Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and Death

Question:

Why did God forbid man to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? Did God lie in saying that you will die on eating the fruit? 

Answer:

To comment upon, and for an expository study of God’s Word the Bible, and to understand or explain them, certain essential principles ought to be followed, so as to have a proper understanding, and to be able to correctly explain or teach the things from the Bible. One of these essential principles and a basic fact is that God never lies, and since “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1), therefore, the Word of God too will never be untruthful or fraudulent, and therefore will never contradict its any other part or portion. The Lord God who claimed that He is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6) can He be considered a liar? Therefore, if there is any error or contradiction in the understanding of any part of God’s Word, then it is absolutely certain, that the error or contradiction is in our understanding or exposition of the Word, and not in the Bible. Therefore, instead of accepting that error or contradiction we should deeply and prayerfully study that portion of God’s Word, re-consider its interpretation and ascribed meanings, ponder over them, and correct our understanding and exposition of that part of God’s Word, instead of trying to correct the Word of God.

In doing this some things have been very helpful for me; whenever I have a doubt about the meaning or exposition of any of the words of the Bible, to have a correct understanding and meaning of those words I pray about it to God, and I prayerfully look at their original Hebrew (for the Old Testament) or Greek (for the New Testament) language words used. I do not know either Hebrew or Greek, but the details of the words and their translation into English, their usage and various meanings is readily available through the internet for everybody. Simultaneously I also look at that portion in various translations of the Bible to see how the different translators have presented the meaning or thought behind those words. While doing this I make it a point to see Young's Literal Translation (YLT) which gives a literal translation of the word from the original language, instead of the possible meaning as determined by the translators. If there still remains any doubt or confusion only then do I go to different Commentaries to see what the commentators have said about that word or that portion. I very rarely need to use this last recourse; very often in answer to prayers, God clears up the confusion as I look at the various meanings and usages of that word in its original language, and if still some doubt or confusion remains, then it usually gets clarified by reading it up in the various translations.

  Therefore before approaching this topic it is essential that we get rid of the notion that God spoke a lie – it is an insult to God to say, believe, or imply any such thought about God and His Word.

  Now, let us consider the two questions; First, why did God not want that man should eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil? This is quite commonly seen in all our families that not everything in the house is for the use of every member of the family, and usually children are forbidden from using many things in the house. Those children are a part of the family, they have a right to those things as part of their familial property and inheritance, but they are not permitted to use them till they attain a certain age, ability and understanding regarding the use of those things. For example take the things commonly and very often used in the kitchen of the house e.g. knife, or matches, or some electrical equipment; or some machinery used by adults e.g. motorcycle, car or any other machinery. As the children grow up, learn to use those things carefully and properly, develop an understanding regarding the appropriate and inappropriate ways of using those things, learn about the precautions to be observed while using those things, they also get the permission to start using those things. Adam and Eve were created as adults, but in context of the things of the world and of using them, they were still not experienced enough! God had never said that they would never ever get to eat the fruits of those two trees (Genesis 2:9). God had forbidden it in the beginning; but it was possible that after some time, once they had reached a certain maturity God might have permitted them to eat the fruits; but by letting the serpent beguile them they destroyed everything. When God created the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, had kept that tree in the Garden of Eden, and had asked Adam to tend the garden (Genesis 2:15), a clear indication that at some point God would have permitted them to partake of the fruit (1 Corinthians 9:9, 10, 13). Therefore to believe that God did not want it to happen, is to fall for Satan’s same ploy and commit the same mistake as Eve; and this mistake will then provoke to disobey and then sin against God. Before accusing God, it is better to study His Word thoroughly and correct our own misconceptions.

