Hating the Truth
Meditations on John 8
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. (46) Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? (47) He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” (John 8:44-47)
Christ’s adversaries are condemned by Him in the strongest possible terms. They are children of the devil who desire to murder Christ, just as the devil desires to murder Christ. They are liars, just as the devil is a pathological liar. They hate the truth, just as the devil hates the truth.
And yet these same people are described in John 8:31 as those who “believed Him”: “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.’”
These were religious Jews Jesus was condemning, not tax collectors and prostitutes. These were regular church attenders (synagogues). They were children of Abraham (according to the flesh), as they frequently bragged (v. 33). They had been circumcised the eighth day … and so on and so on.
Though they would have heard the scriptures read and taught (or mis-taught) every Sabbath, they were nevertheless one hundred percent opposed to the truth. Consider the astonishing charge Jesus levels at them at the end of v. 45: “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me.” In other words, “You are so opposed to the truth and so partial to lies that you cannot believe what I say.”
This raises some important questions:
If these Jews hated the truth so much, why were they regulars in the synagogue? Answer: They attended synagogue because they needed to do so to feel confident about their own righteousness. But they were not offended by what they heard in the synagogue because a) the truth wasn’t being preached in the synagogue; or b) some truth was preached, but none that was offensive and unsettling to the Jews; or c) the truth was preached but without any expectation for people to obey it.
Does such a thing happen today in churches? Do haters of Christ and haters of the truth regularly attend church without being provoked by the truth? Answer: Yes, it happens all the time, probably in the majority of churches today. “Many false prophets will arise and mislead many” (Mt. 24:11). “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 Jn. 4:1).
False prophets do not have horns growing out of their heads. They look good. They’re friendly and personable, not mean and nasty. They wear sheep’s clothing. This will look different in different denominations or traditions. False prophets in Catholic “churches” do not need to fool Christians, though they do try in some ways. They only need to continue fooling Catholics. False prophets in liberal churches don’t need to fool those in conservative churches. They only need to continue fooling liberals. Consequently, they don’t need to hide their support of “gay marriage” and “transgenderism” and feminism and all things woke. Those in charismatic, health and wealth “churches” don’t need to fool Reformed folks. They just need to be able to fool their charismatic followers.
But do not be deceived. There are also false prophets for “conservative churches” (whatever that means) and Reformed churches. The devil is not stupid. He will send messengers fully equipped to deceive the people he’s targeting. Just as the U.S. government sends Russian-speaking spies to infiltrate Russian networks and Chinese-speaking spies to infiltrate Chinese networks (and vice versa), so the devil sends “Reformed” false prophets into Reformed churches. Such ministers are fluent in Reformed-speak. They will know what to say and what not to say, what to condemn and what not to condemn, what authors to quote and what authors not to quote.
When Reformed false prophets preach in churches, they preach a certain amount of orthodox truth. But they never preach the truth that the congregation needs to hear and be confronted with. That will keep many people happy in Reformed or Calvinistic churches. They will be comfortable hearing Reformed orthodoxy and won’t ever be challenged to be doers of the Word they’re hearing.
That’s how you can hear plenty of truth, but never be offended by it. If the truth is simply served up as intellectual propositions to be categorized and systematized, but never obeyed, it won’t offend various people who claim to be Reformed.
They will gladly hear a sermon on church discipline. They will say “amen” and categorize the doctrine accordingly. It is when a preacher attempts to practice church discipline on someone, maybe them, then they will be greatly offended and prove themselves haters of the truth.
A Reformed preacher can preach all he wants about total depravity and sovereign grace, so long as he continues to allow people to be saved by saying sinner’s prayers and “making decisions for Christ”. But he’ll witness genuine anger if he applies the truth of sovereign grace by not accepting such things as the basis for a true conversion experience.
A Reformed preacher can preach on worldliness all he wants in a Reformed church. People will nod their head and say “that was a good sermon, pastor”. But when he exhorts them to repent by turning off their TVs, or something similar, that’s when they’ll get mad.
A preacher can preach about raising children and protecting them from evil influences and the congregation will say “AMEN”. But if he suggests that this might mean they need to pull their children out of public school, then they will be provoked, and his days will likely be numbered at that church.
A preacher can preach against divorce, and many will applaud his boldness for addressing such a sensitive subject. But if he urges those who are divorced to be reconciled, or if he urges them to remain unmarried (1 Cor. 7:10-11), he will probably lose his job or lose many congregation members, who will leave in anger. Many other examples could be given.
This is how many churchgoers can sit in church Sunday after Sunday, listening to varying degrees of truth, and never realize how much they hate it. Sadly, it happens all the time. It did not happen that way with Jesus. Jesus not only preached the truth clearly, but He also called people to repent and obey it. That’s what made so many hate Him and that’s what provoked them to crucify Him.