God’s Truths Are Not Open to Discussion!

Bill Brinkworth

Although modern man prides himself on having improved and being more intelligent than previous generations, the independent nature of man to do his own thing and to disobey God has not changed much from his first predecessors. Man’s self-willed nature of today is not much different than the very first man and woman’s — Adam and Eve. We can see and recognize our natural similarities with early man by observing Adam and Eve’s experience with Satan in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3).

Eve allowed herself to be in a position that she could hear the wrong side of how she should behave. God prohibited her and Adam from eating of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Genesis 2:17). She heard the commandment from Adam, who was commanded by God; yet she allowed herself to get into a conversation with Satan about what she knew she was not to do.

Eve’s next mistake was trying to reason with the enemy of God. Because of the sly, deceiving conversation with Satan, who wanted to trick her into disobeying God, it was not long until her thinking was “confused”. She added, “neither shall ye touch it …” (Gen 3:3) in her discussion with Satan, which was never in God’s commandment to Adam. Satan’s discussion with her removed the clarity of the commandment to her. God’s commandment is His, and no one else’s words can change what He commands.

When we get ourselves in a position where we try to reason with others about what we know God would have us do, we too will make mistakes and fall as did Adam and Eve. When we tell the boss we need to be in church rather than at work on Sunday, we will not usually win in our convincing him what is right. We usually will not win when we tell our loved ones their difficulties in life are due to their involvement in sin. They do not even recognize sin as a decrement to behavior. Our discussion will most likely not convince a public school teacher that our children should not read a book that is required by the schools. Our reasoning that the bad subject matter will put temptations in the mind of the child will most likely not change the teacher’s requirements. We must do what is right! It is not open to discussion. We cannot justify with others what is just with God!

Once Eve allowed herself to discuss God’s way with Satan it went downhill from there. The enemies’ attack proceeded to question God’s Word, “… Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). The doubt the beguiler placed in her mind accused God of lying — of being wrong!

When we get in a position to discuss with others what God has made clear for us to do, it, too, will go downhill. When we try to reason with others why we try to follow God’s way found in His Book, doubts may also be placed in our thinking when we hear: “You don’t believe that old book do you? How do you know it is what God originally said anyway?”, “That was for then and not for now!”, “That’s not what my religion teaches!”, or “Can’t you do your own thinking? Why do you have to obey that old Book!” On and on the disobedient will try to get the obedient to deviate from following God’s commandments, much as Satan did to Eve.

Once doubt is placed in one’s mind, as it was in Eve’s, it will not be long until man’s weak nature takes the thoughts to the next level — sin. Eve succumbed to the lusts of her eyes: “… the woman saw the tree was good …pleasant to the eyes …” (vs. 6). Lust of the flesh took over her thinking when she saw it was “… good for food …”. Finally, the lust of the pride of life was breached when she realized it could make her wiser. After she was led by her own lusts, it was not long until she got Adam to partake in disobeying God also.

Their lives, and the rest of all mankind, suffered because of the one mistake one woman made; discussing God’s commandments with another. When God makes a commandment to us clear from His Word, it should not be open to discussion. If God said it, that should settle it!

“Almighty God has posted His ‘no trespassing’ signs everywhere; but in spite of His warnings, men deliberately go their own way …”
— Oliver B. Greene

This article was featured in The Bible View #339.