Half Truths of Sin

I was doing my Bible reading and came across a passage I had read hundreds of times before. It's amazing how God can show you new things even through the same passages.

Here is the passage.

Genesis 3:4-6 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.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

An astonishing surprise. The serpent told the truth. The serpent didn’t tell the whole truth but what he said was not false. She did not die by eating the fruit. She didn't keel over and die when she ate the fruit. But she did die. And what died in her was greater than her physical condition.

• Her eternal destiny died - she was created for eternity, but the reality of eternity died
  
• Her perfect communion with God died - she was created to be in perfect relationship with God, but that relationship was forever destroyed when she ate the fruit.

The devil did not lie when he told her she would not die. The devil just didn't tell her the whole truth.

That's how it is with the devil and sin.

The second thing about sin.

• Sin always looks good to the eye.
  
• Sin always looks enticing.
  
• Sin always has a way of justifying itself.

The third thing. Adam is an idiot. When I used to picture the conversation between the serpent and Eve, Adam was always absent. I somehow came to the notion that Adam was somewhere in the garden doing manly Adam things while the conversation took place. And then once Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit, she found him and convinced him to eat it too.

But that's all wrong. The Bible makes it crystal clear. He was standing right next to Eve the entire time the conversation was taking place. You see, God did not tell Eve about the fruit. Eve had not been created yet. It was only to Adam that God spoke. Adam was the one who told Eve about the tree of life. And yet he stood by allowing the serpent to twist the truth. What an idiot.

He saw his wife do the very thing God commanded not to do. And then when she offers it to him - "Duh, okay, honey." And he ate. What a fool.

And in too many households in America - that's exactly what is happening. Men have abdicated their roles as the spiritual leaders. It's time that we change.