“Ten Lies About God: The Source of All Lies”
John 8:44
INTRO. As children when we suspected someone of not telling us the truth we
would chant, “Liar, liar, pants on fire!” Our parents instilled in us
from our earliest days that liars and lying are a part of human exper-
ience. They also instilled in us that we should always tell the truth
because lying breaks the heart of God. Why is human life is filled
with lies? Why are we unsuccessful in creating a world filled with
truth? God has been dealing with mankind for more than 5,000 years
of recorded history. So why are lies about God so persistent and
prevalent? Each of the ten lies in Dr. Lutzer’s book, Ten Lies About
God, have ancient historical roots. These old lies may be wearing new
makeup so that they might deceive a modern audience. Yet, each
one is an old lie wrapped in a new wrapper.
In the message today, we will trace all lies and liars back to their
origin so that we might immunize ourselves against them. In order to
protect ourselves from liars and their lies about God we need to
understand the source and pattern of lies. The Bible teaches that
there is a “father of lies” and all who lie serve his purposes. Let us
consider this as we think on this subject, “Ten Lies About God: The
Source of All Lies.”
(1) THE FATHER OF LIES IS THE SOURCE OF ALL LIES AND LIARS
John 8:44—“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your
father, ye will do. He…abode not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of
of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
- John’s Gospel presents for us the identity of Jesus Christ. It also
gives us the identity of the father of lies. In John 8, We see John’s presentation of Jesus as the Light of the World and Jesus’ claim that
He came from the Father to do the will of the Father. To these claims
the Jewish leaders accused Christ of being born out of wedlock (v41), of
being a Samaritan (v48), and of possessing a demon (v48). The
religionists cast a harsh insult against Jesus. They called Him a
Samaritan and accused Him of being demon-possessed.
- Being a Samaritan was a charge that He was full of heresy, not worshipping the true God, but following and building up the false religion of the Samaritans
- Being devil-possessed was a charge that He was full of an evil spirit, a spirit that was out to destroy man and the true religion of God and its people.
Jesus was telling them the Truth but they could not and would not
receive it. Why? Because of who their father was, “Ye are of your
father the devil…” The Devil is the source of all lies and liars.
B. Jesus turns the tables by challenging their heritage (vv. 39-44).
Jesus must have astounded his enemies with such a scalding accusat-
ion (v44). Picture the scene. God sent His Son into the world and man...
- does not recognize Him.
- does not recognize His words.
- does not recognize His works.
If man were of God, that is, of the same spiritual world and dimension
as Jesus, he would recognize Jesus and recognize His words and
works. It would be impossible not to recognize Him. This is what Jesus
was saying. He “proceedeth forth and came from God,” that is, from the
spiritual world and dimension of heaven itself. Any man who is of God
is bound to recognize Him. Any man who is truly of God will love and
welcome Him, not reject and oppose Him. The man who wants nothing
to do with Jesus is not of the family of God; he is not a child of God. He
is a child of some father other than the Father of Jesus.
Since these Jews wanted Jesus’ death and since they rejected the truth
and embraced the lie, their family solidarity with Satan and his desires
was certain (1)!
- Jesus’ accusation traces the source of all lies back to the devil
himself. The devil is the enemy of life and truth. He distorts the truth
and seeks to lead people away from God who is the source of truth and life (John 10:10; 2 Cors. 4:3-4) Lies about God endure because the
wicked one ceaselessly promotes them. Even when these lies are disputed with decisive and persuasive answers, they bob to the surface again in the next generation with new found voices determined on proclaiming their twisted message! The father of lies is the source of all lying. All falsehood in the world owes its existence to him. Whether it be religious or secular in nature.
ILLUS. In his intense study of the devices of Adolph Hitler, British
Prime Minister Winston Churchill operated with one primary
assumption: Any given foreign policy statement by Hitler was
the exact opposite of the truth (2).
Many believe Hitler was possessed with Satan himself. He surely acted
like his father.
D. Jesus claims these religious leaders belonged to the devil because
they wanted to kill him (v44b). Their lying murderous schemes were
spawned in the bosom of “father of lies”. Look at verse 40. They
claimed they were Abraham’s children (v39), but their actions disputed
their claims. They were rejecting the heavenly Messenger and were
seeking to kill the One who told them God’s Word. Abraham did not do
that; he was obedient to God’s commands (3).
E. Few today see their lies as doing the devils work, yet here and
again in 1 John 3:8 the Bible teaches just that. All lies trace their
origin back to the “father of lies”. Every time a preacher gets up and
proclaims one of these ten lies about God, he is doing the devil’s work.
