Genesis 3:4 - The serpent said, "You surely will not die"

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Commentary

Today marks a notorious holiday in the New Orleans area known as Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Traditionally, it is the last day to indulge-and often overindulge-before Ash Wednesday starts the sober weeks of fasting that come with Lent. Known for it's sexual decadence, drunkenness, and hedonism, the Mardi Gras festival is almost saying, "Oh no, we're about to take time to remind ourselves of the God who created us and redeemed us back to him! Quick, let's destroy our identities with sin." Like the Garden of Eden, we keep thinking that God's ways will hold us back - that if we take things into our own hands, we'll be like God, able to discern right from wrong. Mardi Gras stands as a monument of the hostility of our sinful nature to God.

Today's commentary by:
Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, Grace NYC