People Who Believe Lies - What does the Bible say?

 What does the Bible say about people who will believe lies?

The Bible has several passages that address people who believe lies or are deceived. Here are some key verses:

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (ESV) – This passage speaks about those who reject the truth and are given over to deception:

"The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

Romans 1:25 (ESV) – Talks about people exchanging the truth of God for lies:

"Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

John 8:44 (ESV) – Jesus warns that the devil is the father of lies:

"You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

Isaiah 30:9-10 (ESV) – Describes a rebellious people who prefer lies over truth:

"For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; who say to the seers, 'Do not see,' and to the prophets, 'Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions.'"

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (ESV) – Warns that people will turn from the truth to myths:

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."

These verses emphasize that rejecting God's truth leads to deception and that people who do not love the truth may fall into lies. The Bible repeatedly encourages believers to seek and hold onto the truth found in God’s Word.

What are the basic tenets of truth that are found in God's Word?

The Bible teaches several foundational truths that are central to the Christian faith. Here are some of the basic tenets of truth found in God's Word:

1. God is the Creator and Sovereign Lord

Genesis 1:1 – "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

Isaiah 45:5-6 – "I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God."

2. The Nature of God

God is Holy – Leviticus 19:2 – "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy."

God is Love – 1 John 4:8 – "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

God is Just – Deuteronomy 32:4 – "All his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he."

3. Jesus Christ is the Only Way to Salvation

John 14:6 – "Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’"

Acts 4:12 – "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

4. The Bible is God's Truth and Authority

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness."

John 17:17 – "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."

5. Mankind is Sinful and in Need of Redemption

Romans 3:23 – "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Romans 6:23 – "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

6. Salvation is by Grace through Faith

Ephesians 2:8-9 – "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."

Titus 3:5 – "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy."

7. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day."

Romans 10:9 – "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

8. The Promise of Eternal Life and Judgment

John 3:16 – "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

Hebrews 9:27 – "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment."

9. The Holy Spirit Dwells in Believers

John 14:26 – "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

1 Corinthians 6:19 – "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?"

10. Jesus Will Return to Judge and Restore

Acts 1:11 – "This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven."

Revelation 22:12 – "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done."

These truths form the foundation of biblical Christianity and guide believers in their faith, worship, and daily lives. Would you like to explore any of these further?

 

How can we correlate these two concepts: the truths that the Bible teaches, against the fact that some people who claim to believe these truths end up giving themselves over to believing lies?

This is an important and deep topic—how people who claim to believe biblical truths can still end up believing lies. The Bible actually addresses this paradox in several ways. There are a few key reasons why this happens:

1. Some Profess Faith, but Do Not Truly Believe (False Converts)

Many people may claim to follow biblical truth but have never truly been transformed by it.

Matthew 7:21-23 – "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

1 John 2:19 – "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us."

Some may appear to believe in the truth but have never truly embraced it in their hearts.

2. People Reject the Love of the Truth

Even though someone may claim to follow biblical truth, if they do not truly love it, they become susceptible to deception.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 – "They refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

This passage suggests that rejecting the truth of God leads to being deceived by lies.

3. The Influence of the Enemy (Spiritual Deception)

The Bible teaches that Satan is constantly at work trying to deceive even those who claim to follow God.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 – "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness."

1 Timothy 4:1 – "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons."

Some people who claim to follow truth may actually be following a distorted or counterfeit version of it.

4. People Choose to Follow Their Own Desires

Some people believe lies because they prefer what is comfortable or convenient rather than the hard truths of Scripture.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 – "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths."

Jeremiah 17:9 – "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"

If someone’s heart is set on what they want to be true rather than what is true, they become vulnerable to deception.

5. Neglecting God's Word and Being Spiritually Dull

Without constant engagement with God’s Word and a desire for discernment, even believers can drift into falsehood.

Hosea 4:6 – "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me."

Hebrews 5:12-14 – "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil."

A person who does not actively seek wisdom and discernment will be more likely to believe falsehoods.

The Solution to Avoiding Deception

For a person to truly stand firm in biblical truth and avoid believing lies, they must:

Truly be saved – Not just professing faith but actually transformed by Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

Love the truth – Holding onto biblical truth even when it’s difficult (John 8:31-32).

Be discerning – Testing everything against Scripture (1 John 4:1).

Stay rooted in God’s Word – Constantly seeking to grow in knowledge and understanding (Col. 3:16).

Walk by the Spirit – Relying on the Holy Spirit for guidance (Gal. 5:16).