5 Lies the Enemy Wants You to Believe - Part One: God, Sin & Salvation

From the very beginning, Satan has operated through deception. His tactics have not changed, but he has adapted his methods to fit the time and culture. Jesus said of him, “There is no truth in him… he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

Some lies are bold and obvious. Others are subtle, persuasive and even appealing. All of them share the same goal, which is to pull people away from the truth of God’s Word and ultimately away from God Himself.

While the first lie was spoken in the Garden of Eden, deception did not stop there. It has continued through every generation, taking on new forms and carrying the same destructive aim.

This article is part one of a four part series.

Part One: Lies About God, Sin & Salvation

Satan's goal is to make sure people have a distorted view of who God is, what sin does, and how salvation is obtained. These lies are not always obvious. Many are subtle, familiar, and widely accepted, even within religious spaces.

In part one of this series, we will examine several foundational lies about God, sin, and salvation, and contrast them with the unchanging truth of Scripture.

5 Lies About God, Sin & Salvation

1. “You Will Not Surely Die” – The Very First Lie

Scripture: Genesis 3:4–5; Romans 6:23

The very first lie ever spoken to humanity was simple, subtle, and devastating. When Satan told Eve, “You will not surely die,” he was not just distorting God’s warning, he was blatantly lying about the consequences of disobedience altogether. Satan was clearly implying that sin is harmless. He was portraying to Eve that God’s boundaries were unnecessary and obedience was optional.

That lie has never gone away - it is still alive today.

This lie still echoes every time sin is minimized, excused or explained away. Humanity continues to believe that choices do not matter, that rebellion carries no cost and that we can live however we want without consequence.

But God’s Word has always been clear: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Sin always leads to death - spiritually, relationally, and ultimately eternally. It may not happen immediately, and it may not look dramatic at first, but sin always produces separation from God. What Satan presents as freedom eventually becomes bondage.

This is why he works so hard to make sin look small and irrelevant. If sin has no consequences, then repentance feels unnecessary. If repentance feels unnecessary, then the cross of Jesus Christ loses its importance and urgency.

The truth is not that God is harsh or restrictive. The truth is that God is honest. His warnings are not meant to take life from us but to protect it and give us life through His Son, Jesus Christ. Every command God gives flows from His love and His desire for our good.

Jesus did not come to deny the reality of sin, He came to defeat its power. Where sin brings death, Christ brings forgiveness, restoration and eternal life to all who trust in Him.

The Truth Is: Sin destroys us, but Christ gives us life.

2. “I Am Good Enough” – Works-Based Salvation

Scripture: Ephesians 2:8–9; Titus 3:5

One of the most widely believed lies about salvation is the idea that people can earn their way to God. This deception often sounds reasonable and even spiritual. If someone lives a moral life, attends church, helps others and avoids major wrongdoing, they assume God will accept them. Someone like this is usually described as "a good person." However, with this mindset, salvation becomes something to achieve rather than something to receive.

Scripture never presents salvation as a reward for good behavior. In fact, the Bible teaches that no amount of effort, discipline, charity or religious activity can make a person righteous before God. Human goodness can never be measured by human standards because everyone has their own idea of what "good" is. God’s standard is perfection, and no one can meet His standards apart from Christ.

The Apostle Paul makes this unmistakably clear: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Works-based thinking is actually exhausting. This is because it places the burden of salvation on the sinner rather than the Savior. It creates insecurity, comparison and pride. Some people despair because they feel they will never do enough or be good enough - (and they're right that's why they need Jesus). Others grow self-righteous because they believe they are good enough and do enough.

Both of these thought patterns miss the Gospel message entirely.

In the Book of Titus we are reminded that salvation has nothing to do with personal merit: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He [Jesus] saved us” (Titus 3:5).

Good works are the result of salvation, not the cause of it. They flow from a transformed heart, not an attempt to earn God’s favor. When works are placed before grace, the cross is stripped of its meaning.

The enemy uses this lie to keep people striving instead of trusting. As long as salvation feels earned, grace feels unnecessary.

The Truth Is: Salvation is a free gift of grace, received through faith in Jesus Christ alone. You cannot earn it.

