{"id":18557,"date":"2020-10-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-25T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/genesis-011-the-strategies-of-satan\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T08:02:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T13:02:06","slug":"genesis-011-the-strategies-of-satan","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/genesis-011-the-strategies-of-satan\/","title":{"rendered":"Genesis 011 – The Strategies of Satan"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[12],"series_event":[511],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-18557","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-genesis","series_event-genesis","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Genesis 011 - The Strategies of Satan","sermon_date":"20201025","sermon_month":"10","sermon_year":"2020","sermon_notes":8538,"sermon_slides":8525,"sermon_mp3":8531,"sermon_id":"1025201740441798","series_or_event":511,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":12,"chapter_and_verse":"3:1-5","sermon_transcript":"Genesis #11\r\nThe Strategies of Satan\r\nGenesis 3:1-5\r\nOctober 25, 2020\r\nDr. Andy Woods\r\n\r\nLet me invite your attention this morning to Genesis 3:1. The title of our message this morning is, \u201cThe Strategies of Satan.\u201d We\u2019re continuing on in our verse by verse study through the Book of Genesis.\r\n\r\nI want to thank Gabe for filling in last week, as he was teaching from the Book of Titus. I think last week was my last major speaking engagement for the year. So you guys are stuck with me for a while. Whether you like that or don't like that, I'll leave that up to you.\r\n\r\nWe\u2019re continuing on in the Book of Genesis which has two major parts. We\u2019re just in that first major part, Genesis 1-11, the beginning of the human race. That part, the beginning of the human race, has some subparts. The first of which we have finished: Creation. So, we spent a lot of time in Genesis 1 and 2, which is the first major thing that God calls our attention to, Creation itself.\r\n\r\nGenesis 1, you will recall, is an overview of what God did in the six days of Creation, resting on the seventh day. Genesis 2, as we have studied it, is an amplification not of the six days but in amplification of Day Six. What exactly happened on Day Six, a more detailed look. And that's what Genesis 2 is about.\r\n\r\nNow we move away from Creation, and we move into the second major event that God calls our attention to, which is the Fall of man and woman. W. H. Griffith Thomas, a famous theologian, said this about Genesis 3, the chapter we\u2019re going to begin looking at today. He says, \u201cThis chapter is the pivot on which the whole Bible turns.\u201d\r\n\r\nUnless a believer\u2014unless a human being\u2014understands Genesis 3, they can't make sense of our world. What in the world is wrong with our world? What is wrong with human beings? What is wrong with people? Why is it that people need Jesus for salvation? That's an unanswerable question if you don't understand Genesis chapter 3.\r\n\r\nI believe this: Genesis chapter 3 is a microcosm to the whole Bible. In fact, I would say that there probably isn't a major doctrine developed later in the Bible that has not already been revealed in early form\u2014germ form, if you will\u2014as in Genesis chapter 3.\r\n\r\nIf you want to understand the Bible, you have to understand Genesis chapter 3. Consequently, I did prepare a little written summary for you. Page 1 is an outline of Genesis 3 that we\u2019re going to be following, and what follows in that little handout is a paragraph by paragraph summary that I did a number of years ago on Genesis 3. And if you were to go home today and read this outline and summary, then you would see very clearly the big picture of Genesis 3 and where we\u2019re headed.\r\n\r\nNow when I say that the online folks hit the panic button and say, \u201cWe didn't get one!\u201d Our office will get inundated with hundreds of email saying, \u201cWe need a handout!\u201d Don't panic, online folks; we\u2019re going to put it out there\u2014probably next week. I forgot to do it this week. Just go to our sermon archives, go to the notes, and we\u2019ll put it there in PDF form for you next week.\r\n\r\nSo here is the big picture of Genesis chapter 3. The chapter basically has five parts. Obviously, we\u2019re not going to get very far today. But by the time we finish in the next few weeks, this is the ground we will have covered.\r\n
    \r\n \t
  1. You have the temptation by the serpent (verses 1-5). That's what we\u2019re going to look at this morning as time permits.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. The sin of Adam and Eve (verse 6).<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. The results of the sin\u2014results that are following us even today (verses 7-13).<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Then we\u2019ll get to verses 14-19 where God Himself is going to impose judgments on creation because of this sin\u2014ramifications and judgments that we are still experiencing to this very day.<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. God's gracious provision in spite of the sin.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThough it's somewhat of a negative chapter, one of the things I really appreciate about chapter 3 is that it leaves you on a note of optimism, as we see God's gracious provision in spite of the sin (verses 20-24). And it's there you'll see a very clear picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ in infant form.\r\n\r\nThat's the big picture, but this morning we\u2019re just taking a look at verses 1-5. Notice what He says here in verse 1. This is the first part of the verse; this is the temptation by the serpent of Adam and Eve. It says there in verse 1, \u201cNow the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made<\/em>.\u201d\r\n\r\nA few issues there, in verse 1. Number one: who is the serpent? The serpent here is never called Satan, but the thing to understand about the Bible is it's a self-interpreting document. The Bible interprets itself. The best interpreter of the Bible<\/em> is the Bible! And a lot of times we are very impatient with the Bible, and we read into things from our own sanctified imaginations. We don't need to do that; we need to be patient with the Bible and let the Bible interpret itself.