What was History’s First Lie?

In Genesis, we can find the roots of deception used by Satan when our world was first created. Who’s Satan? Satan is the angelic enemy of God and the enemy and opponent of those who follow God. Although everything God created was good (Genesis 1:31), Satan chose to rebel against God taking other angels with him in his rebellion (Ezekiel 28:15; Isaiah 14:12–17). Satan is a murderer and the father of lies. He promotes false doctrines and craftily seeks to keep unbelievers in spiritual bondage (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 11:14; 1 Timothy 4:1). Let’s look at how Satan handled the first lie!

(Genesis 3:1)¹NIV New International Version Translations– “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God 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.’”

The above verses in Genesis are the famous “fall of humankind” verses resulting in humans separation from God. We need to use this first deception to understand the strategy used by evil in our world. The analogy of the infamous Trojan Horse²Trojan Horse – Wikipedia is perfect for explaining Satan. Hidden within the wooden horse were enemy soldiers. The horse seemed safe and was brought inside the walls of the city of Troy. Once the darkness of night came, the enemy inside the horse slipped out, opened the gates, and let the Greek army into Troy to destroy the city. Satan’s first lie was a trojan horse! He opens to Eve with a challenge, Did God say you must not eat from any tree? That is the setup, the use of a derogatory challenge to make Eve question her beliefs. To peel back the onion, what Satan is asking Eve is if she believes God’s Words to her were true. Beware, that type of questioning is nothing more than a hollow  wooden horse with evil hiding inside. Satan is always actively working to nullify the effects of the Word of God in our world.

Satan tricked Eve into opening the gates to her beliefs and letting doubt in. Satan is still doing it to people’s hearts today. Eve accepted the challenge and brought the Trojan Horse into her heart. She assumed that God did not mean what He said and did not accept God’s own Words as Truth. The rest is history.

(Matthew 13:3–4, 19) – “Then he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. . . . . . When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.’“

Satan is not some omnipresent power. He oversees a horde of demons, called “the powers of this dark world and . . . the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). He uses this network to tempt and deceive people. Satan actively works to nullify the effect of the Word of God in people’s hearts (Matthew 13:3–4, 19), and he blinds the intellect of those who do not believe so they cannot understand the gospel’s message of salvation (2 Corinthians 4:4). Once the people of Troy brought the wooden horse into their city, they were no longer secure. While they slept, their lives and the kingdom were being set up for destruction.

Metaphorically, a “Trojan horse” has come to mean any trick or strategy that causes a target to invite a foe into a securely protected bastion or place. A malicious computer program that tricks users into willingly running it is also called a “Trojan horse.” This metaphor holds for our acceptance of God’s Word and of Scripture as the Truth. Once you open your heart to doubt, you are no longer safe. You have let the enemy into your beliefs.

It is important to know that Satan is not the opposite of God because only God is all-powerful, and Satan is lower than God. He is a created and limited spiritual being. Satan needs God’s permission to do anything and everything. Satan cannot read our thoughts (Isaiah 40:28; 1 Kings 8:39; Psalm 94:11). Satan does not know the future (Isaiah 46:9-10). And above all, Satan is a coward (James 4:7). Yet humans are still prone to doubting God. Why? Because we fail to see God at work in all our circumstances. We asked, and nothing happened. But God is not some snake oil salesperson or cosmic ATM ready fund to our requests. God sees past, present, and future and knows the right timing for every petition. 

Psalm 119 is the longest of the psalms and certainly the longest chapter in the Bible. In this Psalm, there are at least three essential characteristics we should believe about God’s Word.

God’s Word is the Truth

(Psalm 119:42) – “then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in your word.”
(Psalm 119:142) – “Your righteousness is everlasting, and your law is true.

God’s word is firmly fixed in the heavens (Psalm 119:89); it doesn’t change. There is no limit to its perfection (Psalm 119:96); it contains nothing corrupt. All God’s righteous rules endure forever (Psalm 119:160); they never get old and never wear out.

God’s Word demands what is right

(Psalm 119:75) – “I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.”
(Psalm 119:82) – “All your commands are trustworthy; help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.”
(Psalm 119:128) – “and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.”

We are to humbly accept God’s Word as the Truth. It is not ours to pick and choose how to define our Creator’s rules.

God’s Word provides what is good

According to Psalm 119, the word of God is the way of happiness (Psalm 119:1–2), the way to avoid shame (Psalm 119:6), the way of safety (Psalm 119:9), and the way of good counsel (Psalm 119:24). The word gives us strength (Psalm 119:28) and hope (Psalm 119:43). It provides wisdom (Psalm 119:98–100, 130) and shows us the way we should go (Psalm 119:105).

Keeping the Trojan Horse outside Your Gates

A recent Gallup Poll³https://news.gallup.com/poll/394262/fewer-bible-literal-word-god.aspx shows that a record-low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal word of God, down from 24% the last time the question was asked in 2017. There is a new high of 29% who say the Bible is a collection of “fables, legends, history and moral precepts recorded by man.” Interesting isn’t it, there is record crime, drugs, human trafficking, hatred, and poverty growing inversely to our nation’s lack of belief that God’s Word is True. All God has ever asked is to place our trust in Him first.  It is tough once the enemy climbs out of the Trojan horse and he is in your heart, isn’t it?

Contemplations

• Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God?
  • Ideas to Explore: As a foundational question, does being a disciple of Jesus require this belief? Why is it important to believe that God gave us His Word? Can you exist as a believer of Jesus and His gospel if you don’t believe in the Bible?
• Do you believe in Satan?
  • Ideas to Explore: Where do your opinions come from? Is evil a real thing in the world? Why does evil exist?
• Can we make up our own rules for God?
  • Ideas to Explore: With humankind existing as a flawed creation, can humanity ever make a rule that supersedes God’s rules that make sense?
• If you have doubts about God’s Word, where does that doubt come from?
  • Ideas to Explore: What are the sources of doubt in our world today?
• Is the Church today making up rules contrary to those given to us by God? What do you think the ramifications of that will be?
  • Ideas to Explore: Can you think of a rule that humankind has created that supersedes God? Why would such a rule even be necessary?