IS ALL TRUTH GOD'S TRUTH?

Have you heard the saying, ”ALL TRUTH IS GOD’s TRUTH”? Augustine of Hippo, also known as Saint Augustine, was the author of that statement. As it stands, without context, this quote is not true. Satan will use what is true to try and deceive a believer into doing what is wrong. Case in point is the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.

“And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, ‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve” (Luke 4:5-7). It says in Genesis 1:28 that God created Adam and Eve and blessed them and gave them rule over all the earth. But when they sinned in the garden of Eden and ate the forbidden fruit they came under the rule of Satan. So when Satan told Jesus that if he worshiped him he would give him “…all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me,” he was telling the truth. But that certainly didn’t make it God‘s truth and Jesus replied accordingly. Jesus himself said in John 4:30, “ I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,…”

“And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:9-12). Satan was quoting scripture, Psalm 91:11-12, so the Bible truly said that. It was true but it wasn’t God‘s truth. Jesus refused that temptation by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 says, “The Holy Spirit has explicitly revealed: At the end of this age, many will depart from the true faith one after another, devoting themselves to spirits of deception and following demon-inspired revelations and theories. Hypocritical liars will deceive many, and their consciences won’t bother them at all! (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

There are some today who say that all religions are simply different paths to the same God. That’s a lie straight from the mouth of Satan. The Bible says, “There is no one else who has the power to save us, for there is only one name to whom God has given authority by which we must experience salvation: the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:12). We must be on our guard and vigilant because we are living in the age of deception. The only way we are going to know what is true and what is not is by measuring it by the Word of God. If it doesn’t agree with what the Scripture says, it is not of God.

Have you heard this statement before? “Federal agents don’t learn to spot counterfeit money by studying the counterfeits. They study genuine bills until they master the look of the real thing.” It turns out that that is a true statement. We will be able to recognize false teaching when we become students of the Word of God. If we are deceived, we will be held accountable, because God has given us everything we need to discern what is true and what is not. Galatians 1:8-9, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel different than the one we preach to you, let them be under God’s curse! Let me make it clear: Anyone, no matter who they are, that brings you a different gospel than the gospel that you have received, let them be condemned and cursed!

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