### **I. Introduction: The Lie We Believe**
Video Ill.: Sermon Bumper 1
The world is full of lies. And sadly, many times the lies of the world are believed and become our truth.
And the devil—called in Scripture the father of lies, the prince of deception—spreads them far and wide.
He uses this world to distract us, to pull our focus away from God’s truth, and to trap us into believing what is false.
That is the battlefield we live on every day.
Every time we turn on the news, scroll social media, or simply try to make sense of our world, the lies are everywhere:
Lies about what makes us valuable.
Lies about how we should live.
Lies about what really matters.
Lies about who God is… and who we are.
### **The Epidemic of Lies**
The Most Common Lie
Source: Friedrich Nietzsche, Leadership, Vol. 17, no. 2.
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/1997/june/2476.html
Copied from Preaching Today
It has been said that the most common lie is the lie we tell to ourselves.
But it’s not just individual struggles—this world has a problem with lies on a much larger scale.
Epidemic of Lies (Modified)
Sourced from: Charles Colson, "Post-Truth Society," Christianity Today (3-11-02), p. 112
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2003/december/14710.html
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Consider the story of George O’Leary—a man who, for just a moment, reached the pinnacle of his profession.
It was the dream of a lifetime: a chance to coach the legendary Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
But the day after he signed his contract, a reporter fact-checked his résumé—and it all came crashing down.
It turned out O’Leary had lied about his academic credentials and athletic achievements. A few days later, he was forced to resign in disgrace.
Sadly, his story is not unique.
In recent years, we have seen an epidemic of lying:
Politicians caught in scandal…
Authors caught plagiarizing…
Historians and journalists inventing facts to fit a narrative…
Even high-profile leaders in business, sports, and media creating false stories to make themselves look better.
It’s a sobering reality: James Patterson and Peter Kim, authors of The Day America Told the Truth, estimate that 91 percent of us regularly embroider the truth. "We lie and don't even think about it," Patterson and Kim write.
We lie so often, we barely even notice it anymore.
And the world? It tells us that’s normal.
It tells us that lying is just how you get ahead. After all, the world lies to us all the time.
It tells us that truth is whatever you want it to be.
It tells us that you have to pretend, exaggerate, or perform to be loved.
But friends—there is a better way — the way of truth.
This morning, we are beginning a study of the lies the world tells—how they shape us, how they impact our lives, and how we can find the truth in God’s Word.
Today, we are going to expose one of the most damaging lies the world tells us: The lie that we have to earn God’s love. If we are good enough, successful enough, or "clean" enough, then we will be loved—by people, and even by God.
But on our journey this morning, I hope that we see there is a much greater truth.
### **I. Exposing the Lie: The Problem with Earning Love**
As we begin, let’s take a closer look at this lie: the belief that we must earn love—especially God’s love.
Let’s be honest: in our culture, earning is what we do. It’s what we’re taught.
As Americans, we’re wired to earn everything:
We earn likes and approval on social media.
We earn a living at our jobs.
We earn our homes, our cars, our degrees, our certificates, and our diplomas.
In sports, we earn runs, touchdowns, field goals, made baskets, and wins.
We hustle, we grind, we strive.
Approval, success, and status are seen as rewards for good performance.
That is the air we breathe in this world.
But here’s the problem:
That “earn it” mentality doesn’t stay in our jobs or our sports or our social media feeds.
It overflows into our spiritual lives, too.
We start to believe the lie that God’s love works the same way — salvation must be earned — mercy must be acquired.
We must earn His approval.
We must perform for His grace.
If we just try hard enough, if we pray more, serve more, give more, we will finally be worthy.
A cartoon once pictured a group of modern-day Pharisees, proudly saying,
“We get our righteousness the old-fashioned way… we earn it!”
And if we’re honest, sometimes we think that way too.
We may even quote Scripture like Philippians 2:12:
12 …[W]ork out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2, NKJV)
But we forget the very next verse:
13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2, NKJV)
### **The Weight of Earning**
So what happens when we believe this lie—that we have to earn God’s love?
We start to live with a constant fear of failure.
We worry, “Have I done enough? What else should I be doing?”
We tie ourselves in knots, trying to prove we are good enough for God.
That fear leads to guilt and shame, because we quickly realize what Paul said in Romans 3:
23 …[A]ll have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3, NKJV)
When we buy into the lie that we must earn God’s love, we begin to see Him, not as a loving Father who wants to have a relationship with us, but as a strict judge—ready to hand down punishments and consequences for every mistake, at every junction or turn in our lives.
Friends, that is not the life God has for us. That is not the truth.
No wonder our world is so full of anxiety, depression, fear, and cynicism.
If we believe we must earn love—especially God’s love—we will always feel like we are falling short.
But there is hope.
### **II. The Truth: God’s Love Is a Gift**
Because, you see, the truth is this: God’s love is a gift.
It’s free to us.
It’s free.
It’s undeserved.
It’s given to us, not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but because of who God is.
There is no amount of effort, no amount of good deeds, no amount of service that can buy this gift.
And even if we could earn it, it would no longer be a gift—it would be a transaction — an item to purchase.
Grace Is A Free Gift (Modified)
By Daniel King, D. Min.
Copied from Sermon Central
Consider a husband one time who gave a beautiful diamond necklace to his wife.
Now, imagine what would happen if she opened up her purse and tried to pay him for the necklace. She only has a scrunched up dollar bill and a few coins and says, “Let me pay you for the necklace.”
