Chapter 1
Father of Lies (Days 1-10)
Father of Lies (Days 1-10)
DAY 1
“Nothin’s Changed. Keep on Workin’!”
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? Romans 6:16
The deadliest war in US history exploded right here on American soil. More Americans died during the Civil War (625,000) than all other major US wars combined (613,800).[1]
During my years in the south, I was told that the Civil War wasn’t really about slavery, it was about economics. My Southern friends said the war was started to ensure that Northerners kept the upper hand when it came to money.
The causes of the war were complex. I’m convinced that, for most people, the war really was about assaulting the gates to the hell of slavery.
After the Civil War ended, millions of slaves had the right to throw off their chains. Ironically, many stayed where they were and continued to work as oppressed slaves. They were so accustomed to servitude and intimidation that they kept on living in squalor and hunger, with no personal rights or incomes, “workin’ for The Man every night and day.” For too many, everything stayed the same as it had been before liberation became reality. Of course, many former slave owners continued to abuse them, profiting at the emancipated slaves’ expense.
WHAT’S THE POINT: Keeping their bondage after being freed was a tragic way for former slaves to live. The same can be said of people who still wear their spiritual chains after Jesus died and rose again to shatter their bondage. Learn to recognize Satan, the chief Liar, as the vicious, immoral slaveowner he is.
PRAYER: Lord, please reveal places in my life where I’ve been freed but still live in spiritual captivity. Please expose the devil’s lies for what they are. Amen!
INTERACT: How does slavery to the devil contrast with “slavery” to a loving God?________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
• Here’s a way that I am still serving the devil, even though Christ has liberated me:________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __
• Discuss talking points about “spiritual slavery to Christ” with a mature Christian you trust:___________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
DAY 2
“Grab God’s Glorious Gift of Change”
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Sav–ior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. Titus 3:3–5
Slaves who kept slaving away, even after being freed, put me in mind of many Christians who benefit from Christ’s Emancipation Proclamation on the cross and after the empty tomb. We can be completely free. Our former slave owner, the devil, has no more power over us. Yet too often we keep on living in the filth and foulness of slavery to sin; hungering and thirsting for something better; slaving away doing Satan’s work, when we’ve been freed from sin and its devastating curse. He has no legal grip on us.
Our liberation is not the result of “the righteous things we had done.” Isaiah identified human–source righteousness as “filthy rags” in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6). We are set free by God’s mercy (which means, not getting the punishment for sin that we deserve).
If only we would sort out truth from lies. If only we would embrace the truth that Christ promised would set us free. If only we would stop believing the Father of Lies, Satan himself.
In John 8:31–44, the Pharisees didn’t believe Jesus’s claim about Who He was. That got Him talking about truth and lies. Check out what became a great treatise on that liar, the devil.
WHAT’S THE POINT: Jesus taught powerful truths about breaking free from slavery to sin and embracing His freedom. We can cast off our ugly disfigurement and embrace His beautiful, healing change.
PRAYER: Lord, my history with New Year’s Resolutions shows that I cannot change myself. I embrace your new life for me. Amen!
INTERACT: What would God’s changes in your life look like?_______
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• I admit the litany of sin in my life from Titus 3:3 Yes ❒ No ❒
• God’s mercy in my life will result in____________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __
DAY 3
The Power of Knowledge and Belief!
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8.31–32
Something about this Scripture puzzles me. These people are identified as “Jews who had believed him...” Yet, when Jesus explains that His real disciples “hold to my teachings” and promises to set them free, they are offended: “...we have never been slaves of anyone. Why would we need to be set free?”
Ignoring the fact that Israelites were slaves in Egypt for 400–plus years, why are they upset at Him? The following verses seem to show that they were insulted by this One they had believed in. Freedom versus bondage is a subject that ruffles many feathers.
For God to set us free, two things are required: 1.) Know what the truth is; and 2.) Sincerely believe it. Otherwise, truth has no power to liberate.