Every time a preacher gets up and adds to God’s perfect plan of
salvation, he is doing the devil’s work! Every time one adds works to
Grace, he is a liar and doing the devil’s work! God’s plan is perfect as it
is (Eccs. 3:14).
Since lies and liars have a single source, we know the source of the Ten Lies About God described by Dr. Lutzer in his book. No matter where these lies pop up in history they always seem to follow predictable patterns.
(2) THE FATHER OF LIES TAKES FOUR PREDICTABLE APPROACHES
A. The “father of lies” first approach simply denies the Word of God.
He took this approach in the Garden of Eden. Notice Satan’s blatant
denial of God’s Word in Genesis: “And the serpent said unto the
woman, Ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Believers ought to go on
“red alert” every time we hear anyone deny something clearly taught in
the Word of God. God had promised that the day they ate of the fruit
they would surely die. The Bible is true and those who claim any part
is false are liars and trace their heritage back to “the father of lies.”
ILLUS. “I’m glad no one really believes the Bible anymore, or they’d
stone us.” Thosewere the words of a gay activist, replying to
Christian who was using the Bible to condemn homosexuality.
The activist’s argument was clear: Since the penalty for homo-
sexuality in the Old Testament was death, how can you say you
believe the Bible? And if you don’t believe it, then don’t use it to
argue against homosexuality! In his book, Dr. Lutzer combats
ten lies about God. The fifth of these lies is “God is more
tolerant than He use to be.” We need to answer the question,
Is God more tolerant than He use to be? We need to consider
two things when answering this question, 1) God never
changes. His nature do not change, His Truth do not
change, and His standards do not change. 2) God’s dealings
with man does change. In the Old Testament, God dealt with
man according to the Law. But in the New Testament, when
Jesus died for us and rose again, God now deals with man
according to Grace. God is not more tolerant than He use to
be. But because of Grace, God is patient with sinful men.
Why? Because He desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:
4; 2 Peter 3:9; Roman 2:4) Today God allows sins to accumu-
late and delays their judgment. But we should never interpret
the silence of God as the indifference of God God’s long-
suffering is not a sign of either weakness or indifference; it is
intended to bring men to repentance (4).
B. The “father of lies” second approach misuses the Word of God.
Satan used this approach when he tempted Jesus to throw himself off
the pinnacle of the temple by quoting Psalm 91 (Luke 4). Jesus
countered by citing Deuteronomy 6, which emphasizes trusting God
not testing Him. We, as Believers, are responsible for listening care-
fully and evaluating supposed Bible teachers in the light of the whole
counsel of God. The problem today is that in our Churches many are
literally starving spiritual because of a lack of spiritual knowledge.
(Hosea 4:6). Many today know not what they believe. This is why
false teachers are so effective. We need to be more like the Bereans
who the Apostle Paul commended because, “They..searched the
Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11).
ILLUS. “If all the neglected Bibles were dusted simultaneously, we
would have a record dust storm, and the sun would go into
eclipse for a whole week.”-David F. Nygren (5)
C. The “father of lies” third approach removes the Word of God.
Jesus points out this in a story about soils. In Luke 8, the Word of
God comes to some people who do not receive it. They offer no resist-
ance when the “father of lies” snatches the Word of God from their
conscious thoughts. Their minds appear numb to the entire proceed-
ing. Believers ought also to beware and remember that the man who
does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read. Be
wary of anything that steals time for reading and obeying God’s Word.
D. The “father of lies” fourth approach dilutes the Word of God with
competing concerns. In Matthew 13, Jesus shows us this. If the
“father of lies” can circulate enoughlies about God, the truth appears
as only one option among many. If lying become common, some will
despair of ever finding the truth. Others may even wonder if truth
exists. This last condition surely reflects our post-modern mind-set.
2 Timothy 3:7, “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge
of the truth.” We, as God’s Children, ought to be concerned when God
and His Word wind up on our “to do” list rather than being the central
part of our lives. The first and great commandment is to love God with
all our heart, mind, and strength.
Confusion is the rule when “the father of lies” sows his twisted message. He denies, misuses, removes, or dilutes the Word of God when needed to suit his purposes. The world has been flooded with defective religious clones to keep
people from finding the truth. “The father of lies” succeeds with these approaches because both he and his messengers appear as angels of light.
