Satan wants to bring death and he brings it through deception. He is the master liar. He knows how to tell lies. They are not obvious lies. They are very subtle. They sound like the truth. They are close to the truth. If you believe a wrong thing you will keep on doing it over and over again. Satan wants you to believe lies about big things rather than small things. There is nothing bigger than God. Satan wants converts not casualties. Satan tells four big lies in Genesis.

1 – God is not loving (vs. 1)

Satan wants Eve to think that God is holding back on His goodness. In Genesis 2:16, God had allowed Adam and Eve to eat of every tree in the garden. Satan wants Eve to think of God as cruel, harsh and strict. God is not a cosmic killjoy. See Psalm 37:4; 84:11.

2 – God is not truthful (vs. 2-4)

Satan starts with a doubt, then scepticism and then denial. The Devil is out to destroy the truth of God’s Word.

• Relativism says there is no absolute truth. Are they sure? They can’t be as there is no absolute truth! There is a standard. There is God.
• Subjectivism says if it feels good to you then it must be right.
• Rationalism brings intellect. It is the mind of man and reason. God is sometimes beyond reason.
• Pragmatism does not ask if it is true. The truth is – does it work?
• The Post Modernist accepts whatever truth is “right” for you. We need to pray for all and we need to work for peace.

The Devil does not want society to have a fixed standard.

3 – God is not righteous (vs. 4)

Satan would have us believe that God is not a God of judgment. God is righteous. He will not tolerate sin. He is a good God. God gave the Ten Commandments as law. There is a place of eternal punishment. There is judgment for those who reject Jesus Christ. This sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to the world. God must judge sinners who continue in their sinful state. People are not basically good. There is no second chance. There is no reincarnation.

4 – God is not gracious (vs. 4-5)

You need to be your own god. You don’t need to believe in God. You need to be liberated from Him. Yet God wants to set us free – in Christ. God wants us to be like Him. See 1 Corinthians 2:9. When it comes to experience then sin is the worse teacher. Sin is deceitful. God is gracious and shows His love to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

There are four lies that have ruined the world and we can see them in this world. How do we overcome these four lies? We can see Satan’s lies when we look at Calvary. Jesus was God come in the flesh and died to save us from our sins. We can confess what God has done for us and serve him to the point of death if necessary. We can expose these lies. God is love, God is truthful, God is righteous and God is gracious.

Categories: Genesis