The Sin of Eve

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:6.

Most people in this world who have been in contact with Christianity are familiar with the story of the fall into sin by mankind in the Garden of Eden. It is always blamed on Eve. Eve is the cause of all the misery on this earth. I have heard people complain that it is not fair that we have to suffer because of the sin of Eve in the beginning. It is unfortunate that people use this as an excuse to continue in sin because God has made a way of escape that is not difficult if we would only yield to His leading in our lives.

What was the sin of Eve? It is a case where one sin led to another. This is often the case and it is better to turn away from sin as soon as the initial temptation comes because if we yield /at the beginning, we too will be led on the downhill slide that Eve went on. In reality we can’t blame all the misery on Eve. Each time we sin we are as guilty as Eve was. We have as much strength and help to overcome sin as Eve did. We have as much excuse to sin as she did – which is none really. There is no excuse to sin if Christ is dwelling in our hearts.

In order to deceive Eve, Satan chose something that was not threatening. He chose the most beautiful creature that God had created. He always comes as something pleasant and beautiful. It is much easier to trip innocent people this way as they are off their guard.

I read a story of a man who used to be a professional pickpocket and he told of his experiences and how innocent people can avoid falling prey to his kind of person in the future. He said the most success he had was not in crowded areas, as the people are on their guard, but he came in unguarded moments. He came when people were alone and in a setting in which they were relaxed, such as shopping for clothing. He had much success in this setting as people were off their guard seeing as there were few people around and they were concentrating on their shopping. So also with Satan.

He does not always surround us with things that look and feel evil. He surrounds us with things that make us feel comfortable and we can easily become complacent. If we are not careful we may become off-guard as Satan tries to subtly lure us out of our protective surroundings to places where we are more vulnerable. He then has success as we have been unaware of what has been happening as Satan came in a form that we did not expect. It was so with Eve. She was feeling quite comfortable in the Garden of Eden, going about her daily duties. The angels had warned Adam and Eve to remain together but Eve absent-mindedly wandered away from Adam. Had she remained with her husband, his presence would have been a protection to her. She felt secure. It is always easier to persuade an individual to do wrong when he is detached from protective surroundings. I am sure Adam was equally to blame, as he did not pay attention to where Eve was wandering. Now Eve found herself in front of the Tree of Knowledge and here was the most beautiful creature God had created. This was a fascinating sight to behold.

Satan addressed her with a question that seemed quite innocent at first.
“Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Gen. 3:1. With this question he wished to sow doubt into the heart of Eve concerning the exact meaning of the commandment of God, and especially the reasonableness and justice of the command.

Eve’s first reaction should have been to flee back to Adam’s side. Whenever we are faced with a temptation like Eve was, our reaction should be to flee. However Eve remained, and this was her first error. She showed signs of wavering and doubt, and was ready to discuss the matter further to try to defend her position. She gave an answer, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Gen. 3:2,3.

Here we see signs of wavering and doubt in her answer. She did not mention the tree by name but just a vague description of the location. She knew exactly that this was the forbidden tree, and she should have said so and fled from the scene, but she did not.

Now that he has her full attention and she has shown signs of doubt, Satan comes in with the full-blown lie, “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.” Gen. 3:4,5. Before this time, God had not given Adam and Eve any reason as to why they should not eat from this tree. He did not tell them it was poisonous or that it was simply a test of faithfulness. He simply said not to eat of it. Now Satan proceeds to give a plausible reason for the prohibition. He accuses God of envy. It is not through the fear of dying that the prohibition was made, but rather the fear of becoming rivals of God Himself.

Satan claimed that God had lied when He said that death would follow the eating of the fruit. God’s requirements were shown by Satan to be unreasonable and with evil motives behind them. Even today, when God places restrictions on His followers such as dress reform and health reform, they are looked at as unreasonable commandments by the majority of people and those who follow them are severely restricted from religious freedom.

