What do you consider a lie?
As we continue to explore the answer to Pilate’s question of “what is truth,” we must look at the opposite of truth.
The opposite of Truth is a lie. A lie is something that is not true.
Jesus warned us about where lies originate. They begin with satan. Jesus described him this way.
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:44
Be aware. Satan is sneaky. He can lead you into rejecting truth a small step at a time. Remember his ultimate goal is to separate you from God and God’s Truth.
So step one for him is to get you to doubt what God said. Satan said to Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Genesis 3:1
If you catch him and confirm that God did indeed say what you knew He said, satan will then just bold face lie to you. When Eve confirmed what God said, satan said God was wrong.
Further more, he will plant the seeds that not only is God wrong, but He has lied to you to withhold something good.
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3:4-5
If you begin to doubt what God said, and you begin to wonder if He has deliberately withheld good from you, you will be ready to step into the next of satan’s snares.
You will begin to think you need to handle things yourself. When you find you cannot get what you want by yourself, the father of lies will step in.
He will tempt you to lie. First it is just a little “white lie,” just a little fudging on the truth.
If anyone asks, he will tell you, “Just don’t tell everything you know. If you don’t tell all the truth, it is not lying.”
Then he will tell you, “I know you are in a jam. You need to say what you need to say to get through this one time. One time won’t count. This isn’t really lying. Just think of it as a ‘get out of jail free card.’”
But he will tempt you again and you will lie again and again. Soon you will reach a point where you start to believe your own lies. If you find others who agree with you, your joint lies will start to sound like the truth.
Satan successfully turned a Palm Sunday crowd into a passionate group demanding Jesus’ crucifixion.
He will now tempt you, not only to accept your own lies as truth, he will also tempt you to reject real truth when it is presented to you.
He will be inching ever closer to his goal — get you to reject God Who is All The Truth.
Many might speculate on which sins are greater than others. I do not believe God rates sins. Sin is sin.
However, it is interesting that in John’s Revelation of the future judgement to come, the sin of lying made the short list.
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
Revelation 21:8
How do we know what is the real Truth? We will next look at The Real Truths as given by The One Who is The Truth!
Jesus answered, “I AM The Way, and The Truth and The Life.”
John 14:6
