GOD CAN'T: God Can’t Lie

Devotional

Day 1: I Can’t, But God Can

Faith begins where human ability ends. This theme anchors in the raw admission of human limitation—the moment we stop pretending we can fix, control, or save ourselves. God’s omnipotence isn’t theoretical; it meets us in our inability to heal, change, or endure. Trusting Him means exchanging the weight of “I must” for the freedom of “He will.” Every cry of “I can’t” becomes an invitation for divine intervention. [00:28]

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
(Philippians 4:13, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been straining to fix something in your own strength? What would it look like today to hand God the reins with the phrase, “I can’t, but You can”?

Day 2: The Unshakable Truth of a God Who Cannot Lie

God’s inability to lie isn’t a limitation—it’s the foundation of trust. While culture drowns in spin and skepticism, His promises hold fast. Titus 1:2 roots eternal hope in this reality: God’s truthfulness isn’t a choice but an extension of His nature. In a world of shifting narratives, His Word remains the fixed point for building a life of godliness. [03:46]

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.
(Titus 1:2, ESV)

Reflection: When has a broken human promise made you hesitant to trust? How might anchoring your heart in God’s “cannot lie” nature reshape your fears?

Day 3: Satan’s Native Language and the Roots of Deception

Evil actions grow from the soil of lies. Jesus exposed this in John 8:44, naming Satan as the “father of lies” who twists desires until destruction feels like freedom. From Eden’s doubt to Cain’s resentment, deception distorts identity and purpose. Recognizing the enemy’s voice starts by tracing our struggles back to the falsehoods we’ve believed. [09:47]

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
(John 8:44, ESV)

Reflection: What recurring thought or justification have you entertained that, if traced back, might originate in a lie about God’s character or your identity?

Day 4: When Lies Sound True and Truth Sounds Like a Lie

Spiritual deception warps our discernment. Jesus’ opponents in John 8 couldn’t recognize truth because they’d normalized lies. The more we entertain falsehood, the more reality seems foreign—like light hurting adjusted eyes. Freedom comes by letting God’s Word recalibrate our senses, even when His truth initially unsettles us. [22:29]

“But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?”
(John 8:45–46, ESV)

Reflection: Is there a biblical truth you resist because it clashes with your current perspective? What step could you take to let Scripture—not your feelings—define reality?

Day 5: Tuning Your Ear to the Voice That Sets You Free

Truth isn’t just information—it’s relational. Jesus said knowing Him liberates (John 8:31-32). Daily immersion in Scripture trains us to distinguish His voice from the noise. Like a musician practicing scales, we grow sensitive to the notes of grace, conviction, and hope. Freedom flourishes when we stop debating and start dwelling in His words. [28:42]

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
(John 8:31–32, ESV)

Reflection: What practical habit could you build this week to let God’s Word “tune” your discernment? How might truth-saturated thoughts displace old patterns of doubt or fear?

Sermon Summary

Faith begins with the mindset, “I can’t, but God can.” God can heal, save, change a heart, carry a person through trouble, and set the world right. God’s omnipotence means his power is completely able to accomplish whatever he chooses, but that power never floats by itself in a vacuum. God’s power always moves with his moral purity, so the things God cannot do are not weaknesses. They are part of his perfection.

Scripture says God cannot lie. Paul tells Titus that God “does not lie,” and Hebrews says it is impossible for God to lie. God does not merely tell the truth. God is truth. Truth leads to godliness because truth brings a person into alignment with the God whose character is true.

Satan works in the opposite direction. Satan’s primary weapon is not raw power, but deception. Jesus says in John 8 that the devil is “a liar and the father of lies,” and that when he lies, he speaks his native language. Satan rarely forces people to do what they do not want. Satan deceives people until they want what he wants.

Cain did not murder Abel because Satan took over his body. Cain listened to lies, believed them, and acted on them. Adam and Eve did the same in Eden. Satan’s first lie attacked the character of God, and his second lie attacked the identity of humanity. Since then, human beings have been confused about who God is and who they are.

Temptation is essentially a lie. Sin rarely shows up looking like rebellion against God. Sin usually presents itself as the better option for happiness. But every lie pulls a person away from reality, and reality is the only place where a soul can actually thrive. When lies get accepted as truth, the truth starts sounding like a lie.

Jesus shows that truth is relational, not just informational. Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. To know truth is to know God, and to reject truth is to reject God. God tells the truth not to control people, but to set them free. The truth confronts, exposes, and sometimes offends, but the truth is always a friend.

Faith trusts the God who is absolutely trustworthy. Faith does not require understanding everything. God asks for trust, and God has proven himself trustworthy. A mind filled with God’s word becomes tuned to truth, able to recognize deception, and able to ask in temptation, “What lie is being believed right now, and what has God said?”

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Key Takeaways

1. God’s “cannot” reveals perfection God’s inability to lie is not a limitation on his power. It is the beauty of perfect integrity, where his desires, intentions, actions, power, and holiness all move in the same direction. A God who could betray his own character would not be safer, stronger, or more worthy of trust. [02:28]
2. Deception is Satan’s native language Satan does not usually need to overpower a person when a lie will do the job. Deception works by making Satan’s desires feel like personal desires, until sin feels chosen, reasonable, and even necessary. The danger is not only that lies exist, but that lies can become loved. [08:53]
3. Temptation disguises itself as happiness Sin rarely introduces itself as open defiance against God. Temptation usually promises a better path to happiness than obedience, while hiding the emptiness on the other side. The lie succeeds when a person measures God’s word by desire instead of measuring desire by God’s word. [18:12]
4. Truth is reality’s solid ground Truth is whatever is real, and God speaks only what lines up with reality. Lies create illusions, and decisions built on illusions eventually collapse into pain, confusion, and emptiness. The truth may confront and expose, but it is always a friend because it brings the soul back to the only place it can thrive. [19:20]
5. God’s word tunes the ear A mind filled with Scripture becomes trained to recognize the sound of truth. Temptation, anxiety, resentment, despair, and unholy desire should be examined by asking what lie is being believed and what God has said. Discernment grows as God’s word stops being background noise and becomes the measuring line for reality.

