Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
Genesis 3:1 NASB2020
Our battle isn’t against sin. It’s against lies.
The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 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.’ ”
Genesis 3:2-3 NASB2020
God knows what’s best for us. He created us. He knows everything. He knows it’s best for us not to judge for ourselves what is right and wrong, instead we should accept God’s standard.
The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:4-5 NASB2020
God’s original design for humanity is that we would not know good and evil. We would only know God. Our daily fellowship with Him was enough to keep us on the path of everlasting life.
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 some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. 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 waist coverings.
Genesis 3:6-7 NASB2020
The enemy of our souls uses deception, lies disguised as truth, to tempt us and trick us into doing his evil bidding. He wants nothing more than to kill, steal and destroy the glory of God. He cannot win. He is already defeated. But the lies continue until final judgement is rendered.
As believers, we are heirs of Christ and we will inherit His Glory at the resurrection of the dead. The Holy Spirit is the down payment that assures us of this truth.
Sin is not the enemy. The enemy is the enemy. The enemy uses temptation to lure us into sin. If we know the truth, we know that temptation is deceiving. It’s the false promise of a temporary gain for disobeying God’s commandments.
God’s heart for us is to set us free from sin. If we focus on good and evil, that’s all we’ll see. We will become judges of the Law. If we focus on Jesus, that’s all we’ll see. Then, we can faithfully follow Him and His Spirit will not lead us to sin.
Our battle isn’t against sin. Jesus already won that war for us. Our battle is against lies. The ones we believe that lead us to act in ways that are less than holy.
Sin is a symptom of our spiritual condition. Sinners don’t need you telling them they’re condemned. They need to hear the truth. That Jesus loves them and died to set them free. They no longer have to believe all the lies they’ve been told since birth. They can enter into an eternal relationship with their Heavenly Father because our Savior lives.
Sin is a symptom that we don’t yet fully understand how much God loves us and how supremely superior abiding in His Presence is than anything else.
Father, forgive us of our sins as we forgive others of theirs. We were all born into sin. Only the truth can set us free. Help us to speak the truth in love and build up the Body of Christ. Amen.
Now 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. Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?”
He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”
The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?”
And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Genesis 3:8-13 NASB2020
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