  Now let us look at the second question: Death because of eating of the fruit is stated in Genesis 2:17. The YLT says for this verse – “and of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, for in the day of thine eating of it--dying thou dost die” – In the original Hebrew language it is not said that “you will die as soon as you eat it” or that “you will die immediately on eating it.” Even the English translations commonly say “you will surely die” meaning, “you most certainly will die”, but not what is commonly and often understood, that “you will immediately die.” There is a world of a difference between these two meanings. ‘Immediately’ means ‘at that very moment’; whereas ‘surely’ means that ‘it is inevitable’ that you will die – but it is not being stated or indicated when this will happen, the only thing said is that you certainly cannot escape death; death will inevitably come upon you. The translation given in YLT – “dying thou dost die” means “in the process of dying you will eventually die;” in other words, from the moment you eat of the fruit you will begin to die, the process of your eventual death will be set into motion, and eventually you will surely die – does not every person begin to die from the moment he is born? But here in the Bible, nowhere is it said when and how this process of dying will come to completion. When we see the subsequent events we see that this is what actually happened – Adam and Eve (and then all their progeny) died at an age (and are continuing to die). God had said ‘you will surely die’, and they surely did die – here the word ‘immediately’ has been inserted by the (mis)interpretors and (mis)expositors, it has not been stated by God. So, now, is their any lie or falsehood in what God had actually said? Is it justified to accuse God of a lie because of people misinterpreting what He actually said?

  Before accusing God of of a wrong we would do well to repeatedly and thoroughly examine the basis of our accusation, pray about it and tell God clearly and unhesitatingly “I am unable to understand, or accept this thing, please clear my doubts about it” and He will do so (James 1:5). But please don’t ever accuse God of wrongdoings, it has very serious एंड deleterious consequences.

True Gospel versus False Beliefs and False Doctrines

Question: Can we learn the truth about the Lord Jesus and His Gospel from false doctrines and beliefs? How can we identify the true Gospel?

It is a common occurrence and a well-known fact, that to sell fake copies of some well-known product, the deceivers try to make the outer appearance or the presentation of the fake product as near to the genuine product as possible so that people are deceived into accepting and procuring that fake copy, in the belief that it is the actual product. It is only when people make use of that fake product, they realize that it is not what it was actually claimed to be – it’s qualities are not the same as the qualities of the actual product, neither is it as efficacious as it ought to be.

The same holds true for the true Gospel and teachings of God given in the Bible. Satan, to deceive the people, has brought into circulation many different varieties of fake copies of the Gospel and the Word of God. These fake gospels sound like the true Gospel, but they always have some errors and deviations from the true Gospel, which may not be immediately evident, but does come to the fore sooner than later. Also, to accept the contention that God warns us through false religions and false doctrines, is to say that God approves and uses falsehood and untruth to convey His message of “…the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6) – a patently false and untenable assertion, that contradicts the character and attributes of God, and is absolutely contrary to the teachings of God’s Word the Bible. In support, consider a few passages from the Bible in this context:

In Acts 16:16-18 we see that Paul casts out an evil spirit from a girl, even though the evil spirit through the girl kept saying that "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation" (Acts 16:17) – a fact, but coming through someone unacceptable to God.

James says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone” (James 1:13); and “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).

The Apostle John in his first epistle says, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

The Bible over and over again, emphasizes God’s absolute truthfulness, unwavering honesty, irreproachable integrity, impeccable justice, i.e. a behavior and character way above any reproach or doubt. There is no way that God has, or will use false doctrines and religions to spread His Word, when He already has given His true and Living Word to mankind, and has also given His people His Holy Spirit to teach them His Word (John 14:26; 16:13-15; 1 Corinthians 2:11-14). The Lord Jesus, after His resurrection and before His ascension into heaven, in His Great Commission to His disciples has asked them to go and teach to the people of the world nothing contrived or from human wisdom, but that which is His Word (Matthew 28:18-20).

But Satan, to make his lies, false teachings and wrong doctrines etc. to be acceptable, makes his ploys appear and sound like God’s Word, cleverly disguising the wrong things behind a veneer of religiosity and seeming acceptability (2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Colossians 2:4-8; 16-23). Therefore it is imperative that we firmly ground ourselves in God’s Word, and use the Bible and the Bible alone as the standard to check and judge all teachings, religions and doctrines (Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:21). Anything that is not according to God’s Word, or contradicts it in any manner; or any teaching or doctrine that does not satisfy or does not fully go along with all that is said regarding any issue or topic; or anything adopted from and incorporated from ways of the world and/or from the wisdom and practices of men (Matthew 15:3-9) into the teachings and practices of Biblical Christianity, is a false doctrine, a false religion, something displeasing and unacceptable to God, and is to be discarded, disregarded.

