It is not surprising that atheists claim that the Bible a fairy tale, but it is tragic that there are so many of us Christians who believe that the Creator lied to us! We Christians do not say this aloud, but we make it known in how we interpret some parts of the Bible.
When we modify the obvious meaning of God’s Word because it contradicts the claims of accepted “science,” for all practical purposes, we call God a liar.
To add to the confusion, we also affirm our belief in the inerrancy of Scripture, citing such verses as the following.
God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19 (NASB95)
Satan’s deceptions are so subtle that sometimes we are not even aware that we question God’s integrity and knowledge. We cleverly formulate nuanced interpretations that we think will get us off the hook with God, but they do not. He sees right through our duplicity, just as he recognized and called out the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders of his day.
And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.” Mark 7:13 (NLT)
A perfect modern example is when we twist Genesis Chapter One to try to make it conform to heliocentrism. We look at the words of God, scratch our heads, and think, well, “It cannot mean what it says; so, I am free to interpret it poetically to fit what we “know” to be true according to science.” That sounds very reasonable to our human reasoning; however, the Bible nowhere informs us that we are permitted to interpret such passages phenomenologically.
In effect, when we change God’s Word to conform to modern thought, we declare that the Creator is either a liar or does not understand what he made. Isaiah had some penetrating words relating to such a mindset.
Surely you have things turned around!...shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”? Isaiah 29:16 (NKJV)
When we do not believe that the Bible means what it says or says what it means, we call God a liar.
...the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar... 1 John 5:10 (NASB95)
Adam and Eve did not vocalize that they believed that God lied to them, but their actions spoke loud and clear. They gave the serpent’s words more credence than God’s! Are we any different?
Every generation encounters the temptation to disbelieve God and his words.
Satan seeks to overwhelm us with deception to divorce us from God’s truth in every area. As Jesus said, the devil is the father of lies, and there is absolutely no truth in him. (John 8:44) Over the centuries, Satan has managed to deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9), which has resulted in the entire world system being under his power (1 John 5:19).
In many places, Christians are facing stiff persecution and even death for confessing Christ is Lord.
In the West, it seems that currently our biggest test of allegiance to Christ may be whether we will resolutely hold to the truth of God’s Word or surrender to the wisdom of men.
The only way to escape the devil’s web of enslaving lies is to turn to Christ and to make a decision to firmly believe every one of God’s words found in the Bible, even when we do not completely understand them.
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:31–32 (NASB95)
Jesus made it clear that we do not get to choose which of the words of the Bible are true and which are not (John 10:35).
We do not have the authority to declare that the Bible contains truth, but not every single word is true (Matthew 4:4).
Neither do we have any right to dilute the impact of God’s words or nullify them through reinterpretation to fit our own grid of understanding (Mark 7:13).
To be true to God, we must be willing to make a stand for his revealed truth, even if it means we must call some men liars, maybe even the majority of men. Truth is not established by what the majority believes.
May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, “THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED.” Romans 3:4 (NASB95)
Satan mocked Eve for naively believing God’s words. The devil seeks to intimidate us because we do not understand everything. God requires us to trust him and be satisfied with what he reveals to us.
The supposed secrets of the universe that Satan offers that contradict the Bible must be rejected in favor of God’s truth. God is not a liar.
