Opus 2025-490: Snake or Serpent?

Generally, when people think of the garden of Eden and Eve being tempted, I think they use the word snake to refer to Satan.  Most translations us the term serpent.  Is that just a translation issue or is there a difference?

We understand that sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve.

If their disobedience was the beginning of sin, where did the serpent come from?  I don’t have a biblical answer for that.  We are not told.  We are just told that he was there and that he was tempting Eve to disobedience.  Adam and Eve sinned.  The serpent was evil.  I’m suggesting that these are two different things.  I’m suggesting that it is possible to be evil without committing acts of sin.  I’m suggesting that is possible to commit an act of sin without being evil.  One is a condition; one an action.

Sin can be confessed, repented of, and forgiven.  Evil would never do the first two or think that the third was necessary.  People are content to be what they are and anxious to spread the poison if possible.  Paul declares that he is the greatest of sinners.  We know that sinners need to get saved.  We don’t see those same comments having to do with evil.

What we do see, at least in Psalms and Proverbs, is a condition of evil that controls the hearts of men.  The implication is that some men have consciously chosen to establish their foundation as evil.  Other men, in contrast, have chosen to establish themselves in the realm of righteousness.  I know that those who want to be righteous have their stumbling blocks  and their failures. That’s when we turn to Jesus confess our sins, and know that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.  I read that somewhere.  I would venture to guess that sometimes those who are rooted in evil will also have their failures.  If you want a humorous approach to this read The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis.

Some people in their belief systems and even in their formal theology, confused the two.  When they talk about all of us being born in sin and our original simple nature, they confuse that with the choices in which we sign up on what team we’re going to be.  They refuse to acknowledge that when God created us in His image, one of the choices that we have is which way we are going to go.  Now the choice to pursue the righteous path as opposed to the evil path does not save us.  That requires an act of God, which we call grace, which is activated by our faith.  We can still seek because God made us free agents.  We are not helpless pawns in the hands of fate.  We may be feeble humans surrounded by evil, but there’s always that spark of the Holy Spirit, which allows us to make a choice.

Eve did not have to be convinced by Satan.  It was at inner desire in her to be dominant, to be as gods, and to think that she knew better than what she knew was right.

Fight that tendency.  It can come upon us at any time, no matter what our spiritual condition.  God is always there with the help of His Holy Spirit.  As someone said Satan has one vote, God has one vote, and we are the deciding ballot.

Choose wisely.

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