The Times Have Changed, The Lies Have Not

Scripture Reading: Gen 3:1-5

Introduction

• This evening I want to re-introduce us to an old enemy

• Gen 3 introduces the devil to us for the first time as the “Serpent”

• A quick review of the first five verses of Gen 3 will help remind us of the lies Satan loves to tell

• The first two lies critically wound us and the final three will kill us forever

• One may ask how these passages speak to us today, the answer is he is still telling these lies today

Lie #1: You Can’t Really Trust The God of The Bible: His Character is Suspect

• He is unfair…He wants to make rules and give moral commands to restrict your freedoms– Read vs 1 again…you can’t eat of “Every” tree? How unfair

• He is at best an ignorant and at worst a dishonest God– Read vs 2-4 again…You will not surely die…therefore God is

either ignorant and doesn’t know what He is talking about or worse, He is a liar

• He is a selfish God– Read vs 5 again…God doesn’t want to share His privileges,

deity, and wisdom with you…He is selfish and wants to keep it all to Himself

Truth 1: You Can Fully Trust The God of The Bible: His Character is above Reproach

• God treats all men equally (Jer 18:1-7)– Rom 2:11 “For there is no partiality with God.”– Eph 6:9 “And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up

threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”

– Col 3:25 “But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.”

• He is all-wise– Dan 2:20 “Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God

forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.”– Job 12:13 “With Him are wisdom and strength He has counsel and

understanding.”– Prov 2:6 “For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge

and understanding;”

Truth 1: You Can Fully Trust The God of The Bible: His Character is above Reproach

• God is all truth– Ps 119:160 “160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous

judgments endures forever.”– Jn 17:17 “17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”– Heb 6:18 “18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie,

we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”

• God is not selfish but gives gifts to man– Mt 7:11 “11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

– Jam 1:5 “5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

– Jam 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

Lie #2: You Can’t Really Trust The Bible

• If you can’t trust the God who claims to have written the Bible, how can you trust the Bible?

• There are so many “uncertainties” in the Bible– Has God really said?

• It’s all a matter of opinion or interpretation– God says you will surely die, Satan says you will not die…

who can you trust• You can’t really trust the Bible because of Neo-

orthodox theology: The Bible may become the Word of God but the Bible isn’t always the Word of God

Truth #2: You Can Absolutely Trust The Bible

• Key truths about the Bible– It is not one book but a collection of 66 books of

law, poetry, history, narrative, and prophecy– It was authored by over 40 men with varying

degrees of education, different nationalities, and diverse cultures from three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia)

– It was written in three languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek)

– It was produced over 1500 years

Truth #2: You Can Absolutely Trust The Bible

• One of the most intriguing evidences of the Bible is the internal evidence of the unified message it contains: God’s plan to redeem His fallen creation– Each book reflects a unity of facts, teaching, and purpose

supporting this theme– Ordinary men could never have written this book-time,

history, and human nature would have prevented its existence and unity unless it was supernaturally directed by God

– Its documents have been more critically examined and investigated than any others…and the statements of these 40 men are always found reliable and trustworthy

Lie #3: There Is No Such Thing As Eternal Death, Final judgment, or Hell

• Regardless of what the God of the Bible says, since you can’t trust Him or His book “You will not surely die”

• Haven’t you heard of universalism– Everyone will be okay in the end because love wins– A loving God would never judge anyone and certainly wouldn’t

condemn them to a place like Hell• What about reincarnation?

– There are plenty of chances to overcome bad karma…God is a God of second chances not last chances

• What about those feelings of love, joy, peace and that great white light at the end of the tunnel?

Truth#3: It is appointed for man once to die and after this the judgment

• Hell exists…As terrible as this truth is, Jesus often warned of it (Lk 16:19-31)– Mt 5:22 “22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a

cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”

– Mt 8:12 “12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

– Lk 16:23 “23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”

• Hell is certain for all who reject Christ– Jn 14:6 “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one

comes to the Father except through Me.”– Acts 4:12 “12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name

under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Truth#3: It is appointed for man once to die and after this the judgment

• Hell is a just punishment for sin– Low view of sin leads to questioning the appropriateness of such a

drastic punishment• We are all fit for Hell unless God’s mercy intervenes

– Rom 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”– Rom 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal

life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”– We may find this truth harsh, and unremitting. It might offend our

civility and sense of worth. But we tamper with Scripture's assessment of the human condition at our peril. To suggest otherwise seriously questions Jesus' competence (he was ignorant of human worth) or morality (knowing otherwise, he continued to frighten us by painting a darker picture than is the case). If Jesus is either of these, he is unworthy of our admiration let alone our faith

Lie #4: You Can Be God

• You have the divine nature and life in you; you have just been ignorant for so long– Gen 3:5 “5 For God knows that in the day you eat

of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

• What about the teachings of transcendentalism and the new age?– All is one, all is god, I am god

Truth#4: There Is only One God and we are His creation

• Is 43:10-11 “10 “You are My witnesses,” says the LORD, “And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me,And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior.”

• Is 44:6 “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.”

• 1 Cor 8:4-6 “4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.”

• Rev 1:8 “8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Truth#4: There Is only One God and we are His creation

• Consider one writers statement concerning the serpent’s lie to Eve– His statement, “your eyes will be opened, and you will

be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5), was a half-truth. Their eyes were opened (verse 7), but they did not become like God. In fact, they lost authority, rather than gaining it. Satan deceived Eve about her ability to become like the one true God, and so led her into a lie.

Lie #5: There Is Secret (Occult) knowledge available to you , superior to the Bible

• Ever heard of the idea of gnosticism?– Secret/occult knowledge– “your eyes will be opened…knowing good and

evil…desirable to make one wise…then the eyes of both of them were opened” (vs 5-7)

• Haven’t you heard of fortune telling, astrology, witchcraft, seances, crystals etc…these are secret knowledge superior to the Bible

Truth Number 5: There Is No Hidden Knowledge Or truth Superior To The Bible • Jn 14:6 “6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one

comes to the Father except through Me.”• 1 Cor 8:5-6 “5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or

on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.

• Gal 1:6-9 “6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.”

Conclusion

• The only effective response to Satan’s lies is God’s truth• The God of the Bible is the only true God worthy of

worship• God’s best selling book the Bible is fully trustworthy• There is eternal death, a final judgment and a Hell• Were not now nor can we be in the future God• Secret knowledge is knowledge from Satan and will

destroy you• Certain knowledge is that which comes from God and

Jesus Christ will save you