Lie: (noun)
1. A false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.
It Lasts Forever
You've been lied to—hoodwinked, deceived, and flat-out misled. And it has changed the way you view everything. From your view of others to how you perceive your purpose in life, these lies have affected your life in a major way.
That should make you feel something. No one likes getting lied to and we've all been there. We have felt the sting of someone withholding the truth or misleading us. It causes confusion, distrust, hurt, and rejection to flood our hearts. And these lies are no different—they will bring the same. The devastation they cause will not be quickly felt and forgotten about in a week or two—it is eternal.
The Good News
You've been lied to, but not by God. His Word is trustworthy and He is completely holy. The world would cease to exist the moment a lie left the lips of its Creator. The fact that this mass of land and water we call home is still spinning and supporting life points to the reality that God is true and trustworthy. God takes humanity's biggest questions and answers them with complete honesty. Some may not always like the answers He gives, but that doesn't make them any less true. God hasn't hid Himself or kept anything from us that could be considered essential to know concerning both this life and the life to come.
The Culprit(s)
These lies come from (3) primary sources—the world, the flesh, and the devil. Not only do they lie to us, but they seem to never take a break from doing so.
This world will tell you all sorts of lies:
Here is what you need to be happy! If you get this, you will be complete.
The problem is that you're not smart enough, rich enough, good-looking enough, or successful enough.
There are no moral absolutes—just do whatever makes you happy, whenever you want to do it, and with whomever you want!
This present physical world is what matters most!
We see and hear things like this everyday. On billboards, in radio ads, and during the 20 minutes of commercials we have to watch during a half hour show. This world feeds us greed and consumerism while teaching us to destroy others as if they are not made in the image of God. All lies.
Let's talk about the king of liars—if there was such a title. Or we could say the father of lies—a title that does exist and is given to Satan in God's Word. Satan was the first being to believe a lie. He came to believe that he was as important as God and just as powerful. From that very foolish moment, Satan has been speaking lies to all who will listen. He tells humanity that they can find satisfaction apart from God--that we can be our own gods. He tells us that God is trying to keep good from us rather than provide it. He has nothing new. These are the same lies he has been telling since the Garden of Eden and the same lies he will tell until he's thrown into the lake of fire.
His trick is that he "repackages" them. He tells them a little different to each generation and each culture. He puts a little twist on them so these lies seem more palatable, logical, and so they connect with us emotionally. But they are still lies that, if believed, will have eternal costs.
Liar, Liar
Perhaps the person that has lied to you more than anybody else is yourself. Your own flesh and fallen nature is constantly filling your mind with lies. It's easy to find ourselves thinking that we can't be forgiven or shouldn't forgive others. We can tell ourselves that we are failures, unloved, and that our lives are not valuable. We can take something sinful and justify it by saying, "That's just who I am!" We invent excuses and find reasons that our half-heartedness towards the things of God is okay. Deep down, we know the lies that we've told ourselves and shape our personality. We know the lies that affect our decisions and lives.
Truth > Lie
Lies are powerful. If you don't believe me, look at Genesis 3. There we see the price for believing lies. We can see it now outside our windows and even when looking in the mirror. We see suffering, pain, sin, and a fallen world. All are a direct result of lies.
But the truth is greater.
We have a gospel hope. Jesus didn't come to give us the answers, but to be the answer. He is the Truth and, in Him, we can be rescued from believing, telling, and living out lies. It's important for Christians to tell the truth. But it's just as important for them to believe the Truth.