BELIEVING A LIE
1 Kings 13
By David J. Riggs
Intro.
A. The stories of the Bible never grow old. They still thrill our
hearts as when we first heard them.
1. God put these stories in His Word for a purpose. Rom. 15:4;
Psalm 119:18
2. Probably, we don't review these stories as often as we
should.
B. One great story of the Bible is that of the prophet from Judah
who was commissioned by God with an important task.
1. The prophet was not named. We will simply call him," the
young prophet."
I. I Kings 13
A. Let's look first at the background information. 1 Kings
12:26-31
1. Jeroboam, in altering God's religion, had committed a very
grievous sin.
2. He had changed the place of worship, the qualifications for
priests, the date of the feast, and so forth.
a. Indeed, he changed many things as "he had devised in his
own heart." Verse 24
B. In the course of time, Jeroboam assumed the place of a priest
and planned to offer incense on his new altar at Bethel.
1. God appeared to a young prophet of Judah and ordered him to
go to Bethel and cry against the altar. 1 Kings 13:1-10
2. His instructions: "For it was commanded me by the word of
the Lord, saying,
a. 'You shall not eat bread,
b. nor drink water,
c. nor return by the same way you came.'"
(1) His instructions were not hard to understand, nor
difficult to observe.
(2) All of God's commandments are understandable and not
grievous. 2 Cor. 1:13; Rom. 12:1; 1 John 5:3
C. There is no better picture of a faithful man of God.
1. He was not afraid of the wrath of the king.
a. He laid his own life on the line. Many of the prophets
were imprisoned and killed for the same. 2 Chron.
24:20-21
2. He was not moved by glory or honor.
a. To go home with and eat with a king was a great honor.
b. He could have reasoned, "I'll have a good influence and
cause him to change."
3. He would accept no reward.
a. He was not like Balaam. Num. 22:12, 18-19; 2 Pet.
2:15-16
b. None of those things persuaded this young prophet. He
was determined to obey God in everything.
II. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY.
A. The account of this young prophet is one of the saddest stories
in the Bible.
B. 1 Kings 13:11-19
C. Verse 18 is a key verse on understanding God's purpose for
revealing this event to us.
1. Consider the good things the young prophet had accomplished:
a. He had been able to withstand the wrath of the king.
b. He stood firm against flattery.
c. He had shunned the lure of riches.
d. He was not a bad man, but a brave character and a true
soul.
e. He had previously been absolutely faithful and loyal to
God.
f. Yet he failed and was destroyed because he believed a
lie!
D. As they sat around the table eating and drinking, the word of
the Lord came to the old prophet which caused him to say: 1
Kings 13:21-22.
E. The account of his death. 1 Kings 13:23-31
1. What about the older prophet? Was not his the greater sin?
Why didn't the Lord kill him instead of the young prophet?
2. The Bible elsewhere tells about the fate of all liars, but
God wants to impress upon our minds the danger of believing
a lie.
III. LESSONS TO BE LEARNED.
A. Believing a thing to be true, does not make it true.
1. The young prophet believed the lie of the old prophet.
2. Suppose you were told that one church is just as good as
another and you believed it, does that make it so?
3. What about the church out in California which has thousands
of members which is "the church of the devil"? If one
church is as good as another does that mean that the church
of the devil is as good as the church of the Lord?
B. We must render full obedience to God.
1. James 2:8-10; Luke 16:10 Examples: Acts 2:38; 1 Cor.
11:24-26; Heb. 10:25
2. It does not matter how good you are otherwise.
3. Remember, the young prophet perished, not by wickedness or
lack of sincerity, but by believing a lie.
C. We cannot judge a thing to be true by fellow man.
1. He took the word of another man.
a. Elders can be wrong. Acts 20:29-30
b. Preachers can be wrong. Apollos Acts 18:24-26
c. There are many false teachers telling lies. Satan
minsters. 2 Cor. 11:13-14
d. He was deceived by a fellow prophet. Our own comrades
can deceive us. They can secretly infiltrate our ranks.
Matt. 7:15; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; Jude 4
D. Believing a lie has terrible consequences.
1. Again, why didn't God just kill the liar? There would have
been no lesson for us today.
a. Everyone knows that God will punish liars. Rev. 21:8
Few realize that believing a lie is equally fatal.
2. The old prophet said that an angel spoke to him to bring the
young prophet back to his house. Gal. 1:6-9
3. Gal. 5:3-4; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 2:16-18
IV. WE MUST MAKE PERSONAL APPLICATION.
1. We, too, can be deceived. Eph. 4:14; Rom. 16:17
2. Always test what is said. Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1; 1 Thess.
5:21
3. Read and study for yourself. 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 5:14
4. Never misuse or misapply the word. 2 Pet. 3:16; 2 Cor. 2:17
Concl.
A. The same thing that happened to the young prophet can happen to
us today.
1. All kinds of lies are being preached and followed today.
B. If we do not develop a love for God's truth, God will aid us in
believing a lie.
1. 2 Thess. 2:11-12
a. The strong delusion comes from God. It is both the
punishment and the result of their rejection of the
truth.
C. Let us have a strong, intense, sincere, love for truth. This
will help us avoid believing a lie.
Chart #1
"For it was commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying,
1. 'You shall not eat bread,
2. nor drink water,
3. nor return by the same way you came.'"
Chart #2
There is no Better Picture of a Faithful Man of God
1. He was not afraid of the wrath of the king.
2. He was not moved by glory or honor.
3. He would not accept a reward.
Chart #3
LESSONS TO BE LEARNED:
1. Believing a thing to be true, does not make it true.
2. We must render full obedience to God.
3. We cannot judge a thing to be true by fellow man.
4. Believing a lie has terrible consequences.
Chart #4
WE MUST MAKE PERSONAL APPLICATION
1. We, too, can be deceived. Eph. 4:14; Rom. 16:17
2. Always test what is said. Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1; 1 Thess. 5:21
3. Read and study for yourself. 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 5:14
4. Never misuse or misapply the word. 2 Pet. 3:16; 2 Cor. 2:17