Satan was offering Eve religious liberty. The liberty to sin and eventually be as gods. Does this not sound familiar? In New Age theology there is no mention of putting sin away from one’s life but only to develop the good that is within with the eventual goal that you will be as gods. Every person has that potential within him/her self. There is nothing new under the sun. Satan uses the same temptations over and over again because they work.

Satan made Eve feel as though she was deprived and by eating the fruit her eyes would be opened. I have often heard of people leaving God’s church and suddenly they claim to have their eyes opened. They read their Bibles more, and feel as though they have reached a higher plane of existence in their religious experience than they had while in the church – they are closer to God. Again, does this sound familiar? “Satan tempts men to disobedience by leading them to believe they are entering a wonderful field of knowledge. But this is deception. Elated with their ideas of progression, they are, by
trampling on God’s requirements, setting their feet in the path that leads to degradation and death.” PP,p.55.

“Satan represented to the holy pair that they would be gainers by breaking the law of God. Do we not today hear similar reasoning? Many talk of the narrowness of those who obey God’s commandments, while they themselves claim to have broader ideas and enjoy greater liberty. What is this but an echo of the voice from Eden, “In the day ye eat thereof – transgress the divine requirement – “Ye shall be as gods”? Satan claimed to have received great good by eating of the forbidden fruit, but he did not let it appear that by transgression he had become an outcast from heaven.

Though he had found sin to result in infinite loss, he concealed his own misery in order to draw others into the same position. So now the transgressor seeks to disguise his real character; he may claim to be holy; but his exalted profession only makes him the more dangerous as a deceiver. He is on the side of Satan, trampling upon the law of God, and leading others to do the same, to their eternal ruin.” PP, p. 55.

After Satan planted all this doubt in Eve’s mind, suddenly the tree seemed vastly different to her. It was no longer something to stay away from, but rather something new, and exciting. Something to be wondered at. “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Gen. 3:6.

This fruit appealed to her eye, to her taste, and to her longing for increased wisdom. Looking at the fruit this way with a desire to eat it was already sin in itself. Has that ever happened to us?)

Something we used to see as definitely sin, today we don’t view it as such? We don’t think that it is such an important issue as we used to think in the past? Have we been listening to Satan at the Tree of Knowledge, when he tells us that those little sins are not as essential as we used to think them to be?

“The least departure from truthfulness and rectitude is a transgression of the law of God.” 4T,p. 312.

Before she ate the fruit, Eve had already sinned in breaking the 10th commandment, “Thou shalt not covet.” The act of taking the fruit and eating it was a natural result of entering the path of sin that she had. Then she went on to eat the fruit, which was stealing – breaking the 8th commandment “Thou shalt not steal.” After this was the 6th commandment – “Thou shalt not kill.” She ate the fruit and gave the fruit to her husband, bringing upon them both the penalty of death. And finally she broke the 1st commandment because she put Satan before God in her esteem, and obeyed him rather than God.
Noticing that she did not die immediately she experienced a deceptive sense of elation, similar to some who leave God’s church and claim to have reached a higher plane than those remaining in God’s church, and than they had previously experienced while in the church.

“Adam was not deceived, but the woman.” 1 Tim. 2:14.
Who was guiltier? Often Eve has been blamed for all the misery and woe, however Eve was deceived. Adam did not have to eat the fruit, and he was not deceived. He ate it knowingly. “Deplorable as was Eve’s transgression and fraught as it was with potential woe for the human family, her choice did not necessarily involve the race in the penalty for her transgression. It was the deliberate choice of Adam, in the full understanding of an express command of God – rather than hers – that made sin and death the inevitable lot of mankind. Eve was deceived; Adam was not. Had Adam remained loyal to God in spite of Eve’s disloyalty, divine wisdom would yet have solved the dilemma for him and averted disaster for the race.” BC, Vol, 1, p. 231.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Rom. 5:12.

Eve really believed the words of Satan, but her belief did not save her from the penalty of sin. She disbelieved the words of God, and this was what led to her fall. “In the judgment men will not be condemned because they conscientiously believed a lie, but because they did not believe the truth, because they neglected the opportunity of learning what is truth. Notwithstanding the sophistry of Satan to the contrary, it is always disastrous to disobey God. We must set our hearts to know what is truth. All the lessons, which God has caused to be placed on record in His word, are for our warning and instruction. They are given to save us from deception.