The truth is, at 2:00 AM your house is on fire. The heat and smoke and bright orange flames are absolute proof. But you’re in bed with the covers pulled up around your ears; your eyes are shut as you sleep; your nose is under the sheet so you don’t smell smoke. In order for the truth to set you free from a horrible death, you have to know about the fire. If you don’t discover the truth, you will die in your bed.
Or, you awaken, smell the smoke, see the flames and hear their roar—but you refuse to believe that this is actually happening to you. So, you pull the covers over your head and hide. If you refuse to believe the truth, and take decisive action based on it, truth cannot set you free from certain death.
Sin threatens our eternal wellbeing—more deadly than any house fire! The words of Christ and the experience of millions are proof of that truth. But if you don’t know, or choose not to believe the truth, it cannot set you free from the absolute fact of eternal death and destruction.
WHAT’S THE POINT: God–given freedom releases us from many damaging behaviors that injure our mental–emotional, physical, spiritual and social selves. We must know, believe and act on God’s truth before we can spread our wings.
PRAYER: Lord, please help me discover and believe Your truth. Only then will I enjoy a truly free life in Christ. Amen!
INTERACT: What’s another way to say, “Hold to my [Jesus’s] teachings”?
__________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• Here are some habits I think God wants to help me overcome:
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• Here’s a story of knowing the truth, which then set me free:
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __
DAY 4
“Put on that Purity Habit”
Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins [as a lifestyle] is a slave to sin. John 8:34
Knowing Christ and sincerely believing in Him, can break the devil’s chains and set us free. The biblical statement, “Everyone who sins...” is literally, “Everyone who practices sin...” as a lifestyle, as life’s default setting. It’s the kind of Greek verb that means ongoing, habitual sinning.
Some are fond of saying that everyone must sin in thought, word or deed daily. If that means Christians can’t help living a lifestyle of sinful behavior, the Apostle John would strongly object. Jesus would roll over in His grave—oh, wait, He’s not in the grave. He’s ALIVE!
If you modify that sentiment to mean that Christians are regularly tempted to sin, I agree. Your proof is any sinful habit you can think of. Habits become regular practices, then they define lifestyles, and ultimately sinful habits lead to slavery and loss.
For example, a guy says to himself, “I’ll just take a quick look at some pornography; one look won’t hurt.” Eventually, he can’t live without his daily fix, and his relationships fall apart. He might be a believer, but his porn habit turned him into Satan’s slave. We can be slaves to envy, bad language, negativism, greed, gossip—or sex, of course. We can be slaves to a million different things.
No human resident of Earth is sinless; only Jesus. But the God who offers an escape from sin’s penalty of death is also able to lift believers above the stubborn issue of sinning in thought, word or deed every day. He is the God of victory!
Truth is the key to your liberation. Know it, believe it, live it. Ask God to make His true freedom your new reality. Celebrate spiritual emancipation. Take on a new lifestyle of purity. God is eager to help.
WHAT’S THE POINT: Our sinful flesh repeatedly contends with sin. But Jesus has the power to free us. Satan downplays the damage of sinful habits. God offers freedom and joy.
PRAYER: Precious Lord, with Your help I’ll fill my mind with godly things (Philippians 4:8). Amen!
INTERACT: I am determined to change a damaging habit by:___________________________________________
_____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __
• I’ve had friends who self–destructed on bad habits. Here’s how I might be able to help them:
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• How have habits stolen your joy? What do you want to do about it?
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __
DAY 5
“The Big, Fat, No Good, Totally Evil Liar”
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive.
1 Corinthians 10:23
C.S. Lewis’s classic The Screwtape Letters, [2] is an imagined narrative between a very senior demon and Wormwood, his under–demon apprentice. Screwtape explains a litany of Satan’s deceit and predicts the results. One focus under his microscope is how pleasure atrophies when someone believes that salvation is “freedom TO sin.”
