Top 10 Spiritual Lies (& Truth that Shatters Them)

Last summer some robins nested in a tree outside our front door. It was fun to watch them flutter in, out and around the tree. Then one day, we heard thumping by the front door. Helpless, we stood inside looking up as a confused robin flew repeatedly full force into the window above the door. You see, the robin was convinced of the lie that his reflection was an enemy which must be driven out or destroyed. Believing the lie, the robin expended tremendous energy to unnecessarily protect his family – from an imagined intruder. Ultimately, believing the lie cost the bird his life.

Believing spiritual lies can have the same effect on us humans. We spend tremendous energy going after imagined worthless goals and defending against non-existent threats, while the true menaces around us go unnoticed. God is the source of spiritual truth and wisdom, the only insurance policy we have to keep from being fooled by spiritual lies. Below is a list of lies people often believe, along with corresponding truth to help us see the path to God and heaven as it really is.

10. I don’t need God.

It’s tempting to think we can do life on our own, without God’s help. I used to think that, too. However Jesus says, “I am the vine you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) We can do lots of things, but nothing we do really matters if it’s not directed and blessed by God.

9. I’ve lived a good life.

Feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and nursing the sick are wonderful things to do. But neither these actions nor anything else humans do apart from God can earn the way to heaven. Inspired by God, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” Yet God does offer eternal life to us as a gift, accepted by faith. The apostle Paul says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

8. I just have a very private faith.

Is your faith so private that nobody knows what you believe or who you call God? If being a Christian were a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you? The danger of “private faith” is that it is sometimes a cover-up for being embarrassed about God. On this topic, Jesus says, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words…the Son of Man (Jesus) will be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38)

7. I can get to heaven a lot of ways.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) It’s true. Acknowledging Jesus Christ as personal Savior having paid the penalty for your sin is the only way to heaven.

6. I’ve got time to think about God later.

Jesus told this story. “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “ (Luke 12:16-20)

5. It’s silly to follow that old-fashioned God stuff.

If God’s wisdom seems foolish to you, be careful. God is perfect, never wrong. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

4. I’ve done something so bad nobody could forgive me.

Other than rejecting Jesus Christ as your personal God, nothing you’ve done is unforgivable in God’s eyes. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Jesus forgave the criminal who hung beside Him on the cross. Jesus forgave the very men who tortured and ultimately killed Him, saying. “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing…” (Luke 23:34) Jesus can forgive you.

3. I have to get my life together before I go to God.

The only condition for calling on Jesus is faith that He is God and that He has paid your penalty for sin. He says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Jesus doesn’t say to come after you get rid of all your bad habits “…for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ” (Romans 10:13)

2. I can’t change; this is just the way I am.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) Jesus Christ is in the business of transforming people. He caused the blind to see, the deaf hear and dead Lazarus back to life. Trust that Jesus can make you a new creation and He will begin the process of changing you. Just believe and cooperate.

1. God doesn’t care about me anyway.

Oh but He does. And 2,000 years ago He made a way for you to get close to Him today. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. The God of the universe knows you personally. Isn’t it time you get to know Him?