GENESIS 3

Now the serpent 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 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.

THE DEVILS FAVOURITE COLOUR

The devil has been attacking God’s people from day 1, because he can’t hurt God, so he goes after the ones who love God.  He started with Adam and Eve and he continues until he is finally defeated when is thrown into hell.

What is this tactic?  Well, it is to make everything that God says in black and white a murky kind of grey.

He loves to say HAS GOD SAID THAT?

There are some truths we can learn:

Satan never tells the full story verse 1.  He contradicted God, who never said that they couldn’t eat of any tree…  just the ones he told them not to.

He pictures God as some cruel tyrant who withholds things from his children, when God is a loving and gracious Father who knows what is best for his children.

God’s word is black and white…  it is Yes and No on most major issues.  Let me give you an example.

Should a Christian date or marry and unbeliever?

What does God’s word say, well all through the OT God warns his people about this and we see the consequences throughout the OT, it leads them into sin and rebellion.  In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul reinforces this with these words.

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial?  or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

What happens to many young Christian men and women, they fall in love with an unbeliever, they know God’s word says no, but the devil comes and makes it a grey area.  They end up marrying unbelievers and many strong Christians are now far from God because of this choice.  God does overrule and saves some spouses, but he does not approve.

God set things before the children of Israel, so that they stay close to HIM.  Did they obey HIM?  The consequences were severe.

Likewise, HE has given us commands for us to live by, they are black and white.  The devil is seeking to make these commands into grey areas.

The devil says to the Christian, if you disobey God, in this area, you will not surely die.  But remember that Adam and Eve did die spiritually.

All through the bible, people who dabbled with sin, like Saul, Ananias and Sapphira and Balaam, came to a very sticky end.

When The devil says to you…  Hath God said?  you reply like Jesus did in Matthew Chapter 4.  Use the Bible to refute his lies, use God’s promises to defeat him.  

The devil has weapons, but they are blunt.  The devil fires bullets but they are rubber ones.

We diffuse his efforts by relying on God and his word.  When he says Hath God said

SAY YES, HE HAS AND HIS WORD IS TRUTH

Do not be deceived…  God has said it in black and white in his word…  not in grey！！！

God Bless You,

Keith