Many casual believers claim God’s freedom as the right to satisfy their carnal desires. Freedom in Christ is really freedom FROM doing those enslaving things that cheapen, damage and erode our relationship with Christ and others.
These people think freedom means ‘I can do whatever I want.’ But most people who think this way soon find out that freedom to ‘sin largely’ isn’t freedom at all. It can actually (and often does) become slavery. Screwtape explains Satan’s strategy. He says that ever–increasing sinful cravings produce ever–diminishing pleasure. Right on cue, many feel that they can’t quit their now–despised habit, even though they desperately want to.
Does this biblical principle mean, “freedom TO practice debauchery?” Or is it freedom FROM slavery to short–lived “fun” that can destroy your faith, family and freedom?
Not only is the devil “the father of lies,” he’s a murderer, according to God’s Word. Addressing the crowd, the Good Shepherd explained that the thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy. In contrast, “I have come that they may have life ... to the full” (John 10:10). Be certain that Satan’s ultimate goal for every lie he tells is death and destruction for you and your loved ones. By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Peter warned his readers, “Be self–controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Your complete destruction is the devil’s primary goal—his main method to achieve that goal is to convince you to believe his lies.
WHAT’S THE POINT: The brief pleasures of sin will inevitably turn to misery and distaste as the truth about the devil’s lies rises to the surface. Total destruction is Satan’s goal.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, help me see Satan’s untruth through Your eyes, and avoid it at all costs. Amen!
INTERACT: Here’s an example of “fun sin” turning to ashes:________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• One of the devil’s lies that makes me angry is:____________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• Here’s how I need God to change my ‘sinful freedom’ to holiness:____
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
DAY 6
“Like Chicken Man”
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44
Back in the day, there was a daily radio drama called “Chicken Man.” Its signature sound was the drama’s title, “Chicken Man” piercing the airwaves, followed by a group of audio actors shouting “He’s everywhere! He’s everywhere!” Today’s essay highlights the prominence of untruth. “It’s everywhere! It’s everywhere!”
People resort to untruth for many reasons: to avoid punishment, to evade taking responsibility for their actions, to shift the blame, as an act of rebellion, or to “spare” someone else’s feelings. And here’s a big one: people lie to get their own way or to get something they want. There’s a powerful theme of self–interest in telling lies. With current standards in society, most will never be confronted or made liable for their fibs. In the short–run, lying pays off in some superficial ways. But it’s a failed long–term life strategy.
Lying can backfire, as we all have discovered. Mark Twain said, “The difference between a person who tells the truth and one who tells a lie is that the liar has to have a better memory.” One President signed a proclamation that angered the other party. When asked about it he replied flippantly, “I didn’t do that!”
Lying is global. It shamelessly shows its face everywhere. It’s a “global” problem. I’ve modified “Fools” to “Liars” in this ditty: “Liars’ names and liars’ faces often appear in public places.” Satan has convinced many people that there is no such thing as absolute truth, so there can be no absolute lie either. Lying is pervasive because of two issues: 1.) our common culture has embraced the devil’s lie that truth doesn’t really matter; and 2.) the urge to lie is embedded in our sinful nature’s DNA. It’s like oxygen, except it’s more prevalent.
WHAT’S THE POINT: Untruth is one of the unintended results of Adam’s and Eve’s rebellion in Eden. But it’s a wedge we thoughtlessly drive between ourselves and God. He cares more deeply about Truth than we do.
PRAYER: Lord God, Let me glimpse the damage done by violating Your truth, and help me change. Amen!
INTERACT: My favorite lie, as a child, was:
_____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• “there is no truth in the devil” means to me that:_____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• I could improve my truth–telling quotient by:________________________
_____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• Expand the list of reasons people have for lying: _____________________
_____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
DAY 7
“Lucifer’s Lethal Weapon”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:2b–5
The Day America Told the Truth [3] says that 91 percent of those surveyed fib routinely about matters they consider trivial; 36 percent lie about important matters; 86 percent lie regularly to parents; 75 percent invent the truth to friends; and 69 percent invent falsehoods to spouses.[4]
A young lad had trouble telling the truth. He routinely tested the limits of his mother’s grace with his creative, unbiblical inventions of “false truth.” His mother grew exasperated, and often made him stand in a corner when he lied.
