Liar, Lunatic, or Lord

 

Last night I was teaching about Satan. We called the session “Know Your Enemy.” The Bible has a whole lot to say about Satan. He is certainly a foe for us but we also need to clearly understand that though he is also God’s foe – he is not formidable to God. God’s power overcomes, and has overcome, Satan any time he goes against Him.

There were several characteristics of Satan that we talked about. The Bible says that He is a liar and the author of evil. He is an accuser, a deceiver, a devourer, and tempter. Truly, we need to be aware if his presence and able to put on the armor of God in order to combat his efforts to accuse, deceive, devour, and tempt us.

As I was thinking about these things this morning I realized how much greater it is to fully know and understand God than it is to know and understand the devil. I have often heard that when the government wants to train people to spot counterfeit money they don’t show them the counterfeits. They teach them what the real currency looks like so a fake is easy to spot.

God so wanted us to know His character and His Word that He sent Jesus to earth as man. He has left us all we need to know to recognize the difference between His Work and the devil’s work. One of the ways that the devil has deceived the world is in the way most of it now understands Jesus.

For a long time in my life I thought that Jesus was a great man. He was a good teacher that God sent to be an example for me to live by. When I was in my early thirties I was asked to cover for someone in teaching a Sunday School class. The name of the lesson that I was to teach was “Liar, Lunatic, or Lord”.

What it taught me was that Jesus said a lot of things that equated Himself with God. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:16). He said, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him”(John 14:7) and “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” (John 14:11) Jesus was God incarnate or He was a liar – or just crazy to think He was God.

What Satan has done is caused us to doubt that we need faith in Jesus. He told the world, and many have believed that Jesus was just a good teacher, a man that sets a good example. People who believe this are bound for hell and that pleases Satan but grieves God.

God said that He sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sin because He loves us. He said that when we look at His requirements for atonement for sin, from the beginning it has required death. In the Old Testament that was the death of an animal. That sacrificial system is no longer. In His mercy and love for us God sent Jesus to die on that cross so that His death could substitute for our death once and for all. God said He would credit Christ’s death to anyone who believes that He paid this cost of death for them.

The hard part for me and for many others is that it is hard to think of ourselves as sinners. The Bible says everyone is. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever wanted what someone else had or worked out your revenge on someone who hurt you? Have you stolen or even thought hateful thoughts about someone? All of that is sin – and there is so much more that we do everyday that offends God. If you don’t believe it, ask God to show you your sin. He will!

God promises eternal life with Him, in heaven, to those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God who He sent to take away the punishment for our sin.

My sin is forgiven because I believe the sacrifice  of Jesus Christ was made for me. God gives me reassurance of this everyday. We can know that we are bound for heaven.

Next week I will be teaching on heaven and hell. As I studied I was reminded of why this assurance is a good thing. Hell will not be fun, exciting, or comfortable. If you’re wondering if that’s true you would be more than welcome to come to the class, Wednesday at 6pm. Email me, I’ll tell you how to get there.

In the meantime, if you still are thinking that Jesus was just a good man, an effective teacher, a great example, will you ask God to show you the Truth? Each one of us needs to decide who He is: liar, lunatic, or Lord?

It is much more important that we know our Lord, than that we know our enemy.