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 surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Genesis 3:1-5
This is of course the moment when everything would no longer be the same. Man sinned, and because of that all men are separated from God. What Eve did here, and what Adam did, has an enormous impact on the world. So what did Eve do? She misquoted the Law. If you were to translate it into modern speak, you could say she believed a false doctrine. Look back to 2:16-17, where God gives Adam the Law; he said, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Notice that God did not say anything about Adam not being able to touch it. So when Eve said, "and you must not touch it," she was adding to scripture, you could say. Atleast that's how we would say it now; back then I suppose you would just call it adding to the Law. But do you see the significance here? This opened the door wide open for Satan to deceive her. If she believed that she would die when she touched the fruit or the tree itself, then when she did touch it and not die, she would be inclined to believe Satan when he called God a liar. You see, adding to scripture or the law pollutes the word of God, and makes us vulnerable to Satan's lies.
Its important for us today, when considering our doctrinal beliefs, to make sure we do not believe things that are not plainly revealed in the scriptures. That's why there's the saying 'what's plain is main and what's main is plain'. Its also why creeds and confessions are suppose to address just the fundamental beliefs of a group of adherents. Going into too much detail almost always leads to false doctrines. False doctrines then have the potential, sometimes a very severe potential, to lead people astray and lose faith in Christ. However, it is also important for us not to subtract from scripture. If you know the Bible, then the gospel message is obvious and easy to understand. It will all make sense and you will see the truth, knowing everything you need to know. God reveals everything that we need to know. Therefore, we should know everything that he reveals, atleast everything that he plainly reveals. The gospel message is simply this: Put your faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who paid for your sins, and you will have life, even life eternal. There is no need to add things to it. There is more in the Bible about the truth of course, but everything that's revealed centers around this gospel. It is faith in Christ that saves, nothing else. So the point is basically this: Have an accurate knowledge of the scriptures; do not add anything to them, and do not subtract anything from them.
Genesis 3:1-5
This is of course the moment when everything would no longer be the same. Man sinned, and because of that all men are separated from God. What Eve did here, and what Adam did, has an enormous impact on the world. So what did Eve do? She misquoted the Law. If you were to translate it into modern speak, you could say she believed a false doctrine. Look back to 2:16-17, where God gives Adam the Law; he said, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Notice that God did not say anything about Adam not being able to touch it. So when Eve said, "and you must not touch it," she was adding to scripture, you could say. Atleast that's how we would say it now; back then I suppose you would just call it adding to the Law. But do you see the significance here? This opened the door wide open for Satan to deceive her. If she believed that she would die when she touched the fruit or the tree itself, then when she did touch it and not die, she would be inclined to believe Satan when he called God a liar. You see, adding to scripture or the law pollutes the word of God, and makes us vulnerable to Satan's lies.Its important for us today, when considering our doctrinal beliefs, to make sure we do not believe things that are not plainly revealed in the scriptures. That's why there's the saying 'what's plain is main and what's main is plain'. Its also why creeds and confessions are suppose to address just the fundamental beliefs of a group of adherents. Going into too much detail almost always leads to false doctrines. False doctrines then have the potential, sometimes a very severe potential, to lead people astray and lose faith in Christ. However, it is also important for us not to subtract from scripture. If you know the Bible, then the gospel message is obvious and easy to understand. It will all make sense and you will see the truth, knowing everything you need to know. God reveals everything that we need to know. Therefore, we should know everything that he reveals, atleast everything that he plainly reveals. The gospel message is simply this: Put your faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who paid for your sins, and you will have life, even life eternal. There is no need to add things to it. There is more in the Bible about the truth of course, but everything that's revealed centers around this gospel. It is faith in Christ that saves, nothing else. So the point is basically this: Have an accurate knowledge of the scriptures; do not add anything to them, and do not subtract anything from them.
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