#176: The Serpent's Lies

 

...so that we are not outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. II Cor 2:11

That old serpent who has been deceiving the world from the beginning has been using some old tricks (Rev 12:9, John 8:44). The bible instructs us not to be ignorant of his designs. Today we visit the Garden of Eden to uncover 4 of the tricks he uses to turn our hearts away from God. It has worked severally, but God wants us to be aware of it; so that we can detect it and overcome him (Gen 4:7).

1. God is withholding something good from you: If Satan can succeed in making God look wicked in your eyes, it will be very easy to rebel against His laws:

"Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?" (Gen 3:1b)

This question begins a lot of mental analysis. You count what God says you can do and cannot do. And suddenly you realise that God is limiting your freedom in some sense. But this is not true. There is freedom in Christ, but godly freedom always has healthy restrictions.

2. Sin carries no consequences:

But the serpent said. "You will not surely die..." (Gen 3:4)

How many times has the devil succeeded in deceiving us that we can get away with our actions without consequences? "You are far from home; no one will know", "Nobody here knows you, how will your parents ever know?", "You can have protected sex; you will not get infected or pregnant", "You can cheat this time, the invigilator is not watching", "The boss is involved in this deception, surely no one will be queried", "God will forgive you; just do it this once"

He silently cajoles you to ignore the consequences and thereby making the action a mere action with nothing to lose in the process. But we know that sin has consequences. Think of the many times you have sinned because you either belittled the consequences or silenced it or ignored it altogether. For how long will the devil continue deceiving you?

3. Man can become equal to God: This is also a continuation of the first point. At this point, the serpent was portraying God to be withholding something good from them - being wise.

"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen 3:5)

This is a very silent form of deception. But it is the background to many forms of rebellion. Hidden behind many of our actions to work things our way is the silent desire to be like God or to play God. At such points, we are tired of waiting on God.

Are we going to rely on God's wisdom or our knowledge of good and evil? Man has never been successful in properly discerning right from wrong even when we know good and evil because we always suppress the truth; we cannot handle it properly (Rom 1:18-32); this is what the law of the old testament was given to show us. There is a way that seems right to us, but it leads to destruction (Prov 14:12). relying on our understanding is playing God. Instead, trust and rely on God (Prov 3:5-6).

4. If it feels good, go with it:

so 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate... (Gen 3:6)

Funny enough, the woman had been passing this tree every other day. This was not the first time she saw the fruits of the tree. But because she meditated too long on the poison that the devil planted in her heart, she saw the tree in a different light this fateful day - the day of her doom. That is the same way, a sister in the fellowship who you have been seeing every Sunday will look so desirable on one fateful day. The fact that it feels good, the fact that it looks good does not mean we should go ahead. It is a deception from the evil one.

Next week we will by God's grace continue to look at the schemes of the devil; but this time through the lens of the Man who bought our redemption. When Satan confronted Jesus, what tricks did he use? Are they applicable to us today? Adam and Eve fell for Satan's trick, but Jesus did not. How can we learn from Jesus' victory over Satan during his temptation in the wilderness? Anticipate the next post...