Their neglect will result in ruin to ourselves. Whatever contradicts God’s word, we may be sure proceeds from Satan.” PP p. 55. Then when Eve was brought face to face with her sin, she tried to place the blame elsewhere. Adam firstly blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent, which God had created. This spirit of self-justification originated from Satan. Adam and Eve had this spirit and so have many others down through the centuries. Instead of humbly confessing their sins, they try to shield themselves by casting the blame on others, on circumstances, or even on God as did Eve.

Satan is using the same deceptions today as he used on Eve. Let’s compare Genesis 3:6 to John’s words in the New Testament. First in Genesis we read, “the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise…” and now in 1 John 2:16, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Here we have it – “Lust of the flesh – a tree that was good for food.” “pleasant to the eyes – lust of the eyes.” “And a tree to be desired to make one wise – the pride of life.” These three areas cover all sin on this earth.

The lust of the flesh covers any indulgence of the fleshly desires that is harmful to the body. It is the craving of the flesh for indulgence in evil. It includes all strong desires for indulgence contrary to the will of God. “Men and women cannot violate natural law by indulging depraved appetite and lustful passions, and not violate the law of God… All our enjoyment or suffering may be traced to obedience or transgression of natural law.” 3T, p. 161.

The Lust of the eyes are sins committed in the mind – mental pleasure stimulated through sight. Much of the sinful pleasure in the world is experienced through the eyes. Many who would refuse to partake in any open sin and are the most vocal in condemning those who are, often are the ones who are eager to read about sin, to study it in a picture, or to watch it depicted on the screen.

“Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 1 Cor. 10:12.
“You should control your thoughts. This will not be an easy task; you cannot accomplish it without close and even severe effort. Yet God requires this of you; it is a duty resting upon every accountable being. You are responsible to God for your thoughts. If you indulge in vain imaginations, permitting your mind to dwell upon impure subjects, you are, in a degree, as guilty before God as if your thoughts were carried into action. All that prevents the action is the lack of opportunity. Day and night dreaming and castle-building are bad and exceedingly dangerous habits. When once established, it is next to impossible to break up such habits, and direct the thoughts to pure, holy, elevated themes. You will have to become a faithful sentinel over your eyes, ears, and all your senses if you would control your mind and prevent vain and corrupt thoughts from staining your soul. The power of grace alone can accomplish this most desirable work. You are weak in this direction.” 2T, p. 561.

The pride of life – Into this category fall all forms of materialism. Here we see people who have a materialistic satisfaction with worldly goods, they are in a state of mind that substitutes the material for the spiritual. Often little thought is given to the expenditure of means on frivolous items we feel we must have. If we would consider the fact that we must give an account to God in the judgement for every dollar we spend, we would be a little more conscientious of our spending habits. “You forgot that you were handling your Lord’s money. When means were expended by you which would only
encourage vanity, you did not consider that the recording angel was making a record which you would blush to meet again.” 2T, p. 279.

Most people, in varying degrees, are prone to such pride and need to guard against it. Some take pride in their work, others in their possessions, their own beauty, or their children.

Into these three areas all sins fall. They are all enmity with God. Often when someone sins they commit more than one of these errors, like Eve. Sin starts in the mind and if allowed to develop it ends up in the physical act of sin. It is best to resist the temptation from the beginning.

Many times these sins are simply for the gratification of selfnot out of necessity. “Eve had all that her wants required. There was nothing lacking to make her happy, but intemperate appetite desired the fruit of the only tree that God had withheld. She had no need of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but she permitted her appetite and curiosity to control her reason. She was perfectly happy in her Eden home by her husband’s side; but like restless modern Eves, she was flattered that there was a higher sphere than that which God had assigned her. But in attempting to climb higher than her original
position, she fell far below it. This will most assuredly be the result with the Eves of the present generation if they neglect to cheerfully take up their daily life duties in accordance with God’s plan.” 3T, p. 483.

