...Never Saw This Before

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die."

But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."
-Genesis 3:1-6 [ESV]

See that crafty serpent and how carefully he lays the ground work for his tempting deception?

Before he tempts Eve to commit sin, the Devil lies to undermine God's Law and disarms it of all threats. All matter of evil is allowed to come from this self-affirming delusion: the foolish idea that "you will not surely die."

Make no mistake. This is a blasphemous, murderous lie. Scripture clearly teaches that the wages of sin is death. [Romans 6:23]

Wretched, disobedient man that I am! How often do I do the serpent's work for him? How often do I pave the way for temptation within my own heart by removing the threat of just punishment from my mind?

How often do I form these satanic words in my mind or even speak them on my lips so that I may build up enough self-confidence to indulge in my own desires without fear of divine judgement?