Learning to Share the Gospel, Lesson 7. Read Gen 2:15-17; 3:1-13. The moment you mention "sin," your friend says "I haven't broken any law"—and you can't quite say what sin is either.
Main passage: Gen 2:15-17; 3:1-13
God said to the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The serpent's words made people doubt this God's goodness, and they reached out and ate—from then on they no longer trusted him, and decided for themselves what is good and what is evil. When talking with friends about sin, we don't have to open with "you are a sinner." We can start here: the root of sin is that human beings stopped trusting the one who made them.
In Chinese, the moment the word for "sin" (zui) is spoken, most people hear "crime": murder, arson, theft, robbery. So a friend will often reply, "I haven't broken any law—what makes you say I'm guilty?" At that point the conversation often stalls. The problem is not that our friend is stubborn; it is that the "sin" we mean and the "sin" they hear are not the same thing. Genesis 2 and 3 are exactly the place to make this clear.
First, look at how God treated human beings at the beginning:
Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17)
First the gift, then the boundary. Every tree in the garden was theirs to eat from freely; only one was off limits. God is not a stingy master. He set abundance before human beings first, and only then drew a line.
What did that line mark? We need to say it precisely: being able to tell good from evil is not itself sin. Human beings were made in God's image and given the task of ruling over the earth (Genesis 1:27-28). Before they ate the fruit, they could already tell right from wrong—but at that time they did so according to God's word, trusting his love, justice and wisdom. What the tree stood for was who sets the standard of good and evil: the God who made humanity, or humanity itself. Human beings were meant to be keepers of that order, not its authors.
This is exactly where the serpent struck. Notice the three steps in what it said:
First, it twisted God's words. "Has God really said, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'" (Genesis 3:1). God had said "you may eat of every tree, except one"; in the serpent's mouth it became "you may not eat from any tree"—turning a generous God into a God of restrictions. Second, it denied the consequence. "You won't really die" (Genesis 3:4). Third, it cast doubt on God's heart. "For God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). The implication: he forbids it because he is afraid you will become like him; he is holding back something good from you.
And 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 some of its fruit, and ate" (Genesis 3:6). Notice that the one judging whether it was "good" was now her own eyes. From this moment, human beings no longer decided good and evil by God's word, but by their own view. Chinese has a string of expressions that capture this well: "in my eyes," "my view," "my way of seeing," "my opinion," "being right in one's own eyes." Proverbs says it too: "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs the hearts" (Proverbs 21:2).
The serpent promised that "your eyes will be opened," and they were—but not as promised: "Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked" (Genesis 3:7). Then came a series of things we know all too well today—shame, covering themselves with fig leaves; fear and hiding, "I was afraid ... and I hid myself" (Genesis 3:10); blame, the man said "The woman whom you gave to be with me," and the woman said "The serpent deceived me" (Genesis 3:12-13). The relationship between people and God was broken, and people began to blame one another.
So when we speak about sin to a friend, we can put it this way: sin is not just a list of wrong actions; the root of sin is that people stopped trusting the God who made them and took the authority to define good and evil into their own hands. A person may break no law and treat others decently, yet never give thanks to the one who made them and measure everything by their own view—this is what Romans means: "all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Put this way, friends are often able to hear it, because they have seen it in themselves and at home: a husband and wife arguing, each sure they are right; an unease, shame and loneliness inside that is hard to name; looking for someone else to blame when something goes wrong. These are not the definition of sin; they are its fruit. Follow the fruit back and you find the root.
There is one more thing we must always say: the story does not stop with people hiding. "Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you?'" (Genesis 3:9). It is God who comes looking first. If talk of sin stops at condemnation, people only hide deeper; saying this leaves the door open to the cross: the God whom people doubted is the very God who comes looking for them.
So this lesson comes down to this: when we speak about sin, we don't open with "you are a sinner"; we start from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—God gave abundance first, yet people stopped believing in his goodness and decided good and evil for themselves; and still he comes looking for them.
1. "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden." First the gift, then the boundary; only one tree was off limits.
2. Telling good from evil is not itself sin. Human beings could already tell right from wrong; the tree stood for who sets the standard of good and evil.
3. The serpent turned "only one is forbidden" into "none is allowed." Its first step was to turn a generous God into a God of restrictions.
4. "You will be like God, knowing good and evil." What the serpent really wanted people to doubt was God's heart—as though he were holding back something good from them.
5. "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food." The one judging whether it was good was now her own eyes.
6. Shame, fear, hiding, blame. Once the relationship broke, things went wrong both between people and God and between people; this is the fruit of sin.
7. "Where are you?" It is God who comes looking first. Talk about sin must not stop at condemnation.
(about 10 minutes)
One key sentence (leader reads this)
What we share in the group stays in the group. There is an exception: if there is ongoing harm, a risk to a child or vulnerable person, or immediate danger of self-harm or harm to others, the leader cannot promise complete confidentiality. Normally, the leader will first try to discuss this with the person and share only necessary information with those who can actually help. If a child or someone unable to protect themselves is involved, or there is immediate danger, do not wait for consent. Contact a pastor, qualified professionals, local police, emergency services or medical services as appropriate. In immediate danger, get help straight away and do not leave the person alone.
