First, somebody told it,
Then the room couldn’t hold it,
So the busy tongues rolled it
Till they got it outside.
Then the crowd came across it,
And never once lost it,
But tossed it and tossed it,
Till it grew long and wide.
This lie brought forth others,
Dark sisters and brothers,
And fathers and mothers–
A terrible crew.
And while headlong they hurried,
The people they flurried,
And troubled and worried,
As lies always do.
And so evil-bodied,
This monster lay goaded,
Till at last it exploded
In smoke and in shame.
Then from mud and from mire
The pieces flew higher,
And hit the sad victim
And killed a good name.
—Source Unknown
Lies. Lies are powerful evil bugs that infest and devour their victims. Typically, they grow in size and might until they destroy both the teller of lies and the ones the lies were aimed at.
In this article, I examine four lies people believe about God. These lies have been around for quite some time; lies were birthed in the Garden of Eden when the father of lies, satan, deceived Eve into sinning against God. From a lie, disobedience was planted in the mind of humanity, sin expressed, and the world tainted. As a result, people believe lies of all kinds.
I want to take a little time to address some lies some of us believe about God, whether a family member, a neighbor, a coworker, or even yourself. I hope to make you aware of the lies we have been told and give the truth from Scripture concerning these lies.
Have you or a loved one fallen into one of these lies?
Lie #1: God is not much different from me.
People in life are constantly comparing themselves to other things. Many of us do it without even realizing it. Whether it be the longest drive or the best putt on the golf course, careers, home size, best deal, talent, etc. For a competitive person, it is tough to avoid the comparison game. Speaking from personal experience, I want to be the best, the go-to expert on topics; I want to be someone others lean on because no one cares more about their well-being. These things aren’t necessarily bad. But they can be significant weaknesses.
The fact is, I am not the best or the leading expert. There will always be someone more brilliant and talented than me. Suppose Tom Brady walked into the same room and challenged us to a football-throwing competition. I highly doubt anyone in this room would beat him. The talent discrepancies would be apparent.
Why?
We know it because Tom Brady is a professional football QB, one of the all-time greats at the position, and we are all amateurs. Much like the separation of talent between Tom Brady and myself. There is an infinite divide and separation between God and creation.
Isaiah writes about this separation and the infinite difference between the created and the Creator in Isaiah 6:1-3
Isaiah 6:1–3 ESV: In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
In Hebrew, a repetition of a word is a way of expressing how great something is. Gary Smith, in his commentary, states,
Thus the seraphs claim that God is completely, totally, absolutely, the holiest of the holy. Holiness is the essence of God’s nature and God himself is the supreme revelation of holiness. God’s absolute holiness reveals how separate, different, or totally other he is in comparison to all other aspects of the created world. Although the word does not mean sinless, God’s holiness means that he is separate from everything that is sinful, utterly removed from the profane world, and glorious in majesty. 1
The declaration in Isaiah is that God’s greatness is unmatched! He is totally and fully set apart. No one is capable of matching his greatness!
Unfortunately, one of the dangers we can run into is to think of God in a hierarchy system. We can think of God as the top dog, with the Seraphim and people not far behind, then other creatures descending in order. The truth is that God is infinitely set apart from all creation, and nothing comes close to his greatness and holiness.
AW TOZER says it this way:
We must not think of God as the highest in an ascending order of beings, starting with the single cell, and going on up from the fish to the bird to the animal to man to angel to cherub to God. God is as high above an archangel as above a caterpillar, for the gulf that separates the archangel from the caterpillar is but finite. In contrast, the gulf between God and the archangel is infinite. (Knowledge of the Holy, 70)
Men, we must not believe the lie that we are anywhere close to being equal to God.
TRUTH: God is holy and indescribable.
God is set apart, and his holiness causes us to recognize our shortcomings leading to repentance and worship. We have lost the awe of God in many of our churches today. When we have a proper understanding of the greatest of God. The way we worship is transformed. Our worship is no longer mundane, timid, or even silent. Instead, we sing with boldness, love, and awe of the king who paid it all for his loved creation.
Lie #2: God isn’t involved in or concerned with the details of my life.
He cares intimately about us in all of God’s greatness and holiness. Listen to what Jesus says about our value in God’s eyes,
Luke 12:6–7 ESV
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Another passage that explains God’s great concern and cares for us is found in Matthew 6:28-34.
Matthew 6:28–34 ESV
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
What is clear is that God’s power and ability are so great that he cares for even the most minute concerns. He is intimately involved and concerned for his creation.
We are no exception. God is invested in everything we do!
God’s omnipresence adds significant weight to how we live each moment because he hears and sees everything. Every idle or crude word, joke, or expression we say, every action we take, and what we do in secret is not hidden from God; we live a purer and more authentic life. It eliminates the double life. Christians would no longer live one way at church and another way outside the church.
Robert Wolgemuth explains it this way:
Coram Deo is a Latin phrase meaning “in the presence of God” or “before the face of God.” This is how we are called to live our lives. Every moment, every word, every decision, every act, every thought counts. No matter how insignificant they may seem, they are done before the face and in the presence of the living God.2
How many of our deeds, actions, thoughts, and words would change if we saw Jesus before us every day? Would we lax off and allow our language to be crude? Would we tell the jokes that fill our speech? Would we be impatient and unruly because our schedule is delayed?
Unfortunately, I believe most, if not all of us, would conduct ourselves differently with Jesus visually before us. Yet, Scripture is clear God is with us always because he is intimately involved in our lives and is omnipresent. We must live our lives in that regard.
The only way to live that way is to abide in Christ. John 15:4 tells us,
John 15:4 ESV
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
God is invested in us. Thus, truth #2 is that:
Truth #2: God is not too big or too small to be involved in our life.
