“I hate and abhor falsehood but I love Your law.” -Psalm 119:163

Satan is the father of lies, therefore every Christian hates false ways because it is not of God. As God’s people, holy and set apart, believers are on the side of truth and love. We are truth-tellers, humble servants to the God of eternal truth. Lies will one day be exposed and cease to do harm. Truth will expose all deceit and endure forever. Praise God for His loving ways which never wear out, but stand the test of Time.

I was reading in Joshua 9 this morning and struck by the example of what happens when we do not seek God’s wisdom first. The leaders of Israel were deceived by their neighbors, the Gibeonites, and rashly made a treaty with them instead of following God’s command to wipe out all surrounding inhabitants. Without the Lord’s wisdom we lack discernment to distinguish what is counterfeit from the truth. Yet as we learn to seek His face, we grow in grace and wisdom, and the Spirit is faithful to guide us on the narrow path with Biblical counsel. But recognizing God’s truth requires consistent feeding upon His Word in meditation and prayer. Without these weapons we stand vulnerable to Satan’s half truths and lies, as well as feeding our fleshly appetites (what looks good to the eyes) rather than serving God. 

Jesus said there would be those who come in His Name, but who are false teachers. We see this play out today with false religions and bad theology. Not everyone who claims to walk in Jesus’ name is His disciple. This is why Christians hate lies because it can be to the ruin of souls. Matthew Henry describes a lie as hypocrisy, false doctrine, a breach of faith, or found in our conversation. It is one thing to be on the receiving end of a lie, but a worse affront to be the liar as this is something God detests. 

When Jesus sent out His disciples to preach He warned them to be as “shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Christians are to put on the mind of Christ, comparing everything we hear to God’s Word. Does it line up as true? Or is something off? Or completely contrary to what God says? What we put in our minds matters. The news, entertainment, social media influencers, friends, family and even our churches need to be examined with what God says is true. Because this is how our worldview is shaped. I think even good pastors would agree that we should know the Scriptures ourselves and not take what they say as without error. Men are fallible, God’s Word is not. As you and I become increasingly familiar with the Bible, and as the Holy Spirit teaches, we will learn to detect lies, half-truths, or wrong interpretations of Scripture. This is our blessing as believers. If Christ is in you, the Spirit will teach you because God is faithful to grow His children into the likeness of His Son Jesus.

For the times when we have been the liar- speaking with flattery, gossip, hypocrisy, white lies, or not telling the whole truth, there is grace. We are called to walk worthy as Christians and not go back to our former ways of sin, yet in moments when we choose to operate out of our flesh, we have God’s grace. Abraham decided to react in fear and lied about Sarah as his wife, claiming she was only his sister, not telling the whole truth. In our times of sin, we too have a merciful Lord to go to for repentance. Lies destroy which is why God hates it. He truly wants the best for His children, so He gave us Himself through Jesus Christ to be the payment for our sins. When Christians are Spirit led, we are operating out of what is best for us and living for God’s glory.

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing deeper: Genesis 12:10-20; 20; Joshua 9; Proverbs 6:16-19; John 8:44; Romans 1:21-25; Ephesians 5:8-17