\r\n\r\nWhen you go to the Book of Revelation, there are two times that the Book of Revelation identifies the serpent as Satan. Revelation 12:9 says this, \u201c\u2026the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan<\/em>\u2026\u201d Then it says the same thing in Revelation 20:2, \u201c\u2026the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan<\/em>\u2026\u201d So, I don't need to guess as to who the serpent is; the Bible eventually tells me that it is Satan himself.\r\n\r\nNow, you'll also notice that it says in verse 1 that the serpent was \u201ccrafty.\u201d Why is he called crafty? He's called crafty because everything we know about Satan is that Satan was at one time a high-ranking angelic being. Two times the Book of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 28:14 and Ezekiel 28:16) refers to Satan as a cherub, or an angel. Satan, therefore, has incredible power.\r\n\r\nIn fact, Jude 9 tells us that even Michael, who is a high ranking archangel, would not get into a dispute with Satan concerning the body of Moses; he just said, \u201c \u2018The Lord rebuke you!\u2019 \u201d<\/em> Not even Michael wanted to take on Satan.\r\n\r\nWe know from Revelation 12:9 that Satan deceives the whole world. Think of that! Think of the whole world walking under his deception. He has that deceptive ability because of his status that he once had as a high-ranking angel. This is why Ephesians 6:13 tells us to put on the whole armor of God.\r\n\r\nGod has given us armor in spiritual conflict. We need it desperately because Satan is much more powerful than us; he is an angel. And I think that's brought out a little bit when it describes the craftiness of Satan.\r\n\r\nOne other quick issue is, \u201cWhy does Satan take the form of a serpent here?\u201d Satan could have come into Eden in any form, I guess, he wanted. Maybe he could have taken the form of another human being. Maybe he could have taken the form of a tree or a rock, but he did not do that. He specifically assumed the form of a serpent. Did he possess the serpent? Or did he just take on the form of a serpent? We don't know, exactly.\r\n\r\nBut he chose to come into Eden as a serpent\u2014in the form of a serpent. Why would Satan do that? There's a reason for it: it is to pervert\u2014or reverse\u2014a hierarchy that God established in Genesis chapter 1. One of the things to understand about Satan is he is not exactly what we would call a novel creator. God is the Creator.\r\n\r\nWhat Satan does, though, is he takes the design of God, and he twists it. That's what we call perversion. Look at what Satan today is doing with sexuality\u2014a gift that God gave the human race\u2014and look at how it is twisted and perverted by so many people. That is the work of Satan.\r\n\r\nIn fact, the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy 3:2 says in the last days a scenario will arise where children will be disobedient to parents. (Gee, I\u2019m glad that doesn't happen today.) The parental child relationship\u2014the authority structure between parents and children\u2014doesn't get erased; it gets perverted in the last days where the authority is reversed. That's in essence what Satan is doing here in Eden. That's why he took the form of a serpent.\r\n\r\nWe've studied this. The original design of God, going back to Genesis 1:26-28, is for Adam and Eve to rule creation for God. That was their assignment. It's an office that we have tried to explain. It's got a fancy name. It\u2019s called the office of theocratic administrator\u2014someone who governs for God.\r\n\r\nThe original design of God, the original blueprint of God, is for God to rule over Adam, alongside his wife, and they are to govern creation for God. That's what God wanted. Satan comes into Eden in serpent form because he's trying to reverse this. He's trying to get Adam and Eve to no longer govern creation for God but to listen to creation<\/em>\u2014in particular, a talking snake.\r\n\r\nIn the process, he is getting them to listen to creation. And in the process of listening to creation\u2014rather than governing creation\u2014they will rebel against God. So it's a top down perversion of the original blueprint of God.\r\n\r\nHere we learn that Satan scored a major victory; he won this round. And that's why today Adam and Eve are no longer governing creation for God. In fact, Satan has become the ruler of this world. Countless Bible verses explain Satan's current role as the ruler of this world, whether it be, \u201cthe prince of this world, the god of this age, the prince and power of the air, a roaring lion who roams about seeking someone to devour.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn fact, 1 John tells us that the world lies within his power. This is why we must put on the full armor of God because we\u2019re on defense<\/em>. We\u2019re living on hostile territory. That\u2019s why we\u2019re called \u201cambassadors,\u201d by the way, as Christians.\r\n\r\n\u201cWell, how did the world to get into this state? Because it certainly wasn't in this state in Genesis 1.\u201d Well, Satan came and perverted an office; he unseated Adam and Eve and took authority and dominion for himself. So, really, the goal of history is how that office is going to be restored to the earth one day through the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.\r\n\r\nAs we move into the second half of verse 1\u2014and then also verse 4 and verse 5\u2014what we see here are Satan's tactics\u2014Satan's strategies. At the risk of oversimplification, what I see here are four tactics and four strategies of Satan. As you leave this place today at the conclusion of the sermon, you\u2019re going to see very clearly how Satan operates; because here we are in our time period in the 21st century and his strategies haven't changed at all.\r\n\r\nIn fact, he doesn't have to change his strategies, because most of us don't even know what his strategies are because we haven't been diligent students of the Word of God. And yet, if you study what Satan did here, you can see exactly what he's doing in the lives of countless people today.