Has God Said? God is Really Mean

Now the serpent was more subtil [crafty, sly] than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:  for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.  Genesis 3:1,4,5

I’ve heard some Christian speakers claim that there is no such thing as an atheist [one who believes that God doesn’t exist].  They say that everyone knows God is real, they just don’t want to let Him be their Lord.

Since I don’t go to university or other places that atheists hang out, I’d never been able to put this idea to the test.  Until now.  Over on my facebook page it is impossible to turn off comments completely (I can block bad words like Creatard- you can figure out what that means for yourself).  I haven’t had to deal with the really nasty stuff like that personally yet, but I’ve had a couple of interesting exchanges with Creation doubters.

Turns out that in my experience their claim about atheists is true.   They know perfectly well that the God of the Bible is real and they HATE Him.  Since I know that Jesus promised we would be hated just as He was, this isn’t a surprise (John 15:18).  Guess what, even if you’re homeschooled right now, it will come someday.  That is what books like I Peter are written to help us with.

There is also the reminder of II Timothy 2:24-26 which I’ve loved since I had to memorize it at age 13:

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

These people aren’t extra wicked compared to me, they are slaves, captured in a trap with no hope of escape except through God Himself.  So, my job is to love them, be gentle, and teach with patience and meekness.  It is also my job to pray.  There is one guy that often visits my page who isn’t mean and even uses proper English, but is in this crowd.  He gets more prayer time on my list than anyone but my family.  I would sure love to see him and others find Jesus, His life and hope, but that isn’t my job, it’s God’s.  Whew, am I glad for that!

OK, now I want to give you some idea of what they will throw at you to shake your love for God.  We already know they use Evolution to shake our faith.  Turns out they throw bits of the Bible at you to try to get you to despise God with them.  That’s where the verses from Satan’s temptation of Eve come in.

First, Satan accused God of denying us the natural pleasures of life.

This is a lie.  The Living God gives us richly all things to enjoy (I Timothy 6:17b).  He had made a wonderful home for Adam and Eve and filled it with every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.  They could even eat from the tree of life (Genesis 2:9), but Satan didn’t want Eve to think about that, he wanted her to resent God’s restriction.

It worked on Eve.  It works on all of us if we don’t focus on the truth and become one of Jesus’ lambs so the Holy Spirit can whisper the truth and strengthen us inside.  How many people focus on all the fun that Christians aren’t allowed to have?  They overlook the abundance that we do have and the pain, sorrow and destruction that God is trying to spare us.  Just like Satan did with Eve.

Next, Satan assured Eve that God was lying to her.  Eve had never heard a lie, so she didn’t recognize one right in front of her nose.  Now, Satan didn’t actually say, “God is lying to you.”  He didn’t want to get Eve’s warning system working.  All he said was, “You won’t die.”  Period, statement of fact.  The way things were, it was God’s word (Genesis 2:17) against Satan’s and Eve had to decide whom she would trust.  We know her choice; we know who was telling the truth and who had lied.

ye shall be as gods

Lastly, Satan told Eve that God was holding something wonderful back from her.  He wanted Eve to believe that God was selfish and wanted to keep Eve from her full potential.   God had blessed Adam and Eve with authority and control of the whole world (Genesis 1:28), but Satan got Eve to think she was being mistreated.  If I hadn’t ever fallen for a line like that myself I would never believe someone could be that gullible [easily deceived]!

I’m already way over my usually word limit and I don’t want your eyes to glaze over, so I’ll continue this tomorrow.

Just be aware, these are the same things Satan throws at us today.  He hasn’t changed.  We are still weak, but God is far stronger!!!

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. 

II Corinthians 2:11

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.  I John 4:4