From the Garden to Today The Lies Have Not Changed

John 8: 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The world believes in shades of grey. Almost nothing is black and white anymore. The truth has been assaulted for decades now and year by year, it has become more and more blurred. Spin is accepted as fact and the truth has become the first casualty in the values war we see going on in this country. This is of course the scheme of the enemy; to create a world where lies are embraced as truth. Where the lines become so vague that people create their own personal truth. The concept of universal truth; or absolute truth, is almost mocked by society at this point.

Our key verses reveal that it is in fact the enemy who is the father of lies. His very character is deceit. He has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him. God on the other hand is always about truth:

Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:  "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge." Romans 3:4

There is black and there is white beloved. The world is not shades of grey. The devil wants us to believe that so we feel less convicted about our sin and thus we can be further away from God. But the enemy is a liar; as noted the father of lies. He uses all sorts of lies to derail us in our walks. Big lies and small lies. Lies that seem inconsequential and lies that seem too great to tell. There are some general tendencies the enemy uses in his lies and we can learn these from his first interaction with humankind, found in the third chapter of Genesis; in the Garden of Eden.

Prior to the arrival of the enemy in the garden, life was perfect. God walked with His creation. There would be no sorrow and death. No pain and suffering. But Adam and Eve would disobey God; leading to the fall of man. The trail of that fall starts with a simple lie:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" Genesis 3:1

Where is the lie? The enemy knew full well that God never said they couldn't eat from any tree in the garden, just the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So he mixes a little truth with a little poison and the chain of events is underway which would lead to the fall of man.

The enemy still uses the same tactics today with us. He is trying to make us fall as well. Fall in our walk and fall away from God. He will mix in enough truth to catch our attention with enough poison to separate us from God. What was the goal of this opening lie from Satan? The goal was twofold. First the enemy used it to start a conversation with Eve. Secondly, he used it to get Eve to doubt God. The enemy has the same goals today as well. In order to have us believe the lies, Satan needs to engage us in a conversation. We have to consider, what it is he is trying to say. Eve may have started out with the good intentions of correcting the enemy but once she answers his charge, she is now in the conversation exactly where the enemy wants her to be. That is also exactly where the enemy wants us to be. A stronghold in our lives began as a foothold. Just enough of the devil's foot in the door to allow a conversation. Maybe you are being noticed by someone of the opposite sex at work but are married. Maybe the opening lie is just as subtle as it appeared to Eve "surely flirting is not a big deal; it's not like you are committing adultery." That is it. The enemy is now in conversation with you. Maybe you can make extra money at work by cutting some dubious corners. The opening lie can still be subtle "surely there is nothing wrong with trying to take care of my family." That is it. The enemy is now in conversation with you.

And look at the opening lies the devil uses. They are designed to make you doubt God. There is no such thing as a harmless flirt. It does matter to God:

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. - Matthew 5:28

God does care if you take short cuts to further your own financial end. Besides it showing a lack of trust that God will provide, Jesus spoke directly against it:

Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely--be content with your pay." Luke 3: 12-13

It was the same in the Garden of Eden. God had specifically forbid them from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The devil, seeking a conversation with Eve so he could establish a foothold, lies to her with just enough truth to get her interested. So too today, the devil seeks to engage us in a conversation so he can establish a foothold in our mind. That foothold if not dealt with can become a stronghold, further pushing you away from God.

Having successfully engaged Eve in a conversation, the enemy now expands his deception by accusing God of being a liar.

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. Genesis 3:4

Who said they would die? God said so! The enemy here is now flat out calling God a liar. This is the same tactic he still uses today. Doubting the Word of God is not enough for the enemy. He wants you to dismiss God's Word altogether as being false. When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water he asked for the Word from Him to come to Him on the water. Jesus said come and Peter, relying only on the Word given to him, walked on water. The Bible says when the wind picked up and he was reminded of the storm around him, he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. Many a great sermon has come from this notion of taking your eyes off of Jesus. But imagine what was going through his mind at that time. At first, Peter just believed the simple word command of Jesus; "come." Then the enemy must have started to whisper in his head "look at the waves Peter! Feel how strong the wind is!" Peter began to doubt the Word Jesus had given him and shortly after that he simply stopped believing it. The result is that he sank into the water until Jesus rescued him.

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" Matthew 14: 31

What did Peter doubt? Peter doubted the word Jesus had given him when he commanded him to come to him on the water. The surroundings frightened him. His senses betrayed him. The enemy must have been whispering in his ear. That whispering first made him doubt and then ultimately to not believe the Word of God. That is the scheme of the enemy. To plant a seed of doubt in your mind about what God has said and thus gain a foothold. Once that foothold is established, the enemy seeks more territory and desires to expand to a stronghold by getting you to not only doubt, but also not believe what God has already said.

The last stage is that Satan desires to have you believe that you can take the place of God Himself:

"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:5

Remember, it was Satan who exalted himself above God:

You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. Isaiah 14:13

The devil wanted God's job but it wasn't available. He hates us because we are made in the image of God. He cannot physically harm us but he can lie to us. He can mix just enough truth to get us to doubt God. He can push those limits to try and get us to no longer believe what God has said. Ultimately, he wants us to believe that we can ascend to the role of God.

This is ultimately what humanism is. Man becomes God. Man decides what is morally acceptable and what is not. The adage of, "if it feels good, do it" becomes a ruling philosophy. The devil not only seeks to make you doubt God and not believe His Word, but ultimately his goal is to drag you away from God. Take a look at the world today and what you see is the result of this plan. A world that is content to make it up as it goes along. Not concerning itself with eternity.

God has an eternal plan beloved. His plan goes beyond this life which is aptly described in the Bible as but a vapor. Yet despite the vaporous nature, we seek to hold onto this life and what the world offers, grasping at the air furiously. Ecclesiastes paints the picture for us:

I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Ecclesiastes 1: 12-14

Yet there we go, chasing after the wind nonetheless. The design of the enemy is to get us to not think eternally, but temporally. The enemy seeks to have us value this life and the things of this world as opposed to the promises God has already made to us. Temporal prosperity pales in comparison to eternal life:

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. Though while he lived he counted himself blessed-- and men praise you when you prosper- he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of life. A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49:16-20

Know your enemy beloved. The devil is not a cute caricature in a red jump suit and a pitchfork. The truth is that is what he wants you to think of him as. Or better yet that he doesn't exist at all. He has the majority of the world convinced of that. The result is they are content to be their own Gods; without a thought about the consequences awaiting them when their life will be required of them.

Your enemy is the father of all lies. He has not changed his tactics over thousands of years because he does not have to. What worked on Eve in the Garden of Eden still works too easily on us today. We see the waves and feel the wind and then start to listen to the whispering of the enemy. Just a little lie mixed in with the truth. Just enough to get our attention and start to doubt God. A foothold is established. Soon the enemy will seek to expand that foothold and get us to no longer believe what God has already said. If the stronghold grows too large, we can replace God with our own rationale our own understanding.

God has not left us unarmed though. His Word is our sword. We need to wield it against the lies of the enemy and take every thought that is set up in opposition to God and make it obedient to Christ. By avoiding the foothold, there will be no stronghold. There is no conversation to be had with the father of lies. Stay true to what you know. Stay true to the truth. It will always set you free.

Reverend Anthony Wade January 23, 2010