15 Minutes With Jesus / Robert Haymes
The First Lie
Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes With Jesus. Today’s program is called The First Lie. Let’s turn to Gen 2:7-9, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Let’s go to verses 15-17, Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Let’s turn to chapter 3, verses 1-24, Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. 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. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? So he said, I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? Then the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. So the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. (Here we see, in the beginning of the creation, God refers to the triumph of His Son Jesus over sin and all the power of Satan through the Cross.) To the woman He said: I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. Then to Adam He said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it: cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. (Here we see the love of God for His people which He had made, even after they had sinned against Him, in that He made them some nice clothes to wear.) Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. Clearly, while they were still in the Garden, before they had sinned, they had full access to the tree of life, to eternal life. God did not forbid them from eating of it. But when they had sinned, they died, just as God had said; death came upon them, and they lost the access to eternal life.
Let’s turn to Rom 5:12-21, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 6:15-23, What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The fruit of lies is death, and the fruit of the truth is life.
Rom 8:1-17, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Verse 13, For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Satan is saying the same thing today to Christians who are involved in sin, the same lie that he spoke to Eve in the garden: he says, You won’t die. You’re under grace. Let’s look at Titus 2:11-14, For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
It was the lust of her eyes and the desire of her heart that prompted Eve to receive the lie, and to sin against God. So it is the condition of our hearts that causes us to receive a lie. Once we believe the lie, then it begins to affect our life in a bad way, and the effect can be far-reaching, and can ultimately bring about death: eternal damnation and separation from God and His goodness. The only hope for us all is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross for our sins. He is the way, and the truth, and the life. When we repent of our sins and believe His sacrifice for us; He loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Blood, His Blood will completely cleanse us of all our sins, and we will be made righteous in Him. Eph 2:8-10, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. It is the Father’s great love for us, and His gift of His Son that will save us and give us eternal life in Him, if we will repent and believe Him, if we will continue in His Word, with the Holy Spirit revealing it to us, and teaching us, and leading us in doing it. Then we will be His true disciples, and we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free from all the lies that have been sent by the Devil to destroy us. It is all about our hearts: If we have a heart to love God; to love His truth; to be thankful and serve Him and do His will, then we will continue with Him. If we have a heart that loves the world, that loves pleasure, money, or anything else more than God, then we will continue in the lies, and ultimately end up, if we won’t repent, in eternal damnation. Through all of this, in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, until the day of Christ’s returning, God has been making a holy people: a people that truly love Him from their heart, and through His Son He has given them eternal life to live with Him in His glory. So, be straight with God! Humble yourself before Him, and ask Him to deal with your life, and correct you and change your heart as He sees fit. You can trust Him. He will not destroy you. He loves you so much that He literally gave His beloved Son on the Cross at Calvary, who never sinned; never did anything wrong, to suffer for your sins; to save you from them, and to give you His righteousness, so that, if you will continue with Him, you will become like Him: conformed to His likeness; a new creation in Him, and you will enter into His glory! It’s up to you. What will you choose: life or death? Count the cost now; consider your end now! If God is dealing with you now, He is having mercy on you, to bring you to repentance, so that He can bless you. He did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. This is the condemnation: that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. They won’t come to the light, because then their deeds will be exposed and dealt with. So we condemn ourselves when we refuse to come truly to Jesus and surrender our lives to Him; when we want to keep doing the evil things that we love, and we believe the lie: You will not surely die.