Sovereign Grace Chapel, located at 135 Annabel Lane in Beaver, West Virginia, invites you to listen to a gospel message concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. If you would, turn with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. And starting in verse 1 of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders. and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Just reading that makes me want to know the king. What I want is the king to know me, really. But what do we read in verse 11? Because this is really where I wanted to get to. And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. First of all, who is it that is the acting one in this verse? God. And who is going to stay his hand and say unto him, what doest thou? Christ. Just how are you going to go about doing something like that? This here tells us that God will send them strong This is something that's done that the one having this action taking on them, they cannot resist. They cannot thwart. It is a strong action and it is said to be done by God. God will send them strong what? Delusion, error or wrong opinion, heresy. The result of this will be that they will believe the lie is the way to actually say it. As others have said, there is no, I think it's a definite article A in the Greek. So the word is the instead of A. But let's also be clear, this is not something that is new to them. And I mean this lie, it's not new to them. It's just made strong by God. And I say that because it says in the prior verse that these did not receive the love of the truth. They already loved the lie rather than the truth. Not more than, but rather than the truth.

But it is God that it says who will send, and that means to conduct orderly. He will do this in an orderly fashion and it will definitely be done in righteousness, Joe. I can hear those who hate God, the one that they should believe and love his truth say this, are you saying God causes them to be delusions? Yes, that's what I'm saying. But I purposely skipped the first part of the verse. God does not do things just to be mean. What does the beginning of the verse say? For this cause. So in order to know what the cause is for God to do this, we can read just prior to that to find out. This is what will cause God to send you strong delusions that you will believe a lie or they will believe the lie. and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. He will, with those who do not receive the love of the truth, cause them to be delusioned, and they will no doubt believe the lie.

Yet there are some who do receive the love of the truth. to the praise and honor of his name, Joe. This world gets mad because we teach the scripture and we learn from the scripture that God chooses us and saves us by his power and work alone. They get mad and will not bow down to him, as Joe's already told us, and ask for mercy. They are defiant and will not receive the love of the truth. So is that God's fault? Absolutely not. All men and women have to do is believe God, bow down and believe God. Yet so many will shake their fist in God's face and will not bow down to Him. Now they don't look at it as they're shaking their fist at, but that's what they're doing. But there are a few who do. They bow down to God and receive the love of the truth. They do this by His mighty power and because of His work. We love Him because He first loved us. That's what's told us in Scripture that's called grace. God did not have to do this, but it pleased Him to do this for Jesus Christ the Son. He chose a people in His Son because of what the Son would do and has done. Is God to be blamed for showing mercy? Mercy undeserved and unmerited? Again, I will say to anyone, just bow down to the sovereign God who has chosen and believed the record God gave of his son. If you believe, you will be saved.

But we know we cannot. But that gets us to what this is saying here. Because of their hard heartedness, God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie. So if you want to play games with a sovereign God, go ahead. Don't bow down to his son or believe his record. He will make sure you are delusioned. And that may not be a word, but it is now, delusioned.

So let's talk about today the lie, the truth, and God. So first, the lie. So what is the lie? And as I've said, that word a there is supposed, it should be the, it means the, the lie. So turn with me to Genesis three, very familiar. We're gonna look at it one more time. Genesis three. Genesis 3, I want to read verses 1 through 5.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

We see the lie right here. Satan or that serpent who is the father of lies says this, and this is from the Young's Little Translation. Is it true that God hath said, you do not eat of every tree of the garden? He said, yea, hath God said? Satan here is not saying that God did not say this. What he is saying is that what God said is not true. He is telling Eve that God is lying to them. That's what he's saying.

We see it, and I like to use the Young's literal translation in some of these, because it just puts it a little bit different way. But after Eve told the serpent what God had said, that they could eat of every tree except this one, and that when they eat of this one, they would die, what does the father of lies say? And the serpent saith unto the woman, dying ye do not die. God is lying to you. What God has said is not true.

