Eve Was Never Hurt by Anyone and She Still Fell

Sermon outline

Good and God are not the same thing: the enemy deceives by showing you the good and hiding the consequence, so the word of God, not what looks good, must be your reference point.

1. Good has a reference point

   If good and God were the same, Scripture would not tell us to discern between good and evil, and Solomon would not have asked for exactly that. Peter's defence of Jesus looked right and was rebuked; the woman's costly ointment looked wasteful and was called a good thing. When the rich young ruler called Jesus good, Jesus answered that only God is good, meaning God's version of good differs from ours.

   Illustration: Two families move into identical R2 million three-bedroom houses. For one, coming from a small flat, it is good; for the other, downsizing from a R10 million estate, it is not.

   “God has a version of good, and we have a version of good. They're really two different things.”

   • Hebrews 5:14
   • 1 Kings 3:9
   • Mark 14:3-9
   • Mark 10:17-18

2. The enemy showed Eve the good, not the consequence

   Eve was not attracted to evil; she saw that the fruit was good, desirable and would make her wise. The prominent mark of the last days is deception, even of the elect, and it works because evil comes masked as good. The antichrist will not look like Hitler but like a great man everyone loves. Paul, who lived with the Corinthian church, still feared their minds would be corrupted as Eve's was. Israel saw the plagues, the pillar of fire and cloud, the manna and the Red Sea, and still turned away.

   “There is a version of good that will even take us away from God.”

   • Genesis 3:6
   • Matthew 24:24
   • Proverbs 14:12
   • 2 Corinthians 11:3

3. God planted a garden and gave one instruction

   God did not just make the garden, He planted it, likely with every one of the roughly 2,500 fruit trees. He gave Adam one instruction because He did not want a man who feared Him but one who chose Him. Adam was brilliant, naming the animals without Google, and Eve learned from Adam as Adam learned walking with God. He believes the animals spoke in the garden, since Eve was not startled by the serpent and Balaam simply answered his donkey.

   “God did not want Adam to fear him. God wanted Adam to have a relationship with him.”

   • Genesis 2:8-9
   • Genesis 2:16-17
   • Genesis 2:19-23
   • Numbers 22:28-30

4. The enemy points you at the one tree

   "Did God really say?" opened a conversation. Standing among thousands of trees, Eve's attention was taken off all of them and fixed on the one she could not have. The enemy does the same to a believer who has seen twenty years of God's goodness, fixing his eyes on the one thing that still seems withheld.

   Illustration: Like a church conversation that starts, "Sister, did you hear...", and you immediately want to know exactly what was said.

   “He takes her and he distracts her from God's bountiful, generous provision.”

   • Genesis 3:1-3

5. Communicated knowledge and revelation knowledge

   Eve told the serpent they could not eat or even touch the tree, but God told Adam only not to eat; she had communicated knowledge, passed on by her husband. When Jesus asked who people said He was, the disciples gave the trends; when He asked who they said He was, Peter answered by revelation. That revelation became Peter's anchor when the hard teaching of John 6 sent others away. Knowledge by regurgitation produces sayings like "money is the root of all evil" and "judge not" taken out of context to justify behaviour.

   Illustration: A gun, like money, is a tool: in the hands of a violent man it kills, in the hands of a policeman it can save a life.

   “Knowledge by regurgitation and revelation knowledge are two very different things.”

   • Matthew 16:13-17
   • John 6:60-69
   • 1 Timothy 6:10
   • Matthew 7:1

6. The enemy negates the word and corrupts God's character

   The serpent first contradicted what God said, then sealed it by suggesting God was hiding something good. In that moment the character of God was corrupted in Eve's eyes. A Christian does not need a satanic rock concert to fall; he falls to something masked as good, like two believers moving in together to save for the wedding and give more to the church, or yoga sold as exercise.

   Illustration: Bobby and Sheila, his recurring characters, cannot afford to marry while each pays rent, utilities and DStv, so they decide to move in together. It sounds honourable, and it is contrary to the word.

   “Tell your neighbour, the devil is the devil.”

   • Genesis 3:4-6
   • 1 Thessalonians 5:22

7. Nothing good for a Christian outside of God; correction is good

   Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights, so there is nothing good for a Christian outside of God, however profitable or attractive it looks. All Scripture is God-breathed for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training, and it is the reference point between good and evil. Correction is good, whether from the pastor, a parent or a spouse; do not let it get as far as God making the donkey speak.

   Illustration: Driving north on the N3 believing you are headed for Cape Town, you would be furious to reach the last toll plaza and find you are almost in Johannesburg. Correction is like a navigation app telling you to make a U-turn.

   “If it is contrary to the word of God, it is evil.”

   • James 1:16-18
   • 2 Timothy 3:16-17

8. Life is too short: make it right today

   Some people go round the same cycle of divorce or addiction because they turned away from correction. At thirty-five he asks whether he is where God wants him. If you were given a year, a month or a week to live, which relationships would you mend and who would you tell about the goodness of God? If you argued this morning, go and say sorry, even if it was not your fault, because Jesus forgave us.

   “Don't be a spectator in your life.”

   • Proverbs 11:30
   • Ephesians 4:26

In this message