The War On The Word

THE WAR ON THE WORD

TEXT: Genesis 3:1-7

Genesis 3:1-7 KJV Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? [2] And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: [3] But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. [4] And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: [5] For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. [6] And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. [7] And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

I. INTRODUCTION

-Three events in the last two weeks:

• Conversation with the gentlemen

• Preparation to preach a class on the Life and Times of Christ

• Questions concerning an avowed atheist who had a spiritual crisis in 1999-2000 or so.

-There is a war on the Word. It is not new! It has been going on for a long time and there are always people who will attempt to tear down the Bible, the life of Jesus Christ, and the existence of God.

-A few weeks ago, I was studying and ran across a lecture of a man who was addressing what he felt like was the main problem that the American church was facing—biblical illiteracy.

-An uneducated pulpit is disastrous for those in the pew! We as ministers are called to be workmen of the Word (2 Tim. 2:15). We are to be teachers of the Word! You cannot do that effectively if all you ever preach is “life-app” preaching!

II. GENESIS 3—THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR

-In the Garden of Eden. After the initial creation, the serpent (the devil) approached Eve in the garden and attacked the word of God.

Genesis 3:1 KJV Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

-That question, “hath God said. . .” immediately opened up the Pandora’s box for Eve and led to her failure, the failure of Adam, and ultimately the failure of man. Eve is not the only one who had the attack from the devil. We often have the same sort of thing to take place in our lives as well.

-Our own thought patterns become either Satan’s allies or his enemies. It depends on what you have located in your own mind. What is deposited there has the great capacity to build or destroy our walk with God.

A. God’s Word Has Authority

-God’s word has divine authority. God’s authority gives Him the right to rule and by His power, He makes things happen. So when God speaks to us, we are obligated to do as He says. When His Word states facts, we have an obligation to believe those facts just as he has stated them. When He commands us, we have a duty to heed them.

-The story of the Bible is that God speaks to human beings, who respond in obedience or disobedience, whereupon God sends consequences: blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience.

-In Genesis 1:28, our first parents hear their fundamental task on the earth: fill it and subdue it.

Genesis 1:28 KJV And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

-But then there is something else that is added, God gives a negative command:

Genesis 2:16-17 KJV And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: [17] But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

-That becomes the job of man: Fill the earth. Subdue the earth. Don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.