The Same ole Scheme from The Same Ancient Serpent

The First Onslaught 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Shortly after he created the heavens and the earth, he formed man from the dust of the ground. Then, shortly after he formed man from the dust of the ground (Gen. 2:7) he formed woman from the rib of the man (Gen. 12:21-22).

After God had created Adam (the man), he placed him in a garden in Eden. Then, after he created Eve (the woman), she was in the garden in Eden as well (Gen. 2:8). Within this garden, God made every tree that is pleasant to the eye and good for food spring up out of the ground (Gen. 2:9). One of the trees happened to be a tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). God declared to Adam that he could eat from every tree in the garden that was pleasant to the eye and good for food, but that he could not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:16).

After a very brief time of Adam and Eve being together, the serpent that was craftier than any other beast of the field approached Eve (Gen. 3:1). Now this serpent was not just any ole serpent. We learn from the rest of Scripture that this serpent “is the devil and Satan” (Rev. 20:2). Satan is utterly detestable. He is a murderer, a liar, and the deceiver of the whole world (Jn. 8:44; Rev. 12:19). With this being the case, he approached Eve with a terribly wicked scheme.

The ancient serpent begins his conversation with Eve saying, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). I want you just to take heed to the first four words that the deceiver of the world uttered. The very first thing Satan attempted to do was to get Eve to question the word of God. We know that God never said, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden,” but rather said, “You may surely eat of EVERY tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:16). Satan’s entire agenda was to tempt Eve to doubt the very words of God. He knew that if he got her to doubt the word of God, then she would be more inclined to disobey the word of God.

After Satan asked that question, Eve replied rather well telling Satan that they are free to eat of any tree in garden except of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because if they eat or touch (I have no idea where Eve came up with them touching the fruit would kill them) the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then they would die (Gen. 3:3). The ancient serpent does not change his deplorable wicked scheme and responds to Eve saying, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil” (Gen. 3:5). In essence, the serpent is saying, “God said that you would die if you eat of that tree, but surely you will not die Eve. Did God really even mean that? Surely he did not mean that. It is obvious that God is withholding something that is good from you. With that being the case, go against God’s word and eat of the fruit.” It is obvious from the very beginning of creation that the wicked scheme of Satan is to get people of God to doubt, question, and rebel against the very word of God.

Sorrowfully, Adam and Eve both gave into the ancient serpents scheme and ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They sinned against God by disobeying the word of God. The deceiver succeeded in deceiving. Sin along with its devastating effects entered into the perfect creation.

Thousands of years later, we see the same ancient serpent using his same ancient scheme. Only this time, Satan was attempting to scheme the Son of God. He was attempting to get Christ our Lord to succumb to doubting, questioning, and disobeying the Word of God. Lets look at this really quick.

A Failed Onslaught

In Matthew chapter 3, we see that Jesus is going to John the Baptist at the Jordan River. Once he makes it there, John the Baptist baptizes him in the Jordan River (Matt. 3:16). After Jesus was raised up from the water, the voice of God comes forth from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17). This takes us right into chapter 4 of Matthew. In chapter 4, we see that right after Jesus was baptized, He was led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God so that he could be tempted by the Devil. (Matt. 4:1).

After Christ was in the wilderness forty days and forty nights, the ancient serpent approached the Son of God with his wicked scheme. The serpent says, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Matt. 4:3). Look at Satan’s first six words to Christ. The serpent said, “If you are the Son of God.” The serpent knows that Christ is the Son of God. It had only been a little over forty days since the voice of God came from the heavens saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The ancient serpent is attempting to get Christ to doubt that God really meant that. He is attempting to get Christ to question whether that is really true. And ultimately, the serpent is attempting to get Jesus to disobey the Word of God. Satan will go on to tempt Christ this way three different times in Matthew 4, but each time Christ never questions, doubts, or disobeys the Word of God. Christ did not give in to the temptation as Adam (the first man) did. Where Adam fell into sin, Christ Jesus lived in complete obedience. This is why Christ Jesus is the only hope for us sinners. We all, along with Adam, have doubted, questioned, and disobeyed the Word of God. We deserve the wrath of God because of our disobedience to the Lord of Creation, but thanks be to God “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly, For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-but God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:6-8).

Beware of the Continual Onslaught  

Today, the ancient serpent is still around and he uses the same ancient scheme. We do not need to be caught off guard by this because the Word of God addresses it. Sure, Satan is no longer approaching us and saying, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” Rather, Satan is saying, “Did God actually say that homosexuality is an unnatural sexual desire and a sin against God? Surely homosexuality is not a sin and love wins!” The serpent is whispering deceptively, “Did God actually say that a baby within the womb is a creation of God made in the image of God and ought not be aborted? Surely God does not have the ownership of the woman and her body, but rather the woman has ownership of herself and the fetal tissue inside of her.” The serpent is deceivingly saying, “Did God actually say that sex before marriage is a sin. Surely it is not a sin to have sex before marriage. Sex before marriage will allow you to see whether your boyfriend or girlfriend is truly in love with you.” Satan is misleadingly proclaiming, “Did God actually say that you cannot serve both God and money? Did God actually mean that if you serve money then you would hate Him? Surely you can serve both God and money. Surely you can seek to be rich in the eyes of the world and still be rich toward God. Also, when you finally get enough money. You will be content and have value.”

