Scripture
Genesis 3:1–7 (ESV): Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’'” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Biblical Principle
If you haven't noticed by now, your children are little sinners. If you didn’t think so before, I am sure being home with them during the pandemic has made that crystal clear. But some of our kids do actually try to do the right thing by obeying God. Yet, they always fall short. Just like we do. Moreover, many times parents and children do the “right” thing but our heart is not for God.
Romans 3 teaches us that all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. How does this affect our children? Genesis 3 shows us how it affects our children. In Adam, all men have died (Romans 5). This is a spiritual death. We are, by nature, children of wrath. This means that we naturally sin. However, that is not an excuse to keep on sinning. Our sin deserves a punishment and that punishment is Hell. Hell is a place where sinners, who have sinned against a holy and eternal God, find eternal punishment and separation from a just and holy God.
Although this is the reality of what Hell is, it does not have to be this way for those who love and worship God. God loves the world and His creation so much, that He sent His Son to live a perfect life and die on the cross, so that if you believe in Him, you will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). What do we need to believe? We must believe that Jesus lived the life that God requires of us for us, that He died the death that we deserve, and was raised on the third day so that we can be raised spiritually in Him. God has made a way for us to know Him and to have a relationship with Him. We must believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and we will be saved from the punishment that we deserve (Romans 10:9). We will be made right with God (justification), made to look like Jesus over our lives through the Word and the local church (sanctification), and finally given a body like Jesus in the resurrection so that we can live in new environment that is not cursed by sin (glorification).
Application
For Parents
How does knowing that your children have a sin nature, impact your parenting?
How should you lead your children in light of knowing this?
For Children
Should you trust your heart and inclinations based on this lesson from the Word?
Because of your sin, what did Jesus have to do?
Activity
Memorize: Genesis 3:15 (ESV): I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
Pray: God would save your children, sanctify them, and glorify them.
If your children seem to understand and want to make a decision for Christ, lead them in prayer to do so.
Activity: Explain how coronavirus is a result of us living in a fallen, cursed world. Jesus came to reverse that. Read Revelation 21-22 and talk about how the New Heavens and New Earth will be different from our world today.
Have children write notes to members in the church or lost neighbors about the hope we have for the future because of what Jesus did for us. If they cannot write in sentences, have them draw pictures of the images from the Revelation passage and ask them what you want them to write in the note.
A Family Devotion Guide similar to this one will be provided on our website under Fellowship Church Resources and social media every Friday for you to use at home. Then, visit our Facebook page, Friday night's at 6:00pm, to hear Pastor Armando Yzaguirre Jr. chat about this devotional.