Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1
Our enemy loves it when we question the Living God at His Word. In the Bible, we are given good instructions from The Holy One in everything from the holidays we should observe to the foods we should eat. He has defined sexual immorality and shown us how to treat one another as we walk out our lives in plain view of the God of creation. He gives instructions concerning the widow and the orphan along with how we are to worship Him. Everything it takes for us to live a holy and blessed life before Him has been shown to us in His Torah. Yet, it seems that our enemy continues to have success in convincing many Christians that God does not really mean what He says, that His Commandments have been changed, or somehow done away with. How can this be? Is Ha Satan really that good at smooth talking Christianity into forsaking God’s Word? Are we that slow to learn the lessons from the garden? I for one am no longer willing to place all the blame at Ha Satan’s feet. Neither will I label Christians as slow learners thus somehow justifying our disobedience to God’s Word. I believe the truth hurts a bit more than that.
The truth is, we really have no excuse for sin, which is transgression of God’s Law. (1 John 3:4) Even deception cannot be called upon to justify disobedience to God’s instructions. Now, many might say “wait a minute Tim, Eve was deceived while Adam transgressed”. And while this is true, I submit to you that it is not the whole truth. In 1 Timothy 2:14 Paul says “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression”. Notice that yes, Eve was deceived. But also notice that it led to transgression resulting in death for Eve as well as for Adam. Both were guilty in the end. Neither path was a good one. As Believers we are warned, if not commanded repeatedly, not to be deceived. In Galatians 6:7 Paul admonishes us “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life”. Deuteronomy 11:16 gives further proof that being deceived will not let us off the hook. It says “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you…” Need some more proof? Paul says in Ephesians 5:6 “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
In the end, our success or failure to walk uprightly before the Lord comes down to a simple choice with no excuses for choosing wrongly. Notice I did not say easy choice…I said simple choice. There is a big difference. You and I have the simple choice of taking God at His Word or walking according to our own fleshly desires while trying to justify it with differing sorts of ear tickling cop-outs. As we have seen, even deception fails to excuse us. Each day we are given the simple choice of choosing the blessing or the curse…life or death. The Master reminds us that we are not to just read every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, but that we are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4) Again, there is a big difference. Living by God’s Word means actual physical obedience to God’s Word with our very lives, even if it costs us something. And it will cost you something. As His Disciples however, we were to have already counted that cost and considered it worth the paying.
From this day forward, may each of us purpose in our hearts to walk according to the Spirit, in total obedience to His Word. Let us stop being deceived by articulate words spoken by those who value traditions of men over the Commandments of God and begin to obey God’s instructions, simply embracing them with every ounce of strength we have. No more excuses.
Deuteronomy 30:19 says “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Seeds of Restoration 