Discerning the Truth from Lies

“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”  Matthew 7:20

Jesus was about to finish up His Sermon on the Mount that He gave to the multitudes from a mountain top.  By His statement referenced above, He was talking about and warning the people concerning false prophets.  He described them as appearing outwardly as gentle sheep, but within their hearts they were as dangerous as wolves.  It makes me wonder if the children’s story, “Little Red Riding Hood”, was based on Jesus’ statement.  Remember how the wolf dressed up like the little girl’s grandma in order to make the little girl his lunch?  Now one would think that any discerning person would know that this was not grandma, however, think about all the folks who can’t recognize the devil when he appears to them.  Paul wrote in II Corinthians 11:14 that Satan can transform himself into an angel of light and so can those who work for him.

Since Satan and his minions can be very deceptive, how can we spot him or his influence upon us?  How can we know the truth from lies?  How do we know what we are seeing and hearing is real or is it what we call “spin”?  Some things are obvious, particularly to believers.  The Holy Spirit is given to believers to help them determine truth from lies.  However, the most convincing way of conniving folks is to mix a little truth with fabrications, but a half-truth is basically a lie.  The absolute best way to determine truth is to go directly to the source of all truth, God’s word.  Example:  if someone told you that there are many different paths to God, turn to John 14:6 and read what Jesus said about Himself being the only way to God, His Father.  If anyone fails to believe what Jesus said about eternal life or about anything, for that matter, then it will be relatively easy for Satan to deceive them even further.

Along this line of truth vs. falsehood, how can one know whether the claim by another person to be a Christian is real?  The answer to that question is found in Jesus’ same statement about a person’s fruits or more specifically, the evidence that he or she produces.  Whatever knowledge, skills, or abilities one claims to have, there must be evidence to support his or her claim.  No person has the ability or right to judge another person’s heart as to where he or she stands in his or her relationship with the Lord.  With that being said, we have to wonder about a person who claims to be a believer, which would imply a love for Christ, but he or she uses the Lord’s name in vain, uses vulgar words on a regular basis, rarely goes to worship services, gives little or no money towards the upbuilding of God’s kingdom, and never or rarely reads God’s word.  That person would have a hard time convincing folks that he or she had given his or her life to Christ and was completely committed to Him.

Good works and activities that promote God’s kingdom are not the way whereby a person is born again.  Those works and activities are evidence that a person has been born again.  It is because we are saved and have deep gratitude for our salvation that we desire to worship, serve, and give of our time, talents, and treasures.  If one does not have that desire, what do they have to show for their claim of a relationship with Jesus Christ?  If a married person claimed to love his or her spouse, yet never talked to them, did anything for them, or spent any time with them, it would be difficult to believe that this person really did love his or her mate.  They say that actions speak louder than words, and that is definitely true.  It has also been said that if people claim to believe something, yet live like they don’t believe it, then it is fairly obvious that they really don’t believe it.  It not only matter what one believes, but how he or she lives out that belief.