\r\n\r\nSolomon, the wisest man that ever lived, other than Jesus Christ Himself, said the following in the Book of Ecclesiastes. In Ecclesiastes 1:9 he says, \u201cThat which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done<\/em>. So there is nothing new under the sun.\u201d<\/em> You read Genesis 3, you look at the world today, any you say, \u201cOh! Satan is using that strategy again,\u201d or \u201che is using that tactic again.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn fact, the Apostle Paul, in 2 Corinthians 2:11, says something very interesting. He says, \u201c\u2026so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.\u201d<\/em> Did you know Satan has schemes? Some translations say that we are not ignorant of Satan's \u201cdevices.\u201d \u2026strategies\r\n\r\nThe Apostle Paul knew exactly what Satan was up to because he was a student of the Book. He was a student of the Bible. He was a student of early Genesis. Most of us really haven't studied very carefully what the Bible says concerning Satan, and so we\u2019re caught off guard.\r\n\r\nBut Paul says that Satan strategies are nothing new. Ephesians 6:11 says, \u201cPut on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.\u201d<\/em> That word \u201cscheme\u201d there in Ephesians 6:11 is so interesting; it's the word METHODEIAS in the Greek, where we get the word \u201cmethod.\u201d \u201cYou mean Satan has methods?\u201d Yes. \u201cYou mean Satan has tactics?\u201d Yes. \u201cYou mean Satan has strategies?\u201d Yes, he does.\r\n\r\nGoing back to my basketball days\u2026 I played organized basketball from seventh grade all the way to my senior year in college. I remember that a day or two before a game, the coaches would always have us watch videos of the other team playing. And it was just part of the discipline of a season\u2014video after video of the team we were facing that week\u2014watching them play.\r\n\r\nWhy would we do that? Because that team was going to come against us through a strategy. And before you step on the floor\u2014and if you want to win\u2014you need to know what their strategies are. Who are their best shooters? How tall is the team we\u2019re playing? Do they play zone defense? Man to man defense?\r\n\r\nDo they pick you up at three quarters court? Full-court? Do they like to slow the ball down? Are they a running type of team? You step on the floor on game day, and you already know all this information because of the discipline of understanding methods and strategies of the opposition.\r\n\r\nThat's what Genesis 3 gives you in these verses; it gives you the methods and the strategies of the opposition. So Satan has four strategies. (And there might be others; you can build from this.) But these are the four major ones; they are all revealed here in verses 1-5.\r\n\r\nStrategy number one: he ads to God\u2019s Word. \u201cWhat you have in God\u2019s Word is not enough,\u201d Satan will convince you. \u201cYou need another layer of truth. This 66 Book finite revelation is not enough; it's not sufficient.\u201d Now, you see him implementing this strategy in the second part of verse 1 where it says, \u201cAnd he said to the woman, \u2018Indeed, has God said, \u201cYou shall not eat from any tree of the garden\u201d?\u2019 \u201d<\/em>\r\n\r\nThe problem is: God never said that did He? What is the original command? Genesis 2 reveals that original command in verses 16 and 17. \u201cThe Lord God commanded the man, saying, \u2018From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.\u2019 \u201d<\/em>\r\n\r\nEasiest job description\u2014probably\u2014anybody's ever had. \u201cDo whatever you want. Eat from anything in the garden\u2014freely. But the only thing that's off limits is the tree of knowledge. Don't eat from that tree, because that tree will kill you.\u201d\r\n\r\nAnd how interesting that Satan took that original command and made it look as if God said something that He never said. \u201cAnd he said to the woman, \u2018Indeed, has God said, \u201cYou shall not eat from any tree of the garden\u201d?\u2019 \u201d <\/em>That's not what God said; in fact, God said the opposite<\/em>! He just put off limits one tree\u2014the tree of knowledge.\r\n\r\nThe Mormons\u2014not if but when\u2014will show up to your house on bicycles\u2014well dressed, well-spoken young men\u2014two of them. They bring two because one is a trainer and one is a trainee, and the guy talking to you at the doorstep is the one being trained. They will basically tell you that your Bible is nice. \u201cIt's nice you're a believer in the Bible, but it's really not quite enough. You need these other revelations. There are three others\u2014the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price\u2014which are revelations of Jesus in North America.\u201d\r\n\r\nDid you know that? That Jesus had an appearance in North America\u20141700, 1800, something like that? \u201cIt's nice you have your Bible, but the problem is you don't have the complete truth.\u201d That is a strategy that's as old as Eden; it's an addition to the Word of God. So many Christians will not make a move in any facet of their life until they have a vision, or they have some kind of dream from God, as if the Bible itself is not sufficient to help us to live a life of faith and godliness.\r\n\r\nStrategy number one is Satan will always add to the Word of God. Strategy number two is that Satan will attack the goodness of God. He will challenge, in the mind of people, whether God is good or not. Let me tell you something about God: God is good all of the time! Amen? But Satan doesn't want you to believe that. And you see that very clearly in verse 1, because Satan is making it look like God is more restrictive than He really is.\r\n\r\nVerse \u00a01, \u201cAnd he said to the woman, \u2018Indeed, has God said, \u201cYou shall not eat from any tree of the garden\u201d?\u2019 \u201d <\/em>That is not what God said! God said, \u201cYou can eat from any tree freely except the tree of knowledge.\u201d So what Satan has done in the mind of Eve is that he has made God out to be restrictive. \u201cGod is the great meanie in the sky! God is holding out on you!