Do you know good from evil?

John 5:33-36

Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.

But I receive not testimony from man: but these things I say, that ye might be saved.

He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

“But these things I say, that ye might be saved.” It occurs to me that any time someone disbelieves the gospel of salvation it is because they disbelieve the very scriptures, themselves. The problem for them lies in the source of the information: which is the bible. It is not holy, it is not sacred, it is not inerrant. It is flawed, biased, slanted, bigoted - they say. Never before in the history of mankind has the devil been busier at work raging with all his might and all his cunning against the Word of God, as he is today. It is his ultimate purpose and ultimate battle to gainsay, undermine, devalue and contradict the very words of truth. He’s been at it since he first ensnared Eve in the garden of Eden, “did God truly say?” he asked (Genesis 3:1). Eve, quite literally, took the bait. Why? Because the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil is so much more appealing than simple, restrained, childlike obedience.

We must know for ourselves; we need evidence, proof, convincing. We need to approve and assent of the facts. We must be the judge, not God. “Who is God?” we ask. “How should He know better than me, what is good for me? I will be the judge. I know more about good and evil than the Creator does.” Can you not see, my dear people, how we have all become Eve? We have all eaten from the fruit of knowledge, we are all “like gods” in our own eyes. We choose to reject the truth, but then have nothing to substitute it with. That’s why we turn to politics, philosophising, entertainment, religion, hobbies, pastimes, technology, even to drugs and alcohol. It is an attempt to fill this vast, massive void left in our souls, it is a vain attempt to fill the hole that only God, via His word, can complete.

We have all taken of the forbidden fruit, we have all become “as God, knowing good and evil,” and so we have all been cursed with the inescapable reality of death. It is true for you, it is true for me. We’ve had our cake, we’ve eaten it too, and sooner or later we will pay for it. On our dear life, we will pay for it. Judaism is a dear and honest religion, it goes far out of its way in order to try keeping all the statutes and commandments of God, but Judaism has one fatal flaw: it has no answers for the problem of death. It cannot save one solitary soul. It can tell you how to regulate your life so as to “please God” while you are here on earth, but what then? What will become of our soul in the hereafter?

As long as we intend on playing God, on knowing good from evil, on judging for ourselves, we will be on the path to eternal death. Adam and Eve did not perish instantly upon tasting the fruit, but eventually, they died. And so will you. This is not how God meant for man to live. Life, by definition, is imperishable. We are now only too well acquainted with death because sin came into the world through disobedience, because we humans decided that we would be “as God, knowing good and evil.” If Satan has done his job on you, you will object to the very story of the garden of Eden itself. “Fairytales and fantasies!” you say. Brother, if this is the case, then let me congratulate you on having become as a god, knowing good from evil. But also allow me to sternly warn you that at the end of your divine rulership as god, you will die and become the lowest dust of the earth, from which your body originated. And when that happens, if you have not hearkened unto the voice of Jesus so that you may be saved, there will nothing be left of you besides dust and ashes, while your soul is inflamed forever in the unyielding fires of hell. Thus is the reward for all treasonous souls who would be “as God, knowing good and evil.” In this life you are left alone to judge for yourself, but in death your ability to decide for yourself will be revoked forever.

[Excerpt from To Fear God, in the works]