THEOLOGY & APOLOGETICS
Satan, Father of Lies
By Anthony Barbato
Honestly, there's not enough time in the world to tell you all the ways Satan lies to us. Just as there's no limit to God's goodness, there's no limit to Satan's deceit. And no wonder, as he's the "father of lies." Christ tells us in John 8:44, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
One thing Satan continually does though, is cast doubt upon God's word. Let's take a look at his exchange with Eve in the garden.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'" The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:1-5After this Eve eats the fruit and gives some to Adam to eat as well. You see, first Satan calls into question God's word. And then, even when it's affirmed, he twists its meaning. This is essentially Satan's primary desire. Since the Lord is the only source of truth (Ecclesiastes 12:11), it's of course where Satan is focused. He doesn't care which lie you believe, just that you don't believe the truth. People who are part of a false religion are just as doomed as the atheist (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 2 Peter 3:16; Revelation 20:15).
Aside from that, here's a quick list of the most attacked beliefs of God's truth as revealed in Scripture:
1. The Depravity of Man — This is the clear Biblical teaching that, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Men are fallen creatures (Romans 3:10-18), wretched beings (Romans 7:24), and in need of a new birth (John 3:1-21). Because of our sin we face eternal separation from God, and nothing apart from belief in Christ through the drawing of the Father can save us (John 6:44; Acts 4:12). In short, men are sinners, incapable of saving ourselves from God's judgement without the intercession of the Son by God's immeasurable grace (Genesis 8:21; 1 Kings 8:46; 2 Chronicles 6:36; Ezra 9:6; Job 9:2, 15:14; Psalm 14:1; 51:5; 53:1; 58:3; 143:2; Proverbs 20:9; Ecclesiastes 7:20; 9:3; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 3:17; 17:9; 22:21; 32:30; Micah 7:2; Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19; Romans 3:10-18, 23; 7:18; 1 John 1:8).
2. The Deity of Christ — The deity of Christ is the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God the Father, the image of the invisible, co-eternal, and equal to Him as the Word become flesh (Deuteronomy 18:18; Isaiah 9:6-7; 16:5; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Daniel 7:13-14; Micah 5:2; Mark 14:61-64; John 1:1-14; 5:18-23; 8:58-59; 14:7-9; 10:30-33; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Philippians 2:5-6; Colossians 1:15-19; 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8).
3. The Sacrificial work of Christ — This is the belief that Christ died for our sins, taking our place in judgement and fulfilling God's plan to reconcile us to Him (Isaiah 53:4-5; Romans 3:25; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 2:2; 3:5; 4:14; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:14).
4. Christ's Resurrection — The belief that Christ was raised on the third day "according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:4), showing His victory over death (Matthew 12:39-40; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6-7; John 11:25-26; 1 Corinthians 15:16-17; Romans 1:4-5; 4:25).
5. Salvation by grace through faith alone — The belief that we are saved only by the grace of God, through our faith in the sacrificial work of His son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Acts 15:11; Romans 3:24-28; 5:6-9; 9:16; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:4-9; Philippians 3:9; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:3-7).
Again, I can't tell you all the ways Satan lies. What I can tell you is he will disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), and twist God's truth in a way that appeals to our own sinful nature (Genesis 3:5). The good news is, as Christians we are not ignorant of the Devil's schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). And because of the sufficiency of Scripture (2 Samuel 22:31; Psalm 12:6; 18:30; 119:89; Proverbs 30:5; Isaiah 40:8; 55:10-11; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21), we can test everything against God's word (Acts 17:11). Also, we can trust the Spirit to lead and protect us (John 15:26; Ephesians 1:13-14). In closing, we are not to fear the Devil, but we are to be mindful and aware of him (1 Peter 5:8). The Lord is perfectly able to lead and protect us as His children (Colossian 1:21-23; Jude 1:24-25). I'll leave you with a passage I think sums it up perfectly:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:1-4
Image Credit: rodger bridges; "polygraph"; Creative Commons
Tags: Biblical-Truth | Christian-Life | False-Teaching | Sin-Evil
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Published 6-19-17
