The Original Lie and Sin

The first lie in the Bible and in human history is noted in Genesis 3. In Genesis 3:1, the devil, in the guise of a snake, asks Eve whether or not God has actually said whether or not they can eat from the garden. Eve's response, in verses 2 and 3, is to say that God told them to neither eat nor touch it (in reality, God said nothing about touching the fruit), or else she and Adam would die. In verse 4, the devil tells her that they will not die. He expands, in verse 5, saying essentially that God is deliberately holding out on them, that the fruit will make them like God, giving them knowledge about good and evil. In verse 6, sadly, not only Eve but Adam fall for the lie, eating the fruit God had specifically told them not to eat.

Now, here there may be an objection; why didn't Adam and Eve drop dead instantly upon eating the fruit? This question is rooted in a purely physical understanding. No, Adam and Eve didn't physically die right away. But they died spiritually in that moment. Instead of knowledge and freedom, their sin only separated them from a Holy, Holy, Holy God. Their first reaction to eating the fruit (verse 7) was fear, not liberty of any kind. They were exposed at once to evil, and they attempted to hide their shame with ineffective leaves. Their reaction to hearing God coming through the garden in verse 8 was to try and hide; this didn't work against an all-knowing and all-seeing God.

And, as God would state in the punishment for human beings in verses 16-19, there were physical consequences. Adam and Eve would physically die; not right away, not instantly, but one day they would, and they would return to the dust from which they'd been made (verse 19, also Genesis 5:5). Women would have to undergo the pain of childbirth, and would struggle with their husbands for control (verse 16). Men would have to work for their food, and the ground was cursed (verse 17).

The original lie was that human beings could become God, or like God. This is a lie that continues to permeate our culture today. People are either made gods by technology or discover hidden wisdom that gives them the power of a god in film. Theology in Warhammer (Fantasy and 40k) is based on the idea that anyone or thing could become a god if enough emotion or worship were given that person or thing (such as Sigmar in Fantasy or the Emperor of Man in 40k, though the latter's admittedly just a popular fan theory that's become widely accepted). Apotheosis (the act of rising to godhood) is actually present in numerous stories on this site, often concerned with Celestia, Luna, and Discord becoming gods (though I do not personally believe they are, in universe or otherwise). Mormonism claims that its adherents can become gods if they believe and do enough good.

Sin claims to give us freedom, it claims to give us things we'll want or need, but then delivers nothing good or substantial, nothing at all like what it promised. C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe features the White Witch offering bewitched candies to Edmund as a reward for betraying his brother and sisters to her (although she doesn't phrase it like that). Edmund's real reward for betraying their location later in the story is to be given stale bread and water instead of the Turkish Delight that had been promised, and to be treated as a slave until his eventual rescue. That's how the devil operates (and something brought up in Lewis' The Screwtape Letters). In those cases where sinful people seem to succeed (say, amassing a massive bank account), it is at the cost of spiritual poverty, the lesson Ebenezer Scrooge learns in Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol. In the end, if they don't repent, they'll meet a terrible fate, as will anyone who does not repent of their sins (agree with God that what they're doing is wrong and resist sin in reliance upon Jesus Christ).

Sin may feel great at first. Usually, a sinful life demands little if any self-discipline, self-denial, sacrifice, or anything difficult. Like a drug, sin may feel like freedom. What it reveals itself to be in the end is slavery. How many of us have talked to someone who had been addicted to cigarettes or alcohol and been told something like, "Yeah, I wish I'd never started," or, "Yeah, I wish I could stop, but I just can't." They'll often admit, at the very least, that it was bad to get started. That's how sin, subtle and otherwise, works; it offers freedom, but what it really gives us is slavery.

Of course, people aim their complaints toward God rather than Satan for lying to them. They blame God for putting the Tree in the Garden of Eden, or for making the angel that became the devil, or for any physical, spiritual, emotional, or mental loss they suffer. The human heart is bent due to sin nature (ever since the first sin in the Garden) towards blaming the Creator instead of the devil for rebelling and for getting us into the mess we're in; quite often, we try to avoid putting any blame on ourselves for our role in committing a sin, trying to make any excuse to blame anyone or thing other than ourselves. There are theodicies and apologetics for the question of why the Tree and the devil exist that are available for those who search for them, but basically it boils down to free will; there can be no true love without freedom to hate or disobey, and there can be no good by human beings without the freedom to do evil, just as courage cannot exist without fear.

If you're feeling disheartened after all that, take heart. Jesus Christ, upon the cross, overcame the world and its sins. Knowing we could not save ourselves, God took what we should have paid upon Himself so we could be free of eternal consequences. No, we can't attain perfection, which is God's standard, in this life; Christians will still sin, including me. And no, we should never take the grace of God as freedom to sin. But we can rejoice in God's gift to us through His Son, and we can spread that Good News (Gk. Euangelion) to others, in the hopes that they may receive that Gospel, and be saved. While the devil has power over us and towers over any power of man, he himself is dwarfed by God. One day, sin will be destroyed, and the devil given his just desserts, as the Book of Revelation tells us. Until then, we ought to preach the Word of God to others, that they may know liberty in Christ the Lord, as well as eternal life from and in Him.

A good devotional book (in my opinion) by Dr. Charles S. Stanley is When the Enemy Strikes; The Keys to Winning Your Spiritual Battles. It details much of what the devil does and offers sound advice on resisting him, gives advice on how to rely upon God in times of temptation and trial, and more. Reading chapter 4 of this book actually inspired me to write this blog.

https://www.amazon.com/When-Enemy-Strikes-Winning-Spiritual/dp/0785287884