The Nature of Deceit
Scripture Reading: Genesis 3:1-6
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he
said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat 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 has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest
you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree
desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he
ate.
This morning we’re going to look at deception. We’ll start here in the garden with the first
deception. The serpent is cunning. He starts off with a clever question that’s meant to see
what she knows. “Has God indeed said…” He wants to make her question what God said.
“You shall not eat of every tree of the garden.” Have you ever heard it said that some
people look at the glass as half empty while others see it as half full? Do you see what the
serpent has done? He’s turned God’s awesome gift around and instead of saying, “God
gave you all these trees that you CAN eat from?” He focuses on the negative and says
you shall not. It’s important to keep a positive attitude. Don’t focus on the negative. Like
Paul says in Philippians 4:8, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good
report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Can you
imagine how differently this story may have turned out if she had kept her focus on all the
good things she had instead of the one thing she was supposed to have?
Now, when she answers his clever question she lets him in on some very important
information. She doesn’t really know the word of God. She begins on a positive note by
saying that they can eat of all the trees except one, and then she messes up by misquoting
the word of God. God never said that they could not touch the fruit or they would die. This
is something that either Adam or Eve added onto His words. It’s very dangerous to either
add to or take away from God’s word. Many are being deceived in religious factions right
now because they’ve either added to or taken away from the word, that’s obvious
deception. There are those whose deception is much more subtle. Some people just look
at certain scriptures and don’t bother read the ones around it or other biblical passages
that relate to it. That’s the same as taking away from it. There are those that try to fit their
own ideas and opinions into the scriptures, like the gap theory and the day-age theory for
six day creation. There are even those who have tried to fit God using evolution into
Genesis. This is why Paul exhorts us in 2 Timothy 2:15 to, Be diligent to present yourself
approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We
need to take our study of God’s word very seriously. We have to work at it.
So, now that the serpent knows that she doesn’t really know God’s word, he knows he can
challenge His word. He first nullifies His word by saying you shall not die, then he calls His
character into question by making it appear that He has impure motives for telling them not
to eat the fruit. So Eve looked and the fruit looked good and she desired the knowledge
the serpent spoke of, and she ate. The serpent has successfully challenged both God’s
word and His character in Eve’s mind. Eve is swayed by feelings and appearances. Jesus
warns in Mark 13:4-7 & 21-23
4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come
in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do
not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.
21 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, He is there!’ do not believe it. 22 For
false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the
elect. 23 But take heed; see, I have told you all things beforehand.
First He tells us to be careful that we are not deceived. Then He tells us why. Because
many are going to come in His name and attempt to deceive, even the elect. The elect
would be God’s people; us! How will they be able to deceive us? It says they will rise and
show signs and wonders. In Matthew’s account it says they’ll show great signs and
wonders. We can not be swayed by what we feel or what we see or how things may
appear. We have got to, especially in these latter days, we have to test everything with the
word of God. Man may preach the gospel mixed with untruths, but God’s word will remain
true. This is why it is so important that we have a good personal Bible study. It’s good for
us to fellowship and share ideas, testimonies, and edify each other, but when we go our
separate ways we should all pick up the word to first verify anything we’ve heard but also to
dig deep into God’s truth for ourselves.
In John 14:26 Jesus says, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. He has
sent the Holy Spirit to teach all things, but we have to remember that there are other
familiar spirits out there that we need to be cautious about. That’s why we must test all
things with the word. If we believe the Holy Spirit has given us a word, it will never disagree
with the word of God. That’s how we know that it’s from the Spirit of God. We can’t just
say that it feels like it’s from God or it seems to be from God. That just doesn’t cut.
Scripture is clear that the enemy appears as an angel of light, but it’s still the enemy. The
Bereans tested everything in scripture and Paul commends them for doing it (Acts 17:11).
It says they received the word with all readiness and search the scriptures daily to see if it
was so. They didn’t just accept it because it sounded true, they accept it because when
they search it out they found it was true.
Now lets see how Jesus deals with deception. Luke 4:1-4, 1 Then Jesus, being filled with the
Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for
forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was
hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
of God.’”
First the enemy tries to tempt Him with His weakness at the time; His hunger. He hadn’t
eaten for 40 days. He also tries to use His pride by saying IF you are the son of God. It’s
almost like when people dare us to do something. But Jesus answers by speaking the true
word of God.
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a
moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has
been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will
be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the
LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
Next the enemy attempts to use His desire for glory and honor. He uses this one on us all
the time. How many people have sold their soul for glory and honor and authority?
