Sullivan church of Christ – Sullivan, MO
Date: November 23, 2008
THE MOST DANGEROUS LIE
Ben Justice
Jesus described the devil as the father of lies (John 8:44). The only weapon that Satan uses is the lie. Of
course, Satan uses the lie through three avenues — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life (I John 2:16). For Satan to get us to turn from what is right and what is true, he has to get us to
believe a lie. Believing a lie will condemn (2 Thess. 2:10-12). Thus, Satan has one goal: TO GET MANKIND
TO SINCERELY AND HONESTLY BELIEVE WHAT HE BELIEVES IS RIGHT EVEN THOUGHT IT IS NOT. Job 1:
7 describes Satan as “going to and fro in the earth” and “walking up and down in it.” Peter warned in I Pet.
5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour.”
The most dangerous lie is the RELIGIOUS lie. Why not a moral lie? Moral lies are not powerful enough to
get the masses of people to believe in immorality. Even God haters and hedonists (for the most part)
admire good moral behavior. The world understands that some things are inherently wrong and other things
are inherently right. Even those who reject the Bible know that its moral laws are good for people to follow.
Most people see morality as a good thing, because living a good moral life produces a good and better life
and is for the betterment of society.
There is such thing as a religious lie or error. This is seen in the beginning with Mother Eve. Gen. 3:1-3
records,
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea,
hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the
trees of the garden: (3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither
shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
The first place Satan began with Eve was with the Word of God, and it seems to be a very innocent question:
“Hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Eve responded by reiterating what God had
said about the matter. Verses 4-5 state,
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes
shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Once again, Satan used the word of God, “For God doth know.” Here we have a religious lie being foisted
upon the first human family. Verse 6 says,
And the woman say that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,
she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat.
In the paradise of God, Satan unleashed his only weapon against man — the lie, and potent it was — and
still is. When Satan used God’s name, it was not that he was trying to get a person to believe in God or
not, but whether they can believe God’s word. The entire spectrum in the way Satan works is to get people
to question what God has said. If Satan can get folks to honestly and sincerely believe a religious lie, then
he has, won them to himself to live an eternity in hell with him. When a person honestly and sincerely
believes a religious lie, the lie begins to be taught as if it is the truth, and, therefore, it is passed on down
to others and then it becomes tradition and then the tradition becomes law and people accept it blindly
without ever investigating.
The apostle Paul plainly warned,
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself
is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of
righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (2 Cor. 11:13-15).
Paul warned in 2 Cor. 2:11 that we should not allow Satan to get an advantage of us and that we are not to
be ignorant of his devices.
Jesus gave an example of some who believed a religious lie. In Matt. 7:21-23, he said
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which
is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out
devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity.
There is no indication that the people Jesus described were immoral people. Rather, he described them as
having sincerely believed a lie — A RELIGIOUS LIE. These are religious people, as the text clearly
indicates. Yes, they were sincere in their religious beliefs, but they were sincerely wrong.
According to Matt. 7:13-14, the majority will be lost. It is rather ironic to note that most of the world is
religious. Mankind has a religious inclination and the need to want to worship some one or some thing.
According to the world’s thinking, as long as a person is sincere and honest in their religion they will be
saved, no matter what is believed and practiced. However, this thinking contradicts what Jesus said. Jesus
taught that most of the world will be lost. And, since most of the world is religious, I therefore conclude
that most of the world will be lost — not because of gross immoral living — but because they have believed a
religious lie.
There are indeed so many religious lies today that are sincerely believed and practiced, such as one church
is as good as another, that baptism is not essential to salvation, once a person is saved they are always
saved, and so many more could be named.
Rev. 12:12 teaches us that the devil knows he has a short time to work, and, therefore, he is going to use
the most effective way possible to try and destroy the souls of mankind. The most dangerous lie is: THE
RELIGIOUS LIE!