The true Gospel, is stated in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15 is the ‘Gospel chapter’ of the Bible – study it to see and understand the various truths related to the Gospel). Please take note, the true Gospel is according to the Scriptures and is not of human ingenuity; in other words, there is nothing in the true Gospel that has not already been stated in the Scriptures.

Understand this from the Bible itself:
Hebrews 10:5-9 records the statement of the Lord Jesus just before He left heaven to come down to earth; it says: “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come-- In the volume of the book it is written of Me-- To do Your will, O God.' " Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” The Lord Jesus is specifically stating that His work has already been recorded “In the volume of the book ” and in carrying out that which has been written, He will be fulfilling the will of God; in other words, it is already recorded; Christ Jesus did not devise anything new.
When the Lord Jesus met the two disciples returning from Jerusalem to Emmaus after His resurrection, and engaged in conversation with them, “And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27) – another affirmation that all that the Lord did, had already been recorded in the then available Scriptures, even before He was born or started His ministry.
The Apostle Paul too, after accepting Jesus as his savior and Lord used the Scriptures – the Old Testament texts to speak about and prove the Lord’s ministry: “vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ” and “he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening” (Acts 18:28; 28:23). Therefore, since there is nothing in the true Gospel that has not already been recorded in God’s Word, hence anyone preaching or teaching anything that does not already exist in the Scriptures, in the garb of the Gospel; anyone adding some new features or so called ‘new revelations’ to the Gospel is actually perverting the Gospel and is not to be believed or accepted.

Perversion of this Gospel had started straightaway, in the first century itself, and such was the attraction of these perversions, that within the time period of the Apostles and their ministry, the Christian Believers were already getting deceived and were falling for the wrong teachings. All the writers of the New Testament deal with these issues of wrong teachings and deceptions and Satan’s lies and deviousness in their writings, over and over again. All the epistles in the New Testament were written, and are meant to correct misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding Christ’s teachings, and to confront and nullify the wrong teachings being spread by the devil.

Once we know the characteristics of the true Gospel, we can always use them as the standard to compare every other doctrine and determine whether or not it is genuine. The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul gives us some pointers to identify the wrong Gospel in Galatians 1:3-9, and warns us that other than the Gospel already stated, even if Paul himself or an angel tries to modify it or re-state it in a different manner, it is not to be accepted. 

The text of Galatians 1:3-9 is as follows:

Galatians 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

Galatians 1:4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Galatians 1:5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Galatians 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,

Galatians 1:7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

Galatians 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

We can glean the following facts and characteristics regarding the true Gospel from this passage:

Verse 3. The true Gospel brings God’s grace and peace with it; it is not a source of differences, contentions or strife. Any teaching that does not place God and the Lord Jesus as the source of all grace and peace in our lives, instead if it emphasizes on any kind of human efforts and works to attain God’s grace and peace, or asking to do something to “earn it” instead of receiving it by faith through the grace of God, is not the true Gospel. Since the peace of the Lord Jesus is already granted to every disciple of His (John 14:27; 16:33), so why would anyone have to make any efforts of his own to obtain it?

Verse 4. Any teaching or doctrine or religion that speaks of anything other than, or of anything in addition to the accomplished work on the Cross of Calvary by the Lord Jesus, to save us from our sins and to justify us before God, is a false Gospel, a false doctrine, a false teaching; and ought to be rejected outright. Nothing, absolutely nothing, not even things like Baptism, participation in the Lord’s Table, Confirmation, or any other ritual or practice can in any way supplement or supplant what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for the salvation and redemption of mankind.

Verse 5. Adherence to and following the true Gospel always glorifies God and the Lord Jesus. The true gospel never ever glorifies man; rather, it exposes the sinfulness of man, provides the grace of God as the remedy to sin, and causes the redeemed and saved by God’s grace to glorify God rather than exalt or venerate any human being in any manner, for anything related to salvation, Kingdom of God, and restoration to fellowship with God. That which glorifies any human being, or in any manner takes away from God’s glory, is not the true Gospel.

