Truth Matters

 

 “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

(2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 ESV)

 

One thing that is clear is that there is both truth and error. There is both truth and falsehood. Although this is often rebuffed by a society which tells us that truth is relative, there is no denying it.

 

Even those who deny the truth make this clear as they flip reality on its head, painting the truth as falsehood. What God calls good, they call evil. What Scripture calls sinful, they call good. And they condemn those who hold to the truth, given to us by God.

 

They do so, however, to their own harm. As we see in the passage above, truth matters. The love of the truth, Paul says, effects salvation. The love of truth leads to salvation.

 

The rejection of the truth, however, does just the opposite. The refusal of the truth leads to judgment. It leads to condemnation.

 

The refusal of truth leads to our deception. It leads us to believe a lie. And this is the work of the enemy. It’s the work of Satan.

 

The means used by Satan is that of deceit. He is the father of lies, Jesus told the Jews in John chapter 8. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, because he is a liar.

 

Yet, even though this is true, it’s not as though they are duped. It’s not as though they are fooled or conned. We know this because it’s not their deception that leads them to refuse the truth. It’s their refusal of the truth that leads to their deception.

 

Because they refuse the truth, because they refuse to love the truth, God sends to them a strong delusion. And he does so that they might believe what is false. He does so that they might be condemned.

 

Therefore, they cannot blame God for the judgment they receive. Nor can they blame the enemy, and his tactics of delusion. They can blame only themselves.

 

They perish, you see, because of their own guilt. God gives them over to the very evil they have chosen. And they, in turn, receive the penalty they are due.