Listening to Lies
Genesis 3
Essential 100 Message Series
January 6, 2008
Evening Service
Introduction
Writing letters of recommendation can be hazardous--tell the truth and you might get sued if the contents are negative. Robert Thornton, a professor at Lehigh University, has a collection of "virtually litigation-proof" phrases called the Lexicon of Intentionally Ambiguous Recommendations, or LIAR.
Here are some examples:
*To describe an inept person--"I enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications whatsoever."
*To describe an ex-employee who had problems getting along with fellow workers--"I am pleased to say that this candidate is a former colleague of mine."
*To describe an unproductive candidate--"I can assure you that no person would be better for the job."
*To describe an applicant not worth consideration--" I would urge you to waste no time in making this candidate an offer of employment."
Have you ever been lied to and deceived? It happens all the time and unfortunately more often than not people get sucked into the lies.
There are many ways that we get tricked
* A few drinks never hurt anybody
* No one will ever know
* It’s ok as long as no one gets hurt
* Try anything once
The sad part is that far too often we hear lies and believe them to be the truth. Lies that cause us to stumble are nothing short than demonic.
A USA Today poll found that only 56% of American teach honesty to their children. And a Louis Harris poll turned up the distressing fact that 65% of high school students would cheat on an important exam. Recently a noted physician appeared on a network news-and-talk show and proclaimed, "Lying is an important part of social life, and children who are unable to do it are children who may have developmental problems."
The Old Testament tells us of another lie that ruined a different garden. If you have your Bibles open them to Genesis 2:15-17
God’s Word is absolute and true
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:15-17
God had created Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden. Eden was a place of spectacular beauty and is considered to be the best place on the entire earth. Eden would be as close to paradise as one could get.
Adam was placed in this ideal setting for two distinct reasons. The first was to work the garden. This means that Adam was to labor and make the garden his home. The second was to take care of it. The New King James translates this phrase as to keep. The Hebrew word actually means to guard or to protect. Why would Adam need to protect the garden?
Verse 17 gives us our answer. Adam was to protect the garden from the Tree of Knowledge. This was the only tree in the entire garden that was restricted from Adam. In fact, this was the only thing that was off limits to Adam. God provided everything Adam would ever need and gave only one condition for being in the garden.
God also clearly tells Adam what will happen if he disobeys: You will surely die. This is strong language but what exactly is God saying here? After all dead is dead. You cannot die more than once. God is saying that Adam would die a double portion of death. There would be two different deaths that Adam would experience. There would be a spiritual death that would end the relationship that Adam had with God and this would be immediate. The second death would be a physical death later. God is clear here, Adam would die spiritually and physically. It was the total death experience.
Never trade God’s truth for a lie
1 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’?" 2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 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.’ " 4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Genesis 3:1-6
The serpent enters the garden and tells Eve that she will not die if she eats the fruit. We know from the Biblical teaching that this is Satan coming to Eve. From the start there are two key problems happening here.
The first is the fact that Eve even listens to the serpent. Adam had been given dominion over all of creation and the serpent was part of that creation. Eve was literally surrendering the authority and position that God had given to her. Eve was listening to the serpent who actually had a lower place than she did.
How many times do we do this same thing? We drop far below the level of living that God intends for us to have. How often do we trade our place with God for something cheap?
The second is that Eve does not communicate God’s truth appropriately. When Eve refutes the serpent’s statement does she give what God had told Adam? No, she adds another aspect to the standard. Eve says that the tree could not be touched. Did God ever tell that to Adam? No. There was never any kind of restriction to touching the tree.
Who’s at fault here? Adam was given the instructions by God and passed them to Eve. It was Adam’s responsibility to communicate God’s truth to Eve and he failed. The major failures in this situation are not Eve’s but Adam’s. Adam was given the task of protecting the garden and he fails. He allowed his wife to be subject to this attack and did nothing to stop it.
Listen to how Paul describes the situation: 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3
The serpent tricked Eve into eating the fruit. What happened when Eve ate the fruit? Absolutely nothing happened to her. The moment that Adam sees this, there is a change. Eve did not die and the fear of consequences quickly vanishes. The truth is that Adam wanted to be like God but was afraid to act. Adam eats the fruit because it was his true desire. Notice their eyes were not opened until Adam ate the fruit.
Our relationship with God is measured by the desires of our heart. If you are obedient because you fear wrath or judgment, are you really being obedient? God does not want you to obey Him because you are forced to but because you want to.
The three questions of God
The story is told of four high school boys who couldn’t resist the temptation to skip morning classes. Each had been smitten with a bad case of spring fever. After lunch they showed up at school and reported to the teacher that their car had a flat tire. Much to their relief, she smiled and said, "Well, you missed a quiz this morning, so take your seats and get out a pencil and paper." Still smiling, she waited as they settled down and got ready for her questions.
Then she said, "First question--which tire was flat?"
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" Genesis 2:7-9
Where are you?
When God enters the garden He asks “where are you?” How many of you really think that God did not know where Adam and Eve were hiding? God knew where they were and that is exactly why He asked the question. God is not speaking of a physical location but is referring to their spiritual location.
Adam and Eve hid because their relationship with God had changed. Their eyes were opened and they were no longer the same. They hid from God because they were filled with guilt, shame and fear. The relationship was now destroyed and would never be the same again. The sin of Adam and Eve created an inward separation from God that caused an outward response of hiding.
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. Romans 5:12-14
Adam and Eve hid because they had sinned. How many times have we tried to hide from God because of the things that we have done? How many times have we been afraid to enter His presence because of our sin? Adam brought sin into this world and marred it forever. There is no way to ever make the world as it once was.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Romans 5:15
Sin may have entered the world through Adam but grace entered the world through Jesus. This then gives each and every persona a choice. We can either live under the power of the serpent or we can live under the power of grace. When we live under grace the shame, guilt and fear with God disappear.
The question of God to Adam and Eve so long ago still rings through time and comes to us. Where are you? Where do you stand with God? Where are you in that relationship?
Who told you?
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" Genesis 3:10-11
Adam tells God that he hid because he was naked. God’s immediate response is another question. Who told you? We need to remember that chapter 2 closed with the fact that Adam and Eve were naked and felt no shame. Now there is shame because of their spiritual condition. God asks about this new information that Adam has acquired. How many of you think that god didn’t know what had happened? God already knew that Adam had eaten the fruit. God already knew the state that they were in.
The issue here is the fact that Satan is nothing but a liar. He is the father of lies and nothing that he says is true. Even when he quotes scripture he twists it into a lie. Satan can do nothing but feed us lies. Jesus is the embodiment of Truth. He cannot and will not lie because God’s Word is absolute.
Again we make a choice, either we are going to listen to the truth of God or the lies of Satan. When people will not believe the truth they will fall for a lie. There is no other choice. God wants us to trust Him. Satan wants us to despair, doubt and dismay. He will feed us enough lies that we will stop listening to God.
What is this you have done?
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Genesis 3:13
Notice what is going on here. Adam and Eve immediately start shifting blame. There is a blame game going on. Adam blames God for giving him Eve and Eve blames the serpent. God asks a specific question here and has a specific reason for it. God is wanting Adam and Eve to take responsibility for what they have done.
We are just like Adam and Eve in this respect. We want to blame anyone and everyone for the problems in our lives. In reality it just doesn’t hold water with God. We are responsible for our actions and God wants us to be accountable to Him. The choices that we make either have benefits or consequences, there are no two ways about it.
The only way to gain the grace of God is through repentance. Repentance has to start with an admission of guilt and an acceptance of responsibility.
Conclusion
Where are you with God?
Who are you listening to?
What are you doing?
