The First Promise of a Savior

Scripture Reading: Genesis 3:1-15, Romans 5:12-14

“Does this movie have bad guys?”

It’s a common question I often get from our youngest whenever we sit down to do a family movie night. So I had to laugh on this particular night when her older brother, exasperated, responded to her, “Yes! Every good movie has a bad guy.”

But to be honest, I love to picture a life without bad guys, where good always wins and evil doesn’t exist. Don’t you?

I’ve often wondered, if it were me instead of Eve in that garden, would I have made the same choice? Would I have looked outside of God to give me what I felt He was holding back, opening the door for sin to enter the world?

But I know deep down in my heart that the answer is yes, I probably would.

In the garden, we see Satan deceive by working to reframe and discredit what God had said (Genesis 3:4–5). He tried to make it seem like God was keeping His creation from living fully…but nothing could be further from the truth.

Eve was convinced by the empty words of Satan’s promise. Like many of us, she became convinced that God was holding out in some way when He had already given everything they would ever need (vv.6–7)!

Adam and Eve’s choice in this moment led to darkness and sin (vv.7–9). And while God’s love for them didn’t change, there were direct consequences for the choice they had made.

“I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
—Genesis 3:15

The serpent and humankind were cursed. The garden with all its gifts and the constant presence of God—they had to leave it behind. Sin entered the picture, and our need for a Savior was born. From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, bringing death into the world, God was already forming a plan of salvation. This choice would separate us from God. But death would not be the end of our story because of Jesus (Romans 5:12–14)!

During Advent, it’s easy to talk about the baby in the manger and retell the story of the angels, shepherds, and the wise men who followed the star. But the story of our Messiah, the promise of the One who would wipe away our sin, began all the way back in that garden.

That one act of sin, and every act of sin that followed, needed one righteous act to justify us all. As we wait patiently to celebrate the coming of our Savior, we remember that despite our sins and mistakes, God’s grace still prevails in the end. Thank you, Jesus!

Written by Abby Flynn