The Great Deception

Adam and Eve

English Standard Version (Genesis 3:1–2)

Now uthe 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, ‘You1 shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

His favorite way to get us to doubt God is to start with the phrase “Did God actually say?”

He reframes the issue by saying God didn’t say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden.

If Satan can get us to doubt God’s word then he has a foot in the door.

English Standard Version Genesis 3:2–3

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, v‘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.’

Eve sees through his attempt and clarifies God’s intent.

She repeats God’s actual word to the deceiver. This is the right thing to do and we even see Jesus do this to Satan when He is tempted in the wilderness.

When someone questions God’s word or brings new information to us about His word what should we do?

We go back and look at His word to see what it actually says.

English Standard Version Genesis 3:4–5

4 wBut the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Here Satan states the truth, but he withholds pivotal information as well. He tells Eve 3 things.

You won’t die

Redefining the truth is as old as sin itself. In once sense, Satan was correct, they wouldn’t die, physically. However, he failed to tell them that it wasn’t about a physical death, but instead a spiritual death.

This is what is called a half truth. It is used a lot by false teachers and Satan himself to convince us to believe wholly in something that is really only a slight truth.

A lot of times you can find these half truths in the weeds of emotional jargon. we love the way it sounds but it actually has very little if any spiritual truth to it. Paul talks about this in 2 Timothy 4:3-4

2 Timothy 4:3–4 ESV

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Your eyes will be opened

Again, this is only a half truth. Yes, their eyes would be opened, but not in a good way. They would gain the knowledge of good and evil before they were ready to discern what is actually good and what is actually evil.

I believe God was going to allow them to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil when He believed they were ready to partake of it. They were spiritually young and therefore had very little discernment or wisdom to know what was actually good and what was actually evil.

This is the predicament we find ourselves in today.

You will be like God

One of Satan’s priorities seems to be to get us to rely more upon our own understanding rather than God's word which then likens ourselves to God Himself.

Proverbs 3:5

Proverbs 3:5 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

This doesn’t mean don’t use your reason and logic at all to discern truth from lies we should always be doing that. What it is saying is not to LEAN on your own understanding. When you lean on something you are putting ALL of your faith in that thing to hold you up.

If we fully lean on our own understanding then we are very likely to be deceived because we are discerning truth through the lens of our fallible mindsets rather than God’s objective truths.

How do we guard ourselves against Satan’s deception?

We know God

The better you know God the better you know what isn’t God.

How do we know God?

Through reading His word and prayer.

We get in community

When a Christian is isolated from his or her community when they are most vulnerable to the attacks of Satan.

Why?

Because everyone is most vulnerable when they are alone. Satan attacked Eve when she was by herself.

Proverbs 15:22

Proverbs 15:22 ESV

Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

It is better to have many advisers than trusting your own understanding alone.

Jesus came to go after the one who has been led astray. The other 99 are fine because there is strength in numbers, but the 1 is vulnerable and unable to protect itself.

Maybe you know a one this morning.

Maybe you are the one. Don’t continue to let Satan deceive with his cunning words. Trust in God’s word and find the truth.