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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Posted by Scott Colvin

Glimpses of Nicodemus

January 24, 2020

Seek the truth. We are introduced to Nicodemus in the Gospel of John. Jesus calls him “a teacher of Israel” (John 3:10). Despite his position, Nicodemus is a seeker for truth. Nicodemus states, “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” (John 3:2 ESV). He has reached the proper conclusion from the signs. He is not aligned with the Pharisees who accuse Jesus performing miracles by the power of Satan. Seek the truth.

Speak for the truth even when you are in a minority. The religious leaders have sent officers to arrest Jesus. They return empty handed saying “No one ever spoke like this man!” They belittle the officers, but Nicodemus speaks up, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does” (John 7:52)? The religious leaders give him their condescension. But Nicodemus has demonstrated the principle: Speak for truth even when you are in the minority. Note the situation will not always bring rational discourse. John will later note that others failed to confess Jesus for fear of the Pharisees and being expelled from the synagogue “for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God” (John 12:43, ESV).

Practice the lifestyle of truth. Joseph of Arimathea boldly asked for the body of Jesus to bury it in his own new, rock hewn tomb. Nicodemus is also in this scene bringing seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes (John 19:39). It indicates that he is a man of wealth, but one who is also capable of generosity. Jesus gives us truth to be believed and trusted, but also truth to be lived, a lifestyle of truth. We gain a glimpse of the lifestyle here in generosity.

Nicodemus disappears from the record at this point. There is much we might like to know. But that is also true for a number of people in the New Testament including some of the apostles. John has given us glimpses of Nicodemus. These glimpses give us things to ponder and practice.

— Russ Holden

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Posted by Russell Holden