You will CERTAINLY Die!

 You will certainly die! 

Genesis 2:17 

But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die. 

Genesis 3:1 starts by giving a major characteristic of the serpent. He was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. Shrewd often refers to one that is underhanded or uses intelligence for evil gain. And this in fact was satan. He initially came to the woman (later known as Eve - Adam doesn’t name her until Genesis 3:20) and told her a lie in Genesis 3:4, “You won't die."

Satan is a liar. He's the father of lies. His nature is lying. That is what he does. He tries to convince us that God isn't good. And we know that’s a lie. The Lord gave them food that was pleasing to look at and good to eat (Genesis 3:6) Satan convinced Eve that she needed the one thing that God told them they couldn't have. Isn't that still how he operates today? God will give us everything we've prayed about but for our protection, withholds something and we declare that He's not good. We try to get it on our own and mess everything up. After the fruit was eaten, everything was messed up. 

God requires our obedience. Do you notice what happened after they ate from the tree?  They certainly died. Their disobedience broke the relationship and fellowship they had with God. They realized that they were naked and were now ashamed. Consequently, God had to kill an animal so that they could have sufficient clothing. They were then cast out of the garden. The cycle of death continued in Chapter 4 when Cain kills Abel. Chapter 5 continued to show death as the genealogical records are listed and after each man, it says "and then he died". In chapter 6, the flood occurred and most of the population of the world was wiped away. You see how satan's influence to eat one piece of fruit created chaos in the world? 

His trick is to convince you that what God said is not the truth. God said in Genesis 2:17, "You will certainly die." God doesn't speak just to hear Himself speak. He speaks to instruct. Our job is to obey. There is a consequence for sin. There is a consequence for disobedience. My uncle and former pastor, Edwin J Brown used to say, “Let the choices you make today be the consequences that you can live with tomorrow.” Adam and Eve soon learned that sin would take you further than you ever wanted to go and keep you longer than you ever wanted to stay. 

Like God told Adam and Eve and He tells us, you will certainly die. However, you can decide what type of death you have (physical or spiritual) and where you spend eternity after that death. Choose now, this day who will serve (Joshua 24:15). Will you live the abundant life (John 10:10) that Jesus can give you or will you live in sin and continue to die in a miserable sin-filled life that misses heaven? The time is now to make the choice. Choose Jesus. 

Live in the Red. You are loved and forgiven and if you're saved, covered in the precious blood of Jesus. 

#Loved

#Forgiven

#CoveredInTheBlood

#LivingForChrist