Things You Should Know About Temptation, Part 6

Half-truth is the same as lying.

Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ¹⁷But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Temptation can come from anyone, in any place and at any time. Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. To tempt is to prove that someone is soft in a particular area. To tempt is to prove that someone is led by fleshly desires instead of being led by the Spirit. Employing his craftiness and deceitful lying ways, the serpent (Satan) rephrased God’s command and presented it to Eve as a question requiring her to respond. He set her up for the fall. The serpent drew her into the lie by misrepresenting the truth.  Half-truth is the same as lying. He said, “… hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” She responded, “…We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. God did not say the tree in the midst of the garden could not be touched. But Satan distorted the truth and appealed to her through her eyes. Every tree in the garden was pleasing to the eye and good for food including the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which God commanded the man not to eat from. Temptation was presented by Satan, received by Eve, and shared with Adam. Persons who yield to temptation are always sharing temptation because they do not want to go down that road alone. It makes them feel good when they have a companion. Satan’s greatest evangelist is the one who tempts others to follow him. We know that Adam and Eve did not physically die immediately, but they were the “walking dead”. Life is connected to God; therefore, they were spiritually dead until God made a type of atonement for their disobedience.

Scripture References: Genesis 3:1-6,21; Genesis 2:9

Prayer for Today:   Father, I submit under the leading of the Holy Spirit. Teach me to resist temptation of all kinds.   In JESUS name. AMEN.

Whatever you must do today, there is a grace for that. Accept the grace and make it a sweatless day.

Love                                                                    

Dianne