The Right Thing for the Wrong Reason

"No! You will not die," the serpent said to the woman. "In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. - Genesis 3:4-6 HCSB

Question God’s word

Question God’s heart

Deny God’s word (Joshua 1:8)

Substitute a lie (Isaiah 14:12-14; Romans 1:21, 25)

Satan wants you to believe his way is better but God’s commands are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)

Subtract from God’s word – omitted the word “freely”

Add to God’s word – “nor shall you touch it”

Change God’s word – not “lest you die” but “you shall surely die.”

1 John 2:15-17 HCSB Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. Because everything that belongs to the world-- 16 the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one's lifestyle--is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God's will remains forever.

Genesis 3:1 HCSB Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You can't eat from any tree in the garden'?"

Ezekiel 28:11-19 HCSB The word of the LORD came to me: 12 "Son of man, lament for the king of Tyre and say to him: This is what the Lord GOD says: You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone covered you: carnelian, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold; they were prepared on the day you were created. 14 You were an anointed guardian cherub, for I had appointed you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways until wickedness was found in you. 16 Through the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I expelled you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and banished you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud because of your beauty; For the sake of your splendor you corrupted your wisdom. So I threw you down to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. 18 You profaned your sanctuaries by the magnitude of your iniquities in your dishonest trade. So I sent out fire from within you, and it consumed you. I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of everyone watching you. 19 All those who know you among the nations are appalled at you. You have become an object of horror and will never exist again."