Deception
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Introduction
Introduction
Spencer, being a good buddy of mine, must have thought that I am an EXPERT on Deception! … what a great friendship we have together
But in all seriousness, I am here tonight, as someone that you have never met… to tell you that you have been deceived.
I am no better than any one of you, for I have been deceived as well
It is not my case to defend tonight, that we have been deceived about aliens… or EVEN that we have been deceived by the government… but my case tonight is to defend something, far more vital to your lives.
And that is this… that you and I have been deceived… by the Deceiver
Turn in the Scriptures, to Genesis 3… where we find a slimy, seductive, Serpent.
This is about as serious as it gets, and I want us to prepare for that, so please listen, and heed the word of god
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”
4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
A Hint of Doubt (1-2)
A Sprinkle of Falsehood (3-5)
A Desire to Rebel (6)
A Cover of Leaves (7)
1. A Hint of Doubt (1-2)
1. A Hint of Doubt (1-2)
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
This was a real reptile.. not a myth/parable/dream
Historical event
Not out of reach to think Eve had SEEN him many times & had become comfortable around him
Didn’t look: harmful, suspicious, or as one who would deceive
Nor does Satan present sin as harmful, suspicious, or as something to be deceived by
‘Crafty’
Wise, Subtle, Clever, Devious
And I believe the reason this particular reptile was like this, is because Satan had entered Him… using the serpent as a mouthpiece
We know it’s Satan:
Revelation 12:9 “9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
And he said to the woman… “Indeed, has God said?”
A hint of doubt… a knife to the authority of God’s Word!
That Serpent COMES to Eve, not with a direct attack, but with a clever QUESTION!
The issue we are dealing with tonight CENTERS around that question: “Hath God said”
‘Are you SURE what you heard?’
HAS God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’
BUT IT IS A LIE!
Genesis 2:16 “16 The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;”
100s of thousands of trees, fruits… God has given them MORE than enough!!
Indeed… hath God said
For a moment… consider Christ.
Where we shift from a bountiful, garden scene with lush fruit and wildlife… to a desolate wasteland of a desert, where we find our weary Lord, fasting in the wilderness.
Do you remember the temptation? … it was a question
Luke 4:3 “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.””
Why didn’t he say, SINCE… you are???
Well it means there’s some question about it! Are you SURE about that? Are you completely POSITIVE?
What were the last words Jesus heard before going into the wilderness?
“THIS IS MY BELOVED SON IN WHOM I AM WELL-PLEASED”
Announcing the son ship of Jesus! And the Spirit drives Him into the Wilderness
And Satan subtlety suggests, maybe you aren’t?
What father would allow:
40 days in wilderness
withhold food
to endure this humiliation/pain/testing/suffering.
But Jesus, in response said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every WORD that proceeds from the mouth of God!”
I live by what God said! … And what you’re telling me is what you told Eve thousands of years ago! “Has, God, SAID?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
‘So NO God didn’t say that!’
But instead of rebuking the serpent
Instead of running away
instead of evoking her dominion over the animal kingdom, she involves herself with a back and forth dialogue, not realizing that the one BEHIND that Serpent, would become the Deceiver of the World!
What is it that we learn from these 2 verses?
Satan is a liar
Satan is a lover of mischief & evil
Satan hates God
He sprinkles doubt into the mind of unfounded men & women… for His own pleasure.
2. A Sprinkle of Falsehood
2. A Sprinkle of Falsehood
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”
Now notice what Eve SAYS… ‘that God said you shall not eat from it… OR TOUCH it, or you will die!’
When did God say that Eve couldn’t touch the tree?
Well He didn’t! At least it’s not stated in the text!
Therefore, in her rebuttal to that ancient serpent… she TWISTS, what God said!
And therein lies the seed of doubt, watered and nurtured by that detestable serpent!
That GOD… isn’t fair!… that GOD… is too strict! I can’t even touch the tree!
Listen to me.
If you are here tonight… and you believe God is too strict, and that His Word, is just too much to follow… you are in the same place as Eve.
God-forbid any of us ever believe for a MOMENT… that God is not fair!!!
And if you believing a lie that will send you straight to Hell.
Notice, Eve’s temptation:
Did she not have the whole forest? Did she not have the grandest fruit to eat, the cleanest waters to drink, the perfect abode for mankind where NO SIN taints the very air that she breathes!
Oh but that ONE TREE. That tree that limits my FREEDOM!
That tree that has now become a burden to my very existence!
Why oh WHY does God keep the BEST for HIMSELF… and not me?
How easily the text of scripture can be twisted… how easily the word of God can be thwarted… by the FALSE presumption, of Eve… & the false pleasure, of sin
4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
Satan is no longer subtle… this is a direct contradiction of what God said!
The blackest lie ever told
You know what it means? …
That there is no judgement
You will not die!
You can eat of this very fruit, and you won’t die!
You see? There’s no punishment for SIN!!!
You can MURDER… STEAL… RAPE… LIE, you can build your life into a DREAMWORLD and o whatever you want to do! No consequence, No punishment, No crime, No death
Oh but what does Paul write in Rom 6 that the wages (PRICE… COST) of sin is DEATH?!
The wages of sin is death! An eternal grave!
They would die after 100’s of years but spiritually they died IMMEDIATELY!
