Since the beginning, Satan has been using the same tired line to make believers doubt the goodness and authority of God. When he was tempting Eve, the Devil said, “Did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1). Satan knew very well what God had said. He wasn’t mistaken when he misquoted God, but it was a deliberate aberration meant to make Eve think less of God and more of herself.
We know this because Eve added to God’s word in her response to the serpent (compare Genesis 2:17 to Genesis 3:3). Pride has been with us for a very long time indeed. Eve resisted the temptation at first, but gave in at least in some part because of the doubt Satan planted in her mind with his insidious question. There is a reason God declared the serpent the most cunning of all creatures (Genesis 3:1).
Notice as soon as he got Eve to doubt, Satan had the audacity to call God a liar and His entire character into question (Genesis 3:4-5). It was like a one-two punch. First, make you question God, then declare God to be wrong. The devil is still employing this strategy today. He’s never stopped using this ploy, which makes one question why we haven’t figured out his game by now. Satan is a one-trick pony, but we fall for the same ruse time and time again.
We see this playing out in our culture. God’s commands are being questioned, mocked, and rejected at every turn. Did God really say that He created male and female (Genesis 1:27)? Does the Word of God define what a marriage is (Genesis 2:24)? Did God really say our sexual and moral choices have no consequences (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)? The devil wants you to question all that God has instructed in His Word. He wants you to think God is wrong and that you can choose to live however you wish.
The problem is that God says if you want to make your own rules and ignore His, you will die (Romans 6:23). We are not free to do whatever we want, but created to give God glory in everything we see, think, say, and do. The fact is, we are not free; we are slaves of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:10), bought at the highest price of His blood poured out to cover our sins (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). What God commands, we do (John 14:15).
God has given us His Word so we can understand how He designed us to live. We can choose to reject God and live life on the path that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14), or we can live in obedience to Him and live for eternity with Him. It’s not a matter of, “Did God really say,” but a question of whether we will obey what He has indeed said. The Word of God is not in question, despite what the devil would have you believe. The only thing in question is whether you will choose disobedience and death, or obedience and life. God has spoken. What you choose to do in response is up to you.