We have seen the truth that God is holy and set apart from us and how he is intimately involved in our lives. But, there is a third lie Christians believe:
Lie #3: I can earn God’s favor.
In life, men are natural fixers. We want to make things better. If I can solve this work issue, I will earn my boss’s favor and get that bonus this year. If I can finish all my honey-dos, I will win my wife’s affection, and she will look at me with those loving eyes that get my heart pumping. Or, if I buy this car for my grandson, he will want to spend time with me.
Look, none of those things are necessarily bad; it is good to solve work problems, it is good to help your wife around the house, and it is good to give gifts to loved ones. The motives are the issue.
We have been taught for so long that favor must be earned. It is a works-based system that people are most attracted to in life. Except for Biblical Christianity, every religion is centered on a works-based system.
Did I…
- Pray enough
- Give up enough
- Follow every teaching
- Do all that is required of me
- Give good sacrifices
- Do more good than bad
It all centers on one’s self. The Bible points out the issue with a works-based system for earning favor. Listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 5:20
Matthew 5:20 ESV
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
First, the scribes and Pharisees were the Jewish community’s most religious and faithful leaders. Second, Jesus tells them that they are eternally condemned unless their righteousness EXCEEDS their spiritual leader’s righteousness.
So, Jesus has told them that their religious leaders aren’t getting favor with God, nor are they the people. Talk about a gut punch. Everything they thought they knew about getting acceptance by God is immediately thrown out with this statement.
Another example given in Scripture of the insignificance of the efforts of humanity to earn favor is found in John 3.
John 3:2–4 ESV
This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Nicodemus and Jesus continue their dialog, and Nicodemus hasn’t grasped the teaching of Jesus. Jesus responds saying in verse 10.
John 3:10 ESV
Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
Religious rites, traditions, and works were in the way of the truth found within the Scriptures Nicodemus and his fellow religious leaders read, memorized, and proclaimed. Jesus explains in verses 14-15:
John 3:14–15 ESV
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Jesus foreshadows his death on the cross and testifies believing in him is the only way to salvation. We can never earn favor with God.
This brings us to our third truth statement:
Truth #3: God’s approval is not earned. God’s approval is a gift received in faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9 presents this truth to us:
Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Men, who long to fix things, are incapable of fixing the great divide between God and us. We must humbly submit ourselves to Jesus and place our faith in him for our salvation.
We are freed from the bondage of unachievable expectations when we finally grasp that our deeds cannot justify us, make us good in God’s eyes, or make us worthy of salvation. We believe and trust in Jesus alone for our salvation. It is that simple.
Does that seem too easy? Sure. Yet, it does not change the truth. We do not earn or pay back our salvation. It is the gift of God to all who place their faith in Jesus for salvation.
We’ve talked about the lie of how God isn’t much different from us, isn’t concerned with our most minor of concerns and actions, and how we can earn God’s favor; now let us look at:
Lie #4: There are many ways to God.
Frequently, I wonder how many Christians believe this statement, not necessarily verbally; I know many people outside the church would verbally state there are many ways to eternity with God. But inside churches, where the Bible is preached, the exclusivity of Christ alone is preached and taught; how many testify they believe this lie with their actions?
Think about it, if we truly believe what Jesus says in John 14:6:
John 14:6 ESV
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Then why are we not sharing the good news of Jesus Christ crucified for our sins and risen from the grave, defeating sin and death for our sake to everyone in our lives? Do we think they will hear the gospel from someone who cares less for them than their friend or family member?
The phrase “actions speak louder than words” comes to mind. We might say we believe Jesus is the only way, but our actions say one of two things: (1) I don’t love people enough to tell them the good news, or (2) I don’t believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven.
I’ve been there. Struggling to share my faith with the person next door or the person God places before me. It can be challenging. It can be awkward—fear of rejection, confrontation, and simply messing it up. In my experience, God takes over as soon as the conversation gets going, and all that fear and anxiety of sharing the good news goes away. We need to take courage and take the step to be evangelism warriors. Sharing the good news everywhere we go.
A quote on the exclusivity of Jesus as the only way that has impacted many believers over the years, including my own life, is from C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity:
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg—or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.3
Either Jesus is God in the flesh, or he is a lunatic. Either he is the only way, or he is a liar. Either Jesus died for our sins, or he died as an insane man.
Truth #4: Jesus Christ is our only path to God.
There is no way around it. Jesus alone is our path to God. It is time for us to live and share the truth. It is the most incredible honor we have to testify of the loving exclusivity of Jesus, the bridge to God for all who believe and place their faith in Christ for salvation!
We have seen four lies we believe about God, the lie of him not being much different from us, the lie he is too big for the details of our life, the lie of how good works earn God’s favor, and the lie of many ways to God.
Final Thoughts
The Christian life starts with a proper understanding of our desperate and utter separation from God, which gives birth to spiritual awakening through the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ alone. An appropriate sense of God’s unique greatness, His power, authority, perfectness, every presence in the world, and love for His fallen creation has been, to some extent, lost for many professing Christians.
I hope this article will bring awareness to the beauty of the holiness of God. If you found this content helpful, I’d encourage you to check out the book: Lies Men Believe by Robert Wolgemuth. His chapter on “Lies Men Believe About God” inspired the lies and truths examined in this article. You can buy it on Amazon at this link: https://amzn.to/3fU1yME.
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- Gary V. Smith, Isaiah 1–39, ed. E. Ray Clendenen, The New American Commentary (Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 2007), 190. ↩
- Robert D Wolgemuth and Patrick Morley, Lies Men Believe: And the Truth That Sets Them Free (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2018). ↩
- Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis (pg 55-56) ↩