\u201d And resentment starts to build, if you will, between people and God.\r\n\r\nThis is such an effective strategy that it keeps countless people away from Christ. You know, when you get a chance to share your faith, do you do know what the unsaved person is thinking? \u201cI can't go along with what they believe in because my life is too full! My life is too enjoyable. And if I surrender to the things of Jesus Christ, Jesus has an agenda to make my life miserable. Look at all the things I\u2019ve got to give up!\u201d I can't tell you how many people stay away from Christ because that's what they believe\u2014because that's what Satan and his demons whispered in their ear.\r\n\r\nThe fact of the matter is Jesus said in John 10:10, \u201cThe thief <\/em>[that\u2019s Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly<\/em> [life to the full].\u201d You think Satan wants people to understand that? Absolutely not! Jesus is not in the business of destroying the lives of men and women; He's in the business of restoring them to what they were intended to be before sin entered the picture.\r\n\r\nWe\u2019re going to leave, just for a minute, the strategies of Satan. I was giving you four; I\u2019ve given you two so far. But as we move into verses 2 and 3, we\u2019re going switch subjects. We\u2019ll get back to Satan\u2019s strategies in a minute.\r\n\r\nBut what were Adam and Eve's mistakes here? Because Eve made several critical mistakes that caused her to lose that round. And Adam doesn't get off the hook either, because he made a big mistake also.\r\n\r\nYou say, \u201cWhy should we study the mistakes of Adam and Eve?\u201d For the simple reason that those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Because you have the same conflict with Satan that Adam and Eve had. It's delineated and described very clearly in Ephesians 6:10-18, putting on the full armor of God. You are in just as much a spiritual warfare with Satan\u2014as am I\u2014as were Adam and Eve. So you can learn an awful lot by what they did wrong and the mistakes they made.\r\n\r\nMistake number one that Eve made is that she subtracted from the Word of God. Look at verse 2, \u201cThe woman said\u2026\u201d<\/em> Here is part of the problem, because why was she even talking to him to begin with? Think about how different the world would be if she just broke off this interfaith dialogue?\r\n\r\nNotice verse 2, \u201cThe woman said to the serpent, \u2018From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat\u2026\u2019 \u201d<\/em> Guess what, folks? That's not what God said! She just left out, from the original command, two crucial words! What God actually said, Genesis 2:16, is that from any<\/em> tree<\/em> of the garden they could freely eat. Now compare verse 16 to Genesis 3:2, and you'll see very clearly that she omitted the word \u201cany\u201d and \u201cfreely.\u201d\r\n\r\nAs if that weren't enough, her second mistake is that she added to the Word of God. Look at verse 3 as this dialogue continues. Eve is speaking and she says, \u201c \u2018but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, \u201cYou shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.\u201d \u2019 \u201d<\/em>\r\n\r\nThe problem? When you go back to the original command, Genesis 2:17, all God said is, \u201c \u2018but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.\u2019 \u201d<\/em> God never said a single syllable about touching it. What is developing in the mind of Eve is the beginning of what we call legalism.\r\n\r\nLegalism is the idea that you are so fearful of violating the commands of God that you pass a bunch of man-made regulations in your mind preventing you from violating God's commands. When the fact of the matter is, God never gave those commands! That's what you call legalism.\r\n\r\nThe Pharisees did this with the Sabbath. In the intertestamental period there developed Phariseeism, and the Pharisees understood that violation of the Sabbath is what sent the nation of Israel into captivity. \u201cSo we\u2019re never going to violate the Sabbath again.\u201d So you know what the Pharisees did? They passed rule after rule\u2014after rule\u2014after rule\u2014after rule\u2014on what you could or could not do on the Sabbath!\r\n\r\nIn fact, I had to read some of those rules in seminary\u2014it\u2019s exhausting!\u2014their founding document called the Mishnah and another one called the Talmud. And this is the whole conflict between Christ and the Pharisees because Jesus will allow His disciples to eat on the Sabbath. He will heal on the Sabbath! And suddenly the Pharisees are all upset that their rules are being violated. In fact, Jesus violated no rule of God because the Sabbath in its original design was designed to be a blessing to man.\r\n\r\nWhat the Pharisees had done is they had built a fence around the Law. The problem with legalism is it starts off always well-intentioned, but eventually what happens is the tail starts to wag the dog. That's what happened with the Pharisees. What became important to them was no longer God's original purpose for the Sabbath but their traditions and their rules. And this is what is happening here with Eve by way of parallel.\r\n\r\nYou know, a lot of people think God is a lot more restrictive than He really is. Why? Because they're under legalism\u2014restrictions\u2014man-made. \u201cDon't do this! Don't do that! Don't smoke or chew!\u201d I'm not in favor of either, by the way. \u201cDon't smoke, or chew, or go with girls who do,\u201d kind of thing, rules that start off well-intentioned. But then you start to say, \u201cYou know what has happened? I made a god of these rules. And I\u2019m missing the blueprint of God and the program of God.\u201d That's what's called building a fence around the Law.\r\n\r\nThe problem with Eve is she has a devotional understanding of Scripture but not a doctrinal understanding. She has a general idea of what God said, but she certainly doesn't have it down cold. Compare that to Jesus Christ Himself when He was tempted by Satan in the Judean wilderness, Matthew 4:1-11. The same story is recorded in Luke 4:1-13.