Advent 2022 — December 2

¹⁴ Then Yahweh God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
you will be cursed
more than any domesticated animal
and more than any wild animal.
On your belly you shall go
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put hostility
between you and between the woman,
and between your offspring and between her offspring;
he will strike you on the head,
and you will strike him on the heel.”

Genesis 3:14-15

¹² Because of this, just as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death spread to all people because all sinned. ¹³ For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not charged to one’s account when there is no law. ¹⁴ But death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who is to come. ¹⁵ But the gift is not like the trespass, for if by the trespass of the one, the many died, by much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, multiply to the many. ¹⁶ And the gift is not as through the one who sinned, for on the one hand, judgment from the one sin led to condemnation, but the gift, from many trespasses, led to justification. ¹⁷ For if by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through the one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ Consequently therefore, as through one trespass came condemnation to all people, so also through one righteous deed came justification of life to 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, the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ Now the law came in as a side issue, in order that the trespass could increase, but where sin increased, grace was present in greater abundance, ²¹ so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 5:12-21

Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

This is the May 18, 2023 episode of the Refresh & Restore Bible Study, provided by JustKeithHarris.com. You can find the written version of this, along with Scripture references and footnotes, at: https://justkeithharris.com/2023/05/17/refresh-restore-bible-study-may-18-2023/

1. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 18, 2023: When the Loving Kindness of God Our Savior Appears 49:01
2. Refresh & Restore Bible Study — May 11, 2023: Sufficient Grace 23:42
3. Refresh & Restore — December 29, 2022 (Behold the King) 30:18
4. Advent 2022 — The Story of Christmas 27:29
5. Advent 2022 — December 24 (Christmas Eve Reading for Our Kiddos) 06:04

“A Very Old Promise”[1] by David Platt

Back in Genesis 3, before sin had stained God’s good creation, Adam and Eve enjoyed fellowship with God in the garden. The first couple was free to enjoy God, and they were given dominion over His creation. However, Satan (through the serpent) deceived Eve into eating from the only tree that God had declared off limits. Adam went along with his wife and disobeyed God, and this led to God’s curse on creation. In today’s reading God declared that there would be war between the offspring of the serpent and the offspring of the woman. Yet, in the midst of this devastation, God gave a hope-filled promise: Eve’s offspring would “bruise” the serpent’s head and ultimately prevail.

Sin and death continued to reign long after Eve and her children died, and it looked as if God’s promise in Genesis 3 was in jeopardy. Even Israel’s greatest heroes of the faith could not overcome sin completely. But things were about to change with the birth of Christ. As a great, great, great grandchild of Eve, He would fulfill God’s long-standing promise. The head of the serpent would soon be crushed through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.

Application & Challenge

If you are in Christ, you are familiar with promises made in Scripture that give hope. But there are many who do not know Him. Some say that it is judging to discern whether or not a person is saved or lost, but it could mean the difference between eternal life or death – if someone shares the gospel with them.

Think of one person who you think does not know Jesus or might not know Him that you will see in within the next few days.

• First, pray for them and ask God to show Himself to them through His Word and save them.
• Then, pray for God to provide someone to share His gospel with the person.
• Finally, thank God that He has sent you to share the gospel with them and ask Him to provide an opportunity and courage to share Him with them!

[1] David Platt, To Us a Son is Given: A Daily Reading Guide for Advent (Birmingham, AL: Radical, Inc., 2017), 21-22.