This world is stained with sin, and sin breeds all kind of evil, not the least of which are the legions of falsities, and the myriads of lies. Lying is one of the sins spoken of in the Ten Commandments, and falsehood and lies are the basis by which Satan tempted Eve to disobey God’s Words to her and Adam and allowing through their rebellion, sin to enter God’s perfect Creation.
Deception is the basis by which we pervert the image of God in us, as He is Holy and there is no shadow of turning within Him, (James 1:17) no deception, no false or broken promises, and no trace at all of lying.
We live in a world full of lies and deceit, thus we must have ready and waiting all of the truth we can gain, and since I believe that the only real truth, the only true truth as it were, is the Holy Scriptures. God’s Word to us, for our instruction, correction and comfort. (2 Timothy 3:16)
In effect, there are three major types of lies that we must deal with in this dark, and deceptive world, the lies we tell ourselves, the lies that are told to us by others, and the lies that our enemy, the father of lies, tells us.
So what do I mean when I say we live in a world of lies? Well the Scriptures give us a very clear indication of my meaning.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 says very clearly: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
So very plainly we see this fact, that in an increasing manner men grow less and less fond of the truth, and instead surround themselves with whatever suits their whims, and often this means deceiving themselves or simply denying the truth that clearly lay before them. (Romans 1:18-19)
Men don’t want the truth anymore, they want whatever lie suits their sinful desires at the time. Now, you may say I am being harsh, but let’s face facts, if the only real truth in this world is in fact God’s Word, then the fact remains that any other supposed truth is in fact a lie, and we know for a fact that not everyone believes in God’s Word, or even in God Himself. Thus we see quite clearly that men will go after anything they believe will benefit them, or give them the most freedom apart from God’s decree.
The real reason men reject the truth is because they reject the Author of Truth Himself, God. This can be seen in John 14:6 where Jesus explains where truth can be found, namely, in Himself.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”
So if Christ Himself alone is THE Truth, and since He alone is also God, then when men reject truth, they are in fact rejecting a part of who God is, namely, His divine fidelity.
John 17:17, where Jesus is praying for the sake of those around Him, prays that His Father would bring them to Himself through Christ, and this is what He says: “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.”
So now we know that God is truth, and by extension, Jesus Christ (being God in human form) is truth, and now we see that God’s Word is truth. So then, we come full circle to prove this single point: namely, that anyone who does not believe in God, is believing a lie. So the first type of lie we must face in this world full of lies, are the lies we tell ourselves, the ones our sinful hearts choose to believe over believing in the One True God.
The next type of lies we must deal with is the type that is outside of ourselves, that is, false teachings.
Galatians 1:6-9 says this, in Paul’s dealing with the false teachings of those trying to lead members of the Galatian church astray.
“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”
Strong language isn't it? Even if an angel preached another gospel? Well! It would seem to me that this is a serious thing, to pervert God’s Word! False teaching is all around us, and to tie back in what I have already discussed, believing in anything besides God s in fact believing a lie. So then, if anyone teaches anything contrary to God’s Word, or His Gospel, then that person is spreading lies.
This is a serious offense, and the sad truth of the matter is that many of these people don’t know what they are doing, but those who handle the Words of God, will find themselves under greater judgement when their time before the Great White Throne comes.
James 3:1-5 “Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire!”
Here James is speaking to believers, to the church, so if even members of God’s household (by the grace of Christ) will be held doubly accountable for handling the Word of God with equity, how much more judgement will be reaped by those who teach falsely, as Paul said: “Let him be accursed!”
2 Peter 2:12-13 “But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. They count it a pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you,”
Peter is speak directly of false prophets… Let those words sink in, they will be destroyed, along with all other creatures of darkness.
Jesus clearly states that we must give an account for every word we speak. Matthew 12:36-37 “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
So then, what about the last type of lie we must endure? What does the Bible say about the father of lies, the devil?
Jesus, in John 8:44 says this to the Pharisees, who had been leading the people of Israel astray: “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
So those who speak out in falsehood speak from the language of the devil himself… A heavy thought, and not one to take lightly.
Here is where we will get into fight back against these lies with the truth. We already have seen that the truth of this world will be found only in God, and in His Word, indeed since He is the embodiment of truth, He alone can lead us to it.
The first place we must go to find truth is God’s Word. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
The Word of God is the sharpest sword in existence, for I know of no other blade which can pierce straight through to the spirit. No lie can stand before this blade of God’s Word. It will cut down any falsehood, for it is given power by God’s Holy Spirit.
If the lies of this world are a fog which makes it hard to see the truth, then we must look into God’s Word to find clarity, and indeed, repentance and faith. For if we are to cut through the lies, we must not only look into the Word, but be careful to do all that is in it. For God’s truth is meant to be followed in faith, not placed on a shelf, it is our sword and armor against the lies of this world (Ephesians 6:10-17).
This fact is stated clearly by James as he ugres the believers to act upon their faith. James 1:22-25 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
So in order to fight the lies of sin, this world, and the devil, we must run to God in His Word and then act in faith upon all that He has commanded. And if we do this (by His strength alone of course, we have nothing apart from Him) we are given this sure promise:
1 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
As the waves of the lies of this world beat on the sides of our boat, we are surely as the rising sun bound and anchored to The Rock, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hear in closing the words of the hymnist: “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand!”
Stand firm in the truth,
--The Scribe
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