Deceive means to make someone believe something that is not true. The Bible describes Satan as the Great Deceiver. His one goal is to make people believe things that are not true about God. He wants to make us doubt God.
The Great Deceiver
God says He loves you.... Satan says God could never love you.
God says He makes you worthy....Satan says you are worthless.
God says sexual sin is wrong and bad for you....Satan says that sexual sin is fun, even good and no harm will come from it.
God says to honor your parents....Satan says your parents aren't worthy of honor because they didn't love you well enough.
God says to give to the poor....Satan says they are lazy and don't deserve help.
God says to forgive your enemy....Satan says to get revenge on your enemy.
God says not to talk about or slander others....Satan says to tell every bad thing you know about someone to your friends.
God says not to envy....Satan makes you wonder why you aren't as "cool" as they are.
God says to have no other god before Him....Satan says that money isn't a god it's just something you really need a lot of.
God says not to lie....Satan, the Father of Lies, says a little lie won't hurt anything if it is said for the right reason.
Our Lord says to the Pharisees in John 8:44:
"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
Who among us would willingly want to call the Devil their father? Who would want to admit that our desires would be to do the bidding of the Devil? These people have been deceived.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4: 3-4:
"But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."
Paul refers to the Devil as the "god of this age". It is the Devil who has blinded people to the truth of the Gospel. Only the Holy Spirit can convict them and bring them to the true knowledge of Christ.
Listen To God
The cleverness of the Devil is his ability to twist God's words. He is the great deceiver. In the very beginning, in the garden, he suggests to Eve that maybe God's intentions weren't really for her own good. (Genesis 3) First he suggests to Eve that God said something God didn't really say, "‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” he questions Eve. When she corrects the Devil's mistake, she adds something that God never said. She says that God told them ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ She heard God but didn't listen to God because God never said not to touch it. Listening to God is so important, not just hearing.
Then the Devil calls God a liar. He tells her, “You will not surely die." He even gives Eve a reason for the supposed lie, that God just didn't want her to have the knowledge of good and evil because then she would be like God. He plants the seed of doubt in her mind that God is truly loving.
The Devil Appeals To The Flesh
Notice that Eve then looks at the tree and begins to see its appeal to her flesh. First, she sees that it was "good for food". However, she had many, many other trees to eat from but somehow, she convinced herself that she needed that one to eat. Then she sees that it was "pleasant to the eyes", something so lovely and appealing surely couldn't be bad. The devil usually picks beautiful things to tempt us with. Finally, she sees that it was "desirable to make one wise", so believing the lie of the devil, that she would be like God, sounded pretty good. She coveted wisdom. Not just anyone's wisdom, but God's wisdom. There is good reason for the warning in Proverbs 3: 7 that says this: "Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil."
How To Avoid Temptation
To avoid temptation what should Eve have done? First, she should rely on God for her food. There was no need to eat of the tree. She was surrounded by God's provision. Secondly, she lived in a place that was created for her by God, a place totally pleasant to the eyes. She should have been thankful for all that beauty. And thirdly, she needed to realize that she was the created, not the Creator. Isaiah has this to say: “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:21).
If Adam had been watching over her, as he should have been, she would not have been so easily tempted. The two together, encouraging each other as husband and wife should do, might have resisted the temptation. Adam didn't even protest what she did. He just took the fruit and ate it.
Haven't we been tempted as she was? Haven't we been lured into believing God said something He didn't. Haven't we sometimes said, "God said....", when we don't know scriptures very well and He never really said it. Haven't we sometimes been attracted by beauty for the wrong reasons? Don't we have our own excuses? Don't we all want to be wise, but is it ours or God's wisdom we seek?
The Devil "walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." I Peter 5:8. Sin crouches at the door waiting for just the right moment to pounce. Let's try not to be on his menu. Let's listen to God. Let's know His word. Let's stay humble.
Enjoy Devil is a Liar by Colton Dixon. Click here
Comments