Genesis 3: How the Devil Deceives

The devil is slick and cunning. He is very good at deception; even better than you or I can imagine. Look to his first deception in the garden of Eden. Genesis 3:1-3 "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’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 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.''" The serpent twists God's word. Not too much, just enough to provide some doubt in the woman's mind. Just enough that he can get a conversation going. For God had given permission to eat from every tree in the garden, with an exclusion only for the consumption of fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:16-17, "And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.'”

In engaging the serpent Eve left herself open to manipulation. Had she ignored the serpent, knowing that what he had stated was false, she could have avoided sin. However, she chose to engage the enemy, and in doing so she let herself fall into temptation. Not only did the temptation overcome her, but in trying to argue with the devil she added to God's command. God never told Adam and Eve that they could not touch the tree, only that they could not eat of it. Here, I think there is a question as to where the law was changed. It may have been told to Eve by Adam that the tree should not even be touched, or she may have added this herself. Regardless, God has warned against changing His word in any form because it leads to changes in its meaning (adding- Proverbs 30:6 or subtracting- Revelation 22:19 [yes, this is specific to Revelations]). With this thought I think it very prudent to study the Word of God for oneself and to practice memorizing scripture as well. It is much easier to realize you are being manipulated when you have the Word well memorized.

This is not the only time the Devil exploits God's Word to try to tempt. In fact He uses this tactic on Jesus himself (I guess he didn't realize that Jesus is The Word- John 1:14). In Matthew 4:6 the devil argues, “'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down. For it is written: '‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’'" However, Jesus is capable of arguing the devil using scripture. I mean, come on He's the Creator Himself. Matthew 4:7, "Jesus answered him, 'It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.''” 

So theoretically, one could engage in a debate with the devil without succumbing to sin, but a thorough understanding of the scriptures would be imperative. Not only would it be important to understand the text's historical context, but it is equally important to understand how they fit into the entire biblical context. I think this is hard to do, especially early in our earthly life. It takes hours of diligent study and discipleship to gain understanding that can withstand the attacks of the devil who has had thousands of years to prepare his arguments.

Therefore, be careful when engaging someone in a scriptural debate. It is not wrong to debate scripture to gain a more thorough understanding of those scriptures. However, see that God's words are not twisted as to allow His message to be misconstrued. The devil is cunning and will trip you up where he can. If you hear something that challenges a belief, study it out. It's worth being open to discussion, but don't be quick to accept that just because a scriptural reference is used that the interpretation of it cannot be wrong.