The enemies of God and of His people have always sought to conquer those weak in the faith by destroying their faith. Even now, false teachers seek to deceive the hearts of the simple – those who lack knowledge, understanding, and wisdom (Proverbs 8:5; Proverbs 9:4, 13). According to the scripture, these teachers do so “by good words and fair speeches.” It is not some raving, ranting lunatic that is most dangerous; it is the sweet talking, kind, loving, liar. In order to gain a following, a teacher must only appeal to others by sounding intelligent and offering “fair speeches” sprinkled with truth. If he can present things new to his audience, whether factual or not, the simple will become enamoured with his abilities and follow his teachings. This is why the Bible warns believers to have no fellowship with those who teach things contrary to the scripture. Any world religious leader who speaks softly and kindly yet fails to proclaim the true gospel probably lives more like a devil in private. The Bible calls these people wolves in sheep’s clothing.
People love comparing themselves to those whom they deem less righteous or unspiritual. By finding someone living on a spiritually lower level, any wrong doing can seem quite justified in one’s own eyes. Another way to get by with certain character flaws is by distinguishing between what men call big and little sins. As long as someone refuses to commit the big sins, he considers himself decent, upright, and sometimes spiritually superior. One of the most prevalent areas is that of telling lies. Those who err in this area equate some lies as “white lies” (lies deemed less harmful than the big ones). Yet, the Bible doesn’t make any such distinction. According to the Bible, truth and lies are at opposite ends of the spectrum.“No lie is of the truth” (1 John 2:21). Truth tainted by error or falsehood ceases to be truth. Regardless of how simple a lie may appear, no lie has as its source pure truth. If truth was the basis for a statement, then it would remain truth.
