We cannot read too far along in our Bibles before God reveals to us the condition of the human heart.
Sinful man thinks that he has no need of God to direct and guide him in his life and so he rebels against the Lord. Readily leading man into believing the lie is his own pride and vanity.
Satan approached the woman in the garden and said to her, 'Ye shall not surely die'.
What did he mean by that?
Let us turn to Genesis, Chapter 3 to examine what happened at the very beginning of time:
1"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."
What was he really telling the woman?
Just this…. if she did not listen to the voice of God, she needn't worry. She would not die. Things would continue to go well with her. She did not need God to guide her, nor keep her in the way she should walk! She too was intelligent. Why she herself could 'be as a god', knowing good and evil. After all, she was not walking in darkness! Didn't she also have knowledge of how things should be?
Yes, he appealed to her pride and vanity.
The woman listened and believed Satan's lie. (the man was not deceived. See 1Tim 2:14).
She and the man 'ate' from that forbidden tree.
Afterwards, realizing they were naked (in sin),
Eve told the Lord, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat".
(Let us clearly understand, the Bible is not talking about a physical tree, it is not talking about eating a physical piece of fruit!)
The forbidden tree brings death and is representative of the original lie started by Satan but continued by man who believes and teaches this very same lie, "You surely will not die". Its fruit is sin and death.
God tells us:
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23
We must eat from the 'Tree of Life' which is Christ.
He died on the 'Tree' (the Cross) which gave us life.
John 6:53
"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."
What happened next?
This sin continued on in their son Cain, who remained in rebellion, and refused to bring the proper sin offering before the Lord.
Though all men are in darkness without God, they believe their eyes are open and listen only to the counsels of their own heart.
Yes ... "ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
Sin is, simply put… not obeying the voice of the Lord. Man listened to another voice; a voice that would lead him astray.
Jeremiah 23:16-17
"Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD."
"They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, no evil shall come upon you."
Turning to Genesis 10:8 we will find the story of Nimrod.
Nimrod was descended from Cush who was a son of Ham, one of Noah's three sons.
8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
The English language is lacking in translation of the original Hebrew word 'Nimrod'. It is a description of a rebel and in all likelihood this was not his name but a derisive term. He led rebellion against the Lord.
The original Hebrew says he began to be a tyrannical hunter before the Lord (meaning in opposition to the Lord). He hunted men by strategy and force.
The beginning of his kingdom was in the land of Shinar, Babel being one of those cities. Those who gathered together to follow him built the tower at Babel, "whose top may reach unto Heaven." They rebelled against the true God and desired to make a name for themselves.
Gen. 11:4 "And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth."
Let us stop for a moment and examine the phrase "let us make a name". The people of Babel were in rebellion against the Lord and wanted to make a name for themselves, rather than giving to God all the Glory due Him.
Is that not like the world of today?
Man is moved by pride and ambition, looking for their own self elevation and glory.
But what does Christ tell us? We must humble ourselves, and yes, even deny ourselves:
"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9:23
By obeying the Lord, we gain life, not lose it.
"He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."
Matthew 10:39
We become more Christ-like.
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
John 3:30
Two other examples who taught rebellion are Hananiah and Shemaiah. Let us read what Jeremiah says about them.
Jeremiah 28:15-17
Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.
Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.
So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
Jeremiah 29:32
"Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion against the LORD."
Another interesting story is found in
John 10:33-37
Man as Gods:
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for
blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
What they wrongly accused Jesus of doing is exactly what they were doing. Though they knew the scriptures they did not know God, they were walking in the counsels of their own heart, man as gods.
Jeremiah 16:20 "Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?"
Turning to the book of Jeremiah we find a much more in-depth study concerning the problem of rebellion; God reveals what is in man's sinful heart and how it is so easily deceived by the lie.
Let us also look at just a few verses found in this book.
"wherefore say my people, we are Lords; we will come no more unto thee?" Jer. 2:31
"Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?" Jeremiah 2:5
Isaiah 47:8
"Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. "
Yes… men as gods! No longer following after the One true God but walking after the counsels of their own hearts.
God warns us of man's lie:
"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD."
Jeremiah 17:5
Today man teaches that God is a God of Love (only), therefore, many are unconcerned about their sins and where they will spend eternity. They have been given confidence their sins will not keep them from entering Heaven. Many do not even consider that they are sinners and will think of themselves as good persons.
In other words: "surely you will not die".
Another version of this same lie: surely you will not die….. If.
The unregenerate man believes a false Gospel of Salvation, this always through some sort of works. He wants to claim a part in his own salvation… even saying, "it was I who chose to follow Christ!"
The Gospel of God's Grace is through Jesus Christ alone, apart from the Law and the works of man.
Anything other than this is a false gospel.
Matthew 23:4
"For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers."
Let us always remember what the Lord tells us concerning the hearts of man….
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9
