“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “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 3:4&5
In Genesis chapter 3, we read about the most tragic event in all of human history. In the church world you will hear it called “The Fall.” This is where sin and brokenness enter our world. Read here in Genesis 3:1-5
“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
We read here that a serpent approaches Eve and tempts her to eat the fruit of the tree which God has told them not to eat. Why shouldn’t they eat it? Well God said that it would result in death. Yet Eve believes the serpent’s lies, and she chooses to disobey God’s command. She chooses to believe the lie over God’s truth. In doing so, she and Adam bring sin, brokenness, and death into the world, fracturing their relationships with God and with each other. Have you ever thought to yourself that, if you were Eve, you would have reacted differently? We are all tempted to believe that we would have done better, but if you look closer at what’s happening here, you will see that we all make the same choice every single day. We still believe the serpent’s original lie that God is not good, his word is not true, and that sin will not kill us.
God is not good - We see this when the serpent tells Eve that what God is really doing is holding out on her. God doesn’t care about the fruit killing Eve, He just doesn’t want her to be wise like Himself! We still believe this lie today. We believe that God does not care for us, does not want good for us, and only makes rules that take away from our joy. In reality, following God’s laws lead to human flourishing and joy.
God’s Word is not true - The serpent asks Eve, “did God really say…?” When we stop believing that God’s Word is true, then we start to believe our own versions of the truth. We fall for the lie that we ourselves know what is best for us, rather than believing that the One who created and formed every part of who we are knows what will bring us abundant life.
Sin will not kill us - “You will not certainly die.” We make too little of our sin when we think that it will not kill us. Sin always leads to death. You can see it in our decay minds, bodies, societies, and world! Sin is killing us, and it is killing our relationships with one another. Sin always leads to death.
The Good News of the gospel is that Jesus came to take away the sin of the world, and abolish the lies of the serpent. We can be in perfect relationship with God and with one another again through Jesus’s sinless life, his death on the cross, and his resurrection from the dead! So let's stop believing these old lies, and hold fast to the truth. God is GOOD! His word is TRUE! And sin will always lead to death.
My Prayer For You
Father, I thank you for making a way for us to be in relationship with you once again. Thank you for saving us from sin and death, and making a way for us to live in truth again. Help us to stop believing these old lies, and to hold fast to the truth in your Word. Amen.
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