What Do We Do With a Lie?

Have you ever believed a lie? I once had a student who lied so much that he began to believe his own lies.

One day in class, he decided to share some inappropriate information with a classmate. The student, feeling guilty, shared it with me. I began a series of interviews to try to discern the truth. My supervisor was called in, and eventually the principal and the student’s mother. We went through rounds of questions and discussion, and our meeting extended over two weeks.

The problem for my student was that we had proof. We could trace some of what happened through the school computers, and a couple of students had also witnessed it. Eventually, the student finally broke down and confessed the truth.

What struck me most throughout the encounter was how believable my student was. His face was a picture of innocence. His mom completely believed him, and at times, I did too. He had been one of my favorite students. He worked hard, was friendly, and treated me with respect. Sometimes, if we mix just enough truth and goodness with a lie, it makes it even more believable.

The Galatians had a History with False Gospels

Throughout history, the Galatians believed lies. They started with false gods who “required” all kinds of religious practices in order to be placated. In his sermon, “Religion and the Gospel,” Timothy Keller said,

“Pagan religion is based on appeasement. The gods are angry, distant, and unpredictable, and the worshiper’s job is to perform the right rituals to keep disaster away and secure blessing.”

This is the belief most Galatians would have operated from. Then, after the Diaspora, or dispersion of Jewish people fleeing from conquering nations, the Galatians were exposed to a monotheistic religion. However, it was still tied to rituals that had many requirements to please God.

When the Galatians were presented with the Gospel of Jesus, many of them combined what Paul taught with what they had learned about false gods and traditional Judaism. They had just enough truth to make the lie believable.

But Paul knew it wasn’t good enough. Galatians 1 jumps quickly into defending the truth. In verses 6-9, Paul says,

“I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!”

Paul wanted them to know that the Gospel was simple. We are hopelessly lost. We are naturally selfish. We deserve death. Salvation comes only by Christ’s amazing gift of grace by faith.

What Lies are We Believing?

Most of us have probably never worshipped pagan gods or spun a web of lies that took weeks to unravel to our middle school teacher. But that doesn’t leave us immune to lies in our lives. And the more we lie to ourselves, the more we believe it. In The Reason for God, Timother Keller says, “The Bible teaches that the human heart is deeply self-deceived. We do not just lie to others; we lie to ourselves most
convincingly.”

God’s Word talks extensively about guarding our hearts and minds from lies and focusing on His Truth.
 Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and
perfect will of God.”
 Ephesians 4:22-24 says, “To take off your former way of life, the old self that is
corrupted by deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to
put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness
and purity of the truth.”
 And Philippians 4:7-8 says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers
and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral
excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things.”

As I write and read these passages, I’m feeling the nudge of conviction in some areas I’ve been letting my heart ignore or accept. I’d encourage us all today to search our hearts and test them against God’s Word.

I’d challenge us all to ask ourselves these questions:
 What are some lies that you’ve allowed yourself to believe?
 Have you tainted Christ’s salvation with your own list of rules and requirements?
 Are you rationalizing sins from your past so you can hold to both them and
Christ?

Whatever we find in our hearts, we need to hold it up next to God’s gift of salvation and then put it in its proper place. Maybe it’s trash that needs to be completely discarded. Maybe it’s thoughts that need to be dashed with memorized Scripture whenever they pop up.

Whatever the case, God is urging us through Galatians 1 to believe the truth and discard the lie.