Sterilize Your Conscience

[reneweddaybyday]

The Serpent employed the very same tactic
in his failed attempt to lead Jesus astray.

yes, this is true. And each time the devil approached Jesus, the response of Jesus was "It is written ..."

When satan presents his version of God's Word to the unwary, while what satan presents may appear to be what God said, a careful scrutiny of what satan presents reveals the tactics satan uses to trap his target.

Numbers of Christians are convinced that because they are Christ's
followers, and supposedly know the truth, that the Serpent can't get to
them. But Peter warns everyone that unwary Christians are the Serpent's
meat. (1Pet 5:8).

Ironically, it is by means of the truth that the Serpent leads people away from
the truth.

• 2Cor 11:14 . . Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

Very clever.

yes, satan is clever and we would do well to pay attention to warning in 1 Peter 5 (and God gives other warnings in His Word). But read 1 Peter 5:9 ... whom resist steadfast in the faith.

God gives us what we need to overcome the wicked one. The issue is whether we will be swayed by satan's lies and fall victim as Eve did or hold steadfast in faith to God's Word (which Eve did not do).

this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith (1 John 5:4).

 

[Webers.Home]

.
Many of us on internet forums are quick to point out another's mistakes; but
the Serpent is a bit more resourceful. For example when Eve said that God
forbad her and Adam to touch the forbidden fruit, the Serpent let that
mistake slide; thus subtly reinforcing her error.

Personally I find it tiresome and tedious to address people's mistakes and so
let the majority of them slide simply because I'm lazy. But I don't think the
Serpent is lazy, rather, I think he's cagey. When he lets an error slide, it's
for a strategic purpose-- biding his time, he watches for opportunities to
build upon someone's mistakes and thus lead them into even bigger errors.
_

 

[reneweddaybyday]

For example when Eve said that God
forbad her and Adam to touch the forbidden fruit, the Serpent let that
mistake slide; thus subtly reinforcing her error.

Exactly ... at that point, satan had Eve exactly where he needed her to be ... ripe for the plucking.

The very next verse is the lie of satan "Ye shall not surely die" ...

Then came the accusation against God (that God was withholding something beneficial from Eve).

After that Eve saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise.

The whole strategy of satan is to get God's people to rely on something other than God. Once satan has us looking away from God, he has us positioned to take us out.

As you stated, "he's cagey. When he lets an error slide, it's for a strategic purpose-- biding his time, he watches for opportunities to build upon someone's mistakes and thus lead them into even bigger errors".

 

[Webers.Home]

.

The very next verse is the lie of satan "Ye shall not surely die"

In order for the Serpent's prediction to resonate in Eve's thinking, it had to
relate to death as she understood it in her day rather than how modern
Christians understand death in their day. In other words: Eve's concept of
death was primitive, i.e. normal and natural rather spiritual.

As far as can be known from scripture, h.sapiens is the only specie that God
created with the potential for immortality. That being the case, then I think
it's safe to assume that death was common all around Eve by means of
vegetation, birds, bugs, and beasts so that it wasn't a strange new word in
her vocabulary; i.e. God didn't have to take a moment and define death for
Eve seeing as how it was doubtless a common occurrence in her everyday
life.

Eve saw things born, she saw things grow to maturity, she saw things
gradually wither, she saw their life ebb away, and she saw them decay and
dissolve into nothing. So I think we can be reasonably confident that Eve
was up to speed on at least the natural aspects of death; viz: she was
familiar with mortality and he was familiar with immortality.

So then, in that respect the Serpent was telling the truth; and that's how it
played out. Eve was totally unaffected by the fruit. She didn't drop dead to
the floor as if it were tainted with arsenic or hemlock.

Because her own personal experience with the fruit had a pleasant outcome,
Eve went home and encouraged her husband try it too; and how could he
argue. Adam had been led to believe the fruit was toxic when here's his wife
happily munching away on it with no apparent ill side effects.

Now the wording of the creator's original warning in Gen 2:16-17 specifically
targeted Adam rather than Eve. In other words; Eve was exempt and that's
why Mr. Serpent was so confident that that she wouldn't be harmed by
eating it.

The Serpent employed a very effective strategy commonly employed by
sales managers of products that were at one time sold door to door like
vacuum cleaners, tableware, encyclopedia, and Fuller brushes. They're fully
aware that prospective customers are more likely to buy from a friend or a
relative than an outsider; so they encourage recruits to practice their sales
pitch on people most dear to them. The strategy works; and because it
works so well, we today must die too.

• Rom 5:12 . . Sin entered the world through one man, and death through
sin, and in this way death came to all men.
_