Lies Of The Devil

One day, a young woman raised in a Christian home was asked by her pastor if she was born-again. “Of course, I am born-again. I am a true child of God,” she responded confidently.

The pastor smiled warmly and asked further, “how do you know you are born-again?”

“Well, it’s obvious as everyone can see. I am good, decent, disciplined, kind and loving person. Besides, I go to church regularly. These make me a good Christian,” she replied with excitement.

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Feeling guilty for lying to her boss, a woman went to her pastor for counselling. “I had lied to my boss to avoid being fired, and now I feel guilty before God,” she admitted in tears after telling him what had happened in the office. “Please pastor, what do I do?”

“Is that why you are crying?” the pastor queried with a soothing smile. “You should understand that no human can live without sin. Besides, lying to your boss is just a little sin. You only said that to protect yourself from any misfortune. It doesn’t matter; God understands.”

The foregoing interactions reveal how the devil, the old evil genius, the master of deception and all evil machinations, the brilliant mastermind of revolts and rebellion against God, and a professional trickster, tricks people with his lies, giving them a false hope of eternal life. You must understand that he has nothing to offer you.

Being the archenemy of man, his major goal is to destroy lives, and he does this through his subtle, skillful but destructive lies (John 10:10). Jesus says, “There is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44).

Imagine the damnable lie he told the woman who had lied to her boss through the pastor that no human can live in this world without committing sin, and that “a little sin” doesn’t matter, justifying the woman’s action. To say a person can’t do without sinning is simply underestimating the power of God’s grace.

The Bible tells us that the moment you are born-again, you are free from sin because you are regenerated and quickened by the grace of God, you have Christ formed in you, and you are made a partaker of God’s nature. You don’t live, walk, give yourself or continue in sin because you are under the influence of the Spirit, power and grace of God which preserve you from the temptations of the devil, pollution of the world and corruptions of your own heart (1 John 3:9).

Moreover, there’s no big or little sin. Sin is sin! So what you call a little alcohol, a little lust, or a little lie will damn your soul because “They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21). God never takes any “little sin” lightly, even if it is committed to protect one’s self or to get out of trouble.

It’s also strange to believe that being kind, generous, disciplined and regular in church without assurance of salvation qualify you as a Christian. Being nice or religious is not the same thing as being born-again. Substituting salvation with a good religious and moral lifestyle is another lie of the devil.

The Bible teaches that everyone needs salvation because we were all born in sin; we were all sinners by nature (Romans 3:23), and to be born-again simply means to repent of or turn away from all your sins.

Six (6) steps are involved in true repentance:

1 Recognizing you are a sinner (Psalm 38:18)

2 Confessing your sins to God in prayer, asking for His forgiveness (1 John 1:9)

3 Forsaking those sins (Proverbs 28:13)

4 Believing you have been forgiven (Romans 8:1-2)

5 Accepting Jesus as your Saviour and Lord, and living a righteous life (1 John 4:14-15)

6 Reconciling with those you have wronged by righting your wrongs (Numbers 5:6-7; Matthew 5:24; Luke 19:8).

If you haven’t taken these steps, you are not born-again and no amount of good deeds, religious activities or moral uprightness can cancel out the debts of your sins.

Finally, the Word of God never teaches eternal security – once you are born-again, you are forever born-again – even if you sin at will or occasionally after you professed to be born-again. If you believe you are secured eternally and lead a sinful life, then you have been brainwashed by agents of the devil. Anyone who had repented of his or her sins and believed in Jesus at one time or the other can backslide.

The Bible uses expressions such as “left thy first love” (Revelation 2:4); “depart from the faith” (1 Timothy 4:1); “put hand to the plough and looking back” (Luke 9:62); and “the dog is turned to his own vomit again…" (2 Peter 2:22) to tell us that you can lose your salvation or any other Christian experience you have. Luke 9:62 categorically says that when this happens, you are unfit for God’s kingdom – heaven.

So friend, don’t allow yourself to be deceived by the lies of the devil. If you are not born-again, repent of your sins now and accept Jesus as your Saviour and Lord. And if you are born-again already, don’t fall into sin and damn your soul. Be wise!

THE TRUTH MEDIA

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