Believer, read the Word! Cling to the Word! Obey the Word. Resist the temptation to question, doubt, and disobey the word! For you can be sure, the ancient serpent will continue using his same ancient scheme.

Scripture 

2 Timothy 3:16-17

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Eagerly Awaiting

Contemporary Thinking

Have you ever had a time in your life where you were having a conversation with somebody that said something so unbiblical that it left you discouraged and heartbroken? For example, I was talking with a man one day who professed to be a believer and he uttered these striking words, “I do not understand why it is such a big deal that God had his only Son crucified; if I could raise my kid from the dead I wouldn’t mind killing him either.” That is a statement that leaves you shocked right? That is unbiblical in every aspect!

Now, the remark by the man mentioned above is the first and last time I ever heard such a statement made by a professing believer in Christ. However, I have heard one statement, time and time again, by professing believers that is so unbiblical that it leaves me shocked and discouraged. I have heard this specific thing uttered by laymen in the church as well as seminarians training to be pastors. The statement goes somewhat like this:

“I want my kids to grow up before Christ returns so I can see them graduate, marry, and have kids.”

Or like this,

“I want to experience marriage before the Lord returns.”

Or,

“I hope the Lord comes back later so I can finish college and have a career and a family.”

These types of comments leave me discouraged and heartbroken. The reason for this discouragement and heartbrokenness is because these comments are unbiblical. They are not unbiblical because such comments exalt marriage or having kids too much. The Bible talks about marriage in a much more beautiful way than any man could. The Bible also talks about the great gift a child is to his mother in father. So that is not the problem. The problem with such comments are that they reveal that the people speaking them have little to no understanding of who Jesus Christ truly is and what he has accomplished. But before we go further, lets look at the Bible.

What the Word of God Says

Titus 2:11-14

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good words.”

Philippians 3:20-21

“But our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

Romans 8:19-23

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

And lastly (there are more biblical passages supporting this, but we will end on this one) 2 Peter 3:11-13

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

In Light Of What Has Been Said

The idea of hoping Christ delays his second coming so that we can enjoy a little more of the pleasure of this world is completely foreign to what has been stated in Scripture. Believers in the early church were eagerly awaiting the return of Christ. They longed to see the Lord of glory coming down in his entire splendor. They yearned to see the beloved Son of God finally coming to take them to be with him. They desired to be in a place where righteousness dwells and evil is shut up forever. They wanted to know Christ, yes they wanted to behold the slain Lamb of God that suffered unto death so that they could have a hope that is beyond the grave. They wanted to see the blessed Savior that paid such an incredibly high price to redeem them from their sin.

Do you not also want to behold him? Do you not also desire to see Christ and worship Him without any temptation to sin? Do you not also want to behold the only begotten Son of God that humbled himself to the point of death on a cross so that you could no longer be an enemy of God, but rather have peace with God. This is what we ought to long for.

Heart Diagnosis

There are a few heart problems that are the direct cause of thinking the unbiblical way that I mentioned earlier.

One diagnoses is that you are simply speaking without thinking about all that what your saying entails. If this is you, confess to God that you have often spoke quickly without thinking. Also, plead with God that he will grant you grace to refrain from even thinking about Christ in such a minimal way.

Another diagnoses, which is dangerous, is that you have a small (very small) view of Christ Jesus. There is great danger in wanting to enjoy marriage, see your kids grow up, or whatever else, rather than enjoying Christ’s return and seeing him in His entire splendor. If this is you, then I urge you to confess to God that you have sinned by not acknowledging the supremacy of Christ above all things (husband, kids, sports, career, etc.). Also plead with God to grant you wisdom that you may increase in your knowledge of Christ Jesus and the great work that he has accomplished through his life, death, and resurrection.

The last diagnosis, which is the most dangerous, is that you do not know Christ. You feel all to at home in this world and would like to stay in it rather than go to be with Christ where righteousness dwells. If this is you, plead that God would save you from your sin. Repent of having never worshiped Christ throughout the entirety of your life, and place your faith in this glorious Christ that was crucified, buried, and resurrected so that the worst of sinners could have a peaceful/beautiful relationship with God.

Reflection

Hebrews 9:28 "So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly awaiting for him."

Just ponder on what is being said in that powerful verse. Look at who Christ will save when he appears a second time. Is it not those who are eagerly awaiting for him?