The Trap
And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die! “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” (Gen 3:4-5).
When the devil saw that the woman had already shown a subtle disrespect for God\’s command by adding to it, he then pushed her all of the way into the trap by boldly contradicting God. When Eve did not recoil at this, her fate was sealed. If we are prone to either add to or take away from the Word of God, we will be prime candidates for deception. If we do not take a stand against the blatant contradictions to God\’s Word, we will likewise be easy prey for the crafty.
In contrast to Eve, when Jesus was tempted by the devil, He took His stand on God\’s Word. The foundation of obedience is having it settled in our hearts that God\’s Word is true. Whenever we are being tempted, we should flee to the Word of God and search for what the Bible says on the issue. It is very unlikely that Eve would have eaten the forbidden fruit if she had waited to ask God about the serpent\’s assertions. The Lord promises us that if we seek, we will find (see Matt 7:7). He will teach us His ways if we seek Him. It is not wrong to take our questions to the Lord.
We should also note that the very first recorded lie of Satan was “You surely shall not die.” This is still his basic lie, and the great deception that is the root of most false religions and beliefs. Yet, the Word of God is clear, “For the wages of sin is death” (see Rom 6:23). Sin leads to death. It does not matter how crafty the philosophies or religions sound, if we believe anything other than God\’s Word, it will be our doom.
- The only way that all men will know that Jesus is Lord, sent from God, and that we are His disciples is if we have love for one another.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to give you a revelation of how to begin to operate in unity with the rest of Christ’s body. Start with yourself because a man who has friends must shew himself friendly
- Pray that God will give you the grace to stretch out a hand of fellowship to those whom you had hitherto cut off fellowship.