Have you ever heard anyone say, as an explanation for some sinful action, “I have become so confused I don’t know what is right anymore”? As a rule, the person who says such a thing has had clear convictions but has acted, or is about to act, contrary to them.<\/p>\n
This must be what the Holy Spirit was saying about Eve in I Timothy 2:14. “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression<\/em>.”<\/p>\n To say that she was deceived is not to say that she was ignorant. She quoted mostly accurately what God had said: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’<\/em>” (Genesis 3:2\u20113). She was deceived when she thought there could be any valid reason for disobeying God.<\/p>\n We cannot know how long Adam and Eve avoided the forbidden tree. With so many other trees from which to eat, there was no need to eat of it. There is no evidence of confusion regarding the right and wrong of eating or the wisdom of abstaining. They were happy ignoring it.<\/p>\n But along came Satan to draw Eve’s attention to the tree she had been avoiding. He drew her attention to the beauty of the fruit and somehow convinced her, perhaps by eating of it himself, that it was good for food. If he did eat of it, the fact that he did not die surely gave support to his contention that she would not die. One can see the confusion mounting. The arguments she had considered conclusive against eating were rapidly being matched by arguments for doing so. Which arguments were valid? Both seemed to be.<\/p>\n Had Adam been nearby, or had God spoken again, she might have been reminded once more of the strong reasons for rejecting the fruit. But as it was, the voice of God grew weaker in her memory as the desirability of the fruit was magnified by Satan’s glib lies. All that was needed to tip the balance was the final suggestion of an apparent virtue in eating- the thought that she would become like God. Never mind the legalistic prohibition; surely one could not be blamed for wanting to be like God.<\/p>\n “She took of the fruit and ate<\/em>” (Genesis 3:6). Tragic words! Tragic consequences! Consequences reaching down through countless generations, even to us!<\/p>\n The great mistake of Eve was in allowing herself even to begin thinking about disobedience. This was the mistake of Achan when he first saw the Babylonian garment (Joshua 7:21), of David when he first saw his beautiful neighbor bathing (II Samuel 11:2), and of Judas when he first thought of betraying Jesus. It is the same mistake each of us makes-men and women alike-whenever we sin.<\/p>\n The Bible says as much: “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full\u2011grown, brings forth death<\/em>” (James 1:14\u201115). There is ample defense available. If we are wise enough to meditate on God’s laws in such circumstances (Psalms 119:11) and to ask Him for deliverance (Matthew 6:13), He will, with the temptation, “also make the way of escape<\/em>” (I Corinthians 10:13).<\/p>\n But all too often, in the name of open\u2011mindedness and objectivity, we feel we are obligated to look at the other side, to consider the “arguments in favor of” sin. We may even be so foolish as to parrot the existential line: “I must get away to myself and sort things out.” If this means getting away for Bible study, meditation, and prayer, fine! But this is seldom what it means. As a rule, what it means is: “I want to be left alone to rationalize my way through the sin that entices me without having to reason with those who would logically or scripturally expose my folly.”<\/p>\n Such conflict between conscience and passion, between logic and emotion, between authority and anarchy, between flesh and spirit will indeed produce confusion-confusion bordering on insanity. But it is a confusion for which we are responsible. It is the peculiar malady of “those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved<\/em>” and who “did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness<\/em>” (II Thessalonians 2:10,12). It is never surprising when such a person, “being deceived,” falls into transgression.<\/p>\n In Jesus’ day, “there was a division among the people because of Him<\/em>” (John 7:43). They were confused by the contradictions between His claims and the accusations of their rulers. Jesus stated clearly who would not be confused: “If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak of My own authority<\/em>” (John 7:17).<\/p>\n Wanting to do God’s will will save us from the confusion, deception, and transgression into which our mother fell.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Sewell Hall via Seeking Things Above Have you ever heard anyone say, as an explanation for some sinful action, “I have become so confused I don’t know what is right anymore”? As a rule, the person who says such a thing has had clear convictions but has acted, or is about to act, contrary…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[179],"class_list":["post-92408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42870,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-think-adam-and-eve-sinned-simultaneously\/","url_meta":{"origin":92408,"position":0},"title":"I think Adam and Eve sinned simultaneously","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Minister: Adam and Eve Sinned Simultaneously. In\u00a0\"How Long Is A Day?\" you said, \"If Eve was not the first to sin, then what do we do with Paul's proof in I Timothy 2:14?\" First, consider the source (Saul|Paul, aka 18 verses in Acts 22:24-29; 22:30; 23:1-5; 23:6-11). Paul's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49897,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-god-tell-eve-not-to-touch-the-fruit-of-the-tree-of-the-knowledge-of-good-and-evil\/","url_meta":{"origin":92408,"position":1},"title":"Did God tell Eve not to touch the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have always loved your website, but I read an article that says that God never told Eve she was not to touch the tree of knowledge, but according to Genesis 3 that's not so. Answer: What God said: \"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, \"Of every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21641,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-eve-commit-adultery-with-the-serpent\/","url_meta":{"origin":92408,"position":2},"title":"Did Eve commit adultery with the serpent?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true that Eve committed adultery with the serpent? Where was Adam when this sin was committed? If the serpent was a beast why was Cain a proper human being? What is the biblical position on this issue? Answer: Questions like these wouldn't even come up if people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13391,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-devil-the-apple-that-adam-and-eve-ate\/","url_meta":{"origin":92408,"position":3},"title":"Is the Devil the apple that Adam and Eve ate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: So is the Devil the apple that Adam and Eve ate? Answer: First, the Bible doesn't say Adam and Eve ate an apple. That is an old myth from the days when people assumed that red fruits were poisonous. The tree was a unique tree called the tree of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":59310,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/responsibility\/","url_meta":{"origin":92408,"position":4},"title":"Responsibility","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Greg Litmer via That Ye May Grow Thereby. We live in a day and time when no one seems to want to take responsibility for their own actions and very few want to hold individuals accountable for what they have done. If a person commits a crime, it is society's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31916,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-was-the-first-lie-told-in-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":92408,"position":5},"title":"What was the first lie told in the Bible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What was the first lie told in the Bible? Was it the serpent talking to Eve? Answer: Yes, it was.\u00a0 God had said, \"Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92408\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}