THE SWEETEST SIN

ESV

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"

Gen 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

Gen 3:3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

Gen 3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

Gen 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Gen 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

FOR YOU HARDCORE KING JAMESERS OUT THERE.....

KJV

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?"

Gen 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,

Gen 3:3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

Gen 3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

Gen 3:5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Gen 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

And thus was the first ever recorded sin. It so happens that this scenario provides a model for how sin appears to us. This model can be applied to many other appearances of sin. Let's analyze

QUESTIONING

In order to decieve someone, you should at least know what they think about somehting. That way you will know how to question them and which angle to tackle them from to get the most effective deceit. Think of someone you are trying to decieve, you can easily decieve someone that you know closely because you know how to work around them.

So satan asks a question...... 'Did God actually say that?"

He needs to know what is the woman's stance to formulate a plan of appraoch.

IMPLANT DOUBT

So now that he knows her stance is based on what God said..... he inserts doubt. "You will not surely die but you will be like God"

So now Eve has two stances in her mind, the commandment of God and the question of WHAT IF?

Notice the serpent never physically does anything to her, he MENTALY does it... He attacks the mind and then let's you make the decision.

THE ACTION OF SINNING - Gen 3:6

IT IS GOOD FOR YOU - "was good for food"

The resounding quality of a good sin (pun intended) is that it is in your best interest if you do it.

Things like "it's in your best interest if you do" or "It will work out better this way" or "This will make it easier" always come to mind.

So it appeals to the natural senses of wellbeing. The inate need for a human being to have it as easy as possible.

EG: A man who steals thinks that the money is good for him to buy what he wants.

IT IS PLEASURABLE - "and that it was a delight to the eyes"

Not only is it good for you, but it is pleasurable too. Buckleys is good for you, but it is not pleasurable. Bush tea is good, but it is not pleasurable. Steamed brocolli is good for you, but it is not........ pleasurable. Sin is not good for you..... but it's PLEASURABLE

Sin is pleasurable, it gives a since of fulfullment and niceness that makes you feel special.

The thing about this special is that YOU MAKE YOU feel special.

EG: When my wife and I were courting ......... she was a delight to the EYES!....... i'm sure it would have been pleasurable.... definitely was not good for me.

IT GIVES YOU POWER - " and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise"

If knowledge is power, then Wisdom is supreme power becuase wisdom is the application of knowledge effectively.

EG: Corrupt politicians. They commit sins to get into power, because..... well you get power to control.... what more does a sinful human being want?

YOU COMMIT THE SIN - " she took of its fruit and ate"

What's left to do besides perform the action. Sin is not just the action, there is a mental build up that we see and the action is just the manifestation but in reality 100% of the sin has already taken place in the mind! The physical manifestation is just the seal!

EG: Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

YOU SHARE - "and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. "

We often look for someone to share this sin with because, we won't take the fall for ourselves. At worst we try to justify our sin so that it becomes acceptable.....This sharing process, uses the same attack on the mind.

That's what Satan did.... he passed it on... and guess what Eve passed it on, Adam passed it on.... Cain passed it on..... Children of israel passed it on.... David Passed it on.... BUT..... Jesus DID NOT...... he took it on his shoulders!

What we have to realise is that Sin happens in the mind. There is a build up to sin that preceeds the action. The sin happens in our mind and we are held accountable for it. There is no simpler indicaiton of this than the command from God to "renew our minds"

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Being of this world means that you belong to sin. because all that is in the world is?......

1Jn 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Practically we are not to sin as Christians. It's not that easy though.... because sin is deceitful as we see with Eve... what we have to do, is 2 things. Fight the battle externally and fight the battle internally.

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR

Eph 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

By putting on the whole armor we make it harder for stan to find a loophole to get to our minds. When we are fully armored he has to think twice about how to implant doubt because we are fit and ready for battle.

CONSTANTLY FEED THE SPIRIT SO THAT THE FLESH WILL NOT BE GRATIFIED

(ESV)

Rom 7:17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Rom 7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

Rom 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

Rom 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Rom 7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,

Rom 7:23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

Rom 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Verse 25 says I myself serve the law of God with my MIND!

(this could go a whole lot deeper)

Constantly feeding your spirit, automatically starves the flesh.

When you surround yourself with things of God your spirit feeds on it and grows...... hence the flesh is starved and can no longer battle with the spirit of God inside of you...

The things you watch, listen to, read, promote, speak, friends you associate with, people you listen to....
all these things contribute to the growth of your spirit..... and ultimately determines the outcome of the battle in your mind...

remember, a Christian is not sinless........... but he/she does sinLESS.