(3) THE FATHER OF LIES USES AN EFFECTIVE DISGUISE TO FOOL MANY
A. The Apostle Paul posts a warning for us in 1 Corinthians 11.
Notice how Paul lumps Satan and his messengers into one ugly lump
in these verses. Satan and his servants can deceive us by appearing
attractive, good-looking, and moral. Many unsuspecting people follow
smooth-talking, Bible-quoting leaders into cults which alienate them
from their families and practice immorality and deceit (6). Satan’s
most effective weapon is imitation.
ILLUS. According to Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, Satan desires to be like
God. In his book about the devil, J. Oswald Sanders offers
this interesting description of the counterfeit nature of Satan’s
schemes:
- Satan has his own trinity-the devil, the beast, and the false prophet (Revelation 16:13).
- Satan has his own church-“a synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9).
- Satan has his own ministers-“ministers of Satan” (2 Corinthians 11:4-5).
- Satan has formulated his own system of doctrine-“doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1).
- Satan has established his own sacrificial system-“The Gentile…sacrifice to demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20).
- Satan has his own communion service-“The cup of demons….The table of demons” (1 Corinthians 10:21).
- Satan’s ministers proclaim his own gospel-“a gospel contrary to that which we have preached unto you” (Galatians 1:7-8).
B. To the public, these false apostles present themselves as church
workers and ministers of righteousness. In some cases, we may not
their real identity until we stand in the presence of God himself who
discerns both faith and motive of heart. Our impressions alone are
not an accurate guide of who is and who is not a follower of Christ; so
it helps to ask these questions: 1) Do their teachings confirm Scrip-
ture (Acts 17:11)? 2) Do these teachers affirm and proclaim that
Jesus Christ is God who came into this world as a man to save people
from their sins (1 John 4:1-3)? 3) Is their lifestyle consistent with
Biblical morality (Matthew 12:33-37)? (8)
C. From our prospective, all we have is the Word of God to test any-
one’s teaching. That is why controversy swirls around the Bible. If
“the father of lies” can throw even dirt in theair to create confusion
over the veracity of God’s Word, some will not take it seriously.
ILLUS. The distinctive mark of theology today is its dreadful
ambiguity. The chaos of American theology today can be
traced back to its roots in the rejection of biblical infallibility.
Preaching is not the act of unfolding our personal convict-
ions. It is the duty of informing men of all that God has
spoken (9).
The preacher’s responsibility is not “Thus I say,” but “Thus saith the
LORD!”
D. The “father of lies” performs the ultimate lie when he presents
himself as an “angel of light.” Satan is the prince of darkness and
brings no light at all to help people discover the truth. When people
report seeing a bright light during their near death experience, as
Bette Eadie and others, why do many believe their report? They
interpret the light to be God or Jesus. Yet they reject the truth of
Jesus’ death for their sins and His resurrection from the dead on the
third day.
E. The “father of lies” plans one future and final deception
according to 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11. In those verses, Paul warns
about counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders. These serve to
validate the false message being presented by “the lawless one” who
is empowered by Satan himself. People who believe his lie refuse to
love the truth and the delight in wickedness. The coming of the
antichrist will be after the working of Satan. This means...
- that he will be the very embodiment of Satan himself.
- that he will carry on all the lying power and signs and wonders of Satan.
- that he will carry out the very activity and work of Satan on earth.
The point to see is that Satan will have complete control over the life
of the antichrist. He will be totally surrendered to Satan, and Satan
will be energizing him. What will this final great lie be? Could it be:
- That God is an evil tyrant and Satan is the freedom fighter for mankind?
- That God’s offer of eternal life with Him enslaves man while “the father of lies” offers some kind of immortal physical life, which will allow you to retain your “free will”?
F. Whatever the lie, you can rest assured it will be persuasive.
Influential leaders will make this evil idea appear harmless as a
lamb and obvious as the sky. They will validate in with miracles,
signs, and wonders. TheAntichrist will be turning as many as he
possibly can away from God. Teeming millions will be listening,
watching, and following the antichrist and his government upon the
earth. Masses of peoplewill believe this blatant lie is actually the
truth. Men would rather believe a lie than the truth! The lost will
be deluded and end up in hell because they will believe the lie and
worship and serve the creature instead of the creator! They will
will be sucked into the same mistake that Adam and Eve made in
the Garden . The “father of lies” will attack the very trustiworthi-
ness of God.
CLOSING: In the epilogue of his book, Dr. Lutzer deals with the ultimate
question about God, “Can WE Trust Him?” (10). If we begin to