Half-truths are more dangerous than outright lies

I am convinced that the greatest threat to truth is not outright lies but half-truths.  Counterfeit dollars do not resemble Monopoly money--they resemble the real thing--and for good reason:  outright fakes are easy to spot.  And so I am not concerned about being deceived by outright lies.  I am fearful, however, of being deceived by half-truths.  Half-truths operate by taking something true and distorting it ever so slightly.  Start with the truth, and then twist it.

Let me give you an example of this type of distortion: the Prosperity Gospel.  This gospel says God will bless his faithful with all sorts of material blessings.  Money, nice cars, luxurious living.  To build the case, teachers of this gospel will use verses like Romans 8:32, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" or 2 Corinthians 8:9, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."

Folks, this is a distortion of the gospel of Christ.  God has not promised to bless our lifestyles, he promised to bless our lives.  And blessing our lives may mean depriving us of our lavish lifestyles.  Why is this?  Because God wants us to testify to the world that Christ alone satisfies.  But how will the world know that Chris satisfies if it looks as though we are satisfied by our new Mercedes?

Paul knew we could be led astray by false gospels.  He wrote to the Corinthian church,

3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.  2 Corinthians 11:3-4

Do not "put up with" false gospels creeping into your theology.  There's only one way to protect yourself from being deceived by half-truths:  know the real truth with such intimacy that you recognize even the slightest variance.  Federal agents tasked with identifying counterfeit money do not study every possible fake, they study the real thing so when they see a fake they know it.  Art forgeries are spotted the same way.  Deceivers are always familiar with the real thing.  We must be more so.  When Satan tempted Jesus he deceptively quoted Scripture.  But Jesus was not deceived, rather he responded back with Scripture:

9 The devil led [Jesus] to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”   Luke 4:9-12

To know the truth intimately we must love the truth deeply.  I encourage you to love the Word of God.  To hold fast to it as an anchor for your soul and never let go.  Test everything by it, so you will not be among the deceived (1 John 4:1).