\r\n\r\nLook at how Jesus responds in the midst of temptation; He gives the Scripture back\u2014three citations from the Book of Deuteronomy. There are no additions and there are no deletions. Jesus wins His round with Satan. Eve loses her round with Satan. What's the difference? Eve has a devotional understanding but not a doctrinal understanding.\r\n\r\nEve is reading the Word of God, as many American Christians do, to get the liver quiver of the day. But as far as devoting oneself to a deeper understanding of God\u2019s Word, she obviously doesn't have it, because she's mishandling the Word of God here in Genesis 3:2-3.\r\n\r\nYou say, \u201cCome on now, Pastor, Jesus had a little advantage, didn\u2019t He? I mean, He was God! So, He was omniscient. So He never had to learn anything, right?\u201d Well, Jesus was God, but in the Hypostatic Union (fancy word) eternal God or eternal deity at the point of the virgin conception was joined to humanity.\r\n\r\nJesus was sinless, but He had to go through the same growth stages anyone else has to go through. Luke 2:52 says this of Jesus, \u201cAnd Jesus kept increasing in wisdom<\/em> [that's intellectual growth] and stature<\/em> [that's physical growth],<\/em> and in favor with God<\/em> [that's spiritual growth] and men<\/em> [that is social growth].\u201d Jesus went through the normal maturity steps that all human beings go through. Jesus had devoted enough of His life to deeply understanding the things of God at a precise way so that He could bring them forth in the midst of temptation. And He stands up against the temptation of Satan and succeeds!\r\n\r\nEve folds. Eve doesn't have the deep knowledge of the Bible\u2014a doctrinal understanding. She has more of a devotional understanding. It's interesting that Eve here, at the very beginning, is subtracting and adding\u2014leaving things out\u2014adding things in.\r\n\r\nIsn\u2019t that what we\u2019re warned about in Revelation 22:18-19, which is at the very end of the Bible? \u201cI testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.\u201d<\/em>\r\n\r\nHow does the Bible end? With a very severe warning against adding and subtracting! How does the Bible begin? With Eve adding and subtracting! It's almost as if God is saying, \u201cAdding and subtracting to what I said is what got you all into trouble to begin with! Don't ever do that again.\u201d It forms an inclusio of the whole Scripture. So, what Eve is doing here is quite serious.\r\n\r\nThere's a third mistake Eve made, and it's in verses 2-3. In addition to adding to God\u2019s Word, in addition to subtracting from God\u2019s Word, she too starts to buy into the deception that God is not really good. \u201cGod really doesn't love you! God really doesn't want to bless you! In fact, God wants to come into your life to destroy you and hurt you.\u201d\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s very clear, because she deletes \u201cany\u201d and \u201cfreely.\u201d Didn\u2019t God say \u201cany\u201d and \u201cfreely\u201d in Genesis 2:16? \u201cFrom any tree of the garden you may eat freely.\u201d She just left those words out! God was a lot less restrictive than she is paraphrasing Him to be.\r\n\r\nAnd then, verse 3, she adds something that God never said. She moves into legalism and builds a fence around the Law. She adds the command that supposedly God said\u2014which He never said\u2014which is, \u201cDon't touch it.\u201d Do you see what's happening to her? \u201cDon't touch it!\u201d \u201cAny\u201d and \u201cfreely\u201d are left out. \u201cGod just took your world and shrunk it!\u201d That's a tremendous deception that Satan here is orchestrating.\r\n\r\nYou say, \u201cYou\u2019ve been sort of hard on Eve here. What about Adam?\u201d Here comes Adam! You ready for this? What we see in terms of their fourth mistake is the initial breakdown in male headship.\r\n\r\nAdam is created on Day Six in Genesis 2:4-7. Adam is brought forth from the dirt. Then, in verses 16 and 17, God gives Adam that command; Eve doesn't exist yet. Then, finally, after this command is given, God forms woman from man's side (verses 18-25). In other words, if you just look at this chronology you see very clearly that Eve did not exist yet when God gave the command concerning the tree of knowledge to Adam.\r\n\r\nQuestion: How is Eve supposed to learn it? I think there's a very strong implication here that she was supposed to learn it from her husband. After all, he's the spiritual leader, right? And yet she's leaving words out and adding words. She has a devotional understanding of it but certainly not a doctrinal understanding. Could it be that Adam never did his job correctly and faithfully discipled his wife in spiritual things, which is the man's job in the family? Wow! We\u2019re hitting close to home here, aren\u2019t we?\r\n\r\nI mean, isn't modern-day Christianity the story of the passive male? Look at our church. Look at any church! Who are the people that are really interested in getting here, getting the kids here? Not in every case, but typically what you see is it's the female, the woman; the man is sort of dragged sort of grudgingly. We seek volunteers to step up in different offices. It's easy for women to step up and do things. It's hard<\/em> to find faithful men who want to take that role of spiritual leadership.\r\n\r\nIt's hard, in the home, to find a man<\/em> who wants to lead his family, which is his church. Did you know that? That\u2019s what God says! See, I've got two churches. I've got Sugar Land Bible Church, but that's not even my most important church! My most important church has two members in it: \u00a0my wife and my daughter. What am I doing in the home relative to that church and that assignment which God put me in authority over? I mean, is a moment of family altar, quiet time, prayer even on the agenda for the day? Or am I so busy with ministry that I'm neglecting my primary responsibilities at home? The passive male!\r\n\r\nThe problem with the passive male is it's here at the beginning! I mean, Eve is bobbling around for the truth. Maybe he did teach it to her, and she didn't learn it well. I don't think that's the case. I think there's a very strong implication that he didn't transfer it to her<\/em> the way God wanted. There's a reason why the command came into existence before Eve came into existence; there's an order in God: God expected Adam to be that leader in the home.