1.1.23 Truth and Lies

January 01, 2023

Jay Vanderbur

C.S. Lewis’ masterpiece, The Screwtape Letters opens by saying, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” Light and darkness... good and evil... turn on the nightly news and the theological principle of “original sin” is put on display. Darkness and evil are real. For Jesus, the devil is real... Not a myth... Not a superstitious idea from an uneducated age... And definitely not a red cartoon character on your shoulder. Luke 3 ends with the genealogy of Jesus, and the chapter concludes with “Adam, the son of God” (v. 38). With this thought still ringing in our ears, Luke launches into his account of Jesus’ encounter with the devil. The dramatic tension is clear... Will Christ, the Second Adam (1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 5) succeed where the first one failed?