Nothing New Under the Sun (added 3/13/2021)
When most people think of the first original sin, they think it was when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit. But that is not accurate. Adam and Eve sinned even before they ate the fruit. Adam’s original sin was pride – satan told Eve when they ate the fruit “your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5b). Eve liked that idea and wanted to be “as gods” (Please know Adam was right there beside her when she was speaking to satan who was using the serpent to beguile her.) Adam and Eve became prideful and wanted to know good and evil like God so they ate the fruit God had forbidden them to eat. And if you go way back, it was satan (lucifer) who actually committed the first sin against God. The Bible tells us satan was perfect and the most beautiful and magnificent of all of God’s creations (Ezekiel 28:11-19). He held a special place of honor and prestige among the heavenly host. Then satan started to read his own press releases and became prideful. It was satan’s pride which caused him to declare in his heart his 5 “I Wills”. He decided he was mightier than God. Isaiah 14:13-14 tells us satan declared:
So God squashed satan’s rebellion and He threw him out of heaven and down to earth where satan became the “Lord of the Flies” and the “Father of Lies” (Two perfectly fitting names among many others for this repugnant, pure-evil creature.). And ever since God created man, satan has set out to destroy him (mankind). He will do everything in his limited power to usurp God. Because of his pride, and his corrupted mind, he still thinks he is going to ultimately win against God. (But we’ve read the back of the book – we know he gets his just deserts in the end.). My Aunt Lainey Mercer said “Satan has always imitated God but GOD is DEITY - The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost is ONE GOD; but Satan can NEVER be deity because he was and is only a created being.”
Now that you know the backstory, let’s move forward. satan knows all he has to do is get people (us) to think about anything else but God and he wins the battle. So what tools does satan use to bring about mankind’s downfall? What tricks does he have in his arsenal? We have to remember satan knows human nature – I mean he actually had a major role in the shaping of fallen man’s sinful nature, remember?! He knows what makes us tick. satan and his forces (demons) have a lot of weapons at their disposal: lies, slander, half-truths, lust, greed, envy, hatred, murder, deceit, corruption, etc. However, if you really give it some thought, all of mankind’s sins can be directly pointed right back to pride. So satan uses our pride to destroy us and if we are Christians he uses our pride to destroy our testimony. (As this bible study started coming together I thought to myself “This is pretty good.” – There’s that pride, huh?! Hmm, time for Proverbs 11:2 right here - “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”)
satan knows he can rely on his tried and true methods to take us down. Pride was what brought him down – so he knows pride works wonders on mankind too. (The Reverend Billy Graham said, “‘The sin of pride particularly has caused the downfall of Lucifer in heaven; most certainly it can bring mortal man down too.’ He sums it up by saying ‘He (Satan) forever tries to discredit the truthfulness of the Word of God; he coaxes men to deny the authority of God, and persuades the world to wallow in the deluding comfort of sin.’”) So he builds us up and tells us we do not have to listen to, or obey, Creator God. He tells us we do not have to be concerned with right or wrong, good or evil. We can live our lives how we want to. It is entirely up to us. We do not have to bow down to anyone. We are our own god! Pride exalts man, and his desires, above God. Pride tries to usurp God’s authority and sovereignty over man and His (God’s) creation. Pride says to God:
A perfect example of how much satan (through pride) can manipulate and mislead us is the LGBTQ community - they have chosen “Pride” as their battle cry and the rainbow (God’s creation and a symbol of a promise He made to mankind) as their flag and standard.
But God hates and despises pride because He knows just how much it completely destroys the heart and mind of man. Proverbs 16:5 tells us “The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”
In the book of Job (chapters 38-41) God finally had enough of the conversations Job and his friends were having. “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ‘Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me” (38:1-3). And Creator God asks Job where he was when He (God) created and formed the sky, the earth and planets, and all that are in them. (If you have never read these chapters, please read them. They are a masterpiece in God describing His majesty and Holiness.)
