蛇的试诱（接上篇）
如果我问你们，人类第一次堕落的原因是甚么，你们必定会回答说，原因是撒但。这是对的，但我们不可完全归咎于撒但。我们要看见，人类第一次堕落的原因，主要不在撒但那面，而在人这面。我们可以感冒为例。感冒是由于冷空气，然而冷空气本身并不足以引起感冒，必须有感冒病毒才会引起。人容易感冒，因为人有感冒病毒。我们不该完全归咎于冷空气，反而应当多归因于感冒病毒。同样，我们不能把堕落的责任全部归诸撒但，人该负大部分责任。撒但是人这次堕落的起始因素。撒但就是撒但，牠永远没有希望改好一点或不同一点。
试诱的方法
撒但试诱的方法，第一是向人题议。这题议必然是对神的话打问号。撒但总是藉着一个题议，叫你对神的话起疑问，而来试诱你，引诱你，陷害你。甚么时候你怀疑神的话，你必须认清那个怀疑不是从你来的，乃是从蛇来的。很多年前我读过一篇文章，是美国浸信会一位牧师写的，他说，问号的形状就像一条蛇竖立起来问说，‘神岂是真说？’我们对圣经里一切的话都不该有任何疑问，对每一句话都该说“阿们。”对神的话所打的任何问号，都是出于那试诱者的题议。
撒但的题议总是使人怀疑神的话和神的心。那狡猾者就像蝎子，牠的疑问就像蝎子刺上的毒素。蛇对夏娃说，“你们不一定死。”实际上蛇是对夏娃说，“神为甚么禁止你们吃知识树？因为神知道你们吃了就会像祂。你们会像祂一样的智慧。”这些话就是毒素，是从蝎子的刺来的。夏娃被刺螫中，毒素就注入她里面。这就是撒但试诱她的方法。
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The Temptation of the Serpent (2) – John 8:44
(Continued from the previous message) If I ask you, “What was the cause of mankind’s first fall?” you would surely answer, “Satan was the cause.” That is correct, but we should not place all the blame on Satan. We must see that the main cause of mankind’s first fall was not on Satan’s side but on man’s side. Let’s take catching a cold as an example. A cold can result from exposure to cold air; however, cold air alone is not enough to cause illness — it requires a virus to bring about the cold. People catch colds easily because they already carry the cold virus. So, we shouldn’t place all the blame on the cold air; rather, more of the responsibility lies with the virus. Similarly, we cannot put the entire blame for the fall on Satan — man bears the greater responsibility. Satan was the initiating factor in this fall, but Satan is just Satan — there is never any hope that he will become better or different.
The Method of Temptation
Satan’s method of temptation always begins with posing a question. And that question inevitably places a doubt on God’s word. Satan tempts by raising questions that cause you to doubt what God has said—thus luring and trapping you. Whenever you begin to question God’s word, you must realize that the source of that doubt is not you, but the serpent. Many years ago, I read an article written by a Baptist pastor in the U.S. He said that the shape of a question mark resembles a serpent rearing up and asking: “Did God really say?” Regarding every word in the Bible, we should never have a single doubt. Instead, we should say “Amen” to every line. Every question mark placed on God’s word is the result of the tempter’s suggestion.
Satan’s questions always cause us to doubt both God’s word and God’s heart. The cunning one is like a scorpion, and his questions are like the venom on the scorpion’s stinger. The serpent said to Eve, “You will not surely die.” In effect, he was saying, “Why would God forbid you from eating the tree of knowledge? Because He knows that once you eat it, you’ll become like Him — you’ll have wisdom like His.” These words were poison — like venom from a scorpion’s sting. Eve was stung, and the venom was injected into her. This was how Satan tempted her.