The Sin of Deception

Q: Is being deceived a sin, Eve was deceived in the garden?

A: I don't believe that being deceived is a sin. I do believe that deceiving others is a sin. When it comes to Eve being deceived in the Garden two things come to mind. First, the covenant that God made was with Adam, not Eve. God told Adam that he was free to eat of any tree in the Garden of Eden, "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:17)." Furthermore, Eve had not even been created at this point in history. She was created shortly after God warned Adam about eating from the wrong tree. Secondly, if we use the deception of Eve as evidence that being deceived is a sin, we have to address how Eve could have been sinning when sin had not entered into the world yet. The Fall of Man, sin entering the world and death through sin, occurred when Adam ate the forbidden fruit. This was after Eve was deceived by the Serpent. If anyone was guilty of a sin it was the Serpent. Satan was aware of the covenant God made with Adam and decided to test Eve's knowledge of that covenant.

The Bible says that the Serpent was craftier than any other animals created by God. Crafty, by definition, means to be "adept in the use of subtlety and cunning." Now, isn't that exactly what we see the Serpent doing when he approaches Eve instead of Adam? "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden' (Genesis 3:1)?" The very question the Serpent asks Eve is one designed to plant doubt in her mind as to what God had said. Scripture doesn't record how Eve came to the knowledge of God's command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Some people have suggested that Adam told Eve of God's command, but either he didn't tell her precisely what he was told or Eve didn't pay close attention. Eve's response to the Serpent is proof of her misunderstanding. She misquotes God as saying "'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die' (Genesis 3:2)." God didn't say anything about not touching the tree, only about not eating from it. The Serpent deceived Eve which, in turn, led to Adam breaking God's command. And the rest is history.

While I don't believe Eve being deceived was a sin, I do think she is a great example to all of us about understanding the Word of God. Much later in Scripture, Eve is used as an example of what not to be like when it comes to our understanding of the Gospel. "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3)." The Apostle Paul was chastising the Corinthian church for the ease in which they accepted fall doctrines. Just like Eve, they were not familiar with the truth, therefore, they were easy prey for the deception of false teachers. While being deceived is not necessarily a sin, it can lead to sin. The deception of Eve by the Serpent led to sin entering the world. If we are deceived it may not lead to something as catastrophic as the Fall of Man, but it could lead us to accepting and proclaiming unbiblical truths. The results of which could be wide reaching and lead to a variety of terrible outcomes. How many so-called Christians do we see today trapped under false teachings and mislead into cults because, like Eve, they don't know what God has said?

We are admonished by the New Testament authors to "test the spirits (1 John 4:1)," be like the Bereans who "examined the Scriptures every day (Acts 17:11)," be one "who correctly explains the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15)" and "be prepared in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2)." Why? So we can be certain that those teaching us are from God. To see if what we are being taught is true. In order that we will not be ashamed of what we believe. And so we can preach the Word with patience and careful instruction. In other words when you become familiar with the truth you can identify a counterfeit without any problem. Thus, you avoid being deceived by others wishing to take advantage of you for their own selfish gain. The Serpent deceived Eve in order to bring about the Fall of Man. He took advantage of her ignorance of the truth to advance his evil agenda. The lesson that we can take from Eve is to put "on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes (Ephesians 6:11)." By doing so you will have the confidence to avoid being deceived when someone asks you "Did God really say...?"