One day, in frustration, she inquired, “Son, do you know what a lie is?” He slyly replied, “Mother, a lie is an abomination to the Lord, but a very present help in time of trouble.”
Satan’s dedication to deception is complete. His affinity for untruth is a lethal weapon he uses on us. Furthermore, the devil is incapable of telling the truth—unless he can tell a partial–truth to corrupt the whole truth, or twist the truth to deceive.
He twisted the truth when talking to Eve. Satan said to her, in essence, “If you know good and evil, you’ll be just like God.” That’s like saying, “If you drink gasoline, you’ll be a car!”
The evil one’s lie conveniently ignored other truths: “Knowing good and evil will poison your innocence but you won’t have God’s wisdom.” Or, “Knowing good and evil never fills the God–shaped hole inside of you.” Or, “No created being can ever be equal with God,” a truth Lucifer still has not grasped.
WHAT’S THE POINT: Deception may be widespread, but its venom will poison the liar. Cling to the truth like a rose to its scent.
PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, plant within me a love for veracity. Let my life of truthfulness perfume others. Amen!
INTERACT: The serpent’s lying ways in Genesis 3 teach me that:_______________________________________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
• How can you “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15)?:___________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• The stink of untruth has poisoned my life in this way:______________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
• “Lord, please make me a champion of your truth by...”_____________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________
DAY 8
“Anatomy of a Lie”
Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
Proverbs 12:19
Penn State University researcher Dr. Nancy Darling conducted a study in which 98 percent of teens admitted lying to their parents. What’s the anatomy of a lie? A child who is going to lie must know the truth, mentally conceive a false narrative and then convincingly sell that pseudo–reality to someone else.
The teens in Darling’s study lied about their secret dating, how they spent their allowances, and what clothes they wore while away from the house. They falsified what movies they saw and the friends they saw them with. They lied about alcohol and drug use, about whether they were hanging out with friends their parents disapproved of, and about how they spent their afternoons while their parents were at work. Other fables they concocted were whether chaperones were in attendance at a party or whether they rode in cars driven by drunken teens.
In sharp contrast, 98 percent of teens say trust and honesty are essential in a personal relationship, and a similar number say lying is morally wrong. This constitutes a huge cognitive disharmony (call it hypocrisy) in the human mind and heart. To sum it up, kids know that honesty is vitally important, and that lying is immoral. Yet many make intentional decisions to trade honesty for flat–out lies.
Among reasons that children are deceitful, the most disturbing is that parents teach them that. When adults are asked to keep diaries of their own lies, they admit to about one lie per every social interaction. Encouraged to tell so many white lies and hearing so many others, children gradually get comfortable with being deceitful.[5]
Mom and Dad may be the godparents of lying, but the devil is “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Satan is the chief liar, worse than everyone else. He is the true source of all falsehood. The “alternate realities” that Satan fabricates have the power to corrupt and ruin lives—even Christians. Only when we recognize Satan’s poisonous bite and counteract it with the truth antidote, can we begin to heal the damaging effects of the evil one’s dark influence.
WHAT’S THE POINT: Many people who lie habitually also believe that it’s a sin before God. A sense of hypocrisy fogs the air around such people. Covenant with yourself—and God—to be truthful.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Trust is indispensable, but deceit ruins trust. Help me avoid that. Amen!
INTERACT: How can you explain that lying shortens and cheapens life (today’s verse)?_____________________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __
• Here’s what I would say to someone who believes lying is sin but does it anyway:____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• Why are people loose with the truth when it does such damage to trust?
