I have heard and thought so many lies about Jesus Christ, our Savior. Today, I wanted to challenge some of them with words from Scripture and encourage you, in those quiet moments when doubt invades, to do the same.

After all, this is what Jesus did. When Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, Jesus consistently answered Satan’s lies with truth right from Scripture (Matthew 4:1-11). We must follow Jesus’ example here, too.

Let’s get right into it with our first lie.

1: His love is earned

I have never been enough for Jesus. Not in my own mind, at least.

“For the wages of sin is death …” (Romans 6:23a, NKJV)

I knew this. And I trembled with fear.

Further,

“[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, …” (Romans 3:23)

Yet sometimes I’ve felt as if I’m the one with the greatest sins of all—the type that mean I have to earn my way back into God’s glory.

But to answer this lie, simply complete the thought in both verses.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

A gift is not earned.

“[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, …” (Romans 3:23-24)

A gift is freely given. We are justified through Christ.

In case you don’t know, “justified” is defined by Britannica as “the act by which God moves a willing person from the state of sin to the state of grace.”

We are in a state of grace. Never fear that you are not enough for Jesus Christ, the one who died for you, even though he knew full-well the depth of your sins.

Further Reading:

• Romans 5
• Ephesians 2
• James 1

2: He doesn’t care if we sin

We are “bought with a price” … and our sins are forgiven. We no longer have to pay the “wage” of death. We are cleansed in the blood of Christ and no longer face the spiritual consequences of our sin—namely, separation from Christ both here on earth and eternally in Hell.

Yet Christ did not redeem us from our sins to throw us back into our fleshly struggles.

To complete the verse, once again:

“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:20)

Becoming a Christian is not an excuse to continue in old sinful lifestyles. Though the world (and worldly Christians in particular) may try to convince you otherwise, Christians cannot continue living as they did before they became children of God.

Furthermore, I think there’s an assumption that, though perhaps you might not be a very “good Christian,” sinning as a Christian is less of a problem. After all, Jesus has saved you. Your sins are not as big a deal, right?

The Word of God says the exact opposite.

“For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” (Hebrews 10:26-27)

A verse later, this thought continues:

“Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29-30)

When Christians sin with knowledge of the weight of our actions and without repentance, we are trampling the blood of Christ’s covenant underfoot and insulting the Spirit of grace.

What a horrid thought!

Remember when I talked about justification before? Well, there’s a second “step” to Christianity. Now, both of these are done by Jesus Christ working in us, not because of anything we do. However, this second step is no less important.

It’s called “sanctification.”

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Sanctification roughly means “the action of making or declaring something holy.” This is a process that happens after we become Christians. Because, after all, no one has ever become perfectly conformed to the image of Christ.

Sanctification is an ongoing journey—until Heaven, we will likely never achieve perfect holiness. However, as we grow closer and closer to Christ, we should be becoming more and more like Him in our actions.

So though our actions do not save (or justify) us, the fact that we are saved caused a chain reaction that leads to our sanctification. If we truly love God, we will strive to be more like Him.

Further, this is how Christians shine forth as lights in the world. If we remain in our sinful state and there is no difference between us and non-Christians, we are failing to be faithful to God (Matthew 5:16).

“Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” (Philippians 2:14-16)

Let us all strive to shine as lights in the world.

Further Reading:

• 1 John 3
• Romans 6
• 2 Corinthians 5

3: His plans falter when we sin

When we have been acting in any way contrary to God’s will, it can seem as if our sin has overwhelmed even God’s plans for our lives. After all, we don’t like to think that our failures could be a part of His plan!

There are several ways to contradict this fear. One way is to remind yourself of the story of Joseph and his brothers. You can read about that in the book of Genesis (specifically chapters 37-50). Here are a few applicable quotes:

So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 45:8)

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. (Genesis 50:20)

But, of course, there are many other places where God’s Word contradicts this lie.

Isaiah 46:10 declares God’s “counsel shall stand.”

Declaring the end from the beginning,

And from ancient times things that are not yet done,

Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,

And I will do all My pleasure.’

And Jeremiah 29:11 speaks of God’s purposefulness in our lives, a purposefulness not arising due to our actions but rather His almighty grace.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Remember what Job said? After the terrible events that overtook his household, he still declared:

I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. (Job 42:2)

Another passage I love is from Isaiah.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

The Lord has made it clear—if He wills something to happen, our sins will not stand in the way of what He has ordained.

Further Reading:

• Genesis 37-50
• Acts 2:14-41
• Romans 8:26-28

4: He (always) removes the consequences for our sins

When we become Christians, the scariest consequence for our sins—death through an eternal separation from God—is removed. However, that does not mean Jesus always does away with the troubles we will face on earth when we sin.

At the end of the day, the law is there to protect us. For instance, God doesn’t want us to lie because, in the end, our lies will be found out and potentially have horrible consequences on our lives. None of the “rules” are random—they are a guide on how to live righteously, which in the end, benefits us in every way (Romans 8:2-3).

However, we all know we’re not perfect. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). And as such, we sin—and we have consequences on earth for those sins.

For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” (Romans 9:15)

There are, of course, earthly consequences. If you stole a car, you’re probably going to jail!

For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives. (Hebrews 12:6)

You also can’t force someone to forgive you—if you wronged them, you may have to deal with their anger, bitterness, and even their absence from your life. God might soften their heart someday, which you can always pray for—but perhaps He will not (Romans 9:18).

Then there are the spiritual consequences. Pain, embarrassment, anger, even trauma. Now, this is where Jesus has space to work on your heart … however, you will have to deal with these consequences over time. They will not automatically be removed in most cases. 

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

Jesus will love you, support you, and heal you. It’s important to faithfully practice “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Learn to be a good disciple of Jesus. Remember, He understands what we are going through; He has taken the burden of our sins away from us.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Further Reading:

• Galatians 3:15-29
• Proverbs 3

I’m the type of person who always has a billion thoughts spinning about my brain. It’s exhausting at times—and sometimes the only thing that can quiet them is God’s Word.

When confronted with lies, we must ever point our hearts and our minds back to the Bible. This is a vital step of sanctification and an important protection against Satan and the sins of the world.

This is why it’s so vitally important that we spend time reading the Bible each and every day in addition to prayer. It’s also why it’s so important not to leave verse memorization behind at Sunday school—memorizing new verses and refreshing your memory on old ones should be an important part of your walk with God.

Comment down below, Roses, and let’s uplift each other!

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