Verses 6, 7. The ‘different gospel’’ is different because instead of emphasizing and presenting the ‘grace of Christ’ as something of first and foremost importance, leads people away from this primary requirement for salvation - grace. The ‘different gospel’’ may emphasize on things like ‘good works,’ ‘pious or holy living,’ ‘working of miracles’; it may focus on worldly gains and prosperity rather than accumulating heavenly gains (Colossians 3:1-2); on alms, penances, pilgrimages, veneration of saints and other humans; on philosophy, Bible knowledge, status in Church hierarchy, etc. but the one crucial thing missing in that ‘different’ or false gospel will be the emphasis and sole necessity of the grace of Christ for being right with God, for being acceptable to God (Colossians 2). The false Gospel will eventually lead to problems, strife, contentions, hurt and broken relationships, one-upmanship, ego problems, desire and efforts for gaining temporal status and things, etc. instead of the grace and peace of God, as stated in vs. 3.

Verses 8, 9. The Gospel that has once and for all times been delivered is immutable, and cannot be added to or subtracted from, but has to be diligently defended from Satan’s devious ploys (Jude 1:3). No one, not Paul, not any angel, not anyone – howsoever accomplished or worthy of honor he or she may be, can ever make any changes or modifications to the Gospel delivered once and for all times at the beginning of the first Church (Acts 2:37-40; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Anything not found in this primary Gospel, is a ‘different gospel’ – a perversion of the true gospel that has come from the devil, and is not to be accepted or given any credence, let alone be followed. God’s Word calls the purveyors of this false or ‘different’ gospel as ‘accursed’ and it would be patently false and naïve to expect anything blessed from someone or something accursed from God.

By following Paul’s exhortation “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1), and subjecting all teachings and doctrines related to God, salvation, and Christ Jesus to the above criteria (and of teachings from 1 Corinthians 15; Colossians 2 & 3), and through the help and guidance of God’s Holy Spirit the genuine can readily be separated from the false.

Will Back-Sliders go to Heaven?

Question:

Once a person is saved, if he back-slides, then will he go to heaven?

Answer:

Whosoever has been saved, i.e., voluntarily and with a true heart, has repented of his sins, accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal savior, has asked for forgiveness of his sins from Him, and has submitted his life to Him, only that person will go to heaven by the grace of God – but only God knows the actual spiritual condition of man, therefore it is only God who can decide on who will go to heaven, and who will not.

According to God’s Word, the Bible, it is very clear and firmly established that salvation is forever, i.e. is eternal. The writer of the epistle to Hebrews, writing about the Lord Jesus Christ’s work to provide salvation to mankind writes, “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,” (Hebrews 5:8-9). The Lord Jesus also said that He will give eternal life to all who believe in Him (i.e. an endless and indestructible life for all eternity, eternal life) and at the same time also assured that no one will be able to take the saved ones out of the Lord’s, or God’s hands (John 10:27-29) – this statement of the Lord has very serious and extremely important implications. On the basis of this promise from the Lord, to lose one’s salvation implies that, somehow Satan has been able to snatch away the saved persons from the Lord’s, or God’s hands, and taken possession of them again. If at all somehow this were to be possible, it would mean that three impossibilities have become possible – first, that Satan is more powerful than God; second, that the Lord Jesus spoke a lie, He gave a false assurance that no one will be able to take away a saved person from the hand of the Lord or of God; and third, that the Lord does not know about Satan’s power or His own power, or God’s power; He is just saying things without any basis! Since any and all of this is an absolute impossibility and can never happen, therefore it is evident that any person who has been saved, on the basis of John 10:27-29 can never ever lose his salvation. And since those who are saved are no longer under any condemnation (Romans 8:1), therefore those who are actually saved, will most certainly enter heaven, whatever be their state of maturity in faith and standing in spirituality.

But it is only the Lord God who knows, who is an actual Christian Believer and who is not. For example, take Judas Iscariot; he was called to be a disciple by the Lord, he stayed in fellowship with the Lord, he learnt from the Lord, he too went for preaching in the power and instructions from the Lord, along with the other disciples, and along with the disciples he too preached the gospel, he too did miracles, but in the end he was called ‘the son of perdition’ and ‘the only one lost’ (John 17:12), and went into eternal destruction. The Lord Jesus towards the end of His Sermon on the Mount had said that not everyone who calls Him ‘Lord’ will enter into heaven, even though they may have abundantly preached, worked miracles and done other remarkable works in the Lord’s name – the Lord called all such works as ‘iniquity’ – and made it clear that only they will enter heaven who are obedient to God and work according to the will of God (Matthew 7:21-23). Therefore on the basis of the evident behavior, preaching, and works of any person we can never say for sure that all those who claim to believe in the Lord and everyone who preaches or works in His name, is actually a saved person! Paul also cautioned and exhorted that Satan and his angels come as angels of light and apostles of Christ to deceive people (2 Corinthians 11:3, 13-15). Therefore it is only God who knows the fact of a person’s being saved, and only He can decide, and does decide, about a person’s being saved or not.

