The Father of Lies

You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stayed not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. – John 8:44

I often wonder what the time is that Jesus is referring to when He said this.  Was He referring to the beginning of all that ever has been?  Was He referring to the beginning of Creation?  Was He referring to the beginning of man?  I’m not sure it really matters, but my mind thinks and wonders these things.  One thing is for sure, it is definitely since the beginning of man.  Satan’s first words to woman were lies.

The serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die – Genesis 3:4

We all know as descendants that she most certainly did die.  The truth was she would not die if she didn’t eat the fruit.  By lying to the woman the devil was able to cause her death, so he effectively murdered her by convincing her to oppose God’s Word.  Since all of humanity is descended from Adam and Eve and all must die because of this sin, the devil did effectively murder all.  So when Jesus says he was a murderer from the beginning and that he is the father of lies it is the truth from man’s existence.  The devil fathered the first lie to man.  Man soon lied to each other and murdered one another. 

I am a man and I am a liar.  I am a man and I am a murderer.  If I do not acknowledge these things to myself then I am a fool.  This is my inheritance.  It is my sin disease contained in my DNA.  However, Jesus changed my DNA when I accepted Him as my Savior.  I believe in Him as the Son of the only living God and when I did His Spirit came inside of my heart and resides in my soul.  Does this mean I am no longer a liar and a murderer?  Unfortunately no.  It does mean that now I have a choice.  I can choose not to lie or murder.  Before I did not have the strength to fight the sin nature pull to do these things but with Jesus within me, He has conquered the death caused by sin, so I can overcome the sin nature by letting go of myself and following Jesus in all moments. 

A false witness will utter lies – Proverbs 14:5b

A Christian following Christ cannot be a false witness.  The conviction from the Spirit will cause him to have to decide to not believe or to believe at some time.  I believe the Spirit is constantly convicting someone living in lies, but if those are ignored long enough, there will come a crisis moment.  A person who claims to be a Christian, but who blatantly does not follow God’s Word does not truly believe in God as the single authority over all, which means they do not believe in the one true living God.  People can want to believe, but if they insist that they can alter God’s Words and they seek to convince everyone around them to believe their words then they are a false witness.  What a terrible name to be qualified for!  God has some awful Words for the fate of such people.

It is my constant prayer that I will always be under conviction.  The worst thing I can imagine is not being under any conviction as this would mean God has left me to myself.  I hope that I can be used to lead people to God's Word, not away from it.  My prayer for everyone in my family and all my friends is that God is upon them and they hear His Words upon their heart and feel His presence over their heart.  That they are convicted of their own sin and comforted by His grace and mercy.  We must know we need a Savior at all times in all moments until that glorious day when we are released from this sinful shell.