Warm-up: Have you ever seen two people argue over something, each sure they were right? How did it end? (At home, at work or online all count; first-time visitors can share too)
Leader note: Keep it light; don't name or judge anyone. Most will notice that by the end, the argument is often about "who gets to decide." This question sets up what comes next.
Lesson recap (leader reads this, about 1 minute, for the benefit of those who didn't prepare)
This lesson is from Genesis 2, verses 15 to 17, and Genesis 3, verses 1 to 13. Yahweh God put the man in the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it, and commanded him: You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die. Later the serpent said to the woman: Has God really said, you shall not eat of any tree of the garden? And then: You won't really die, for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate, and gave some to her husband, and he ate too. Their eyes were opened, they knew they were naked, and they made coverings of fig leaves. In the cool of the day Yahweh God was walking in the garden, and the man and his wife hid among the trees. Yahweh God called to the man: Where are you? The man said: I heard your voice and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. When God asked whether he had eaten from the tree, the man said: The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it. The woman said: The serpent deceived me, and I ate. We're reading this alongside Romans 3: all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God. Today we're talking together about how to explain sin clearly.
1. Read 2:15-17. What did God give the man? What did he forbid? Which of the two was greater?
Leader note: He could freely eat of every tree of the garden; only the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was forbidden. What God gave first was the abundance of a whole garden; only one tree was restricted.
2. Read 3:1-5. How did the serpent's words differ from what God had originally said?
Leader note: God said "you may eat of every tree, except one"; the serpent said "you may not eat from any tree." God said "you will surely die"; the serpent said "you won't really die." The serpent also implied that God forbade it because he was afraid people would become like him. You can ask everyone to find these one by one.
3. Read 3:6-13. After eating the fruit, their eyes were "opened"—what did they see? What did they do next?
Leader note: They saw that they were naked; they covered themselves with leaves, hid in fear when they heard God's voice, and blamed others when questioned. God called out: "Where are you?"
4. Why is the tree called "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil"? If telling good from evil is not itself sin, what was wrong with eating its fruit?
Leader note: This is the central question of the lesson; give it time. Human beings could always tell right from wrong; the wrong lay in no longer trusting God's word and taking the standard of good and evil into their own hands. You can use an illustration: if everyone marks the units on their own tape measure, each person's "one metre" comes out a different length, and the argument never ends.
5. (Flexible question—discuss if time allows) Why did the serpent first twist God's words into "you may not eat from any tree"? Is this move still common today?
Leader note: First make people feel that God is stingy and full of restrictions, and they stop trusting his goodness. Is the common idea today that "believing in God just means 'you can't do this, you can't do that'" the same tune?
6. How are the fear, hiding and blaming that followed the eating of the fruit like our lives today? What does God's question "Where are you?" tell us?
Leader note: Ask everyone to speak about themselves first, not about others. These are the fruit of sin; follow the fruit back and you find the root. "Where are you?" shows that God comes looking for people first—talk about sin must not stop at condemnation.
7. A friend says, "I haven't broken any law—what makes you say I'm guilty?" How would you answer? Try it in three or four sentences. (In pairs, each person says it once; first-time visitors can share how they would feel hearing such an answer)
Leader note: The leader should say clearly first: there's no need to win the argument; the aim is to be understood. You can offer a framework: first agree that they really haven't broken the law → in Chinese, "sin" is often heard as "crime," but the Bible means something deeper → God gave abundance first, but people stopped believing in his goodness and decided good and evil for themselves → God still comes looking for people. Afterwards, add a sentence to each other's version.
8. In your own life, what is most like "deciding good and evil for yourself"? (Those willing can share a sentence or two; no need for details)
Leader note: The leader shares one first. Don't let the sharing become a confession session, and don't probe. The prayer and action list that follow come from here.
(about 15 minutes)
Ask one group member to slowly read Genesis 2:16-17, then Genesis 3:9, and let everyone sit quietly for two minutes. In your hearts, bring before God one thing in which you have been "right in your own eyes." Those willing can pray a sentence or two, and also pray for a friend you hope to share the gospel with. Those who don't want to speak can pray silently—that counts as prayer too; first-time visitors can listen silently, and there's no need to pray or commit to anything. Finally, the leader can wrap up by thanking God for coming to look for us first. Prayer requests stay within the group. Do not put sensitive matters in the app or share them in a group chat. For routine follow-up, first obtain the person's consent, then privately note only the necessary sentence or two. If a child or someone unable to protect themselves is at risk, or there is immediate danger of self-harm or harm to others, do not wait for consent: contact local emergency services, police or appropriate protective services immediately.
You might begin like this (prayer direction):
Lord, you gave the whole garden's fruit to human beings and kept back only one tree, yet they doubted your goodness. We confess that we often do the same: we do not trust your word, and decide everything by our own view. Thank you for not leaving us to hide; you called out first, "Where are you?" Help us come back to you ourselves first, and give us fitting words to tell our friends—not to condemn them, but to tell them that you have been looking for them all along. In Jesus' name, amen.
(about 5 minutes)
After prayer, each person picks one thing from below to do this week. Just one—and if you can't decide right away, that's okay.
No need to write anything down or report back; if you want, you can share how it went at the next meeting. If you didn't get to it, bring whatever got in the way to prayer.
You could choose “Stating the Gospel Clearly: The Cross and the Resurrection” (Romans 5:6–11), or “Start with Creation” (Acts 14:8–18).