The Troublesome Half-Truths
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Today is election day in Ghana and we are going to the polls to either elect a new set of leaders, or maintain those that we already have. One of the biggest difficulties I had in the period leading to this day was how to differentiate between truths, untruths and half-truths, as the various individuals and groups tried to give reasons why they should be our choice. The truths, and the untruths were relatively easier to deal with, but the half-truths were the biggest problem.
Half-truths are difficult to deal with because they contain some truths as well as some untruths; and you have the unpleasant duty to decipher them. And you can easily be swayed by truth ‘sprinkled’ on untruth, and end up making the wrong decisions.
Half-truths have always been the bane of mankind, and have created the greatest human crisis ever! The following exposition is a long one, and I pray you stay with me. I believe it will be worth your patience in the end.
READ Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1-5, 7-19
And the Lord God commanded the man,
“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
(Genesis 2:16-17 NIV)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
(Genesis 3:1-5 NIV)Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man,
“Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”To the woman he said,
“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.”To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
(Genesis 3:7-19 NIV)
This is a brief systematic study of the fall of man, and the role half-truths played in it.
The first thing to notice is that God did not hide the fact that the forbidden tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from Adam. God also said he would certainly (surely) die if he ate the fruit. So eating the fruit made ‘death’ a certainty (2:16-17)!
The first troubling thing was the woman’s knowledge or interpretation of what God said. God said, “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” but the woman said, “the tree that is in the middle of the garden”; in addition, the woman added, “you must not touch it!” It is not on record that God said they must not touch it! I believe these two misunderstandings led to all the trouble.
Since God had already told Adam the tree was for knowledge of good and evil, it was not anything new. But when the serpent realized the woman did not know exactly what God said, he took advantage of it. So the serpent mixed untruths with the truth in Genesis 3:4-5 as follows:
- “You will not certainly die” (Untruth)
- “God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God” (Untruth)
- “Knowing good and evil” (Truth – God already said it in the instruction!)
I believe that when the woman touched the fruit and did not die immediately, she got more confident and ate it; because she expected to die! There are two complications here:
The instruction:
- Did not talk about death due to touching.
- Talked about the certainty (“surely”) of death; and not the immediacy of death (instant death)! Even when God pronounced the curse, in Genesis 3:19, the death was still in the future.
When we are ignorant, or misunderstand God’s word, we become gullible candidates for half-truths and untruths from the devil.
Christ is our perfect example of someone who did not fall for the half-truths of the devil. Let us examine a few:
In Matthew 4:3-4, it is true that Jesus could turn stones to bread. He turned water into wine, and fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes. But on this particular occasion, He was not deriving His strength from physical food; but was rather dwelling on God’s word and promises. Same food, different exercise, and it becomes tricky; and can be wrong and sinful.
In Matthew 4:5-7, the devil actually quoted Psalm 91:11-12. It is in the Bible and true; but was it the whole truth? Let’s put it in context by reading from verse 10, and see what was wrong.
“No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
The use of the “For he shall…” introduces what the English scholars call “a conjunction,” and was used to connect the previous sentence and the one that followed the conjunction. This means, although the statement was true, it was made in the context when “evil befalls” the child of God, or a “plague is comes” near his dwelling. In this situation, none of that was happening; so jumping because the devil said He should would be putting the Lord to test! Again, same miracle, different situation, and it becomes tricky; and can be wrong and sinful.
In Matthew 4:8-10, again, it was true that the devil could give Jesus the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. It is evident all around us. But what the devil didn’t say was to tell Him that he would be exchanging the offer with His soul, leading to eternal damnation; and also that, God could give Him far more than what the devil was offering.
A lot of us take the enemy we face for granted; but often, he comes well armed; with lies and half-truths; and many fall victim. This is what makes it important that we continually strive to conform to the image of Christ, so that we can be as victorious as He was. We all need it.
There is only one way we can achieve this; by spending time with God in our Bible study and prayer.
MEMORY VERSE
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
(2 Corinthians 11:14)
QUESTIONS
- How have you fared in your relationship with God, especially your prayer and Bible study?
- Do you know that if we slack, the enemy will immediately take advantage, and mislead us?
PRAYER TIP
Father, please help us NOT to underestimate the enemy we face.
URGENT CALL
By nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God. We ultimately face the wrath of God!
But God in His mercy and love gives us a chance to reverse this trend, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.
The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved.
Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.
It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.
If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God!
Do you want to make that decision today?
Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for
guidance if you want to make that decision.
We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page.
God richly bless you.
SPECIAL GRATITUDE
Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website.
We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.
We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.
God richly bless you.
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