The Bible also says that there will be Christian Believers who truly repented and came to the Lord with a true heart, they were really saved, but they did not do anything that could be considered worthy of being rewarded by the Lord. At the time of judgement when their works are evaluated, they will surely enter heaven because they are saved, but will enter empty handed, without any rewards, and remain so forever for all eternity (1 Corinthians 3:9-15). Like for everyone else in the world, even the Christian Believers will face judgment on the basis of their works, rather, the beginning of judgement will be with the Christian Believers (1 Peter 4:17-18), but the judgement of the Christian Believers will not be for their salvation, but for giving them eternal rewards based on the evaluation of their works – salvation is not based upon works, but rewards are based on works. Salvation is only by the grace of God through repentance from sins and coming to faith in the Lord Jesus; not through any works of any kind, nor by fulfilling any traditions, or rituals, or carrying out religious observances of any kind (Ephesians 2:1-9).

There are many such people who after coming into the Christian Faith, for some reason or the other, back-slid or fell away from the Faith, but the Lord in accordance with His promise (Hebrews 13:5) did not leave or forsake them. Sooner or later, through some way, Lord brought them back into the Faith, and subsequently they were used mightily for the Lord, and through their witness and example of returning back into the Faith they became a source of encouragement and courage to others who were weak in, or had fallen away from the Faith. If we look at it from our current context, then the time when the Lord Jesus had taken the penalty of the world’s sins upon Himself, at that time we had no physical existence. Also, nowhere is it written in the Bible that the Lord took upon Himself and suffered the penalty of only those sins of the people which they had committed before coming to the Lord – i.e., the sins they had committed before being saved; and the Lord has left the remedy of their sins committed after their being saved in their own hands, by virtue of their works – this is an impossibility – how can a part of salvation be dependent upon the grace of God, and the remaining part be based on the works of a person? 

The Lord has paid in full, the penalty for all the sins of all the people committed in their entire life-time, at whatever time in the history of the world they have existed. He has made available not a just partial but the complete way out from the deadly consequences of every person's entire sin burden of their entire life-time; now there is nothing left for any person to accomplish by his own efforts to live a saved life. When the Lord has taken upon Himself all the sins of every person, from their birth to their death, has paid in full for them, then which sin is left that will hinder the person from entering heaven? Is his sin of back-sliding or falling away from the Faith not a part of the sins of his lifetime, the price for which has already been paid in full by the Lord? 

And if, supposing, having been cleansed on being saved, a person is able to maintain his life pure and sinless by his own efforts, works, and abilities, then he could have done the same before being saved as well – then the Lord's coming has been in vain; rather, the sinful, mortal man, actually has become greater than the Lord God! Since if this were possible, then man merely by his works, can accomplish that for which the Lord had to leave heaven and come down as a man to earth, suffer ignominy and torture, and had to sacrifice His life – this is an absolutely inconsistent and impossible contention! Moreover, which saved person can in all honesty say that since salvation, he has never – physically, mentally, or in thoughts, ever committed any sin? The Apostle John says: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8, 10) – take note that though he was a saved person and an Apostle, yet, through the use of the word "we" he is including himself amongst the sinners referred to in this verse. Therefore what difference if any is left between those who have back-slid or fallen away from the Faith, and those who haven't? The one falling away has also sinned, and those who are still in the Faith, they too have sinned or do sin – and since the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), therefore both of them are in a similar situation, and both are justified before God not by their works of any kind, but solely by the grace, forgiveness, and love of God, and both are made acceptable for entry into heaven through the grace and forgiveness of God.

Therefore for those who have back-slid or fallen away from faith, instead of criticizing and condemning them, we should pray for them; and we should leave their returning back into the Faith and being useful for the Lord in the hands of the Lord, to be accomplished according to the time and plan of God.