3. “There Is No Absolute Truth” - Truth is What I Want it to Be

Scripture: John 14:6; John 17:17

One of the most influential lies shaping modern culture is the belief that truth is subjective. People are taught that truth depends on personal experience, feelings or perspective. The thought process behind this is that what is true for one person may not be true for another - and that's okay.

This lie sounds tolerant and compassionate, but it quietly removes any real standard for right and wrong. When truth becomes personal, it also becomes unstable. Morality shifts with opinion, and authority moves from God to the individual.

Scripture presents a very different picture.

Jesus did not describe truth as an idea or a concept. He identified truth with Himself:

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Truth is not something we discover within ourselves. It is something revealed by God. It does not change with culture, emotion or personal experience.

Jesus also prayed: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

If truth was relative, Scripture would have no authority, conviction would be optional, repentance would be unnecessary and obedience would be negotiable. The result is confusion rather than freedom.

The enemy uses this lie to silence the authority of God’s Word. When truth is reduced to opinion, Scripture becomes just one voice among many instead of the final authority over faith and life.

True freedom does not come from redefining truth. It comes from submitting to it.

The Truth Is: Truth is not relative. It is found in Christ and revealed through God’s unchanging Word.

4. “The Gospel Can Change” – False Gospels and Progressive Christianity

Scripture: Galatians 1:8–9; 2 Timothy 4:3–4

One of the most dangerous lies the enemy spreads is the idea that the Gospel must evolve to remain relevant. Under this deception, Biblical truth is treated as outdated, restrictive or incomplete, needing revision to align with modern values.

This lie often appears under labels like progressive, inclusive or enlightened. It presents itself as compassionate and forward-thinking, but it subtly removes the parts of the Gospel that confront sin, call for repentance and affirm the authority of Scripture.

The result of this belief is not a clearer gospel, but a different one altogether.

Scripture warns explicitly about this danger. Paul writes: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).

The Gospel is not a flexible message shaped by culture. It is a fixed declaration of what God has done through Jesus Christ. Th Gospel tells about Jesus' death for sin, His resurrection from the grave and salvation by grace through faith. Any message that removes repentance, redefines sin or diminishes the cross is a distortion and purposeful misrepresentation of the Gospel message.

Paul also warned that a time would come when people would no longer endure sound doctrine: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;" (2 Timothy 4:3).

Beware of those who are presenting a Gospel that twists, changes or distorts the truth found in God's Word.

The Truth Is: The true Gospel never changes, Christ was crucified and risen from the grave. Anything other than is is a false Gospel.

5. “God Really Doesn’t Mind” – Redefining Sin

Scripture: Isaiah 5:20; Romans 1:32

One of the enemy’s most effective deceptions is not denying sin outright, but redefining it. Instead of calling people to repentance, this lie reframes what God condemns as acceptable, and even presents it as honorable.

Scripture warns clearly about this reversal of moral truth: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).

This lie about sin convinces people that sin is merely a social construct, a personal choice or an outdated concept rooted in old beliefs. Behaviors once recognized as sinful are celebrated, affirmed and defended, while obedience to God is mocked as intolerant or harmful.

The danger of this lie is that it dulls conviction. When sin is rebranded as freedom, repentance feels unnecessary. When repentance disappears, forgiveness loses its meaning, and the need for a Savior fades into the background.

Paul describes this progression clearly in Romans: "who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them" (Romans 1:32).

At its core, this deception is not about freedom but about blindness. When evil is relabeled as good, the conscience is slowly trained to stop responding to God’s truth. What once produced godly sorrow now produces praise, and what once led people to the cross is dismissed as unnecessary or even offensive.

Scripture clearly states that this reversal is not neutral or harmless, it is a spiritual condition that leads people further from repentance and deeper into separation from God. The answer is not cultural approval but restored clarity - allowing God’s Word, not shifting opinion, to define sin, righteousness and our desperate need for grace.

The Truth Is: Sin remains sin, regardless of cultural approval, and only Christ can forgive it.

Final Thoughts

Each of these lies distorts reality and blinds people to God’s truth. But Scripture reminds us that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). God's Word exposes deception and points us to Jesus, who is the Truth (John 14:6).

If you recognize any of these lies in your own life, take heart. Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Ask the Lord to reveal the lies and separate them from the truth.

The greatest lie is that we can live without Christ and the greatest truth is that only Christ can save.

Blessings,

Amy