So, how do we combat satan and pride and keep him from manipulating and using us in his evil agenda? Well, we cannot do it in our strength. Satan knows our hot-buttons too well. He is the master manipulator and knows the “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked …” (Jeremiah 17:9a).
No, we must rely on God and His Holy Spirit. We must put our faith and trust in Jesus. We need to understand and acknowledge how satan works and ask our God to give us strength, wisdom, and discernment. James 1:13-15 tells us “‘When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire (pride) and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.’”
We do what James tells us in 4:7-8 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
As followers of Jesus we are washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb. We are saved and set aside for His service though His cleansing blood and our submission to Him as Lord. When we realize we’ve committed a sin - no matter how “minor” or “small” it may be - we immediately ask forgiveness for that sin and repent – we turn away from it. We put on the full Armor of God daily (Ephesians 6) and pray without ceasing, giving thanks (worshipping God) in all things. We ground ourselves in the Word of God (Jesus and the bible) and we practice the presence of God by continually residing/abiding/staying in his presence and subject to His counsel; through the Holy Spirit.
Above all we realize God is our Rock, our Shield, our Buckler. That without Jesus as our Savior we are lost and doomed to hell. We know we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and we know greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world. (Philippians 4:13, 1 John 4:4). We rely on Him to give us His Truth, His compassion, His humbleness, His wisdom, His discernment, His mercy, and His love. We submit (obey) God in all things. We are His chosen people. A royal priesthood! We are saints of God – so we must take up the battle and go forth victorious, unapologetic, and unswerving in the face of the enemy – we will Overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony! (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 12:11) Amen and Amen!
Here are just a few passages from God’s Word to get into our minds and spirits:
You may have noticed I do not capitalize the name of satan/lucifer. It may seem petty to some, but I refuse to honor him in any way, so I choose to not capitalize his name when I write it. Maybe silly, but that’s me. J
When most people think of the first original sin, they think it was when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit. But that is not accurate. Adam and Eve sinned even before they ate the fruit. Adam’s original sin was pride – satan told Eve when they ate the fruit “your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5b). Eve liked that idea and wanted to be “as gods” (Please know Adam was right there beside her when she was speaking to satan who was using the serpent to beguile her.) Adam and Eve became prideful and wanted to know good and evil like God so they ate the fruit God had forbidden them to eat. And if you go way back, it was satan (lucifer) who actually committed the first sin against God. The Bible tells us satan was perfect and the most beautiful and magnificent of all of God’s creations (Ezekiel 28:11-19). He held a special place of honor and prestige among the heavenly host. Then satan started to read his own press releases and became prideful. It was satan’s pride which caused him to declare in his heart his 5 “I Wills”. He decided he was mightier than God. Isaiah 14:13-14 tells us satan declared:
- I will ascend into heaven.
- I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.
- I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.
- I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.
- I will be like the most High.
So God squashed satan’s rebellion and He threw him out of heaven and down to earth where satan became the “Lord of the Flies” and the “Father of Lies” (Two perfectly fitting names among many others for this repugnant, pure-evil creature.). And ever since God created man, satan has set out to destroy him (mankind). He will do everything in his limited power to usurp God. Because of his pride, and his corrupted mind, he still thinks he is going to ultimately win against God. (But we’ve read the back of the book – we know he gets his just deserts in the end.). My Aunt Lainey Mercer said “Satan has always imitated God but GOD is DEITY - The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost is ONE GOD; but Satan can NEVER be deity because he was and is only a created being.”