ONE transgression committed against ETERNAL God reaps an ETERNAL punishment!
All because we believed a LIE over the very WORD of God!
Hebrews 9:27 “27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”
Sin matters… & judgement is inevitable
The fact of the matter is, You shall die… BUT… the gift, of God, is eternal life, in His son Jesus Christ.
The Word of God has been twisted… & you as well as I, dove headfirst into a world of sin… but Christ paid for our transgressions. FULLY drank the wrath of God the WE deserve! Dying, in our place.
The 2nd part of Satan’s lie in in verse 5:
5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
‘You will be like God’
Adam & Eve were already MADE in the image of God!
But the mere thought of tasting that forbidden fruit, and the lie of becoming like God who answers to nobody… was too much for Eve
The lie that ‘you will be like God’, is false 10 times out of 10
And the lie that indulging in SIN will make you like God? All I can say is, what deception.
Yet we have fallen in the same trap as Eve.
Who among us hasn’t seen the fruit of sin, that outwardly is as desirable as honey or gold, and taken a FAT bite of it, pleasing our flesh in the moment… but causing an eternal estrangement from God?
Who here among us hasn’t made themselves to be God by DEFYING the very word from God Himself!
And we blame the lie, but we have no one to blame but OURSELF for making GOD out to be fool, and WE… the wise.
If you are here tonight, and you believe you can live life how you want to… that you are the master of your life… and that God is of no worth to obey… Then you have been deceived by the first and greatest of all lies.
God has given us His word, not to limit us, but to protect us.
Psalm 19:7 “7 The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.”
3. A Desire to Rebel
3. A Desire to Rebel
6 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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
1 John 2:16 “16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”
good for food: lust of the flesh
delight to the eyes: lust of the eyes
desirable to make one wise: pride of life
It is a beautiful fruit… that will satisfy my flesh… and can make me wise
Are we not tempted the same way? to satiate our flesh… by the beauty of temptation, making ourselves out to be, the unrestrained, unrestricted God over our lives?
Because that’s where deception leads: to Sin
So Eve took of the fruit and ate
Thats exactly what God commanded her not to do yet she did it anyway
And immediately after gave it to Adam and he ate… no hesitation apparently
1 Timothy 2:14 “14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”
Eve was deceived, and Adam just outright ignored the word of God… didn’t give it a second thought
We are all gathered here tonight. We are all, I pray, open and receptive to the Word of God. And as this text continues forward, may you be reminded that IGNORING the word of God, is just as bad as breaking it.
You will leave here tonight determined to do one of 3 things:
Determined to obey the Word of God
Determined to Ignore the Word of God
Determined to Disobey the Word of God
And only one of those is the mark of a true Christian.
Their sin was more than just eating a fruit… it was about DISOBEYING GOD!… and BELIEVING that crooked serpent’s LIE, and in the final analysis, placing THEIR will above GOD’S WILL!!!!
And by eating that beautiful fruit…
They will not live forever, but shall die
They don’t inherits God’s blessing, they inherit the full weight of God’s wrath
They find sorrow instead of joy
Slavery instead of freedom
Adam and Eve made the wrong choice… how about you?
Is God’s word sufficient?
It was for Noah… the only thing He had to go on was the word of God
No Rain
No flood
No Ark of that size
120 years of building & preaching…
Speaking of Noah:
He does all that God commands
He gets off the ark and builds an altar
God makes a covenant with Noah
Yet Noah is found in chapter 9… naked, with shame
4. A Cover of Leaves
4. A Cover of Leaves
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
Spoiler alert, no amount of fig leaves, can cover up the amount of shame, and iniquity they were in.
Why do we kid ourselves?
Is it that we think God is dumb? Or do we just pretend that He is when we give into another sin?
Who are we kidding? To think that our sin is unbeknownst by God.
If we shutter & fear at friends finding out our sin… wait till you realize that God found out?
No amount of fig leaves can cover up your sin.
No amount of good works.
There is nowhere to hide from an all-seeing, all-knowing God
We have been deceived, by the Deceiver. And there is no hope for Adam & Eve, and there is no hope for us.
And if God is a JUST God, He must punish sin.
But 2000 years ago, the 2nd Person of the Godhead, the eternal Son of God, took on flesh.
He lived perfectly according to the moral law, something no person has ever done.
He willingly died on the cross (NAKED & ASHAMED LIKE ADAM & EVE) to perfectly fulfill the perfect wrath of God that we deserve to endure
He became sin, although He who knew no sin… and became the perfect sacrifice… for you and I.
And because God raised Him from the dead, he defeated the very power that enslaves every sinner on this planet.
His name was, and IS, Jesus. And if you believe, He is who He claimed to be, confess that Jesus is Lord, turn away from a life of ungodliness, and are baptized in water for your sins to be removed… YOU… can escape the judgement!
21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
You must know… that you are not free to sin without penalty
Every single sin will be punished. It separates us from God who made us to have fellowship with Him.
We need to be more aware of sin
We need a greater commitment to honor the Lord
We need a deeper love for Christ
We need a stronger desire to read the Word, and become more dependent upon God
Genesis 3:9 “9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?””
He knew exactly where Adam & Eve were… just like He knows exactly where you are… but He wants us to repent, and turn back to Him