We need to understand the enemy’s tactics in order to combat them. In Genesis we meet our antagonist, he goes by many names (the evil one, the devil, satan) but here he’s known as the serpent.
Genesis 2:16-17 tells us that “the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’” Fast forward, the serpent encounters Eve and asks: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).
We learn three things from the serpent’s questioning:
Satan’s temptation always involves at least one of these three things: the lust of the flesh [sex], the lust of the eyes [money], the pride of life [power] (1 John 2:16). After satan’s line of questioning, Eve eats of the forbidden fruit and gives it to Adam because she saw it was good for food [lust of the flesh], pleasing to the eye [lust of the eyes], and desirable for gaining wisdom [the pride of life].
Satan introduces doubt. Eve tells the serpent that God said they would surely die if they ate from the tree (Genesis 3:3). The serpent issues a two prong attack when he asks: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” and then follows up with “you will not certainly die” in his response (Genesis 3: 1, 4).
Satan distorts the truth. The serpent continues, “for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). His statement was a lie even if it was half of the truth. The fruit took away their innocence—they were no longer naive, they knew true evil and they severed their relationship with God.
There you have it—the serpent successfully turned mankind against God. When God created the heavens and the earth, it was perfect—it was enough for humans to understand and experience the good they had been given in abundance (Genesis 1:31). But the serpent’s temptation appealed to their natural desires. Adam and Eve wanted more knowledge and more experience which they got at their own expense. This is the entry of sin into the world, its a curse that impacts every second of our daily lives because we are sinners in nature. This is our constant spiritual battle against the enemy’s temptations that lead to eternal damnation. We need God’s truth which leads to eternal life and salvation.
We need to understand the enemy’s tactics in order to combat them.
Genesis 2:16-17 tells us that “the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’” Fast forward, the serpent encounters Eve and asks: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1).
We learn three things from the serpent’s questioning:
1. Satan’s temptation always involves at least one of these three things: the lust of the flesh [sex], the lust of the eyes [money], the pride of life [power] (1 John 2:16). After satan’s line of questioning, Eve eats of the forbidden fruit and gives it to Adam because she saw it was good for food [lust of the flesh], pleasing to the eye [lust of the eyes], and desirable for gaining wisdom [the pride of life].
2. Satan introduces doubt. Eve tells the serpent that God said they would surely die if they ate from the tree (Genesis 3:3). The serpent issues a two prong attack when he asks: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” and then follows up with “you will not certainly die” in his response (Genesis 3: 1, 4).
3. Satan distorts the truth. The serpent continues, “for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). His statement was a lie even if it was half of the truth. The fruit took away their innocence—they were no longer naive, they knew true evil and they severed their relationship with God.
There you have it—the serpent successfully turned mankind against God. When God created the heavens and the earth, it was perfect—they had been given in abundance (Genesis 1:31). But the serpent’s temptation appealed to their natural desires. Adam and Eve wanted more, they got it at their own expense. This is the original sin. This is our constant spiritual battle against the enemy’s temptations that lead to eternal damnation. We need God’s truth which leads to eternal life and salvation.
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