Inoculation Against Falsehood

June 14, 2024

A quote often attributed to the Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels says, “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.”  This seems to have become a motto for many in the world.  Our world is awash in lies, deception, and hypocrisy.  The lies that emanate from the lord of this world, the devil, are repeated over and over until people start to believe them.  Things that were once common sense and bedrock truths are now questioned by many.  This is especially true in human morality and behavior.  I’m sure you can think of some big, obvious lies that the masses are starting to believe.

Of course, we are not immune to falling for these lies ourselves.  Continuously repeated lies can seep into the church and pull us away from the truth.  We must be careful not to get sucked in.  What can we do to inoculate ourselves against the lies?

We must know the truth!  And where do we find the truth?  Jesus prayed to the Father, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (John 17:17 NASB95) The truth about mankind, our condition, what is right and what is wrong, and all matters of our eternal destination are found in the word of God.  We need to know the word and be grounded in it!

We must know the truth, and we must love the truth!  Those who do not love the truth are in great spiritual danger.  Paul warns the church at Thessalonica that one day “the man of lawlessness” will be revealed.  He will come with “all the deception of wickedness,” and people will perish, “… because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved…” (2 Thessalonians 2:10 NASB95) It is not enough to know the truth.  Even the devil knows the truth.  As children of God, we must continually cultivate a love for the truth. 

Finally, to inoculate ourselves against the lies of this world, we must remove what is false from our own lives.  As Peter wrote, “Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” (1 Peter 2:1 NASB95) Notice that we must put away deceit. This is more than just not telling lies. It means putting away any attempt to be crafty or cunning.  It means not doing things like leaving out critical information in order to bait people into believing something untrue.  Notice also that we are to put aside hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is putting on a mask to mislead people about your true purposes and motivations.  People who love truth will always strive to put away any kind of falsehood.  As we do so, we will prepare our hearts to accept the truth and to grow in salvation.

—Scott Colvin

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Decoupling from the Culture

June 14, 2024

Can you imagine living in a world described in this way: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6 NASB95) This was the condition of mankind just before the flood.  Mankind’s wickedness was great.  Every plan and intention of man was sinful.  Every thought in their heart was evil continually.  It had gotten so bad that God was grieved over it.  And God said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:7 NASB95)

And yet, in all of this darkness, there was one bright spot shining like a beacon.  “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:8 NASB95) The whole world had turned against God, but Noah walked with God.  The whole world had allowed themselves to sink into depravity, but Noah kept God’s commands.  The world had closed their hearts to the teaching about God, but Noah was a preacher of righteousness. (2 Peter 2:5) “… Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9b NASB95)

It seems that our world today is becoming increasingly immoral, corrupt and violent.  There is a sickness that pervades our world that is caused by sin.  Things may have not yet degenerated to where they were in Noah’s day, but it would do us well to learn from the life of Noah and imitate his faith.  Noah had to make a decision to decouple himself and his family from the debauched world he lived in.  Do you need to do the same?  This decoupling will not happen on its own.  The corrupt current of our culture will suck in anyone who does not actively paddle against it.  This corrupt current will overwhelm you and your children unless you do something about it. 

We need to resolve to walk with God!  We need to resolve in our hearts and minds that no matter what everyone else is doing, we will follow Him!  Even if everyone else is fixated on evil, we need to resolve to fix our hearts on what is good.  While everyone else fills their minds with wickedness, resolve that you and your house will fill your minds with the things of God.

I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I know one thing:  I want to find favor in the eyes of the Lord!  I want to walk with God!  Let’s renew our resolve to do just that.    

—Scott Colvin

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The Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

June 4, 2024

“But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin…” (Mark 3:29 NASB95) What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?  Some Christians worry that they may have committed this sin. This is understandable because of the gravity of Jesus’ words. People wonder, “Have I ever said anything irreverent about the Holy Spirit? Am I lost forever?” Let’s take a closer look at His statement.

What is the background of this warning?  You can read the context in Matthew 12, Mark 3, and Luke 12.  Jesus had just healed a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute.  The crowds were amazed at Jesus’ power, but the Pharisees said, “This man casts out demons only by the power of Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 12:24 NASB95).  Beelzebul is another name for Satan, as the text makes clear (see Matthew 12:26, for example).  Jesus knew what they were thinking in their hearts and said to them, “How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand” (Mark 3:23-24 NASB95) After pointing out the absurdity of their claim, Jesus gives the warning that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin.

To blaspheme is to speak evil of someone.  It is to denigrate, revile, disrespect, or slander.  The Pharisees were blaspheming the Holy Spirit because they were saying His work (casting out demons) is by the power of Satan.  This is the unforgivable sin—to attribute the work of the Spirit to Satan.  Mark makes this clear when He explains Jesus’ statement by saying, “Because they were saying, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’” (Mark 3:30 NASB95) They were persisting in their blasphemy.

But why is this sin unforgivable?  Remember, the work of Jesus was empowered by the Spirit (see Luke 4:18-21).  If this is true, and a person continues to attribute the work of the Spirit to Satan, what hope is there for that person?  How can they ever come to Christ for forgiveness and salvation if they think Jesus’ work empowered by the devil?  As long as someone continues in this blasphemous stance against the Spirit of God, they will never come to Christ, and they will never be able to receive forgiveness from God!

Can someone commit this sin today?  Perhaps not exactly in the same way.  We have not had opportunity to see Jesus cast out a demon or do any other miracles while He was on earth.  But in another sense, remember that it is the Spirit of God who gave us the word of God, which gives us the wisdom that leads to salvation.  If someone today engaged in blasphemy against the Spirit by calling Him evil, then that person could not be saved because they would never come to Christ for salvation.  However, if you are worried about having committed the unforgivable sin, then rest assured that you have not.  The fact that someone would worry about it shows that they do have a repentant heart that does have reverence for the Spirit of God. 

—Scott Colvin

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