What does the serpent say to Eve even further? We are still on Deliah here. For God doth know that in the day of your eating of it, your eyes have been opened, and ye have been as God, knowing good and evil. Notice how it says it, in the day of your eating of it. That was in Young's literal translation. This is said as if it has already taken place. Satan knew this was going to happen. But he begals Eve and says, when you eat of this fruit, you won't need God anymore. You'll be equal with God.

I know there have been several of us here, and I'm sure there have been other believers out there as well that have experienced this. But there are some who, when telling someone exactly what God has said, and we do that by reading the scripture and telling them exactly what the scriptures say, and they say, I don't believe that. Or they might say, it doesn't mean what it says. That's exactly what Satan tells Eve here. God said those very words, but God did not mean what he said is what Satan is saying. God is trying to deceive you. He is trying to manipulate you.

Because what will really happen when you eat of this fruit, you will become like God himself. People today, and I'm still on the lie of free will, but people today believe that they have the power and the right to choose God. From the beginning, Satan has pushed the lie from his lips that tells man, you will be like God. You can make the right choices because you will know good and evil.

With this lie being told her, she liked what she saw and heard because she said in verse six, And verse six, three, and when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and did eat and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat. So it says, and the tree is desirable to make one wise. She fell for it, as they say, hook, line, and sinker.

But then her head, Adam, was not deceived. He partook of the fruit knowing what he was doing. Pure rebellion. Man by nature does not want to hear what God says. Man by nature does not want to do what God says. Man by nature wants to be their own God. This is the truth. That is how man is. But man will openly rebel against the very truth of God.

So what is the truth as it concerns God and what he has said? So next we have the truth. There are many people in this world who will look to the Bible. They will look to see what God says in his Bible. But they will not believe what God says. Why? Because of their federal head, Adam, he openly and manifestly rebelled against his maker, who is God. God created Adam. We, because of what Adam did, are brought forth from the womb, speaking lies. When it comes to God and man towards God, there is no innocence.

Romans 5.12, we read, wherefore, as by one man, and that one man was Adam. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. You and I were not even born yet, but we are told right here that we have all sinned. Is God lying to us?

Because of sin which bringeth forth death, Adam died. He was still walking around in the garden, so how did he die? His spirit, which at one time was able to commune with God, now can no longer commune with him because man's spirit is dead. Everyone from that point on is born physically into this world with the same exact way, spiritually dead.

God did not experiment to see what man would do. All the creation was not an experiment. Everything God did was on purpose. I don't care if man does not like it. I don't care if man does not believe it, even myself. God does everything on purpose. God knew that man was a creature because he created him. and that he would rebel against him. He knew it. It seems obvious, doesn't it? But men and women behave as if we do things alongside of God.

But there was a purpose in what God was doing. He was going to make it so that man could eternally, perpetually, Joe, commune with him. In order to do this, the sin that man is and does would have to be atoned for. So what was his purpose? His purpose was to do what man could not do himself, being spiritually dead. But man had to pay for what he did because everything brings forth of its own kind. God never goes against what he has declared.

What do we read in scripture about the truth? John 1 14, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. That one whose voice was heard in the garden, the one who was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, the one who created heaven and earth and all things that are in it, This same one was made flesh. The same one who said you can eat of all of the fruit of the garden except for that one tree. That same one who told Adam that when you eat of it, you will die. This same one was made flesh. God became a man. He had to become a man because it had to be a man that would pay for Adam's sin. That is the truth.

But what do we see further in scripture as to what the truth is? John 14, six says, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the father, but by me. We are not God, but there is a man who is God. This one who God the Father sent is the one who by the purpose of God was sent to be the savior of his people. God himself came down. God is just and God in his all powerful wise design did it this way because God knew in his wisdom that this is the only way that justice could be satisfied while mercy is given to a rebellious people. God, the creator of everything, the one who has rebelled against and sinned against, is the very one who came down, this God came down to save those which were lost.

