I am amazed at the conversations I hear when people talk about God. So much of what I hear has no biblical basis. Some have listened to others’ comments about God and life and automatically believe them. I can understand why a child would do this. Usually, these are people they trust and have a high view of their knowledge, yet the comments are often a smidge of truth with a lie built in. After sayings have been repeated and passed down, they get even further from the biblical truth on which they may have been based. Adults have no excuse for passing on or believing wrong information. We are responsible to God to read, study, and obey the word.
One of the truths about God that is propagated heavily today and highly misunderstood is that God is love. In I John 4:8, the bible declares that God is love. And those who don’t love do not know God. While this is true, it is often misused. Some use this verse to suggest that God overlooks sin. This is a lie! God is a holy God and cannot be in the presence of sin. God’s love sent Jesus to the cross, but His holiness required it. His love will not keep unrepentant sinners out of hell. They have been warned and offered a way to escape the wrath of God. The love of God will also not keep us from having hard times and experiencing painful situations. However, if we surrender to Him, His love will see us through them. Love will allow us to suffer consequences from sin or bad choices we make in life. Those consequences remind us not to make the same mistake twice.
I John 4:8 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
Some believe that since the bible says God is love, all will go to heaven. This is another lie that Satan wants us to believe. When Jesus was teaching on the final judgment in Matthew 25, He said in Matthew 25:41 that those who are on His left will depart into everlasting fire. The left signified unbelievers, and the right signifies believers. The everlasting fire was prepared for the devil and His angels, but in verse 46, those unbelievers will join them in everlasting punishment. Jesus teaches in Matthew 10:28 that we are to fear God, the one who has power and control over our eternal souls. Just as the bliss of Heaven is eternal for those who have placed their faith in Jesus, so is the torment of hell for those who lived their lives for themselves.
Matthew 25:41 “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Matthew 25:46 “ And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Another false belief I hear when someone dies is that they become angels. This is not what the Bible teaches. We are made in the image of God. When Jesus was resurrected, he had a body as a human. In that resurrected body, we will no longer be subject to the natural conditions of this world, but we will have a perfect body as a human. The angels are not made in the image of God. Angels are a creation just like everything else, but they were not created with the breath of God as man was.
Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
The Bible teaches clearly that we are eternal souls that will spend eternity either in Heaven or Hell. It is our choice. When mankind sinned, everything changed. This sinful nature is passed on from generation to generation. No one is born holy, and only those who are holy can be in the presence of God. Therefore, God’s love for us made a way for us to be presented to Him as holy. He gave His Son to take our place. John 3:16-18 teaches that truth. There is no other way to Heaven but through the Son. When we place our faith in Him and follow Him, His righteousness becomes ours. God the Father does not see our sins but the robe of righteousness of His Son. If this is not what you believe about God and how to go to Heaven, then you have missed the truth of the gospel.
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Some would like to believe that God sacrificing His Son Jesus was not enough. They believe salvation is granted by Jesus plus our works. However, Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches us that our salvation is not because of our works. It is by God’s grace and a gift from Him. While James makes it clear that works are critical in the life of a believer, they are a result of our salvation, not the means of our salvation. They are evidence of our love and appreciation for what God has done in our lives and lives to come. If our salvation were of works, Jesus could not have told the thief on the cross beside Him that he would be with Him in paradise.
Ephesians 2-:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
James 2:17-18 “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
Luke 23:42-43 “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
While I have dealt with only a few of the lies people believe about God and our relationship with Him, they are important ones. There are multitudes of lies, but for each lie, God holds the truth. When you have questions, go to His word; it has the answers. Don’t believe what people say unless they can prove it in His word.
Excellent