By Steven J. Hogan
~ A Saturday Morning Post #209 ~
There are all kinds of lies in this world:
– the little lies a person tells another person,
– the lies of slandering and smearing,
– the lie that having lots of money means you are successful,
– the lie that life means having lots of possessions,
– the lie that you need to be entertained by movies, TV, and sports,
– the lie that alcohol and drugs satisfy you and makes you happy,
– the lie that says human beings evolved from lower life forms,
– the lies and spin we hear in the news media, the fake news,
– the lie that outward beauty is more important than inward beauty,
– the lie that being popular is important,
– the lies we hear in movies and music,
– the lie that sex outside of marriage is okay,
– the lies of Hitler that led to WW2 and millions of people dying,
– the lie that the government can solve our problems,
– the lie that our coastlines will someday be flooded because of climate change,
– the lie that there is no male or female, no man or woman,
– the lie that gender is subjective,
– the lies many people make when they do their taxes,
– the lies we see and hear in advertising,
– the lies we see in deepfake technology, in manipulated videos,
– the lies we are told about our history,
– the lies and propaganda we hear from politicians,
– the lie that skin color makes you more, or less, important than others,
– the lies taught in critical race theory,
– the lie that abortion is not wrong, and
– the lie that feelings are more important than facts.
These are just some of the lies you may have heard, and there are many, many more.
All lies are wrong, sinful, and attacks against truth, but some lies are far worse than others. You see, the worst lies have to do with spiritual truths, with God’s truth. And why? Because what you believe about God’s truth has a direct bearing on whether you go to heaven or hell, are saved or damned, are forgiven or guilty, are blessed or punished, are with Jesus in heaven, or are eternally consigned to a dark, lonely, and most painful place. Without a doubt, believing God’s spiritual truths is the most important and impactful thing you can do in life. “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32
The devil, “the father of lies” (John 8:44) wants people to believe his lies, and not God’s truths, in particular those that relate to whether you are spiritually and eternally alive or are spiritually and eternally dead. The devil’s lies regarding God’s truths are pure evil, deceptive, deadly, and, at times, contradictory. (Many unbelievers, like the devil, are two-faced, double-minded hypocrites, saying one thing one day and another the next day, all to suit their evil desires – Ps. 119:113). What are some of these lies?
– That there is no God,
– that there is no devil,
– that there is no spirit world,
– that man is basically good,
– that there is no such thing as sin, only mistakes,
– that there is no right or wrong, no absolute truth, that everything is relative,
– that God does not know, see, or care what you do,
– that you can do whatever you want for there are no consequences,
– that you aren’t guilty if you do something wrong,
– that Jesus is not God, and not the Son of God – He was just a good man,
– that Jesus never existed,
– that Jesus sinned and therefore, was not perfect,
– that God is cruel, merciless, powerless, forgetful, and unforgiving,
– that there is no heaven,
– that there is no hell,
– that only a few people go to hell, like Hitler, Stalin, and Castro,
– that there is a heaven, but no hell,
– that this life is all there is, and so eat, drink, and be merry,
– that the Bible is not God’s word,
– that there are many errors and contradictions in the Bible,
– that Jesus did not die on a cross to pay for people’s sins,
– that Jesus was never raised from the dead,
– that to be saved you need to do good works,
– that to be saved you need to believe in Jesus Christ plus do good works,
– that if your good works outweigh your bad works, then you will go to heaven,
– that there are many good religions and therefore, many ways to heaven, and
– that everybody goes to heaven.
It’s shocking and sobering that there are all these lies, and many more besides? But why does the devil lie? Because he hates God and the truths of God, and he doesn’t want people to believe these truths and be saved – he wants people to suffer forever in hell. The person who believes the devil’s lies with regards to God, Jesus, man, and salvation is deceived and is downing a spiritual poison, one that is eternally deadly. Sadly, these lies have been believed by billions of people all over the world. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel” (2 Cor. 4:4). “The gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.” Matt. 7:13-14
The devil is extremely deceptive, for “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” and “his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:14-15). Some servants of the devil actually look, talk, and act like they are real pastors and ministers, but they are fakes, hypocrites, blind guides, wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 5:15, Matt. 23). They are the worst kind of liars and therefore, the most dangerous people, for they seem to be sharing the truth with people about how to get to heaven when, in fact, they are telling people lies that lead them to hell. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in… You serpents, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape the sentence of hell?” Matt. 23:13, 33
Thankfully, God has given us spiritual truth, spiritual absolutes, and it’s found in His word. And it’s truth that’s good, right, holy, loving, perfect, and precious, truth that restores the soul, makes wise the simple, rejoices the heart, enlightens the eyes, and endures forever (Ps. 19:7-10). It’s truth you need to know, understand, and believe. The most important of all spiritual truths is the truth of the gospel. If you’re a Christian, if you’ve been forgiven, if you’re going to heaven, if you’ll be with Jesus, then thank God that He opened your heart to believe this gospel truth, that salvation is a gift from God, and is for those who repent, and believe that Jesus died and paid for their sins, and then rose again. Without a doubt, the truth of the gospel makes all the difference in your life, for only it can enable you to have an eternally satisfying and encouraging relationship with God Himself.
A great spiritual war engulfs this entire world, and it’s a fierce battle for the truth. The devil’s #1 weapon is his lies, and God’s #1 weapon is His truth, which is clearly spelled out in His Word. As a Christian, make sure you know the spiritual truths of God and aren’t being led astray by the lies of the devil. And don’t be distracted by and focusing on the other lies, like those mentioned in paragraph one. Remember, your primary purpose as a Christian is not to counter the lies you see in the world, those in our schools, media, culture, government, etc. That’s not how Jesus and Paul spent their time when they lived on earth. Your job is to learn spiritual truth, live the truth, correct spiritual errors, like those in paragraph three, and share the truth, especially the truth of the gospel. “Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom” (Ps. 51:6). “… speaking the truth in love…” (Eph. 4:15). And if you’re a pastor, remember that your number one priority is preaching and teaching God’s word (2 Tim. 4:1). “The overseer must be… holding fast the faithful word… so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.” Titus 1:7, 9
The most important truth for any person is the truth of the gospel, what Christ did for us at His 1st coming, and how we can be saved from sin and have eternal life, this most wonderful relationship with God Himself. In this blogsite, I have talked about the gospel again and again. But the principal reason for this site is end-time’s prophecy, the truths about Christ’s 2nd coming. And it’s the truths about Christ’s 1st coming that are foundational to His 2nd coming. At His 1st coming, Christ was glorified and resurrected from the dead, and at His 2nd coming, all believers from all time will be glorified and gathered to Jesus. At His 1st coming, Christ told us about His 2nd coming, and events leading up to it. And it’s Christ’s 2nd coming that begins the fulfillment of 100’s of prophecies and promises from both the Old and New Testaments, those with regards to Jews and Gentiles, and how we will together glorify our great God and Savior. Romans 15:8-11
Of course the devil lies about prophetic truth as well. I am not going to list out the devil’s many lies about our most amazing and glorious future, but only to say that his #1 lie is that Jesus Christ is not coming again. And there is absolutely no truth to this lie, for truly, Christ is coming again, and it won’t be long from now. “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27). “For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” Hebrews 10:37
P.S. God wants you to be discerning, to recognize the difference between the truth of God and the lies of the devil. Here are two articles that give you many truths about our future – “Thirty Important Truths About the Second Coming of Jesus Christ” and “50 Truths God Wants You To Know About the Rapture.”