“He who does not believe God has made Him a liar” 1 John 5:10

In Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18 we read that God cannot lie yet in this letter of John to Christians he twice writes that it is possible that people can make God appear to be a liar. In both cases it is when people contradict or disbelieve God’s word.

From the beginning Satan accused God of being a liar. He spoke through a serpent to cast doubt on God’s testimony. Since then he has had plenty of people who are willing to go out of their way to discredit the word of God. What is particularly sad is when people who go by the name of Christian also discredit God’s word by not believing it. This disbelief may be expressed in misrepresentation, distortion or outright rejection.

Any time we question the correctness of God’s word; anytime we interpret God’s word contrary to what it actually says; anytime we distort or misrepresent God’s word we are claiming that we are a higher and more reliable authority than God. This is the pinnacle of pride and calls God a liar. No one who truly loves Jesus Christ would knowingly do this work of the devil.

In almost a summary of all that he has written in his Gospel and in this letter John writes out in a nutshell the essence of what God has said that he wants us to be sure to believe, “and this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; and he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (vv 11-12). The key words in this passage are:

• Given – Eternal life/Christ is God’s Gift
• Christ and eternal life are one (cf. John 14:6). No Christ = no eternal life
• Christ must be received not merely observed
• Christ is equal with the Father

Anyone who does not believe this testimony of God is calling Him a liar. The evidence that a person does believe this will be seen in their life and word as John has described earlier in this letter.

John has written this letter so that those who have taken God at His word will have the assurance that they are truly born of God and have received Christ who is eternal life (v 13). Then, and only then, will that person know the “full joy” that John desires that all God’s people have (1:4).