Don't Believe the HYPE!!

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You[a] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1; ESV)

Sin is the enemy of our souls (Isaiah 59:2; 1 John 3:8), and Satan uses sin as a weapon to convince human beings to question the inerrancy of the Word of God.  Inerrancy is defined as “incapable of being wrong”.  Therefore, since the Word of God is inerrant, we can trust it more than anything that we can see, touch, taste, smell, imagine, or conclude.  When we reverence the Bible as the Holy Word of God, we develop both a love for God and a fear of God, both of which help us grow in our faith and dependency on God.  As we sanctify the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts, the Holy Spirit will illuminate the truth of God’s Word, convicting us of our sin, which leads to repentance.  True repentance produces humility, and humility results in further trust and dependency on God, which glorifies Him.  It’s absolutely beautiful. 

Satan knows this, and his goal is to convince us that we don’t need God.  He wants to deceive mankind into believing that we have the power within ourselves to be our own god.  Satan’s deceptive motives were first described to us in Genesis 3:1-6. Even those who are unsaved may be somewhat familiar with this moment in history because it has been mocked countless times on television and in movies - Adam and Eve wearing fig leaves while standing in front of a tree eating an apple. What the unsaved may not be familiar with are the devastating consequences that ensued because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to the Word of God.  Sin entered into all of creation through their rebellion, and now every human being is infected with the virus called sin, the transgression of the law of God (1 John 3:4-6).  This virus has a 100% death rate, which is Hell, eternal separation from our Creator. 

By the grace of God, believers have been healed from this terminal disease through faith in the great physician, the Lord Jesus Christ, and this healing is free and available to all who would believe (Romans 10:13).  The irony is that we did not know we were sick in the first place.  Sure, we experienced symptoms of this disease, such as sexual immorality; rage; jealousy; we lied; cheated; stole; blasphemed God, and we may have experienced some degree of guilt for our actions (especially if we got caught).  However, it wasn’t until we put our faith in the finished works of the Lord Jesus Christ and began reading and studying the Word, did we finally understand that we were bound for Hell before Jesus came into our hearts.  And now, by God’s grace through faith, a believer’s name is forever written in the Lamb's Book of Life.  Thank you, Lord!    

God’s saving grace is free and available to all who would surrender themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ.  However, Satan – whom the Scriptures in John 8:44 calls “the father of lies” - wants to convince the world that God’s love for His creation is a fairytale.  He uses the sin of pride in an attempt to sway non-believers into thinking that: 1) human beings can live their lives anyway they’d like without having to be accountable to God; 2) if there is a Heaven, you can do enough good works in your lifetime to get in, so you don’t need Jesus; and 3) if there is a Hell, you’ll enjoy it there because it’s nothing but a non-stop party. 

Don’t believe the hype – Satan’s words are a lie straight from the pit of Hell.  Please understand that there is nothing truthful that comes from the mouth of Satan.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and there is no truth in him.  God’s enemy wants you to pay attention to your feelings, and to not pay attention to the truth of God’s Word, which is the Lord Jesus Christ made flesh (John 1:14).  Friends, I implore you to study God’s Word.  Saturate yourself with Scripture every day and as often as you can.  As you do, the Holy Spirit will teach you what is right and wrong based on Truth (John 14:6) and not opinions and feelings.  If you know the Lord Jesus Christ for the pardoning of your sins, your soul is sealed until the day of God’s redemption (Ephesians 4:30), and nothing can pluck you out of the Lord’s sovereign hand (John 10:28).  If you have not accepted Christ as your Savior, do so today.  As we speak, there is a spiritual battle for your soul taking place because both God and Satan understand how precious your soul is.  If Satan was able to convince one third of the heavenly angels to follow him, he certainly has the ability to deceive mere mortals into disregarding the Word of God.  And know this:  if you are not following God, you are already following Satan (Ephesians 2:1-3); you just don’ t know it.  Don’t continue to give him that satisfaction.  Give your life to Jesus before it’s too late.

Grace and Peace.