Three Lies About Sin

We’ve read from Genesis 1 how God created a literal paradise in the garden of Eden and then crowned His stunning achievement with Adam and Eve, who were also perfect and created to live eternally. God Himself would come to walk and fellowship with them, face to face. There was no death there, nothing to hurt or abuse or kill. Life for them was heaven on Earth. So, what happened? If there is a God, why is there so much evil in the world?That question has been asked over and over, by many through the ages. In fact, it’s one of the questions asked by the atheist and the agnostic to excuse their position of denying the existence of God, despite the testimony of creation itself.Let’s look at God’s Word to find the answer. The Word of God has all the answers. Begin with me in Psalm 8 to see God’s plan for man from the beginning. What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor (Psalm 8:4-5).That word angels in the Hebrew is elohim which is the Hebrew word for God. Mankind was made just a shade lower than God. Man was made a spirit like his Father God who is called the father of spirits (Hebrews 12:9). This man was not some half-developed Neanderthal man. After God created Adam, He had Adam name all the animals, over 70 million species that we know of today. It would take a brilliant mind to do that. Man was created to be the friend of God, to walk with God and to fellowship with God.As we read earlier, God immediately gave Adam and Eve dominion over all the earth and everything God had created in the world.Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28).They were permitted to eat all the herbs and fruits the garden produced, except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were given a free will, which allowed them to choose to love and to serve God or not.And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represented an alternative—a choice other than serving God. What good would it be for man to have a free will with the ability to choose, but only have one god or one option available? God has always wanted His children to choose Him and to love Him freely, the way He loves us. The tree represented that other choice. Yet, choosing to eat the forbidden fruit was a leap into sin. It was expressly forbidden, and it was the biggest mistake in history.

The fall of man was the result of believing lies--lies that are still being told.

These lies are working to destroy people today, just as they did in the beginning. God’s directions were clear. But when Satan approached Eve, he misquoted and exaggerated God’s command:He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘ You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1 ESV).That’s not what God said at all. God said they couldn’t eat from one tree. This is a dangerous misinterpretation. It’s important to read the fine print and be sure you know what God has said. This lie insinuates that if you serve God, you cannot do anything. Your life will be boring and limited because God doesn’t want you to have any fun. That’s just not true. Worse yet, people still believe this lie today as it’s still told in various forms.I’ve had people tell me they don’t want to serve God because they want to have fun. Yet, serving God is fun. It’s the most rewarding, fulfilling life anyone can live. Sure there are things God doesn’t want us to do. He doesn’t want us to do drugs and experience addiction. He doesn’t want us to live recklessly and die an early death.There were people who tried to get me to “enjoy” life as a young person. They thought they were having all the fun and would be the first ones to say, “You can’t do anything fun if you serve God.” I didn’t go with them to the parties and get involved in the sin and carousing, and now, looking back, I see what I missed. I didn’t have a baby out of wedlock. I didn’t spend any time in rehab for addiction recovery. I didn’t go to jail or die young. I really missed a lot by serving God and living life His way.The things God doesn’t want us to do are bad for us. He wants the best for us and living life His way is the best way. However, the lie that says you can’t do anything if you live for God is still being told and still being believed. The enemy just recycles what works and uses it over and over.Eve attempted to correct the serpent’s understanding of God’s command, as if he didn’t know.And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘ You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” (Genesis 3:2-3).The next lie Satan told doesn’t just misinterpret what God said; it flat out contradicts what God said. Notice what the serpent said next: “…You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4).That was a brazen lie. God said, “in the day you eat you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Satan said, “You will not surely die.” Who told the truth?We’ve all heard this lie before. It’s spoken and believed today by many people. Enticing people to sin, so-called friends often say things like, “Come on! It’s not going to hurt you.” “Nobody will ever know.” “It doesn’t matter what you do. God will love you.”It’s true that God will love us, but what we do does still matter.

The truth is, sin kills. God’s not out to get us, but sin might.

It may appear as harmless as the forbidden fruit, but there is a reason sin is wrong. God has declared it off limits because it’s not best for us. Adam and Eve doubted God’s Word, and every one of us has felt the effects. We’re all still reeling from its effects.The third and final lie the serpent told that day in the garden is even worse. This lie questions God’s motives for giving His commands and setting boundaries for them as if He wanted to limit them or deprive them of a happy life.Look with me at the third lie: "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).Notice what Matthew Henry had to say about this insidious statement in Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible:This was a great affront to God, and the highest indignity that could be done him, a reproach to his power, as if he feared his creatures, and much more a reproach to his goodness, as if he hated the work of his own hands and would not have those whom he has made to be made happy.                        Satan is undermining Eve’s faith in God’s goodness and sowing doubt in her mind about His care for her. God was not trying to limit them in life or                        keep them from being like Him. He was trying to keep them from experiencing all the evils sin would bring.Those who believe this lie today feel they must go out on their own like the prodigal son to be happy and “find themselves” as if God wants much less for them than they want for themselves or as if He’s holding them back from experiencing life to the fullest.

The truth is, God wants the absolute best for His children.

And living life within the boundaries of His will is the only way to have it. It’s the only way to really live.Once Satan had sown doubt in Eve’s mind about the motive behind God’s command, the decision was made, and the first sin was committed. Adam and Eve chose to eat the forbidden fruit. They chose to sin. It was their decision and theirs alone. It was not God’s fault. God told Adam not to sin and clearly explained the results of disobedience. Yet, with one bite, sin entered the earth, and with sin, came evil, pain, death and suffering that continues to this day.God never wanted any human to die or suffer. It was not His design that humankind go through wars and natural disasters. None of this existed until man sinned. The reality of little children suffering hunger, disease and abuse was never supposed to happen in this world.

Evil, along with death and hell and the grave, are the result of sin—and mankind is solely responsible.

It’s not fair for people today to look at the world and blame God for everything bad that happens. God tried to warn Adam and Eve. He was very clear about the consequences.Adam and Eve didn’t just fall into sin. They leaped in with both feet, and the world has felt the effects from that moment. Sin unleashed horrific consequences on the human race that continues to this day. God knew the full extent of what Adam had done. He also knew that in the millennia to come, man would blame God and even deny His existence. But in His great love for us, God still chose to redeem mankind and offer the gift of salvation to the human race.