For Those With Ears to Hear

Genesis 3:1–6, James 1:14–15, Proverbs 4:23

We always picture the Fall beginning when Eve sank her teeth into that fruit.

But let’s be real. That wasn’t the beginning. That was just the moment the sin broke the surface.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say…?’” — Genesis 3:1

The fall of man started long before that bite. It began when Eve paused. When she entertained the serpent’s lie. When she let herself wonder “Maybe what God said isn’t fully true.” That flicker of doubt? That was it.

The enemy didn’t force her hand. He just cracked open the door, and her heart leaned in.

And what was behind that doubt? Pride. The same pride that brought Satan down.

“For you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven… I will make myself like the Most High.’” — Isaiah 14:13–14
“You will not surely die… you will be like God.” — Genesis 3:4–5

She didn’t need to hate God to fall. She just needed to stop trusting Him.

Sin always begins in the heart. Long before the action, there’s a question. A seed. A small “What if?” that grows into rebellion.

“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin…” — James 1:14–15

And it’s the same with us.

You didn’t fall when you clicked the link, or crossed the line, or said the thing you swore you never would. That was just the echo. The sin started when you first whispered to yourself, “Maybe I know better. Maybe God’s holding out on me.”

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” — Proverbs 4:23

So don’t just guard your hands, guard your heart. That’s where the war starts.

Genesis 3:1–6

The Fall

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.