MORNINGTIME  4191 

AND THE LORD GOD COMMANDED the man, SAYING, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof THOU SHALT SURELY DIE. Genesis 2:16-17. Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And (Satan) said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. AND THE SERPENT SAID UNTO THE WOMAN, YE SHALL NOT SURELY DIE: Genesis 3:1-4. It's been said that Adam and Eve should have been excused for their sin of eating the Fruit of the Tree of Life because they didn't understand what, "Ye shall surely Die", really meant. That's a good try, but it doesn't work. The bottom line is, "What part of "NO" do you not understand"? Let's say, for the moment, Adam and Eve had absolutely NO Understanding of "die" and "death". It still doesn't matter. The Lord said, "Don't eat...", and that was ALL they needed to Know. Today, His Words still apply. "No", "Do not" and "Thou shalt not", still mean "No", no matter what you understand or not. When the Lord says "No", Satan says "yes". When the Lord says "Yes", Satan says "no". "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter"! Isaiah 5:20. Obedience DOES NOT require Understanding. But Understanding DEFINITELY requires Obedience. Whether we call it, "The leading of the Holy Spirit", or "Conscience", or a black and white Commandment written in the Bible, Christians have NO reason or excuse to justify disobeying the Lord. Forgiveness and Understanding are good, but Obedience, even with no Understanding, will surely, Be Blessed.