God bless you and happy New Year! This up coming year will be an exciting one here at Chapter and Verse.
We are planning to record a new seminar entitled, "God's Blueprint for Marriage".
One obstacle all couples are confronted with is how to navigate their way through the plethora of opinions from various sources on what is right regarding their marriage.
This knowledge was introduced courtesy of the god of this world.
2 Corinthians 4:3-5 3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.5For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
The Bible in Basic English reads.
BBE 2 Corinthians 4:3 But if our good news is veiled, it is veiled from those who are on the way to destruction:
The path the devil has set for man is broad indeed, but every path devised by him leads to destruction.
Matthew 7:13-14 13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
As we begin to learn about the knowledge of the tree of good and evil we will see just how broad the way to destruction is. The way to life is narrow and straight is the gate. On the surface this may scare some but just the opposite is true. It"s not that you have to be so good and so careful that you may miss God's salvation. The reason the gate is straight and the way is narrow is because the only way to God is through Jesus Christ!
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Now take any of the devils schemes and there are thousands however, all no matter how benevolent they may appear end in destruction. This is why the Bible says broad is the way to destruction.
Now in order to understand the knowledge of the tree of good and evil we need to understand some basic differences between the true God and Satan.
Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee;
Our God the true God the father of our lord Jesus Christ is an eternal God, whereas the devil is not eternal and has both a beginning and an end.
Ezekiel 28:14-15 14Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
This was his beginning he was created to serve under the creator God.
Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
This is his end and not only his but all who work for and belong to him. Our God is an eternal God; he has no beginning and he has no end.
The devil lies to mankind and deceives him. Let's look at a few ways the devil is still misleading us.
Luke 8:5-13 5A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.8And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Matthew 13 lists the parable of the sower also. Jesus only list four soils for our consideration; wayside, rock, thorns, and good ground.
Once you receive the word of God it's up to you to decide where you want to plant it. And if you decide to plant, how will you then tend the garden of God?
Remember Adam? Remember what God told him when he placed him in the garden?
Genesis 2:15-17 15And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
The word dress means to work and the word keep means to guard.
16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The devil is still temping mankind today with the knowledge of good and evil. He tells us he has a better way a higher knowledge a greater understanding of how things ought to be.
Like the knowledge of marriage. He said God's knowledge, God's way is wrong. It's antiquated and obsolete. His way is better.
So today a man can "marry" a man and a woman can "marry" a woman.
All brought to you by the knowledge of the tree of good and evil.
Like the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
However, today man states that there are many roads to heaven; Jesus is just one of many. Again, brought to us by courtesy of the knowledge of the tree of good and evil.
Adam didn't leave well enough alone. Adam questioned God's knowledge and love when he disobeyed and sinned.
Once you introduce another knowledge into the equation you now have numerous choices concerning right and wrong. You have a range of opinions to pick from.
When Adam obeyed his life was blessed. He was protected and provided for. And when he had a need he went to God and God supplied his need and that which God provided for him was the very best. Eve was a perfect example of this.
In the garden Adam was never faced with the question of "I wonder if God knows what he's doing". Or is this really my best option? Adam never questioned God he never considered anything else other than his loving father's voice.
Today we have all this knowledge of good and evil to choose from: How should you raise your children? Should both parents work? Should we let the day care, TV, or video games raise the kids?
Should we even get married? Should we have children out of wedlock?
Today our colleges teach our children to question the existence of God. They teach there are many gods; Wicca, Buddha, Scientology, Universalism, Government.
The devil has introduced his worldview regarding religion, sex, life, diet, prayer employment, school, philosophy, laws, and health care.
And do you know why? Because of all this knowledge we have available to us these days.
All because Adam decided to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
To be continued… ÿ