It’s Tempting, Isn’t It?

How did we get here?

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Genesis 3:1-7

1. We have a very real SPIRITUAL ENEMY.

Serpent: “Serpent symbolism was rich in the ancient Near East…Some snakes were to be worshiped, others were to be considered incarnations of evil.” They were associated with both wisdom and death

- Old Testament Scholar, John Walton

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”

- C.S. Lewis

The Enemy’s Tactics:

• Cast doubt on God’s WORD. (Did God really say…?)
• Question God’s GOODNESS. (For God knows that when you eat…)
• Redefine what’s GOOD. (You will be like God…)

2. We believe the lie that we could be BETTER without GOD.

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.

1 John 2:16

The 3 Core Temptations  

• PLEASURE: Good for food | Lust of the flesh

• POSSESSIONS: Pleasing to the eye | Lust of the eyes

• POWER: Desirable for gaining wisdom” | Pride of life


3. We underestimate the CONSEQUENCE of SIN.

Sin doesn’t make us BAD—it makes us DEAD.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Death = SEPARATION

• SPIRITUAL Death → Separation from God
• RELATIONAL Death → Separation from others
• EMOTIONAL Death →  Separation from your true self
• PHYSICAL Death → Separation from the body

4. We can’t FIX it; only JESUS can.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8