\r\n\r\nSo we see here an initial breakdown in male headship. And let me tell you something: Satan saw that. Satan, in the form of a serpent, saw that weakness; he saw that crack in the lining and he exploited it for his own purposes. He took advantage of it, and so Eve here is deceived.\r\n\r\nSo what did Adam and Eve do wrong? Particularly Eve in the first three, Adam in the fourth one. Eve subtracted from God\u2019s Word. She added to God\u2019s Word. To my mind, very clearly, she's doubting the goodness of God. Then we also see (number four here) an initial breakdown in male headship. Are these lessons that we\u2019re supposed to study to apply to our lives today? You bet! That's why these things are recorded for us.\r\n\r\nGoing back to Satan's tactics now. We've seen Satan adds to God\u2019s Word. We've seen that Satan challenges God's goodness. We pick up the conversation in verse 4, and what else is Satan doing here? Eve has spoken; now the serpent speaks in return.\r\n\r\nVerse 4, \u201cThe serpent said to the woman, \u2018You surely will not die!\u2019 \u201d<\/em> But what did God say originally? Genesis 2:17, \u201cYou will die.\u201d God says, \u201cYou will die.\u201d Satan says, \u201cYou won't die.\u201d Notice the progression here. It's interesting to me that Satan doesn't unload that lie initially; he waits till verse 4 to do that. The first thing he says is really not an outward denial of what God said; it\u2019s just a layer of legalism that God never intended, \u201cYou shall not eat from any tree of the garden,\u201d which God never said.\r\n\r\nAfter that lie is implanted in her mind, now he moves into progression and he moves in with a more overt lie, \u201cOh, you're not going to die!\u201d It's fascinating to me to watch the strategies of Satan and to watch his progressive warfare that he is waging here on her mind. He doesn't start off with his most powerful lie first; he starts off with a smaller lie. But once you believe a smaller lie, suddenly your mind is open up to a bigger lie.\r\n\r\nI don't member who said this, but it's a wonderful quote. They said, \u201cThe road to immorality is paved through gradual compromises.\u201d People don't wake up one day and they\u2019re immoral. There is a whole lot of thought patterns and decisions that they made long before which paved the way into immorality.\r\n\r\nI had a pastor in the Dallas area who put it this way, \u201cPrivate thoughts will eventually lead to public actions.\u201d What compromises are happening in our minds as Christians that Satan is so interested in cultivating so that we make the big mistake<\/em> down the road? When the whole thing could've been preempted by being diligent initially.\r\n\r\nSatan\u2019s great third strategy is to subtract from God\u2019s Word. Satan hates God\u2019s Word. In fact, you look at the state of the church in Europe which once was the cradle of the Protestant Reformation. There is massive Christian architecture all over Europe, once the home of thousands of worshipers. Walk into one of those churches on a Sunday morning. Who's there? No one's there\u2014except maybe the pastor, and the janitor, and their respective families.\r\n\r\nYou say, \u201cWhat went wrong?\u201d I'll tell you what went wrong: higher criticism came into Europe. What is higher criticism? It's man sitting in judgment on God\u2019s Word. \u201cOh, Daniel? He couldn't of written the Book of Daniel in the sixth century! It must've been written by someone other than Daniel, after the fact, writing under a pen name \u201cDaniel.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cOh, Isaiah? There's no way Isaiah wrote the whole Book of Isaiah. Obviously, that was written by different Isaiahs\u2014Proto, Deutero, and Trito. It was written after the fact to make it look like Isaiah is teaching a history lesson.\u201d\r\n\r\nJEPD theory came into existence in higher criticism in the 19th century\u2014denial of Mosaic authorship. \u201cMoses didn\u2019t write the Book of Genesis. Someone other than Moses wrote it after the fact.\u201d Why do Matthew, Mark, and Luke sound so similar? \u201cWell, they all got their story from Q, or Quelle in German, which means \u201csource.\u201d And they all borrowed from Q! You don't really think that the Holy Spirit gave three different men the same plot structure, do you? What kind of naive fundamentalist are you? They all borrowed from Q!\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cOh! Well, can I inspect Q?\u201d \u201cOh, we haven't found it yet. But when we find it, this is exactly the way it's going to read!\u201d We take these ideas and we just say, \u201cThose are silly ideas!\u201d Let me tell you something: that's higher criticism and it destroyed\u2014it destroyed!\u2014Christianity all over Europe.\r\n\r\nThe home places of Luther and Calvin all of the greats of the Protestant Reformation? That\u2019s all a thing of the past. Europe is as post-Christian as you could get. Unless God does a work, Europe will never come back. The fastest growing religion in Europe today is Islam; it is not Christianity.\r\n\r\nAnd let me tell you something: higher criticism almost destroyed the churches in the United States in the 1920s. It destroyed the mainline denominations, and God raised up a movement called the fundamentalists. And you should read about the fundamentalists: the RA Tories and people like that. They said, \u201cNo! Higher criticism is only going to go so far in the United States.\u201d And they formed the breakaway independent churches. Had that not happened, Christianity in the United States would probably be in the same condition that it is in Europe.\r\n\r\nWhy did all of this happen? It's verse 4. \u201cThe serpent said to the woman, \u2018You surely will not die!\u2019 \u201d<\/em> It's now a blatant negation of what God said. By the way, did you know how the school system in the United States started? It started from this verse; it started from a fear<\/em> of this verse.\r\n\r\nFound in Massachusetts from 1642, it's called the \u201cOld Satan Deluder Law.