Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." - Genesis 3: 13 (ESV)
The Bible says we are not to be unaware of the schemes of the enemy. That he seeks to steal, kill and destroy. That he is seeking some that he might devour. This is not to frighten you because greater is He that is in us than he who is in the world. Jesus already defeated Satan - he just hasn't gotten the memo yet. So it is not frighten but to enlighten. God gives us plenty of exposure to who Satan is and how he now operates. He does so that we might not be caught unaware. The tactics of the devil rarely change because our flesh is so predictable. If someone is easily tempted with pride today, they will probably succumb tomorrow as well. The same goes for lust, greed, or whatever button the devil like to push on us. Today I want to look at one of the more common forms of attack the devil uses on us as Christians and those in the world. That is the lie he whispers in our ears that says God has made a mistake. He has made a mistake in what He has told us in His Word. He has made a mistake in how we were made. He has made a mistake in our minds. The lies says He has made a mistake and thus He is wrong.
This God--his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. - 2Samuel 22: 31 (ESV)
The way of God is perfect beloved. His Word always proves true. Why do you thing the devil spends so much time trying to discredit anything found in the Bible? Why do you think we have seen this flood of poorly adapted Hollywood movies allegedly taken from Scripture? What is worse is to see entire denominations bow to the logic of man and the lies of the devil and embrace the notion that parts of the Bible may not be literal! Satan says there is no way Noah could fit all of the animals in the ark and suddenly parts of the church agree. The devil says there is no way the earth is only 6,000 years old and even though the proof against it is merely human theory, parts of the church agree. We see it throughout the carnal world. Satan using our desire to be our own god to denounce portions of the Bible. There were no talking snakes! How could people live to be 900 years old! Science can explain the ten plagues of Egypt! I even recently saw an article from a liberal denomination preacher who said he refuses to believe in the virgin birth anymore. Why does Satan spend so much time attacking the Word?
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1: 1 (ESV)
Because the Word is God! Once you allow something to be negotiable in the Word then everything is negotiable in the Word. God becomes negotiable. He becomes malleable for us to mold as we see fit. Once you say that the ark was figurative then the slippery slope ends with saying that sin is figurative. Judgment is figurative. This is how someone like Rob Bell, who used to pastor a mega-church, now believes there is no heaven and hell. Without heaven and hell there is no need for a Savior! Jesus becomes a feel good folk hero instead of the Lamb of God. This is what you end up with - that God somehow made a mistake. Look at the key verse today and we will see the end result in action. God told Adam and Eve they were not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or else they would die. That was His Word to them. When Eve decides to engage in a conversation with the enemy the first thing he does is plant the lie that God made a mistake:
But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." - Genesis 3: 4-5 (ESV)
He is saying to Eve that surely God has made a mistake! Eve does what we do so often, we consider what the enemy has to say! We push what God has said to the back of our mind and we consider the lie:
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, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. - Genesis 3: 6 (ESV)
Look at the three aspects Eve gave precedent to over what God had already said. The first is our human logic. She saw that the fruit was good for food. God never said it was not good for food! He simply said to not eat it. We see this logic argument play out when people dismiss the tale of the ark for example. We use our mortal minds to explain away the supernatural God we serve. Well logically there is no way for all the animals to fit on the ark, therefore God must have made a mistake. Logically the fruit looked good to eat, so God must have made a mistake. Secondly, we see the appeal to our flesh. It was a delight to her eyes. It was enticing to her. It was desirous to her. How quickly do we push aside what God has said just because what is before us is a delight to our eyes? This is what happened with David and Bathsheba. King David knew better. He knew what God had said about adultery and murder yet none of that mattered when the naked vision of Bathsheba was before him and she was a delight to his eyes. Thirdly, we see that we will abandon what God has said in pursuit of being more than God has decreed. This was the prideful sin Lucifer himself was thrown out of heaven for:
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' - Isaiah 14: 12-14 (ESV)
This may sound so much more lofty than our own sins but is it really? When we dismiss the Word of God are we not trying to ascend to heaven and set our own throne on high? God told Eve plainly; eat and you will die. When she chose to eat she was essentially saying was she did not believe Him. That He had made a mistake. When we dismiss the literal six day creation we are saying the same thing. When we dismiss the virgin birth we are saying the same thing. We are saying God made a mistake, I know better, and I will ascend to the heaven and set my throne on high. Then we see Eve come to the key verse when confronted by God and her only answer is that she was deceived, and she was. As we are deceived often as well. As the world is constantly deceived. We are deceived into thinking that we know better. That our personal experiences, logic and feelings trump what the Lord God Almighty has already said. That God has somehow made a mistake. Don't believe me? Let us look at some of the more obvious manifestations of the enemy attacking people by convincing them that there is something wrong with them. Something God made a mistake about that they need to correct.
In the year 2013 there were 11 million plastic surgeries and procedures performed in the United States. Since 1997 there is a 279% increase in the total number of cosmetic procedures. We live in an ever increasing narcissistic society the over emphasizes unrealistic expectations when it comes to physical appearances. Supermodels appear to all be candidates for eating disorders as little girls are constantly bombarded with the message that you have to be anorexic in order to be attractive. Men are constantly bombarded with six-pack abs models and air brushed looks that cannot be replicated outside of a magazine shoot. Then there is the debilitating effect of the pornographic distortion sex combined with a loosening of societal moral norms to create this atmosphere where not only are loose sexual boundaries permissible but they are desirous. As desirous as the fruit appeared to Eve that day in the garden. The reality is that we too often look in the mirror and do not like what we see because of unrealistic and unbiblical expectations placed upon us by the lord of this world - Satan. We forget what God has said in favor of what the world says. In favor of what the enemy says.
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. - Psalm 139: 13-16 (ESV)
The world may see us one way but God sees us His way. He made us. While we are on this subject, do not fall for the Hollywood Jesus. That guy looks like a cross between a boy band singer and a hair products spokesperson. The Bible says that Jesus had nothing in His appearance that would be desirous. Where the devil plays to our flesh to inspire our desire, Jesus plays to our spirit to inspire our faith.
