Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? ”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘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.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
According to people who study these types of things, two of the worlds most successful advertising campaigns focused on fast-food products. Remember these?
- “Have it your way” (Burger King’s popular campaign in the 1970’s)
- “You deserve a break today” (This campaign from McDonalds was chosen by “Advertising Age” magazine as the best advertising campaign of the 20th century.)
Most of us who live in North America; at least those of us who watch T.V., listen to radio, or visit the internet occasionally; are bombarded daily with thousands of messages designed to convince us to purchase and use products, some of which are actually harmful to us in the long run. Notice how these ad campaigns echo the serpent’s approach to Eve in Genesis 3:
He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘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.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
First, notice that the serpent begins with a question, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?” But notice that the very question itself twists the words of God. God never said that Adam and Eve could not eat from any tree in the garden! He actually gave them freedom to eat from all the trees in the garden, with the exception of one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Next, notice that Satan, in the form of the serpent, lives up to his reputation as the “Liar” when he says, “You will not certainly die…” God had been very clear that the consequence of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would be death.
Finally, notice the promise that Satan delivers to Eve: “…you will be like God…”
In other words, Satan is tempting Eve by both questioning the limits of God and offering Eve the opportunity to have what she wants, to have it her way, because she deserves it.
The serpent’s strategy is quite simple: make that which is not good look so good that the woman can’t resist!
Now I’m not saying that modern advertising is evil, or that McDonald’s is evil! But I am saying that Satan knows what we want to hear. He knows that we want to hear that we have no limits; that we deserve what we want; that we can have it our way; that we can be like God!
I am saying that Satan knows how to make God’s limits look bad, and how to make sin look good. Satan knows how to get us to want that which ultimately destroys us.
In a sense, Satan is the best marketer the world has ever known.
So how do we defend ourselves against his lies? How do we recognize his counterfeit gospel? By knowing the true gospel; the gospel of God’s authority, God’s love, God’s limit, and God’s grace; we stand against the counterfeit gospel by standing on the gospel according to God!
Brian Coffey
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