\u201d It's what our forebears set up the moment their feet hit these shores. They passed a law, and the public school system as we know it started. And the law said the following. \u201cIt being one chief project\u2026\u201d Notice: not \u201cproject\u201d but \u201cchief project.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cIt being one chief project of that old deluder, Satan\u2026\u201d (Isn\u2019t that what we\u2019re reading about here?) \u201c\u2026to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former time\u2026\u201d What former time? The dark ages, prior to the light of the Protestant Reformation, where the Scripture was chained to the pulpits all over Europe and you were not even allowed to own the Scripture! And you probably were illiterate; you couldn\u2019t even read it if you owned one. And you didn't own one! Only the priest could read it. And, boy, the priests? Let me tell you: they knew how to manipulate the people. Because if the people don't have the Scripture, they are misled very fast. \u201cSo you want Uncle Harry or Uncle Joe out of purgatory?\u201d Like Johann Tetzel taught, \u201c\u2026then we need to see money rolling into the Roman Catholic Church.\u201d\r\n\r\nI've been to Vatican City and toured it. It is amazing the wealth that they have there. And there's a reason they have that wealth: they did this for a thousand years. They lied and manipulated the masses, who had no ability to see through the deception, because they didn't even own a Bible. The Bible is chained to the pulpit. The people are illiterate. The only people that could interpret the Bible where the priests. And the priests were involved in allegorization and brought interpretations from the Bible that had nothing to do with what the Bible says. That is the condition of Christianity probably from the fourth century all the way up to the 16th century\u20141200 years.\r\n\r\nThen the Protestant Reformation happened, and God used it to bring us back to the light of His Word. Then the descendants of the Protestant reformers came to the United States. And they said (paraphrasing), \u201cWe\u2019re never going to let that happen again! Because we know it is one chief project of Satan to keep men from a knowledge of the Scripture, as in former time.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cWe've lived through the dark ages. We don\u2019t want to go back to that. So here's what we\u2019ve got to do: We\u2019ve got to get everybody literate. Because if they\u2019re illiterate,<\/em> they can't read the Bible!\u201d And that's the beginning of grammar schools.\r\n\r\nThe law goes on and says, \u201cIt is therefore ordered\u2026that after the Lord hath increased the settlement\u2026they shall\u2026appoint one within their town, to teach all such children to read\u2026they shall set up a grammar school to instruct youths\u2026\u201d Now why do parents send their kids to school today? So they can retire early because they picked the right stocks. That's not the origin of United States. The origin of the United States is, \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get people literate. Because if they're not literate, they can't read! And the Protestant reformers told us that it's not just the priests who interpret the Bible; we\u2019re all priests!\u201d\r\n\r\nDid you know that you\u2019re a priest? Revelation 1:6 says you\u2019re a priest in Christ. Well, how can you be a priest and go directly to God if you can\u2019t even read His Word? If you can't read His Word, you\u2019re going to be manipulated by any ecclesiastical authority that comes along claiming to speak for God (i.e. Roman Catholicism).\r\n\r\nIt's just interesting to me that those who founded the United States knew exactly what verse 4 was saying. Most of us just skip right over verse 4\u2014they understood it very well!\r\n\r\nSatan would have you do anything other than reading the Bible. He would have you in any kind of environment other than the environment you're in right here where you are learning the Word of God. How do I know that? Because that\u2019s Satan's nature.\r\n\r\nAnd one of the things Satan does is he snatches God\u2019s Word away from people. Matthew 13:19, in the parable of the sower, \u201cWhen anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.\u201d<\/em> Luke 8:12 says, \u201c<\/em>Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.\u201d<\/em>\r\n\r\nWhy is it that coming to a church like this on Sunday morning is such a battle? Why is it that my wife and I get along beautifully on Friday and Saturday, but suddenly Sunday morning every potential conflict you can think of arises? Why is it that the phone rings? Or the car won't start? Or you get the desire, \u201cWell, I guess I'll just sleep in. I\u2019ll go to Bedside Baptist.\u201d Why the constant war? It's because of verses like this\u2014Satan hates the Word of God. He doesn\u2019t want you to listen to the Word of God!\r\n\r\nYou know, it's interesting. You can sit in the movie Star Wars (which I think is two hours) and you can have unbroken concentration, but to sit through a sermon? That's hard! Believe me, I've spent a lot of time sitting where you guys sit. Suddenly your mind goes to, \u201cWhat am I going to have for lunch? Did I talk to so and so? Will I see this person?\u201d It's so easy for the mind to drift away from the things of God; that is satanic; it's right out of verse 4.\r\n\r\nWhat is Satan's third strategy? He diminishes God\u2019s Word; he subtracts from God\u2019s Word because he knows the promises of God\u2019s Word\u2014that the Word of God is living and active and that it is powerful. And the Word of God (Isaiah 55) when it is proclaimed<\/em> does not return void! Promise after promise after promise! Do you think Satan wants you to be blessed in that sense? Of course not! Distraction.\r\n\r\nIt's amazing the trouble we have with our little internet ministry and online ministry. I mean, all the other online ministries work great! Why is it that we fight\u2014all of the time\u2014all of these little technical things that come up? Because we\u2019re teaching the Bible. And the moment you teach the Bible is the moment you put yourself in the line of spiritual attack, because Satan hates the Bible. He hates God\u2019s Word. He doesn\u2019t want you to hear the Bible! He certainly doesn't want you to study it on your own! Hence distraction after distraction after distraction.