When the serpent came to the woman, he questioned, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'" (Gen. 3:1-3)
Now observe carefully what the serpent said to the woman—"You will not surely die…" (3:4).
God said that the day you touch the fruit of the forbidden tree—you will die, but the devil said—you will not surely die.
How evil and crafty the devil is! Ever since he deceived Adam and Eve in the garden, he is on a continuous mission to entice people to believe his lies. His goal is to delude and destroy people by distorting God’s words by delivering his own version.
When we look at the people’s mindset today, don’t we see how the devil had poisoned their minds by installing notions contrary to God’s word?
Distortion of God's Truth
Here are some examples of how the devil has been successful in deceiving people:
God’s word reveals Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12). Yet the devil deceived people into thinking that Jesus is not the only way; He is just one of the ways; there are many ways leading to heaven.
God’s word reveals to repent and trust in Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sins; that if we don’t repent and turn to God, we’ll perish (Acts 2:38; Lu. 13:3,5). Yet the devil misled people into thinking to simply trust Christ for salvation by undermining the aspect of repentance. He enticed them to focus on merely believing in Christ without seriously considering their sins and the necessity to repent.
God’s word reveals not to be deceived, for neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-10). Yet the devil fooled people into thinking that God is love and the loving God doesn’t send people to hell; that people can simply believe in Christ, live the way they want to live and yet inherit the kingdom of God.
God's word reveals that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness; that those who repent, God will forgive the guilt of their sin (1 Jn. 1:9; Ps. 39:5). Yet the devil seduced some people that God will not forgive them, that their repentance is futile and that there is no hope for them, casting them into the misery of self-condemnation and despair.
God’s word reveals marriage is a lasting relationship and that divorce and remarriage are forbidden, except for adultery; that if believers have to inevitably go for separation, they must remain unmarried (Matt. 5:32; 1 Cor. 7:11). Yet the devil lied to people saying they can go for divorce for many personal reasons and continue to remarry.
God’s word reveals to stay content and not to seek worldly riches which turn the heart from faith and plunge people into many griefs; that we have to stay focused on His kingdom and righteousness (1 Tim. 6:6-10; Matt. 6:33). Yet the devil entrapped people to believe that God wants to make all His people rich and that they have to seek and claim earthly riches and prosperity.
God’s word reveals that to follow Christ we have to deny ourself and take up our cross and follow Him; that we have to give up everything and make Him the Lord of our lives (Lu. 14:26-27, 33). Yet the devil enchanted people into believing that to follow Christ means self-fulfillment, not self-denial; receiving everything, not giving up everything; seeking worldly crowns, not carrying our cross; using Jesus as a means to reach our own ends, not seeing the Lord Jesus as the end of all things.
Believing Truth, Resisting Lies
There are many other truths God’s word reveals about which the devil tempted many people to doubt and resist, luring them to follow their whims and wishful opinions. But we cannot blame him for his deceptions, for we have God's word as a standard whereby to judge all things. We have a choice, either to believe God's truth or the devil's lies.
The surest way to ruin one’s life is to resist allowing the truth of God’s word to speak as it is and follow one’s own assumptions and lies of the devil.
Remember, the devil’s aim is to entice us to cultivate a casual attitude towards God’s exhortations; he wants us to ignore the holiness of God and the consequences of sin and face inevitable destruction.
Dear friends, let us not be deceived by the lies of the enemy. Let us not permit him to lay poisonous eggs in our mind. Let us not stubbornly cling to our own wishes and notions that do not reflect the truth of God’s word. Let us not entertain the teachings of false teachers whose beliefs are not evidenced by God’s truth. Let us take God’s word seriously. Let us interpret the word of God as it is, believe what it says and live accordingly.
May the Lord who is faithful, strengthen and protect us from the evil one (2 Thess. 3:3).
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Was reminded of this statement
ReplyDelete"My will, and not Thine be done," turned paradise into a desert. "Not my will, but Thine be done," turned the desert into paradise, and made Gethsemane the gate of heaven.—Pressense.
Brother Stephen, for your efforts to open many eyes and ears to the Truth of God's Word, I thank you! May you be encouraged to continue in your good works! May our Lord, Christ Jesus be pleased by your obedience to His Word! I would pray that many more people would seek to study and obey God's Word and share with others as you are doing! - Wynne Dunn
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful article, highlighting clearly the prevalent lies being propagated in today's churches. Thank you.
ReplyDelete