"Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden? '" (Gen 3:1, NIV) Words are such powerful things. God created the world through words, the devil destroys the world through words. Words can be a source of healing and can also be a great arrow shot into one's heart that pierces and hurts without relenting! .
When the devil got ready to attack God's great creation:man, notice that he did it with nothing but words. In this case, LIES. Both truth and lie are words. But the effect they produce are very different. Nothing can be created without words. And nothing can be destroyed without words.
This is why we must be very attentive to and conscious of the Truth. We must accept it. We must speak it. We must live it. If we are not speaking Truth, then we are speaking lies. If our words are not creating, they are destroying. There are no neutral state.
Saying that the law gave the devil a foothold is an understatement. Truth is the devil basked under the law. He could easily twist the law to produce a lie that look so much like the truth. "Did God really say:...?". In other words, is it really the law to not eat any of the tree. Couldn't you make some adjustment and still be right. Couldn't you try to adopt this law to your own unique circumstance and still be right. The law produced a system of lies. A lifestyle of lies. People lived in hypocrisy under the law. It was an era of "do as I say, and not as I do". It was a time of "Do whatever you will, but don't get caught".
But overcoming this system required Truth. It required knowledge of the Truth. It required acceptance of the Truth. It required opening ourselves up to the Truth and surrendering to its cleansing effect. Yes, the truth may hurt you, shame you, disgrace you, stretch you beyond your comfort zone. But it will definitely SET YOU FREE! I will choose being free anytime over being comfortable.
"A poor master is richer than a rich slave"