A Primer on Temptation, Part 2 Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: A Primer on Temptation, Part 2------------------------------------- Date: 6/2/2002 Keyword: "temptation" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Genesis 3:1-7* 1. Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" 2. And the woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3. but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'" 4. And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die! 5. "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. Questions 1. What was Eve’s response to the serpent’s question in verse 1 (see verses 2-3)?   2. Was her quote of God accurate?   Practical help The serpent asked Eve what God had said. She answered, and by her answer set herself up for a fall. She rightly told the serpent that God had given freedom to eat from every tree of the Garden of Eden except the one in the middle — the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, the restrictions she placed on access to that tree went one step further than God’s restrictions. Not only was she not to eat from it, she said she and Adam couldn’t "touch it." God didn’t say that. Evidently, He didn’t mind if they took a nap resting against the tree. They could climb it if they wished. They simply were forbidden from eating of its fruit. When Eve raised the fence around the tree, she lowered the protection that comes when God’s child trusts in His simple command. And this is often Step Two in our enemy’s ploy to trip us up with sin. (See June 1st’s study for Step One) We think there is safety in raising the fence higher than God does. Not so. Ironically, if our enemy (Satan) can get us to be more restrictive than God, he has moved us away from a position of strength. Think about this with respect to sexual issues. There are certain behaviors that are explicitly spelled out as wrong in Scripture. Sex with a partner to whom you are not married is immoral. Entertaining lustful fantasies is immoral. But that is not to say that sex is wrong! Sex is wonderful — and God is the One who dreamed it up in the first place. If our enemy can convince us that there is something wrong with sex, generally, we are more likely to give in to the temptations of illegitimate expressions of our sexuality. Next time you are tempted to a sexual act that is forbidden in Scripture, or to surf the Web looking for illegitimate sources of stimulation, remember the beauty of sex as God created it. Give thanks to God for that beauty and for the power of your drive for sex. Pray for strength to resist temptations to sin, and turn your heart to Him in worship. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2002 by eXXit *"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission." ---