The pursuit of truth can be a lonely journey along a difficult path that may take us to places we would not ordinarily choose to visit. Jesus ended up at the cross. The Apostle Peter also was taken where he did not wish to go, as Jesus warned him would happen.
18 Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” John 21:18 (NKJV)
This has certainly been my experience for the last few years. In reference to God’s commanding Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, a wise person once told me that God sometimes saves the most difficult tests for our latter years. I can think of a few cases in the Bible when this proved true. In addition to Abraham, Moses, and Elijah come to mind. Can you think of others?
Rather than choose the narrow gate and difficult path, a lot of us opt for going along to get along, which might include an avoidance of “rocking the boat” by accepting a manufactured consensus rather than ferreting out and standing for truth.
The more deceived we are, the more alien the truth will seem.
Jesus, the embodiment of truth, summed it up.
43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. John 8:43–45 (NKJV)
People who are not born again by the Holy Spirit still belong to the devil and cannot hear or receive God’s truth.
Sadly, many Christians have severe difficulty with hearing and receiving truth, too, because many of us do not believe some parts of the Bible.
Most Christians I know approach the Bible like we are in a cafeteria line. We believe what suits us and reject that with which we disagree.
We fail to grasp that when we reject even a portion of God’s truth, it opens the door to deception and increases the likelihood that we may believe other lies. Few of us take seriously Jesus’ declaration that the devil is currently deceiving the whole world. (Revelation 12:9) As a result, we fail to comprehend the magnitude and depth of the deception all around us in a similar way that we are unaware usually of the air we breathe. We might think perhaps Satan has deceived some people who follow false religions and some heretics, but not the whole world, and certainly not me!
In a day when mass media talking heads routinely parrot approved talking points, and all the major players in the process of manufacturing an approved consensus are walking in lock step, it takes great courage to go against the grain by holding a divergent opinion.
I discovered this during the COVID crisis when I was disparaged as an ignorant “science denier” for refusing to take the the experimental mRNA injection and encouraging others to make a similar stand. Surprising to me, many Christians do not seem to understand that the rationale behind that injection was the assumption that our immune systems were not sufficiently “evolved” to fend of the corona virus and needed and needed to be altered by our brilliant scientists. Not many seemed to consider that God created us with a perfect defense and that to think we have the competence to “improve” it is sheer arrogance. As a result millions of people, as lemmings plunging to destruction, lined up to voluntarily receive what turned out to be extremely harmful to many, without there being demonstrable benefits. This is what happens when people stop asking questions and put more faith in science and consensus than in God’s Word and our own common sense. This is what happens when fear replaces faith, and the government becomes a tyrant.
One of the big lies in our culture is that consensus equates to truth, especially when so-called experts are involved.
The global warming hoax is a perfect example; which apparently does not matter at all any longer as more and more data centers consume vast amounts of natural resources and energy. Those who refuse to bow down to the consensus are labeled as conspiracy theorists, science deniers, nut jobs, and worse. Being coerced into accepting what most people think is true is democracy at its worst.
The more a lie is entrenched in the culture, the more hate will be leveled at anyone who challenges it.
Jesus is the perfect example. His presence and teachings threatened the power and prestige enjoyed by the high ranking Jews in Jerusalem. They convinced themselves that it was to the advantage of the entire nation for Jesus to be eliminated (John 11:49-50). Throughout history martyrs lost their lives for challenging the satanic world system through the preaching of biblical truth. One of my wife’s distant ancestors, William Tyndale, was burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English. What a price he paid to open the door for all of us to have access to truth!
Most of us are rather easily deceived, which is why we must rely upon God’s Word and the Holy Spirit.
King David was astonished and alarmed when he discovered just how rampant is deception in our world. When he shared with others what he believed, he suffered the consequences and was brought very low by the resistance and pressure he encountered. He came to the alarming conclusion that all men are liars who hate the truth .
1 I trusted [Greek - believed]; therefore I spoke. But I was made low very much. 2 I said in my entrancement [Greek - ekstasis: displacement, alarm, dismay, astonishment], “Every person is a liar.” Psalm 115:1–2 (LES2) [The text above is from the Septuagint, the Greek OT that the early church used. The Masoretic Text number is Psalm 116:10-11 if you wish to compare and contrast.]
Liars tell lies, believe lies, and hate the truth.
19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. John 3:19–20 (NKJV)
When God reveals the truth of his Word to us, the first thing required of us is to turn from believing lies and embrace God’s truth instead. To repent means to change our mind. Once we do that, the next step is for us to share the truth with others. Jesus taught that we are to be lamps set on a lamp stand to provide light for all to see, not hidden away somewhere for our own protection. (Matthew 5:14-16) If we choose to do that, we many every well join King David in saying, “Every person is a liar, including you and me.”
We only find out how much people hate God’s truth when we make a public stand for it. If we choose to go against the grain by becoming truth speakers, the world system will see to it that we suffer for it.
That is why most of us keep our mouths shut and simply go along to get along. That is why most Christians only share their faith within the walls of the echo chamber called the church building. That is why Satan has been able to pull a shroud of deception over the entire world for so long. God is waiting for us to join him in fearlessly proclaiming his truth to a world in desperate need of it.
The gateway to the path leading to truth is guarded by formidable sentries who threaten anyone who attempts to pass by them. I call these sentries “guardian lies,” which is a term I borrowed from Ed Smith, who developed something he called Theophostic Ministry.
A guardian lie tries to intimidate and block people from pursuing and speaking the truth.
Anyone who awakens to truth and begins to speak out likely will be smacked down immediately. It takes courage to stand back up and continue on the journey despite the cost. According to Jesus, if we stay on the path, the truth will set us free. (John 8:31-32)
I already shared the guardian lies that confronted me when I stood against the COVID injection. I was accused of being a conspiracy theorist and an ignorant science denier, two pejoratives designed to dehumanize and discredit. Later when I challenged the beliefs of Christian Zionism and showed how the Bible clearly contradicts Dispensationalism, I was accused of being antisemitic. A few years ago when people challenged Marxist Wokeism, they were labeled racists. Think about how frequently these harmful labels are placed upon people! You can imagine how upset the body of Christ became when I dared to say that I believe Genesis Chapter One is a true and reliable account of creation and the cosmos! The monstrous lie guarding the path toward understanding biblical cosmology is “Science has the authority to determine how we interpret the Bible.” What a bizarre world! Christians attacking Christians for believing God’s Word! But that is where we live.
There are plenty more guardian lies out there. How about, “It would be impossible to pull off a lie that big!”? Those who adhere to this example of faulty common wisdom willingly close their eyes to how successfully modern “experts” have convinced most of the world that we got here without being created. Propagandists understand that big deceptions are more readily received than small ones because we have convinced ourselves that people are too clever to fall for big lies.
It requires great courage to be a truth seeker and even more to be a truth speaker.
But that is what is required with being a follower of Christ. Let us embrace our calling and ask the Lord for courage and strength.
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:13–14 (NKJV)
