  How do we know
when someone is telling the
truth? If we only knew that
for sure! In a trial a person
can enter the witness stand,
place his hand on a Bible,
and vow "I swear to tell the
truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth, so
help me God" - then turn
around and lie through his
teeth.
A husband or wife may be
having an illicit affair and,
when confronted, look their
spouse straight in the eye
and deny the whole thing.
How do we know when
someone is telling the
truth? For many people,
sad to say, lying is second
nature. It is something that
comes easily. There are
some who can lie with such
ease that even a lie detector
can be fooled.
All such liars are rank amateurs
compared to the
"father of lies." Satan has
the art of lying down to a
science. Satan is a fallen
angel. In a futile attempt he
hoped to overthrow God.
The Bible tells us as punishment,
the Devil and his
allies were thrown into hell
for all eternity. His goal is to
control as many souls as
possible by leading them
into sin and unbelief, thus
taking them away from
God. I guess the saying,
"Misery loves company."
fits no place better than
here.
We might add that
if Jesus hadn't been successful
in resisting the temptations
of the devil, in living a
sinless life and then suffering
and dying in our place,
Satan would have gotten
his wish. Without the
Savior, we would all be in
our sin and condemned to
hell.
But, the victory of
Jesus' work at Calvary hasn't
kept Satan from taking
countless souls to hell. It
still doesn't stop Satan from
seeking to lead astray as
many as he can. His plan of
attack is basically the same
today as it has been from
the beginning.
He wants us to
believe that God is a liar.
His message is that we
should not listen to a thing
God says. The devil tells us
that money is what brings
true and lasting happiness.
That's a lie. The devil tells
us that sex before and outside
of a marriage relationship
is fine. That's a lie. The
devil tells us that it doesn't
matter which god we worship
so long as we are sincere.
That's a lie. The devil
says that it's alright to get
drunk, take drugs, practice
homosexuality, divorce
your spouse for any reason
you want, to abort a child
for any reason whatever.
These are lies.
Satan has convinced
many people that
what he is saying is the
truth. He has gained many
converts, even among
Christians. He has succeeded,
as he did in the Garden
of Eden, in casting doubt
upon the reliability of God's
Word. He wants us to
believe that God is a liar
and not telling us the truth.
The truth of the
matter is that the Devil is
the one who is lying. God
says of the Devil "...there is
no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks his native
language, for he is a liar and
the father of lies." (John
8:44) If you want the truth,
listen to God. Jesus says, "If
you continue in my word,
you shall know the truth
and the truth shall set you
free.(Rom. 8:31-32)" Use
God's Word. Keep it in
your heart. Then you will
know whose telling the
truth and who is not. |
