Light vs. Lies: How Jesus Exposes the World’s Deception and Offers True Life
- Jack Selcher
- Oct 1, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 2
Summary
Jesus, the Light of the world, contrasts with the lies that dominate human thinking. Though people prefer darkness, Christ offers life, truth, and freedom from deception. The world system glorifies status, success, and self, yet fails to satisfy. Modern and postmodern philosophies reject lasting truth, while Christianity centers on God’s authority and purpose. True life is found by trusting, obeying, loving, serving God, and becoming like Christ.
Jesus, the Light vs the Lies of the World
Jesus' arrival bathed everything in a penetrating, holy light, but most people hated or ignored it. They preferred the dark land of lies.
They still do (John 3:20). We do not have to live in the gloomy land of deceiving and being deceived. Jesus alone is the truth in a world that does not value Him or it.
He offers life to people like us who are without a spiritual pulse, dead in trespasses and sins (John 14:6, Ephesians 2:2). Light vs lies. Which will you choose?
The Voices That Shape a Dark World
He gave life and light to everyone. He said, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12 KJV). The darkness cannot extinguish that light (John 1:4-5). Jesus’ light beams truth into our coal bin at midnight world that is naturally receptive only to the voices of the world system, sinful nature, and the devil. The world lies to us—a lot.
Paul commands us not to let oppressive darkness and those lies shape us into ongoing rebels against God’s will and ways (Romans 12:2). Like a spiritual black hole, these three voices seek to absorb all the glory that belongs to God alone (Isaiah 42:8).
The Apostle John commands us not to love the vile way of living that excludes God (1 John 2:15). Those who conform to or love it sin and disobey God (Ephesians 2:2).
We began life as citizens of the kingdom of lies. We have foolishly followed our sinful nature’s self-centered, self-glorifying demands.
The Lie of Worldly Significance
We have adopted the world’s understanding of life, which is radically opposed to the Creator’s purpose. It glorifies physical beauty, status, wealth, power, and achievements as the measuring tools of significance.
It says this life is all there is. Death is the final period at life’s end.
Nothing matters more than a name people remember and gaining the world’s applause. It is the sure way to happiness.1
Of course, becoming well-known and winning the world’s applause is not a can’t-miss road to happiness. Wikipedia lists the names of hundreds of 21st-century celebrities who were so unhappy they took their own lives.2
They believed the lie that becoming somebody would make them happy. They did. It did not.
Modernism and Postmodernism Exposed
Modernism and postmodernism are strands of world system deceit. Modernism elevates reason to the throne as the ultimate.
Cause and effect relationships explain everything. People are good. Science will create a better world and bring people happiness.
Life is easier now, but postmodernism rightly concludes that people are not happier than when life was harder.
Postmodernism pulls out the foundation stones of modernism. It rejects objective truth, the trustworthiness of any authority, and any meaning in life.3
Only what works counts, and moral codes are out. Since life is senseless, only play matters.
God-Centered Reality
By contrast, Christianity is God-centered. What the Bible says is the truth. God is the ultimate authority.
Living in the Light
Life is about glorifying His name, not ours, and achieving His purpose for our lives. To do that, we must trust (Hebrews 11:6), obey (John 14:15), love Him and others (Matthew 22:37-39), serve Him (1 Samuel 12:24), and become more like Him (Romans 8:29). See additional free spiritual growth resources for Christians. #freediscipleshipresources #freeevangelismresources #freechristianleadershipresources
God has empowered me to write His Power for Your Weakness—260 Steps Toward Spiritual Strength. It’s a free, evangelistic, devotional, and discipleship e-book. Pastors have used it in Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia to lead 7,541 people to Christ and teach the basics of Christianity to 17,361 people. I invite you to explore and use it in your setting.
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