Truth, The Cure For Lies and Deception

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 8:32

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

NKJV

The Greek word translated free in John 8:32 is the word eleutheroo, which means, “to make free, set at liberty from the dominion of sin.”  (1)  As we discovered in last Saturday’s posting, Genesis 3 in the Bible reveals a pattern of lies and deception that began in the Garden of Eden.  When Adam and Eve gave in to this pattern of lies and deception, mankind came under the dominion of sin.  However, as we can see from this verse, the truth sets us free from the dominion of sin. 

If truth is indeed the cure for lies and deception, we must discover its source and tap into it in order to immunize ourselves against the plethora of lies and deception currently gripping our world.  According to Scripture, we find truth in,

1)      Jesus – In John 14:6 Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me. (NKJV) In fact, Pilate asked Jesus what is truth.  (John 18:28) Pilate’s question was in response to Jesus answer to his question asking what he had done to warrant calls for his crucifixion by his Jewish peers.  Jesus reply to Pilate’s question was that he came to bear witness to the truth.  (John 18:37).  Pilate was in essence asking the source of truth what truth was but did not stick around to hear the answer from Jesus and instead went out to the people declaring he found no fault in Jesus.  Jesus also spoke of the Spirit of Truth that one can only receive by having The Holy Spirit in them (John 14:17).  The only way for one to have the Holy Spirit in them is to have their sins forgiven by confessing Jesus as Lord of their lives (John 7:38-39).  When Jesus said he was the way, the truth, and the life, he was telling us he is the gateway to truth.  To find the source of truth we must first enter the door by accepting Jesus as our Lord.

2)      The Word of God – This past Sunday my pastor provided an excellent analogy illustrating what the Word of God is in our lives.  In the sanctuary of our church, we have speakers hanging from the ceiling.  However, we do not see the actual woofer that produces the sound for it is covered by a screen.  The pages of the Bible are similar to the screen on a speaker for they are just words on a page but backing up those words on the page is the voice of God that inspires those words.  The Words of the Bible are actually God declaring His truth to mankind.  These words also provide encouragement and are the only offensive weapon in the arsenal of the spiritual soldier (Ephesians 6:10-17).  I encourage everyone reading this to begin a daily study of the Word of God and allow it to immunize you against the lies and deceit that dominate our world. 

3)      History – When I was attending school, I, like many of my peers, did not believe history was important.  I mean, why would we need to study the past?  The past is done and there is nothing we can do about it, so why bother studying it?  However, as I have grown older I realize that history provides lessons from the past that teach what to do and what not to do.  Once again, the Bible is a great source of such lessons for it is full of historical accounts of men and women some of which did great things and others who blew it.  I once heard it said that experience is the best teacher, but it is less painful to learn from the experiences of others. 

In this time of chaos, our world exposes us to many lies and deceptions as people attempt to use crisis to advance their agenda.  We also live in a world dominated by the philosophy of post-modernism, which relegates truth into something molded to fit ones agenda instead of the standard we should use to mold our lives.  (2)  I believe that truth, especially the truth contained in the Bible, is absolute and what guides my life.  I encourage everyone reading this to join me in allowing truth to guide your life as well. 

I want to close with some encouraging words that my pastor shared this past week in his daily email devotion.  My hope is that these words of truth will encourage you as they did me. 

"...Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you" (Deuteronomy 31:6).

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4, NASB).

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand" (Isaiah 41:10).

"No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you" (Joshua 1:5).

"When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them" (Psalm 91:15).

"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us' " (Matthew 1:23).

"But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength…" (2 Timothy 4:17a).  (3)

1. BibleStudyTools.com. Eleutheroo. www.biblestudytools.com. [Online] [Cited: July 25, 2014.] http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/eleutheroo.html.

2. PhD., Louis Hoffman. Premodernism, Modernism, & Postmodernism:. www.postmodernpsychology.com. [Online] [Cited: September 7, 2013.] http://www.postmodernpsychology.com/Philosophical_Systems/Overview.htm.

3. Martin, Mark. Grace Mail from July 25, 2014. [Email] Phoenix : Calvary Community Church, 2014.