Now that you know the backstory, let’s move forward. satan knows all he has to do is get people (us) to think about anything else but God and he wins the battle. So what tools does satan use to bring about mankind’s downfall? What tricks does he have in his arsenal? We have to remember satan knows human nature – I mean he actually had a major role in the shaping of fallen man’s sinful nature, remember?! He knows what makes us tick. satan and his forces (demons) have a lot of weapons at their disposal: lies, slander, half-truths, lust, greed, envy, hatred, murder, deceit, corruption, etc. However, if you really give it some thought, all of mankind’s sins can be directly pointed right back to pride. So satan uses our pride to destroy us and if we are Christians he uses our pride to destroy our testimony. (As this bible study started coming together I thought to myself “This is pretty good.” – There’s that pride, huh?! Hmm, time for Proverbs 11:2 right here - “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”)
satan knows he can rely on his tried and true methods to take us down. Pride was what brought him down – so he knows pride works wonders on mankind too. (The Reverend Billy Graham said, “‘The sin of pride particularly has caused the downfall of Lucifer in heaven; most certainly it can bring mortal man down too.’ He sums it up by saying ‘He (Satan) forever tries to discredit the truthfulness of the Word of God; he coaxes men to deny the authority of God, and persuades the world to wallow in the deluding comfort of sin.’”) So he builds us up and tells us we do not have to listen to, or obey, Creator God. He tells us we do not have to be concerned with right or wrong, good or evil. We can live our lives how we want to. It is entirely up to us. We do not have to bow down to anyone. We are our own god! Pride exalts man, and his desires, above God. Pride tries to usurp God’s authority and sovereignty over man and His (God’s) creation. Pride says to God:
- I do not need you.
- My ways are above your ways.
- I know better than you.
- I am higher than you.
- I am greater than you.
- I am smarter than you.
- I am wiser than you.
- I am my own god!
- I am (One of the names God has given Himself - “I Am”.)
A perfect example of how much satan (through pride) can manipulate and mislead us is the LGBTQ community - they have chosen “Pride” as their battle cry and the rainbow (God’s creation and a symbol of a promise He made to mankind) as their flag and standard.
But God hates and despises pride because He knows just how much it completely destroys the heart and mind of man. Proverbs 16:5 tells us “The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”
In the book of Job (chapters 38-41) God finally had enough of the conversations Job and his friends were having. “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, ‘Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me” (38:1-3). And Creator God asks Job where he was when He (God) created and formed the sky, the earth and planets, and all that are in them. (If you have never read these chapters, please read them. They are a masterpiece in God describing His majesty and Holiness.)
So, how do we combat satan and pride and keep him from manipulating and using us in his evil agenda? Well, we cannot do it in our strength. Satan knows our hot-buttons too well. He is the master manipulator and knows the “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked …” (Jeremiah 17:9a).
No, we must rely on God and His Holy Spirit. We must put our faith and trust in Jesus. We need to understand and acknowledge how satan works and ask our God to give us strength, wisdom, and discernment. James 1:13-15 tells us “‘When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire (pride) and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.’”
We do what James tells us in 4:7-8 “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
As followers of Jesus we are washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb. We are saved and set aside for His service though His cleansing blood and our submission to Him as Lord. When we realize we’ve committed a sin - no matter how “minor” or “small” it may be - we immediately ask forgiveness for that sin and repent – we turn away from it. We put on the full Armor of God daily (Ephesians 6) and pray without ceasing, giving thanks (worshipping God) in all things. We ground ourselves in the Word of God (Jesus and the bible) and we practice the presence of God by continually residing/abiding/staying in his presence and subject to His counsel; through the Holy Spirit.
Above all we realize God is our Rock, our Shield, our Buckler. That without Jesus as our Savior we are lost and doomed to hell. We know we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us and we know greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world. (Philippians 4:13, 1 John 4:4). We rely on Him to give us His Truth, His compassion, His humbleness, His wisdom, His discernment, His mercy, and His love. We submit (obey) God in all things. We are His chosen people. A royal priesthood! We are saints of God – so we must take up the battle and go forth victorious, unapologetic, and unswerving in the face of the enemy – we will Overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony! (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 12:11) Amen and Amen!
Here are just a few passages from God’s Word to get into our minds and spirits:
- John 14:23-24 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
- 1 Peter 5:5-8 “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
- Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
- Romans 12:6 “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
You may have noticed I do not capitalize the name of satan/lucifer. It may seem petty to some, but I refuse to honor him in any way, so I choose to not capitalize his name when I write it. Maybe silly, but that’s me. J
