When there is an opening in our battle gear, the enemy aims for that vulnerable spot. After Eve’s weak response to Satan’s question, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1), he went from a seemingly innocent question to an attack on God’s integrity.

Genesis 3:4-5
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The construction of the Hebrew sentence accentuates the boldness of Satan by stressing the negative. Satan said, “not—you shall surely die.” One commentator notes, “Here is the lie that has allured the human race from the beginning (see John 8:44): there is no punishment for disobedience.”[1]

From the first temptation in the garden to the last temptation you faced, the appeal to sin is the same. We have bought Satan’s deception that there will be no consequences. We convince ourselves that a small twisting of the truth we call “a little white lie” is just what people do. Sex before marriage. Well, everyone does that; we are told and believe. Compromising our standards to get what we want. God will understand. Pornography. Didn’t God wire us this way in the first place? Cheating on an exam. Cheating an employer out of time and money. Deceiving our spouse. We convince ourselves that we won’t get caught. From the beginning, the “father of lies” has tried to convince us that sin has no consequences. But God’s Word tells a different story. Scripture is filled with examples that prove the truth—sin has consequences! Adam and Eve, Cain, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Ananias, and Sapphira…the list is long. For our purposes today, let me share two passages.

Galatians 6:7
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

1 Timothy 5:24
The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.

Sooner or later, there are always consequences to our sin.

Father,
We want to believe the lie that there are no consequences to our sin. Open our eyes to see the current and generational effects of sin in our lives. On the front end of temptation, give us the strength not to fall. On the back end of sin, thank you for your grace and forgiveness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] Allen Ross, Creation and Blessing (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 135.