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Hiding the Truth
March 17, 2012

Students in school hear it all the time. The exact words may change from time to time, but generally what they hear issomething like, "Getting an education is your ticket to writing your own future." The dream given to students is that by getting an education, students will have greater freedom to exercise control over their own life. Knowledge is presented as that which empowers us to self-determine our futures. Imagine how you might feel as a student if you found out that in the course of teaching you, your teacher was trying to deceive you so that she might be able to exercise ultimate control over her life by controlling you. Would you feel your education was worth it or might you feel ripped off? There are some who feel God and his teachings are ripping people off. These people have their reasons, and may want nothing to do with God, even though Jesus made a promise concerning the truth.

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Jesus taught that God's way of life, summarized in the truth, would make us free. We would be free of all that causes so many problems on earth. It is true that some problems are time and chance, the luck of the draw, random, and unpredictable. It is also true that some problems are caused by lifestyle choices, and choices that are not in alignment with the truth can entrap us and create a snare for us. Some get themselves into lots of trouble and never get out of trouble. So the thought for debate centers on the act of deception. What if lies were told about God and his teachings and these lies were told in such a way that these would be believed without questioning and these lies would be told to control others? Would you want to be lied to? Would you want to give others control over your life by believing their lies? You might even want to consider why a person would tell a lie in the first place. When people lie, they have a reason why they lie. Maybe they want something from you, or maybe they want to hide something. Some people lie to avoid difficult situations. So why is it important to know if you are being lied to about God and his teachings? If you never have the truth you can never be free. It is said that misery loves company. There are some people who do not have the truth and they want to share that with you, because they do not want you to have the truth either. Paul warned the Romans of this in his letter to them.

Romans 1:18-21
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

These verses show how some seek to deceive us. The unrighteous pretend like their unrighteousness is righteous. Even though they do the exact opposite of what God would have them do, they claim they are doing good in the eyes of God. They claim that how they live is an example of how God would have us all live our lives. They might even claim that God somehow revealed to them that how they live is the right way to live. How they live might be accepted by many, and because many accept how they live, they perceive this way of living to be truth. They see themselves as wise when they really are foolish. Even though these people might claim to worship God, the god they worship is a god who validates their own goodness. They make God subservient to them. Some even go to the extreme to take away the glory that belongs to God, by making God equal to or less than man. And in doing all of this, these people seem very religious. So the smart person might be asking, "What can I do?" The best thing to do is to read the Bible to understand for yourself what is in the Bible. You need to do this regularly and be familiar with the Bible. If you do not have a Bible in our digital age, you can almost always have access to one for free. Yes, there is an app for it! When reading the Bible, you can ask God in prayer to guide your understanding. You can carefully listen to those who claim to represent God to see how they frame themselves and people in respect to God. Be careful of those who make God equal to or less than man. God is far superior then any woman, man, girl, or boy. God made us all. Be careful of those who tell you that God has to do this or that for you. People with a sense of entitlement are not thankful, and somebody who is not thankful can never appreciate the wonderful gift of the truth that God gives us. The early accounts of mankind from the Garden of Eden give us the first account of deception, pretending that unrighteousness was righteousness. It is the story of the serpent who would deceive Eve and Adam. And what lie, in summary, did the serpent tell Even and Adam? If they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they would become like God.

Genesis 3:1-24
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Those who seek to deceive us today are doing what the serpent did back in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent told Eve that by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she and Adam would become like God and that God would not kill them; that God was keeping this all to himself. Think. How many people who claim to represent God will say something like God will not take your life if you disobey him or might say things that make it easy to see that they think God and man are equals? These people for reasons they may only know, seek to hide the truth. They do not want you to have the truth. And the best way to find the truth is not by trusting a man, but by reading the Bible for yourself while asking God in prayer to guide your understanding. WHen you interact with people who claim a knowledge of God, consider if they make God equal to man or if they show man is below God. With this, the truth will not be kept from you, and you will be set free.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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