Unfortunately, many have. See how Jesus handles it by first telling the enemy where he
should go, then once again by quoting God’s word from scripture. We can do the same
thing today. When something or someone wants us to challenge what God has said. For
instance, Gods tells us not to steal or cheat or lie or commit adultery, but the world wants
us to believe it’s ok to take something that’s not ours if it’s from a rich company or from
someone who can afford the loss, we can cheat on our taxes because everybody is doing
it, if we have a good reason to lie it’s ok, and whatever two consenting adults do in private
is not a problem because no one’s getting hurt. Those are the kinds of things the world
tells us all the time. If we choose to believe the world and participate in these things, it’s
just like when Eve chose to believe the serpent that God had impure motives for forbidding
the fruit. When we are tempted we need to first recognize the enemy as Jesus did, then
quote something from God’s word that will show us and also shows our enemy that we
know he is a liar.
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are
the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you,’
11 and,
‘ In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
You see in this section the enemy starts trying to use God’s word in a twisted way to tempt
Him. First he uses the pride thing again, IF you are the Son of God. Then he tells him to
do something stupid because, and he pulls out some scripture to show that God said He
would protect Him. Jesus saw right through him because He knew the proper use of these
scriptures so He could tell they were being perverted. He uses the word of God once more
and the enemy leaves. Scripture tells us that when we resist the devil he must flee (James
4:7).
The main difference between the enemy deceiving Eve and his attempt to deceive Jesus is
that Eve didn’t know the word of God and Jesus did. See how differently each of their
temptations ended up. All because of their knowledge or lack thereof. God says My
people perish for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). This (Bible) is knowledge. Will you
perish or will you thrive? It’s all based on this (Bible).
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: April 30, 2006
Keep Pressing On
Genesis 37:3-4
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
This is where the story of Joseph begins. He’s favored in his father’s house but hated by his brothers. He’s a dreamer who dreams lofty dreams that make his brothers hate him even more.
Genesis 37:18-20 & 25-28
18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”
25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
His brothers hated him so much they were going to kill him but decided to sell him into slavery. Can you imagine how Joseph felt? I can imagine him asking why they were doing this. He must have felt horribly rejected. I can’t even imagine how that would feel. So Joseph goes off into slavery and ends up in Potiphar’s household. His master saw that everything he put his hand to prospered so he ends up putting him in charge of everything in his house. The LORD exalts him here but again there is someone coming against him. Potiphar’s wife has her eyes set on this good-looking young man. She pursues him but he says no I can’t sin against God because you are my master’s wife. She has her own ideas though.
Genesis 39:11-20
11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, 12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside. 13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside, 14 that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”
16 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home. 17 Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me; 18 so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”
19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused. 20 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison.
So here again Joseph is taken from a place of favor to a lowly place through no fault of his own. Once again he is rejected and cast out. In the prison, the keeper sees that the LORD is with Joseph and he ends up putting him in charge over the other prisoners. Again, he is elevated to a place of favor. If you don’t know the rest of the story you should read it some time. He eventually is called on to interpret the dreams of Pharoh and when he does it Pharoh is so impressed that he also exalts him to a level of favor over everything in Egypt except Pharoh himself. He’s put into a position where he is eventually able to save his entire family from the famine. He tells his brothers not to worry about what they’d done to him because although they meant it for evil, God was able to use it for good.
Joseph went through a lot of things he would have preferred to avoid. As it turns out, every place he went was necessary to bring him to where he needed to be to be able to help his family. Joseph seems to have kept a good attitude throughout it all. You might ask me how I know that. Well, wherever he went the LORD’s favor went with him. The LORD is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 400 years later as Moses is leading His people out of Egypt they murmured and complained and God told Moses He would just zap them and start over with Moses children. God doesn’t like complaining. In the natural, Joseph had every reason to complain but he didn’t. Also, the fact that he was exalted everywhere he went says something about his attitude. If he were whining and crying about things not being fair he wouldn’t have been at his best and he wouldn’t have made everything his hand touched prosper. Let’s move on to someone else who has to deal with an unfair situation.
Luke 22:38-44
39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Our Lord is in a very unfair situation. Having no sin He is to be made to bear the punishment for all sin on Himself. I’m sure He would have rather been in His Father’s house with favor, than to be getting ready to bear this great burden. He’s in such agony that He sweat drops of blood. Yet, He yields to the will of God.
He presses on just as Joseph pressed on, just as we should press on in every situation. I have always loved my husband. Over the last four years the level of respect I have for him has grown immensely. I watch him wake up day after day while most are still snug in their beds and go off to a job he doesn’t enjoy. It a difficult job both mentally and physically. He comes home tired and dirty then he gets up the next morning and does it all over again. He presses on. He doesn’t do it just for his benefit but to benefit the whole family. Even on the days that he doesn’t want to play work, he presses on. As Paul writes to the Philippians:
Philippians 3:12-14
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Press on! Remembering that all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose. Notice that I didn’t say all things are good. I’m going to borrow an analogy from Kent Hovind. Let’s say you come over to my house and you’re hungry. I say to you how about a cup of flour? Here’s a teaspoon of salt. How about a half cup of olive oil? Tasty, huh? A teaspoon of baking soda maybe a pat of butter. What? All those things are nasty? Well, how about we mix them all together and make some biscuits. See! They work together for good.