Jesus exposed Satan’s true nature when he declared, “He is a liar and the father of lies.” (Jn 8:44) Satan’s favorite tactic is using lies and deceit. He quickly unleashed this tactic upon mankind by tempting Eve with the question, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1) Adam and Eve fell for this deception and believed Satan’s lie instead of God’s Word. Their spiritual DNA has been passed along to every generation.
Ideas come from many sources and have the potential to shape the world. Ideas that align with divine truth will shape the world for good. Ideas that contradict, deny or tarnish the truth of God’s Word can do great damage. The devil is at war against the truth and reaps destruction through lies. He challenges God’s Word and even attempts to erase it. As believers, when we stand firm in God’s Word and proclaim its truth we are actually engaging in spiritual warfare. Standing for truth helps us to bring every idea and thought captive in obedience to Christ, the living word. (2 Cor 10:3-5)
One way to discern spiritual truth versus a lie is through observing the spiritual fruits of opposing claims. A clear example from church history was medieval Roman Catholicism. For a thousand years they prohibited the use of any translation of the Bible except the Latin version which, as the centuries passed, only scholars could read. And the Vatican wrongly claimed sole authority to interpret the Bible. Without access to God’s word, masses of people became lost and spiritually oppressed. That was the fruit of a lie. But spirit-led reformers like William Tyndale, Myles Coverdale, and Martin Luther believed that the Bible must be available to people in their own language. The fruit of their efforts to translate the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible into everyday language led to the Protestant Reformation. Over the span of two centuries, the Holy Spirit used such new translations to bring countless numbers of souls across Europe, and beyond, to a saving faith in the God of the Bible!
Likewise, contemporary believers shouldn’t be surprised when confronted by spiritual lies and deceit. Whenever you encounter such spiritual warfare, may you lean into God for grace to stand firmly upon His unchanging Word!
Pastor Dave Korinek