So what is the truth? John 8, 32. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. So is the truth what you know? We just read Jesus Christ is the truth. So who is Jesus Christ?

So that leads me to God. And I know I've already went over this, but I'm gonna say it again. God came down and he was manifest in the person of Jesus Christ the Lord. God has been pleased to manifest himself in three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. And the scripture says these three are one. But when I'm talking about God here specifically, I'm talking about the one with whom we have to do. God the Father tells us, and we read it in his word, this is my beloved son, hear ye him. So if we are to hear God, if we are to see God, if we are to serve God, it will be because of Jesus Christ. We will not see God other than in the face of Jesus Christ.

When it comes to the truth, Jesus Christ is all. I mean that Jesus Christ is all the truth. If what you are saying from God's word exalts man in any way, or if what you're saying from God's word makes Jesus Christ weak in some way or less in some way, then you are not preaching the truth. What have we already read? He is the life. He's the only way you will ever have life before God. He is the truth. Knowing him is the only way to know God. He is the way. Christ is the only way that those who have been given life by him and those who know him will ever find their way to God. Any other way is total destruction. Jesus Christ, who is God, is the one that said, in the day ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die. He is the one whose voice was heard as he walked in the garden in the cool of the day, as I said. He is and was from the beginning, and it is he who purposed all things in himself to bring a people's salvation to his honor and glory. So let's go back through a little bit more of our text in closing.

It has been said, and rightfully so, this world is not getting worse. By the word, I mean those who do not love Christ. It does say men will wax worse and worse, as Joe said, and that's true. But I think you'll see what I'm talking about here in a minute.

They are not getting worse. They are as bad as they can be and cannot get any worse than what they are. We by nature are as bad as we can be, but thank the sovereign God above. He made us meet. He enabled us to receive the love of the truth. That is his people, his chosen people.

But with those things going on around us, I mean, it seems as if people have lost their mind. But when you think about it, they really have, and it did not start out yesterday. It was like this from the beginning. We read that about Nebuchadnezzar. He said, when my understanding returned unto me, this tells me that before this happened, Nebuchadnezzar was insane.

But the things that are going on today makes it seem as if things are getting worse. But the fact of the matter is, it is just that we see it more and more, and we see it sooner and faster than we ever did before. Man has always done these things, and we see man, those things that we see man do today, We can read in God's words specific accounts of things that happened even before Christ condescended to this earth.

God tells us in his word in Genesis 6-5, And God saw the wickedness of man, which was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Folks, this is what God saw just before God killed everyone and everything that was living on the earth, save eight souls and the animals that were on the ark.

Man has not changed in this flesh. The flesh is as corrupt as it ever was, and that will not change. Unless God does something for a man or a woman, they will hate God, and they will want to ascend to his throne to kill God. I know they will not say this, but this is what their flesh wants because they want to be in control.

But they are not. God is absolutely sovereign and in total sovereign control. They will not accomplish this. I know men and women think when I say things like that, that I'm talking about those who are really bad. No, I'm talking about those who are subtle, just as their father Satan was subtle. I'm talking about religious people, moral people.

They will say to you, yea, hath God said? As we read right here in 2 Thessalonians 2 7, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work. It is working in those who lift up man's free will. Those who lift up man's choice rather than God's choice. Those who lift up man's works rather than lifting up the work of Christ. It says they will not receive the love of the truth. They will not receive Christ.

Man is delusional by nature. Just as God did with Pharaoh, he will do with all those who do not receive the love of the truth. Pharaoh, it says, if you read it, he hardened his heart, and then he hardened his heart again, and then he hardened his heart again, over and over again, until finally, it says, God hardened Pharaoh's heart.

God does not do anything to men and women that they do not do themselves or that they do not want themselves. But just as everything else that God does, when he does something, it is done. Pharaoh hardened his own heart, but then he would relinquish for a time. It went back and forth until that time God was pleased to act.