\r\n\r\nThere's a fourth and final thing that Satan does here. He offers wisdom without submission to God. Verse 5, \u201c \u2018For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.\u2019 \u201d<\/em> \u201cYou can be wise,\u201d Satan says, \u201cand you don't have to submit to God to receive that wisdom. I will give it to you, Adam and Eve.\u201d What a deception that is! Proverbs 1:7 says, \u201cThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.\u201d<\/em>\r\n\r\nYou can\u2019t have wisdom until you have knowledge. You want to get smart? Submit to the authority of God. Psalm 14:1 says, \u201cThe fool has said in his heart, \u2018There is no God.\u2019 \u201d<\/em> You want to get dumb? Reject<\/em> the authority of God. Romans 1:21-22 says, \u201cFor even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools\u2026\u201d<\/em>\r\n\r\nThat's the United States right now. Why is that? You\u2019ll see that something happened in 1963 which caused our SAT scores to plummet. And it wasn't a lack of a Department of Education. It wasn't the fact that not every kid had an iPad at that time. It wasn't a lack of funding. 1962, 1963 was when the United States Supreme Court kicked God out of public life. Even though we had the Old Satan Deluder Law, \u201cWe\u2019re too sophisticated for that, and we\u2019re going to divorce Christianity from the public square!\u201d And look at the results: we\u2019ve become Romans 1 fools.\r\n\r\nThe idea that somehow you gain wisdom from your professor or from some enlightened guru\u2014outside of God\u2014is a deception. Because the Bible says very clearly that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.\r\n\r\nSo Satan here is offering Eve something that God says is the opposite: you don't need God for light; you don't need God for illumination. Now, of course, Satan would use that one because that's the lie he deceived himself with, isn\u2019t it? The five \u201cI will\u201d statements of Satan, why he fell. Isaiah 14:14, in the final lie that he deceived himself with, Satan said, \u201cI will make myself like the Most High.\u201d<\/em> So that deceived him, and now he's using that same lie to deceive Eve.\r\n\r\nHe makes an interesting point here, Satan does. \u201c \u2018For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.\u2019 \u201d<\/em> It's interesting how many movements today teach that you can become a god. Shirley McClain, New Age, with her arms outstretched on Malibu Beach, said that over and over again, \u201cI am god.\u201d Mormonism basically teaches that you can become your own god and have your own planet.\r\n\r\nSo-called Christian television through its prosperity gospel (the idea that a Christian is entitled by divine right to a life of prosperity) has at its core the little gods doctrine. You have that right because you are a little god. That means Satan hasn't changed anything in terms of methods and strategies. It's the same old recycled stuff. There is nothing new under the sun.\r\n\r\nInteresting. Look what he says here (paraphrasing), \u201cFor God knows that the day you eat from the tree is the day you\u2019ll be like Him!\u201d You see how he is back now to strategy number two where he is challenging God's goodness? \u201cGod is holding back from you something! God is trying to take away from you something! And if you follow me, I'll give it to you without God.\u201d My goodness\u2014plenty to learn here, isn\u2019t there?\r\n\r\nWhat are Satan's four tactics in review?\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. He adds to God\u2019s Word (verse 1)<\/li>\r\n \t
    2. He challenges God's goodness (verse 2)<\/li>\r\n \t
    3. He subtracts from God\u2019s Word (verse 4)<\/li>\r\n \t
    4. He offers wisdom without submission to God (verse 5)<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nWhat in the world did Adam and Eve do wrong? Four things:\r\n
        \r\n \t
      1. She subtracted from God\u2019s Word (verse 2)<\/li>\r\n \t
      2. She added to God\u2019s Word (verse 3)<\/li>\r\n \t
      3. She doubted God's goodness (verses 2-3)<\/li>\r\n \t
      4. Adam, as the passive male, set the stage for all this by not taking headship over his immediate family<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nI wish I had a nice Rah\u2014Rah\u2014Rah to end this with, but I really don't. Because unless we understand history, we\u2019re condemned to repeat it, we\u2019re told. That's why God has given us this history. Next week we\u2019ll move into verses 6-13, where we\u2019ll see the actual sin of Adam and Eve and then the results of that sin.\r\n\r\nIf you're here today and you don't know Christ personally, our exhortation is for people to hear the gospel and to respond to the light of the gospel through faith alone in Christ alone. Faith alone in Christ alone will transfer you from death into life. That's what Jesus said in John 5:24.\r\n\r\nBecoming a Christian is not a 12 step program; it's a one-step program. It has nothing to do with joining a church or walking an aisle. We did have someone join the church earlier, but that doesn't save anybody. It\u2019s a matter of privacy between a person and the Lord, where they hear the gospel that Jesus, through His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, bridged the gap between fallen humanity and a holy God. By simple faith alone in what He has done\u2014that in and of itself saves the soul. And if that's something that's never happened to you, our exhortation to you\u2014no matter where you are\u2014even listening to this recording five years down the road\u2014is simply to, by faith, trust in Christ\u2014and Christ alone\u2014so as to be saved. If you need more explanation, I'm available after the service to talk.\r\n\r\nClosing Prayer<\/strong>\r\n\r\n\u201cFather, we\u2019re grateful for the detail that You went into to preserve for us these tactics. Help us to not just be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word, as we too are involved in spiritual warfare. We\u2019ll be careful to give You all the praise and the glory. We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name.\u201d","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t