__________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• Here’s a lie I need to stop telling?______________________________
________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
DAY 9
“How Rude!”
Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? 2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; Psalm 15:1–2
A minister said to his congregation, “Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. In preparation for that message, I'm asking all of you to read Mark 17 this week ahead.”
The following Sunday, he stood up to preach and asked, “How many of you took the time to read Mark 17 this past week?” He was dismayed when half the congregation raised their hands. The minister smiled sadly and said, “I should be happy about such a good response. But the Gospel of Mark has only 16 chapters. There is no Mark 17. I will now proceed with my message on the sin of lying.”
Many of us are glad we weren’t there that Sunday. How unkind of the preacher to play such a dirty trick on his people! To be caught in that lie would be humiliating. But in the Lord’s house? On the Lord’s day? How rude! I had a parishioner who often said, tongue in cheek, that she couldn’t lie because it was Sunday. I always figured she was kidding. Now I’m not so sure!
WHAT’S THE POINT: The best way to avoid extreme embarrassment when caught in a lie is—you guessed it—tell the truth in the first place!
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, telling the truth can be difficult in some circumstances. But You expect nothing less from me. Help! In Jesus’s name, Amen!
INTERACT: Why did King David insert that little phrase, “truth from their heart”?_______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• Recount an incident when a falsehood embarrassed you:____________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
• Tell about a time when speaking the truth was hard, but resulted in good:_
__________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
DAY 10
“Lie or Die!”
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first–fruits of all he created. James 1:18
Kim Duk–Soo would never forget the day North Korean communist troops found him hiding with his father in a cellar. Thousands of Christians like him told stories of deliverance from a government opposed to religion in general and Christianity in particular.
“When we heard the soldiers coming, I was sure we would be killed,” Kim said. “My daddy told me we could not tell a lie to save our lives.” The soldiers took Kim and his father off to a makeshift prison. They would face a firing squad tomorrow.
That evening a North Korean officer approached the 12–year–old. “Are you a Christian?” he asked. For a fleeting moment, a life for a lie seemed the only logical decision. But Kim remembered his father’s instructions.
Swallowing the lump in his throat and the quiver in his voice, Kim admitted “I am a Christian.” The captain drew closer and whispered, “I am a Christian too. You must escape tonight. I will help you.” Kim fled that night, forced to leave his father behind, awaiting imminent death.
Young Kim reached the American army base at Taegu, today a large and beautiful city of 2.5–million. While there, Kim discovered an organ and began teaching himself to play. An American soldier learned of his musical interests and gave him a nice organ from the States. For ten years Kim played that organ for chapel services at the base.
One Mother’s Day at First Presbyterian Church in Taegu, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” reverberated from 2,000 Korean voices. Kim was playing the organ. “I should have been killed when the Communists found me, but God sent that Christian guard to help me escape.” Lying would’ve meant forfeiting God’s protection.
God has many ways of setting people free with the truth. And that makes Satan furious. Don’t you love making the devil angry by obeying God?
WHAT’S THE POINT: There are many things worse than giving your life for your faith. Jesus died to set the world free. Like Him, we can be confident of His resurrection—and ours.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please give me the courage to stand up for the truth. It sets people free eternally. Amen!
INTERACT: What did James mean by saying birth through God’s Word (the Truth) makes us the “first–fruits of creation”?_____________________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __
• What does the world think of “surviving by lying”?________________
__________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
[1] World War–I: 116,500; World War–II: 405,400; Korean War: 33,700; Vietnam: 58,200
[2] C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (The C.S. Lewis Signature Classics, 2001/2015, New York: HarperOne) Originally written for BBC in 1942.
[3] The Day America Told the Truth: What People Really Believe About Everything that Matters, by James Patterson and Peter Kim, 1992, New York: Plume Publishers (imprint of Penguin)
[4] Our Daily Bread devotional guide, August 28, 1992
[5] New York Magazine, February 10, 2008.