## [35:18]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:28] - Living By Faith
[01:40] - What God Cannot Do
[03:46] - God Cannot Lie
[06:51] - Satan’s Weapon Is Deception
[08:01] - Jesus Confronts The Father Of Lies
[11:45] - Cain Believed The Lie
[13:23] - Eden And The Wrong Voice
[16:02] - Every Temptation Is A Lie
[19:20] - Truth Is What Is Real
[21:25] - When Truth Sounds Like A Lie
[23:21] - Truth Is Relational
[28:12] - The Truth Sets Free
[32:29] - Faith Trusts The Trustworthy God
[35:18] - Tune The Ear To Truth

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Titus 1:1-2
“Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began” [00:04:57]

Hebrews 6:18
“so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” [00:06:45]

John 8:44
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” [00:08:53]

John 8:31-32
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” [00:28:24]

Observation questions

In Titus 1:1-2, what connection does Paul make between truth, godliness, and eternal life?
According to Hebrews 6:18, what is said to be impossible for God, and what response is that meant to produce in his people?
In John 8:44, what does Jesus say about the devil’s character, desires, and way of working? [00:08:53]
What repeated pattern can be seen in the examples of Cain, Adam and Eve, and the religious leaders in John 8? [00:13:23]

Interpretation questions

If God cannot lie, why is that not a weakness in God but part of his perfection and trustworthiness? [00:02:28]
John 8:44 says people can come to “want” the devil’s desires. How can deception shape a person so deeply that sinful choices start to feel reasonable or even necessary? [00:07:53]
Jesus says the truth sets people free in John 8:31-32. What kind of freedom is in view here, and how is that different from the way people often think about freedom? [00:28:47]
If truth is relational and not just informational, what does that suggest about why some people resist truth even when it is plainly in front of them? [00:23:37]

Application questions

“I can’t, but God can” is the posture of faith. Where is it hardest right now to live with that mindset: in a struggle, a relationship, a fear, or a wound that has not changed yet? [00:00:23]
Temptation usually comes dressed up as the better path to happiness. What temptation in this season has been presenting itself that way, and what promise is it making? [00:18:12]
Every temptation carries a lie inside it. When anxiety, resentment, despair, or unhealthy desire rises up, what lie is most believable to the heart, and what has God said that speaks against it? [00:36:54]
Lies about God and lies about personal identity often travel together. In this season, is there more struggle with believing something false about who God is, or something false about who the person is before God? [00:14:37]
Sometimes truth starts sounding like a lie when the mind has been shaped by other voices for too long. What voices have been loud lately, and how might they be distorting what is real? [00:22:24]
Jesus says his disciples abide in his word. What would it look like, in a concrete way this week, to let God’s word become more than background noise? [00:35:25]
The truth is always a friend, even when it confronts and exposes. Is there an area of life where it would be easier to stay comfortable in a lie than to become uncomfortable in the truth? [00:27:17]

Sermon Clips

60s

#TruthIsReality

“``K? The truth is whatever is real. And and I know that sounds like, you know, a truism. Like, well, duh, of course. But but think about it. The truth is what is real. So that means that anything that conforms to reality is true. Anything that distorts or that deviates from reality is false. And that's why when we believe the lies of Satan that he's feeding us, it eventually leads us to pain and leads us to emptiness, because we are not acting in congruency with what is real. We are making decisions that are based on illusions, deceptions. We're we're being played.”

62s

#FaithBeyondUnderstanding

“Alright. So faith is trusting the God who is absolutely trustworthy. Faith is trusting the God who is absolutely trustworthy. And doesn't require understanding everything. And I think that's where some of us get tripped up. I think we need to understand that believing in Jesus, believing in the one who is the truth doesn't mean that we have all the answers. It doesn't mean that that that there's nothing more to learn. I I know people who they just go round and round and round, with things about God, things about God's will that that they just can't quite, you know, understand. It's very hard for them to get or understand. And because they can't sort it all out in a way that satisfies them, they won't put their faith in God.”

58s

#WhenTruthSoundsLikeALie

“Alright? Well, Jesus' claims about himself and his teachings sounded like lies to these Jewish leaders. Why? Because they had been listening and believing Satan's deceptions for so long that that their worldview was off. It was skewed. Their whole view of reality was skewed. Because, listen, when you accept lies as truth, the truth will start sounding like a lie. You understand that? When you're accepting lies as truth, the truth starts sounding like a lie. You can't even discern truth when you hear it, because you're measuring what you're hearing against the lie that you already believe. And so it sounds to you like a lie when it's actually the truth.”

56s

#GodIsTrustworthy

“See, not only can God not intentionally deceive you, he cannot be mistaken, because he knows all. So, therefore, he's he's never going to steer you in the wrong direction. None of God's commands are a bad idea. Psalm one nineteen verse one sixty says, all your words are true. All your righteous laws are eternal. Right? Because God cannot lie and cannot be mistaken, then that means that we can build our lives on everything that he says. But here's what's crazy, and that is that sometimes we actually prefer the lies to the truth.”

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GOD CAN'T: God Can’t Lie - Chris Workman