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Genesis 3 presents what may be the most catastrophic event ever to occur on the earth, the Fall. The serpent convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, and Eve gave of the fruit to Adam, who also partook of it. Because of this God expelled them from the garden, and sin is widespread in the world today. Perhaps studying this text can help us to avoid sin today. It appears that there are three fundamental, related deceptions which the serpent used to cause Adam and Eve to fall.

Notice what the serpent told Eve: “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 3:4-5) Adam and Eve had apparently lived all their lives in fellowship with God, and they probably ought to have known well that there is but one God who created the earth; they had not had exposure to the different religions that exist in the world today. They probably should have known that mortals cannot attain to the height of God, and that God, in His great power, is certainly able to keep mankind as low as He desires.

So there was deception about the character of God. The serpent apparently convinced Eve that God did not actually punish every sin. He convinced her that she could safely pursue her own will. We too can fall into this trap.

There was also deception about the character of the devil. Eve probably thought that she was following her own desires, when she was actually listening to the devil. We too can fall into this trap. In fact, most of the time when we think we are following our own will, we are probably actually doing what the devil wants us to.

There was also deception about the character of Eve herself. She must have thought that she was important enough that she could escape God’s judgment. We too can fall into this trap.

It’s easy for us to fall into the traps of the devil, unless we are constantly vigilant and trusting. The Scripture discusses how the fear of God helps us to be holy: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (II Corinthians 7:1) It is necessary that we maintain this fear if we are to avoid deception; notice how Paul connects the fear of God with the perfecting of holiness.

Notice that the Scripture tells us that Eve ate of the fruit when she saw how good it looked; it does not specifically list the deceptions. We probably understand from our experience that when we are deceived into sin, it tends to be the work of a moment; rather than contemplating, we see the “good things” that we think sin will bring us, and we impetuously sin. If we are not vigilant, we can easily fall, and probably will, as we will unthinkingly accept deception.

The Scripture tells us, “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (I Timothy 2:14) The serpent beguiled Eve, but not Adam, yet he sinned anyway, and brought down the entire human race in his fall. Even though he must have realized to some extent who God was, who he was, and perhaps even who the serpent was, he still took the forbidden fruit and ate of it. He must have thought about the sinfulness of what he was doing, and yet he did not restrain his fleshly appetite. We can easily fall into Adam’s trap as well as Eve’s. We can sin even in those things that we know are wrong, because we let ourselves gain a desire for them.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)