Adam and Eve gave little thought to the consequences of their sin. Little did they realize the floodgates of woe that would open upon this earth. To them it was only a small sin. “It seemed a small matter to our first parents, when tempted, to transgress the command of God in one small act and eat of a tree that was beautiful to the eye and pleasant to the taste. To the transgressors this was but a small act, but it destroyed their allegiance to God and opened a flood of woe and guilt, which has deluged the world. Who can know, in the moment of temptation, the terrible consequences, which will result, from one wrong, hasty step! Our only safety is to be shielded by the grace of God every moment, and not put out our own spiritual eyesight so that we will call evil good, and good evil. Without hesitation or argument, we must close and guard the avenues of the soul against evil “It will cost us an effort to secure eternal life. It is only by long and persevering efforts, sore discipline, and stern conflict that we shall be overcomers. But if we patiently and determinedly, in the name of the conqueror who overcame in our behalf in the wilderness of temptation, overcome as He overcame, we shall have the eternal reward. Our efforts, our self-denial, our perseverance, must be proportionate to the infinite value of the object of which we are in pursuit. 3T. p. 324. “The history of the past shows an active, working devil. He can no more be idle than harmless.

Satan was found in only one tree to endanger the safety of Adam and Eve. He planned to attract the holy pair to that one tree, that he might do the very thing God had said they should not do – eat of the tree of knowledge. There was no danger to them in approaching any other tree. How plausible his speech! He laid hold of the very arguments, which he uses, today – flattery, envy, distrust, questioning, and unbelief.

If Satan was so cunning at first, what must he be now after gaining an experience of many thousands of years? Yet God and holy angels, and all those who abide in obedience to all the Lord’s expressed will, are wiser than he.

The subtlety of Satan will not decrease, but the wisdom given to men through a living connection with the Source of all light and divine knowledge will be proportionate to his arts and wiles.” 5T, p. 504.

“The field into which Satan led our first parents is the same to which he is leading men today. He is flooding the world with pleasing fables. By every device at his command he seeks to prevent men from obtaining that knowledge of God, which is salvation.

“We are living in an age of great light; but much that is called light is opening the way for the wisdom and arts of Satan. Many things will be presented that appear to be true, and yet they need to be carefully considered with much prayer; for they may be specious devices of the enemy. The path of error often appears to lie close to the path of truth. It is hardly distinguishable from the path that leads to holiness and heaven. But the mind enlightened by the Holy Spirit may discern that it is diverging from the right way. After a while the two are seen to be widely separated.” 8T, p. 290,291.

Satan has the greatest success when he clothes error with truth. Even if there is 99% truth, if it is surrounding a core of error, it is fatal to believe it. But there is a remedy and that remedy is found in Jesus.

“If you humble yourself before God, confess your wrongs, and return to Him with full purpose of heart, you will find healing.” We serve an all-powerful God who is able to subdue the enemy and help us overcome every sin. Some serve a god who is less powerful than the enemy and doesn’t seem to be able to help them overcome. They claim that it is simply not possible to overcome every sin. Satan is stronger than their god. If they could find their way to the true and living God, they will find Someone who can help them overcome every sin.

Many have found healing in Jesus in the past. Mercy is still calling to sinners today to come and repent. May we all heed that call before it is forever too late. Adam and Eve turned to a lesser god and we see the results very clearly. “Men and women may escape this doom if they will. It is true that Satan is the great originator of sin; yet this does not excuse any man for sinning; for he cannot force men to do evil. He tempts them to it, and makes sin look enticing and pleasant; but he has to leave it to their own wills whether they will do it or not. He does not force men to become intoxicated, neither does he force them to remain away from religious meetings; but he presents temptations in a manner to allure to evil, and man is a free moral agent to accept or refuse.” 2T, p. 294.

May God help us to overcome any lustful desires or mental sins that keep plaguing us. By His grace we can come off as conquerors.

Wendy Eaton