“Now the serpent (Satan) was more subtle 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 (capitals mine) tree of the garden? And, the woman said unto the serpent, We MAY (capitals mine) eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 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. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.”
Genesis 3:1-4
Sounds like the world today saying, “It’s OK to sin. Don’t be afraid. God loves you and won’t punish you.”
While most of us are familiar with the tempting of Eve by the serpent in the Garden of Eden and mankind’s subsequent fall into sin, this passage makes some very interesting points regarding the “conversation” Eve had with Satan. First of all, Satan deceitfully misled Eve when he said “Didn’t God say you are not to eat of EVERY tree in the Garden?” In Eve’s pre-Fall knowledge, she promptly responded, “No, that is not what HE said!” She then went on to explain they could eat the fruit of ALL the trees EXCEPT the fruit from the one in the middle of the Garden. I find it interesting that God did NOT directly tell Eve the tree in the middle of the Garden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Rather, before Eve was ever taken from one of Adam’s ribs and therefore created, HE told Adam in Genesis 2:16
“And the Lord God commanded the man (Adam), saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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.”
This was said to Adam BEFORE Eve was even created (in Genesis 2:22), so while God’s Word was told to Adam, His commandment appeared to have been automatically ingrained into Eve (and therefore all of the future of mankind). God didn’t need to tell Eve because she instinctively knew God had said to not eat or touch the tree in the middle of the Gardenl. We see even earlier in Genesis 2:9 when the Garden is “planted”:
“And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, AND (capitals mine) good for food: the tree of life also in the midst of the garden AND (capitals mine) the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”
Generally, the Book of Genesis is viewed by most Biblical scholars as being recorded in chronological order. Thus, the Bible clearly outlines sequentially mankind’s Fall as follows:
- God planted the Garden of Eden with both the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. – Genesis 2:9
- God told Adam he could eat the fruit of ALL the trees EXCEPT from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:16
- God created Eve from Adam. – Genesis 2:22
- Satan questioned Eve (not Adam) and asked if they were not to eat of ANY of the trees in the Garden. – Genesis 3:1
- Eve told Satan they could eat the fruits of ALL the trees in the Garden EXCEPT one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil for if they did, they would surely die. Genesis 3:2-3
- Satan told Eve they WOULD NOT die if they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 3:4
So, here for the very first time in the Bible, God gave man a very clear and direct commandment of what NOT to do and advised them IF they broke His Law, they would surely die (which they ultimately did). Of course at that time there was no sin in the world and more importantly, there was NO death. What then follows throughout the remainder of the Bible are a large number of commandments telling us what is totally unacceptable and sinful to God. And, as we are well aware:
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
Romans 3:23
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 6:23
In other words, God is Perfect and sin is absolutely unacceptable to him in ANY form. Murder is a sin (5th Commandment), but so also is talking bad about your neighbor (8th Commandment). Both are punishable by eternal death in hell UNLESS we repent and accept the fact God in His Mercy sent us Jesus, who died for our sins, as a sacrifice so we would NOT have to!! Believe that and ask for forgiveness of your sins. Only then can we be saved.
If you accept this Truth from the Bible, then what is “fear-based faith”? Today many churches and even many unbelieving (and some believing) people are trying to sell the notion God is an all-loving God who would NEVER actually punish His followers, even when they willfully and knowingly break His commandments. They go on to accuse churches which do teach the actual TRUE Holy Bible as the Word of God which says because all men are sinful, all are therefore destined for Hell. They claim this IS NOT true Christianity but rather it is a false faith based solely on FEAR, making it a fear based religion. Again, doesn’t this sound an awful lot like Satan’s argument to Eve? “Ye surely shalt not die” if she disobeyed God’s Holy Word!
I believe all men and women born throughout the history of the entire world are born with an ingrained notion of what is good and bad. Of course, Satan’s influence, poor parenting and/or cultural customs can teach the young otherwise therefore purposefully leading them away from the Word of God with a real purpose to sway them away from what God HAS promised those who believe in Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, which is a gift of salvation directly from God as an atonement for everyone’s sins. As Jesus Himself said in the Book of John:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. . . . As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. . . . By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
John 15:1-2, 4-6, 8
In the Book of Revelation where John is shown the things to come in the Last Days, he tells the churches of their strengths and weaknesses. Most believe the seven churches he speaks to are not only those he ministered to during his life but are also chronologically representative of the future history of the Christian Church. Amazingly, the last church (Laodicea) mentioned on the earth prior to the Rapture (remember, after the Rapture the Church is not mentioned again until Christ Returns!) would be a “lukewarm” church. As Jesus tells John in Revelation 3:15-16:
“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I WILL SPUE THEE OUT OF MY MOUTH (capitals mine).”
Instead of teaching us the Word of God as quoted in the Bible, the Church of the Last Days will find it better/easier to not rile their followers up by telling us God’s Laws and the punishment awaiting us if we DO NOT repent and ask Him for forgiveness of our sins. Rather, they in a VERY “lukewarm” tell a totally false narrative that God would never punish us because He loves us is widespread deceit originating directly from Satan. But, that doesn’t say we shouldn’t fear God! We should! God created us and all that is. He set the boundaries for us to live within and if we follow His Laws, we have nothing to fear (outside of God). He alone can save us! As the psalmist said in Psalms 66:16: “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.”
Perhaps the clearest message we have been given is found in Nahum 1:2-3 where we are reminded that a Just God cannot look the other way when there is sin in us and the world. He has given us a way out of our sins but that does not mean He will not hold us accountable for failure to repent:
“God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, AND WILL NOT AT ALL ACQUIT THE WICKED (capitals mine):…”
Once again, the Holy Bible teaches us an irrefutable truth that destroys the deceits of Satan and his followers. True Christian churches are NOT fear based! Rather, they teach us clearly the way to eternal salvation is by repenting of our sins and accepting Christ. We are all sinners deserving of eternal punishment by a sinless, just God and only through Him can we be saved. If anyone teaches God is telling you it is OK to sin because He is such a nice god and would never punish people for even minor sins, they are trying to corrupt you and your following of His Words. They are lying and not doing what God has said! To me, it is comforting knowing even in my sinful nature there is salvation AND no need for fear! If you agree with this, then please do exactly as we are told to do and that is to “…therefore, comfort one another with these words.”
May God Bless you!!