How To Find Truth In A World of Lies

As I have been traveling through the Gospels each morning in my personal Bible study, it strikes me how much emphasis the Bible puts on truth. The opposite of truth is of course, the lie. On the surface, it seems black and white. Something is either true or it is false. But the world we live in is not that simple. There is another word that creates a blur in our quest for truth versus lie; it is the word deception.

Someone in the world is always trying to deceive us. Advertising is often an attempt to get us to purchase something, we don’t want or usually, don’t need. Politics, well, having just spent the last 3 months listening to the TV ads, have clearly become about each candidate spending more effort to make us see that the other guy is a terrible person who cannot be trusted, than it is about one declaring his own merits. It has become almost impossible to know what the truth is based on what we see on TV or read in our mail, about the different candidates. Social media has become the source many people get their information from, on just about every topic. And our culture continues to buy into the falsehoods that reside on the internet. Truth is hard to come by.

If you think about it, the Bible presents the battle of truth versus untruth, as one of the salient points of its history. The very fall of mankind, the entry of sin into the world, came about because of a battle for truth and that battle was fought with the weapon of deception.

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

The serpent, Satan himself, casts doubt on what Eve thought was the truth. Did God REALLY say that? Have you ever had someone do that to you? This is a subtle form of deception and falling into that trap pulls us away from the truth. Listen to Eve’s explanation to God after she disobeyed Him.

Genesis 3:13
Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

The serpent deceived her. And the battle that we all wrestle with today is filled with the serpent’s work of deception. The Bible describes our enemy in Revelation 12:9 , “…that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world…”.

Jesus gives a stronger description of the devil here in John 8:44-45, “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.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.”

Satan does not stand in truth. He is a liar and the father of lies. And the modern-day culture of the internet, has given him a world-wide platform to work his deception. I believe that since the advent of the smartphone giving us continual access to information, we are becoming conditioned to believe whatever we read. It simply too easy to assume what we read is true. Of course, as one who grew up in the sixties, I also was not always reading or being taught the truth. But we made attempts to research things. I was taught to question and to seek evidence before making decisions. My parents raised me to think for myself and I was not afraid to challenge authority if I had credible reason to do so.

Truth is hard to determine. Personally, unless I was an eyewitness to an event, I lean towards carrying some doubt as to the veracity of things I hear of. But what about our faith? Can we believe the things we hear in church? Can we trust our pastors, our Sunday school teachers, or any other Christian when they discuss the Christian faith?

The first step all Christians must take in their personal quest for truth is to not buy into the post-modern philosophy that truth is relative. It is not. There is a truth. There is a right and there is a wrong. If you say you are a follower of Christ, then you have no choice but to accept the Bible as the Word of God, because if you cast any doubt on what it says, you have no credible reason to even believe Jesus is who He says He is. The Bible is the only source for knowing who Jesus was or is. No other document from the ancient days is going to tell you He is the Messiah, He is the Son of God, and He is God. As Christians, we accept the Bible as God’s Word. There is also good news here; there is solid archeological evidence that we can study that give us reassurance of its being, what we believe it to be. If you are a young Christian who needs to get familiar with the Biblical evidence, there are many great resources to be found. Do the work.

The next step in the battle for truth is to read the scriptures and find out who God is, what He is like, and what He calls on His church to be. What you will learn is that Jesus is the truth. Jesus declares this Himself in John 14:6 saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Jesus is the truth.

If Jesus is the truth and Satan is the deceiver and father of lies, then the battleground is clear. We are fighting a war for truth. Anything that is not of Christ is a lie. Jesus warns us over and over in scripture to not be deceived. The end times spoken of in the Revelation, will be a time of deception. Paul spoke of this deception as well.

2 Corinthians 11:12-15
And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.  For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.  And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

The warnings are clear, and they are scary. Satan masquerades as an angel of light. This means we cannot simply believe what anyone says, no matter how many Bible degrees they have. No, I am not saying you can never trust your pastor. I am saying you must be reading your own Bible and testing everything against scripture. Everything. This is not me speaking, it is what God’s Word commands us to do.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21
Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.

Test everything. As I started this blog, I mentioned my current studies. As I read Jesus talk about the coming of the end times, when He returns, I cannot help but wonder if all this internet, fake news, and other stuff people fall for, is part of Satan’s preparatory battle plan to lure people into a state of deception. He seems to be molding the world into a place where the truth is so blurred, he thinks no one will believe God. Did God really say that?

We must become seekers of truth. Prepare for this battle by training in truth. Open your Bible every day. Then when the deceiver comes, you will be ready. Stand for truth. Stand for Jesus. This means we don’t believe things simply because someone says them. We don’t simply buy into what the internet tells us.

Stand for truth. Be a diligent seeker of facts. Start with God’s Word. The days are soon coming when the great deception will be upon us. Prepare yourselves and those under your personal authority. Look to Jesus in all things. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life.

Have a blessed day.

Seven Things to Remember as seen in Deuteronomy – Part 6

The fifth thing God had Moses remind the people of was that they must remember their enemies.

Deuteronomy 25:17
“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt.”

At first glance we could use this advice to justify our bitterness and our desire for revenge. This is not what this admonition says to us. We must never isolate verses and use them to justify our bad behavior and sin. Deuteronomy 32:35 eliminates any idea that the Jews were to be the administrator of revenge as God says, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.” Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30 quote this command in the New Testament as well, and it has been wisely said that when God repeats something three times it is extremely important. Revenge is not what Christians must be about.

Then why does God want Israel to remember their enemies? For the same reason, we must; to be prepared when the enemy attacks.

The Christian life is not a peaceful existence while we are on this earth and in this life. The Bible is replete with military metaphors. We have an enemy and we are at war.

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

So just like the Israelites, we must remember that we have an enemy. The best way to defeat an enemy is to know him. We must understand his ways, his tactics, and his motive. Satan wants to devour us.

The good news for Christians is found in Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. 1 John 4:3-4 reminds Christians that “…every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 

Our Savior has already defeated the devil.

We can also find comfort in knowing that Satan does not have free reign to do whatever he wants to us. The Book of Job makes it clear; anything we face that the devil throws at us has been allowed by God. So the real question is will we trust our God to bring us through it?

1 Corinthians 10:13
 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Ignore the devil? Do not. Remember he is your enemy. Remember and prepare for battle putting on your spiritual armor. Ephesians 6:10-11 says “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”  

Stand firm in the power of the Great Shepherd, Jesus.