“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20

Everything God created announces His existence! If you’ve experienced a sunrise or sunset that took your breath away, stood on a mountaintop or in a valley that evoked a sense of awe, or if you’ve gazed upon the ocean and watched the melodic waves roll, that’s God’s handiwork. He did all of that for you!

The earth was created as a stage for our relationship with God to begin. In Genesis 3, life took a violent turn for the worse when Adam and Eve broke the one command God gave them. God’s commands are not to inhibit us but to prosper us.

We learn that a crafty talking-serpent approaches Eve. Although there’s no evidence to support that animals frequently spoke at this time, Eve was not startled, likely because fear did not exist. Fear requires worry or hostility and those qualities were non-existent.

Adam and Eve’s first mistake was engaging this serpent in conversation. The Bible teaches us to “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” James 4:7. The serpent’s misinformation and contradiction of God’s rule were enough for Eve to shut him down.

“…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5

We are to take every thought captive and compare it to what God says. If it does not line up with God’s word, then reject it.

Satan’s lies are usually laced with partial truths making it “good enough” to believe. Good enough is never God-enough. Therefore, we must commit to reading, studying, meditating on God’s word. The more of God’s word we know, the more proficient we become at identifying a lie.

Lie #1

“you will not surely die,” Genesis 3:4 said the serpent

“in that day you will surely die,” Genesis 2:17 said God.

Satan attempts to water down God’s definitive command. He challenges what God has spoken by questioning whether He will do what He says.

Lie #2

 “For God knows,” Genesis 3:5

“And the LORD God commanded the man,” Genesis 2:16

The pairing of the title “LORD God” is used in the Bible as God’s covenant name. A covenant is a binding agreement between two parties.

The title “LORD God” also represented God’s complete rule and authority as Creator. Satan attempted to subvert God’s complete authority by modifying His name. He wants to remove awareness of consequence for rejecting God’s rule and authority.

Satan’s proposed that by eating the fruit they would “become like God in knowing good and evil.” They were already as much like God as they would ever be. “Knowing” was more than a mental comprehension of good and evil. What he promised was to become like God in judging/determining what good and evil are. The fact that Adam and Eve could not obey the one command God gave, proved they were intrinsically unqualified to make such distinctions.

Biblical accounts demonstrate that mankind is independently unqualified to determine what good and evil are.

“…there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their life.” Jonah 4:11

This was not a compliment of their unbiased nature but attested to their inability to come to the most basic conclusions.

The Apostle Paul states that humanity has become, “inventors of evil.” Romans 1:30

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 17:6

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” Proverbs 14:12

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.” Proverbs 16:2

As a result of their rebellious actions, Adam and Eve unveiled a disposition towards sin. They were not born with this disposition but gave birth to it through free-will. Having eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and having access to the tree of life, they could become eternally separated from God.

As an act of mercy, God removes them from the Garden of Eden. Had they subsequently eaten from the tree of life, they would have lived eternally separated from God. God placed them outside the Garden but continued to pursue them. God was not going to give up on His most prized creation.

Choose to live by faith and not by sight. God’s Word, law, and commands are given so you can experience a joy-filled and peaceful life!