Genesis 3:1-10
Introduction:
An episode of 20/20 once showed an experiment on self-control with children. They were told that they could have a single treat, such as a cookie, right now. However, if they would wait while the reporter ran an errand, they could have two cookies. Some preschoolers grabbed the cookie immediately; others were able to wait for what must have seemed to them like an endless twenty minutes. To sustain themselves in their struggle, they covered their eyes so they wouldn’t see the temptation, rested their heads on their arms, talked to themselves, sang, even tried to sleep. Those who endured to the end received the two-cookie reward. The follow-up of this study found that the children who were able to forgo the instant gratification kept that same temperament throughout their adolescence. The more impulsive kids who grabbed the cookie were more likely to be stubborn, indecisive, and stressed.
In this book of Beginnings, we learn about the first time that mankind has ever been tempted. The wisest man that ever lived, King Solomon, said that there is nothing new under the Sun. Satan found a combination of factors that worked and therefore uses the same tactics now that he used then. As we learn about how the first couple fell from Paradise to a sin- cursed world, we can be alerted to the same tactics used to get us to fall today. This morning we will learn that the deadly combination of satanic deception and sensual desire can bring the sin that causes total separation from God. These are the dynamics of temptation.
I. Satanic Deception
A. Subtil = cunning, crafty, insinuating, artfully sly
Genesis 3:1 (AV)
1 Now the serpent was more subtil 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?
B. Questions the content of the rules.
Genesis 3:2–3 (AV)
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.
1. Did God actually forbid you to eat of every tree?
2. Get you to look for the loopholes by overstating the prohibition.
3. While examining the law, we often add or take away from God’s perfect word in a good faith effort to try to comply.
4. The Pharisees made careers on this kind of careful examination and restatement of the Old Testament laws.
5. Often we take general principles, make up hard and fast rules and loopholes and exceptions to these hard and fast rules we made up in the first place. – We do that in dress standards, music and other areas that God has only given us principles by which to act.
6. Personal purity is another area we start to redefine and create loopholes in what exactly the act of fornication really is.
C. Convince us that we will not actually reap the consequences promised for our sin.
Genesis 3:4 (AV)
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
1. Boldly contradict the very word of God.
Romans 5:12 (AV)
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
2. Sometimes we are sure that we will be the exception the rule.
Galatians 6:7–9 (AV)
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Ezekiel 18:20 (AV)
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die…
D. Convince us that God is holding something good from us. – We get deceived to believe that it is God that enslaves, not Satan.
Genesis 3:5 (AV)
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.
II. Sensual Desire
A. We are drawn away by our own desires.
James 1:13–15 (AV)
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
B. There are three basic worldly lusts.
1 John 2:16 (AV)
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Genesis 3:6 (AV)
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
1. Good for food = lust of the flesh – bodily desires
2. Pleasant to the eyes = lust of the eyes
3. Make one wise = pride of life.
4. Satan was right that they would know good and evil, the part he left out was they already knew good… the evil they would learn would be by personal experience. Satan does not fully disclose the terms of the sin arrangement.
Better shun the bait than struggle in the snare. -John Dryden
III. Total Separation from God
A. Up to this time God met with mankind on a regular basis – this is why he was created!
B. Separation because of guilt and shame.
Genesis 3:7–8 (AV)
7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
1. Naked = guilt
2. They tried to cover their guilt by their own efforts
3. They were not effective in covering anything.
4. No longer looked forward to meeting with God.
C. Separation because of fear.
Genesis 3:9–10 (AV)
9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
D. Sin still results in separation.
1. From God’s salvation – until one is ready to repent and believe.
John 3:16 (AV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
2. From the comfort of the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 4:30 (AV)
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
3. From the fellowship and or correction of God’s people.
Conclusion:
The deadly combination of satanic deception and sensual desire can bring the sin that causes total separation from God. If you are still hoping that your good faith efforts to earn Heaven will get you there, you like Adam and Eve are trying to cover the nakedness of your guilt with fig leaves. Only what Jesus did on the cross will cover your guilt. You must trust in Him alone to save you.
If you are a believer, you have learned the tactics that Satan uses to snare people. He will carefully craft reasoning that will seem so logical in order for you to open the door of possibility, enflaming the passions that lie within you. Once that door is opened, temptation turns to lust and is fulfilled in the act of sin. Now that you know how it works, come clean before God of the patterns that have drawn you away. Erwin Lutzer has well said, “Temptation is not sin, it is a call to battle”.