March 18, 2014 Temptation And Deception (2)
Tuesday March 18, 2014
The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?” The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’” The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5 MSG)
In the Garden of Eden the serpent, the devil, questioned Eve regarding what God had said. He twisted what God had said about spiritual death through disobedience and applied it to physical death. He made the fruit very appealing to Eve and convinced her she could be like God knowing what is good and evil. Similarly, when Jesus was tempted, the devil quoted truthful scriptures to Jesus. However, he presented the truth in a way that appealed to human flesh and tried to get Jesus to reject the plan of God for His life. The devil will tempt us with something appealing to our flesh and then give us reasons why it’s not so bad or why we deserve it. He may even remind us that God will forgive us so, why not just go ahead and do it. The devil is always twisting truth with the motive of having us disobey God. He deceives us with things that appeal to our fleshly desires but never give the satisfaction we are seeking.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV)
One of the most appealing things people desire is freedom. They believe that freedom to act on the dictates of their own hearts gives them opportunity to have control over their own lives. In the Garden of Eden story, the real reason the first man and woman were deceived into eating the fruit was that they believed they could figure out, and act on, what was right and wrong for themselves without obeying what God said.
The temptation wasn’t just about eating a piece of fruit. The temptation was to a fantasy life where they seemingly could be “free” from God and decide by themselves what was morally good for them. The story, and the subsequent consequences to human kind, clearly demonstrates that the devil is the father of lies that Jesus called him. There is no human effort or wisdom that can keep us free from the God who created us in His image and breathed life into us. We will self-destruct in one way or another unless we acknowledge that God is with us and the evil one and his demonic force is already destined for the pit where he desires that we accompany him.
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. (Matthew 25:41 NLT)
Lord open our ears to hear what your Holy Spirit is teaching us.
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