏娃知道神的规矩，回答说：“园中树上的果子，我们可以吃，惟有园当中那棵树上的果子，神曾说，你们不可吃，也不可摸，免得你们死。”
??你还记得那棵树的名字吗？就是识别善恶树。撒旦诡诈地回答说：“你们不一定死。因为神知道，你们吃的日子眼睛就明亮，你们便如神能知道善恶。”这时，夏娃面临着一个非常重要的选择。圣经告诉我们“于是女人见那棵树的果子好作食物，也悦人的眼目，且是可喜爱的，能使人有智慧，就摘下果子来吃了。又给她丈夫，她丈夫也吃了。”夏娃清楚地选择了违背神的话而听从了她的敌人撒旦。她不仅吃了那果子，还递一些给亚当，使亚当也面临同样的选择。是否他也会选择违背这位创造他、爱他并对他做了许多奇妙事情的上帝呢？是的，他确实选择了违背神，吃了夏娃给他的果子。因着他们的悖逆，罪就进入了整个世界。
??尽管亚当和夏娃是两个最初犯罪的的人，但犯罪的并不是只有他们。由于从亚当和夏娃所遗传的罪性，我们从一出生就有一种悖逆神、偏行己路的倾向。罗马书第5章12节说，“这就如罪是从一人（亚当）入了世界，死又是从罪来的，于是死就临到众人，因为众人都犯了罪。”当你的父母叫你的时候，你有没有假装没听见？你是否心里对某人不满？你有没有噘嘴生过气？这些是孩子们罪性的一些表现。当罪进入世界的时候，确实带来一些可怕的事情，但更糟的是罪使人与神隔离。
??上帝说，当你死的时候，你若仍然在罪里，你将永远与神隔离，到一个叫作地狱的可怕地方受惩罚。你是否明白悖逆神是严重的罪呢？当亚当和夏娃意识到罪的严重性的时候已经太迟了。由于悖逆的罪，他们的整个世界完全改变了。他们以前从不知道什么是伤心、罪过或羞辱的滋味，突然间都尝到了。圣经说，“他们二人的眼睛就明亮了，才知道自己是赤身露体，便拿无花果树的叶子，为自己编作裙子。”也许他们想, “神说他们要死，但他们没死。”噢！他们确实死了，而且是更糟糕的死。神说，当我们与他分离的时候，我们属灵的生命就死了。我们不能够再享受与他美好的交通，也不能安居在他荣耀的家----天国里了。亚当和夏娃犯罪的日子，他们遭受了属灵生命的死亡和与神隔离的痛苦。不仅如此，他们原本完美健康的身体也将遭受衰老、疾病和死亡。
??亚当和夏娃感到很忧愁和羞愧。圣经说：“天起了凉风，耶和华神在园中行走。那人和他妻子听见神的声音，就藏在园里的树木中，躲避耶和华神的面。耶和华神呼唤那人，对他说，你在哪里？”神真的需要问这个问题吗？亚当从他隐藏的地方回答说：“我在园中听见你的声音，我就害怕。因为我赤身露体，我便藏了。”当神问他是不是违背了神的戒命，亚当却试图责怪他的妻子夏娃：“你所赐给我，与我同居的女人，她把那树上的果子给我，我就吃了。”而夏娃却将她的悖逆归咎于蛇：“那蛇引诱我，我就吃了。”
??神就咒诅蛇：“你既作了这事，就必受咒诅，比一切的牲畜野兽更甚。你必用肚子行走，终身吃土。”
??然后，神用他的大爱和怜悯给人一个奇妙的应许！神应许说，将来有一天他要派一个人来到这个世界，此人将战胜撒旦，将人从可怕的罪恶桎梏中解救出来。
??你和我今天都知道那个特别的人就是神的完美的儿子，主耶稣基督！当耶稣从天上来到地上为你和我的罪死的时候，他成就了神在创世之初所作的应许。哥林多后书5：21说，“神使那无罪的（耶稣），替我们成为罪，好叫我们在他（耶稣）里面成为神的义。”当那些恶人使耶稣遭受鞭打和折磨，并将他钉在十字架上的时候，那本该是你和我所当承受的。但耶稣，从来没有犯过罪，却为我们成为罪，并在十字架上为我们受了惩罚。对主耶稣来讲，那是一个极度痛苦的死亡，但他爱你，知道他所受的痛苦能赎你的罪。主耶稣在十字架上受苦并受死，但他三天后又复活了！耶稣是活的救主，能够救你脱离永远的死亡，不再与神隔离。耶稣就是神应许亚当和夏娃他要派到世界来的那位特别的人。
??即便上帝宣称要对罪进行惩罚，但他对世人的应许依然是多么得奇妙啊！上帝对夏娃说他将增加她怀胎生产的苦楚，她也要受丈夫的管辖。对亚当，上帝说，“你既听从妻子的话，吃了我吩咐你不可吃的树上的果子，地必为你的缘故受咒诅；你必终生劳苦，才能从地里得吃的。”地里也长出了荆棘和蒺藜，亚当要经历从未有过的劳苦。因着他们的罪，亚当和夏娃将在极大的悲痛中度过他们的余生。
??神还爱他们吗？我们知道他仍然爱他们，因为即使他们犯罪以后，上帝亲自用动物皮为亚当和夏娃做了衣服遮盖他们。在今天课程的尾声，我们读到上帝为亚当和夏娃所做的另一件可爱的事情。就是他让他们离开了伊甸园。因为上帝知道，如果亚当和夏娃吃了园子当中生命树的果子，他们就会在罪中永远活着，那将是更加悲惨的事。创世纪3：24说，神“又在伊甸园的东边安设基路伯和四面转动发火焰的剑，要把守生命树的道路。”
??亚当和夏娃在地上的日子完全改变了。只有他们知道犯罪前完美世界的奇妙生活，也只有他们最清楚所犯的罪带给世界的深深灾难。亚当和夏娃将看到一些罪带给世界的可怕事情，如争战、杀戮、疾病、衰老和死亡以及很多其他的惨事。所有这些都是罪的后果。
??亚当和夏娃一定从神的应许中看到了巨大的希望，这个应许就是神将会派一位来打破罪的权势。也许他们那时并不知道那将要来的竟是神的独生子耶稣基督。如果你相信主耶稣基督，他就会饶恕你的罪，接纳你作他的儿女。将来你就有希望与他同在天国里。你若每天读神的话（就是圣经）、遵行他的道，你就会看到他在你的生命中所实施的奇妙计划。即使你在这个世界里常常看到可怕的罪恶，你仍然会感谢神将你从罪的惩罚中拯救出来。
??倘若你还没有接受主耶稣作你的救主，你为什么不现在就来想想“如何成为神的儿女”然后遵从那些步骤呢？上帝现在就预备好了来饶恕你的罪、救你脱离罪的惩罚。 |