The beginning of evil

The beginning of evil

Text: Genesis 3:9-10.     

“Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” - So, he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

Adam found himself in his worst nightmare, “naked before God.”

Genesis is the “Book of Beginnings.” Nearly everything that we know about mankind began in the Book of Genesis.

E.g. The beginning of the universe, time, man and woman, family life.

Later we will see:

Today I want to start with the beginning of Satan, doubt, sin, punishment and judgement, during the fall of mankind.

1.    THE FIRST MENTION OF THE DEVIL, GENESIS 3:1-5.

“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'?”

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 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.'”

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
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.”

Many people have the belief of God, be it the Christian idea of a Heavenly God, or some sort of divine being. Yet, so few believe in a person called the Devil, Satan. So today I what to first speak about the beginning of evil through Satan

What can we learn about the Devil from his first mention in Genesis 3?

a.     He is cunning, verse 1. “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” Meaning: he is sly crafty, sneaky, foxy, scheming, etc.

b.    He is the author of doubt, verse 4. “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”

c.     He is the chief of liars, verse 4. “Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” He is the father of lies (John 8:48), and he invented the sin of rebellion, which is as the sin of witchcraft! (I Samuel 15:23). Satan is a liar. 

d.    He will use scripture to deceive men! And if Scripture will help Satan’s cause, he will use scripture. Notice how he twists this passage of what God said: Genesis 2:17 “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.”

Satan twists the truth to say in Genesis 3:5 “You will not surely die.
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.” But, that is not what the Scripture said.

e.     He is the enemy of God. He is the ruler of an evil kingdom standing in opposition to the Kingdom of God.

          Satan attempts to overthrow God, but will end up in the lake of fire. “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” Revelation 20:10.

2.    THE FIRST MENTION OF SIN. GENESIS 3:9-11. 

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So, he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

Their eyes were opened, but they did not become as gods as the devil promised them; however, they saw their nakedness. Adam and Eve lived years before BC (Before Clothing!) They had been naked all along, but were not informed what being naked meant. Look at verses 9-11, God is saying to them, “Who told you that you were naked? Where did you learn about nakedness?”

a.     Sin is attractive, verse 6 “it was pleasant to the eyes.” Do not be deceived by sin. It will bait you, trap you, tempt you, appeal to you, it will sway you; but, it will blind you; and it will cause you to fall.

b.    Sin is pleasurable for a season, Hebrews 11:25 “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin.”

c.     BUT, sin destroys. Sin is a cancer that destroys the soul of man (and often the body of man). James 1:15 “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” If you are involved in the practice of sin, you are on the road to death and damnation.

Notice what sin did to the family of Adam: Imagine the regret, the heartbreak, the sorrow, that Adam and Eve were going through as they buried Abel their son (killed by his own brother Cain). Sin will always bring sorrow, heartbreak, and regret. Sin destroyed Adam’s family, brought remorse and heartache to all of Adam’s days.

3.    THE FIRST MENTION OF THE SAVIOUR. GENESIS 3:15.

          “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

God’s plan before Creation was for the salvation of mankind.

1.     The plan has always been Jesus Christ. “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” Ephesians 1:4.

2.     The plans of God is not an afterthought. There has never been any other plan.

3.     The plan of salvation is not an act of desperation. God has never lost control of the universe, nor the destiny of mankind. He has had this same plan for man’s redemption for all eternity past.

Conclusion:

Today, you are either following the voice of the Devil, living your life in sin (wrong doings), that will take you to hell for all eternity. Or today, you can hear the voice of God speaking to you, to repent, and to accept salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.

“That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” John 3:15-18.

Today, you can be safe in the love of God, “Then the Lord God called to (all men and women) and said to (them), “Where are you?”

Do not be found naked before God, but be clothed in His righteousness today!