OceanSide church of Christ

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HAVE YOU EVER BELIEVED A LIE?

Victor M. Eskew

 

            Almost everyone could answer the question that titles this article in the affirmative.  We have been lied to by our spouse.  We have been lied to by our children.  We have been lied to by our friends.  We have been lied to by our boss.  We have been lied to by a salesman.  We have been lied to by politicians.  The list is endless. 

            Lies are very dangerous things.  They oppose the truth.  They deceive and harm those who believe them.  They harm relationships.  They cause us to become distrustful of others.  They harm our relationship with Jesus Christ.  Too, they can keep us from entering into heaven.

            In the Bible, there are numerous people who believed lies to their detriment.  The very first person to believe a lie was Eve.  God had told Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  He told them that if they did they would die (Gen. 2:17).   When Satan spoke to Eve, he boldly spoke against the Word of God.  “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3:4-5).  Eve was tempted by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  Sadly, she yielded to her desires and sinned against God.  Paul tells us:  “…but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (I Tim. 2:14).  We are all very familiar with the consequences of Eve’s believing a lie.  Her actions combined with those of Adam have brought sin, heartache, sorrow, and death into the lives of all men.

            Another who was deceived was Jacob.  He was deceived by his own sons.  We are all familiar with the account.  Joseph’s brothers despised him.  When he came to them as they tended the flocks, they longed to kill him.  Reuben thwarted this act (Gen. 39:22).  Instead, the brothers sold Joseph into slavery (Gen. 39:28).  These sons of Israel could not tell their father the truth.   Therefore, they devised a lie.  “And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood.  And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father; and said, This we have found:  know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.  And he knew it, and said, it is my son’s coast:  and evil beast hath devoured him:  Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces” (Gen. 37:31-33).  This lie took its toll on Jacob for many years.  It radically altered how he dealt with his youngest son, Benjamin, too.  Fortunately, he would eventually learn the truth about Joseph.  But, many years of deep sorrow were suffered because of the lie he believed.

Another example of a person who believed a lie is found in a man we know only by the words “young prophet.”  The account of his believing a lie is found in I Kings 13.  The young prophet had been sent on a mission to prophesy against Jeroboam.  After he spoke to the Jeroboam, he was to “eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that” he came (I Kings 13:9).  He obeyed until an older prophet caught up with him as he returned home.  Here are the words of the old prophet:  “I am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water” (I Kings 13:18).  The verse then adds these words:  “But he lied unto him.”  The young prophet returned to the old prophet’s house and ate bread and drank water.  Because of his transgression, the Lord condemned him to die.  “And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him:  and his carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcass” (I King 13:24). 

In the religious world today, there are many people who believe all kinds of lies.  People believe they can be a part of any religious group and be saved.  People believe that as long as they are “good” God will save them.  People believe the Bible is not inspired of God.  People believe the Bible cannot be understood.  People believe that baptism has nothing to do with one’s salvation.  People believe that the church one belongs to is not important.  People believe that once they have been saved they will always be saved.  People believe that sincerity in religion guarantees one’s salvation.  People believe they can worship God in any manner they see fit.  People believe that some sins are not really sin.  People believe that a place called hell does not exist.  People believe that there are other revelations from God other than just the Bible.  People believe God will save most men regardless of how they have lived.

The list of lies that people believe is endless.  Satan, the deceiver, has done his job well.  The only remedy for a lie is the truth.  The problem is that the truth often hurts.  It hurts because it opposes what we have believed to be the truth for years.  It hurts because it goes against our desires.  It hurts because it shows that we have been wrong about something that we sincerely believed.  It hurts because we have to give up our long held beliefs.  It hurts it often alienates us from family and friends who continue to believe the lies. 

This writer has seen man who choose to believe a lie rather than the truth.  They will defend a lie unto the very end.  They will hate and oppose those who seek to get them to see and acknowledge the truth.  Why a lie means so much to them is difficult to understand.  Truth ought to be the only thing that matters.  The wise man tells us:  “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (Prov. 23:23).  Dear reader, are there any lies you are choosing to believe?  Why do you want to believe them?  Lies harm.  Only truth sets one free (John 8:32).