Her husband would be insulted because if you have to pay for a free gift, it is no longer free. In the same way, we cannot pay God for the free gift of salvation. We cannot earn our salvation through our good works. Grace is a free gift, freely given by God.
Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2, NKJV)
We are saved by grace. Grace is a gift from God. Not something we can purchase. Not something we can earn. It is not a reward for good behavior.
Grace, at its core, is unearned favor. It is not earned!
It is God’s love, His mercy, His blessings poured out on us—not because we deserve them, but because of His goodness.
Why cannot we earn it? Because if we could earn our way to Heaven, we’d turn it into a contest—boasting about how good we were, how wonderful we acted, how much we achieved.
But God does not love us, God does not show mercy to us, God does not offer us grace because of how good we are, or how good we think we are. It is not about how hard we work. It is not about what we can earn.
God loved us because of who He is.
We are loved because of who God is, not because of who we are.
Paul wrote in Romans 5:
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. (Romans 5, NKJV)
God loved us at our worst — while we were still sinners.
But when we accept His love, His grace, His mercy, He forms a relationship with us, one that is overflowing and over bounding with joy, grace, and most importantly love.
God’s love is proactive because God made the move first.
He didn’t wait for us to clean up our act.
He didn’t wait for us to prove ourselves.
He made the first move, sending Jesus, planned from the beginning of the world.
The lie says we have to work to earn God’s love and grace.
The truth tells us that God has loved us so much that He gave His only Son for us, to bring salvation, mercy, and love to us as the greatest gift ever given.
### **III. Responding to God’s Love**
So how should we respond to that love that God so freely and gracefully gives to us?
FREE! (Modified)
By Tim Smith
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There’s a story from the days of slavery that paints this picture powerfully.
A public auction was being held in the center of town, where black men and women were sold as property to the highest bidder. In the crowd stood two men. One was loud, foul-mouthed, and cruel—well-known for his hateful nature.
The other was quiet, dignified, and kind—a man of gentle strength and grace.
As the auction began, a young woman, about twenty years old, was led onto the auction block. Her dress was torn but clean. Fear and anxiety filled her eyes as she looked out over the crowd.
The loud, boisterous man immediately placed a bid, his leering gaze fixed on her. She shrank back in terror.
But then the kind gentleman also placed a bid. The two men went back and forth, bidding higher and higher, until the cruel man finally gave up, unwilling to pay the price.
The auctioneer’s gavel fell. The kind man had won.
He paid the price, took the Bill of Sale, and began to walk away.
The young woman followed him, trembling, and said, “I’m coming with you—you bought me, I belong to you.”
But the man turned and looked at her with compassion.
“No, you don’t understand,” he said. “I didn’t buy you to make you my slave. I bought you to set you free.”
He took the Bill of Sale, wrote across it in bold letters: FREE!
Tears filled her eyes. “You mean... I’m free? I can go wherever I want? Do whatever I choose?”
The man smiled. “Yes. You are free.”
And she said, “If I am free... then there’s nothing I want more than to go with you and serve you for the rest of my life.”
That’s what grace does.
That’s what love does.
God didn’t buy us to make us slaves—He bought us to set us free.
And the price He paid wasn’t silver or gold—it was the blood of His Son, Jesus.
When we accept God’s gift of grace and love, it changes everything.
It’s like the moment a butterfly emerges from its cocoon—completely transformed, set free, made new.
Our identity becomes secure:
I am loved by God.
I am a child of the Most High God, the Creator of the universe.
We no longer have to search for our place to belong. We no longer have to try to buy our way into Heaven—because we have been bought with a price, and that price was the blood of Jesus.
We can say with confidence:
I am here for a reason.
I am special.
I am beautiful in God’s eyes.
I have a purpose, a place, and a peace.
We no longer have to work to try to gain God’s approval anymore.
We do, though, have a new desire to serve God, to worship Him, to follow Him as we live our lives.
Through Jesus, He has cleansed our hearts, washed away our sins, and given us a new home with Him for eternity.
So this morning... stop striving to please.
Stop trying to earn God’s love.
Lay down the burden of performance, the anxiety of “Have I done enough?”
And instead—rest in God’s love today.
He bought you to set you free.
Will you receive that freedom?
Will you respond to His love?
### **Conclusion:**
This morning, I want to ask you: Have you been trying to earn God’s love or approval?
Have you been striving, performing, working… hoping it’s enough?
If so, take comfort—and take joy—in this simple truth: God’s love is a gift.
It is a gift that changes how we see Him… and how we see ourselves.
Will you accept the truth today?
That He loves you—no matter what:
No matter what you have or have not done.
No matter what you have or have not said.
No matter where you are in life today.
The world tells us the lie that we have to earn love.
It whispers that no one can truly love us unless we’re doing something for them.
But the truth is this: God’s love is truly unconditional.
It is not based on our performance, our goodness, or our efforts— It is based on His grace.
The truth is you are a child of God. You were chosen by Him. You are loved unconditionally by Him. He loves you because He created you in His very image. God loves you and wants to have a personal relationship with you.
So here’s the question: What if you really believed that truth?
How might it change the way you live, the way you see yourself, the way you see God… today?
As we close, I want to share a song by the late Christian artist, Mandisa. In this song, she asks a powerful question: “What if I believed the truth about me… that I am loved by God, no matter what?”
As the song plays, I invite you to reflect.
Let the words wash over you.
Let God’s truth settle into your heart.
And receive His love—freely given, fully yours.
Video Ill.: The Truth about Me by Mandisa
