September 30 2026

September 30 Wednesday

2 Thessalonians 2:11–12

 “The Danger of Rejecting Truth”

 “And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Welcome to Pastor’s Chat. Yesterday we looked at one of the most sobering statements in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Paul said that people will be deceived because: “they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” Today, verses 11 and 12 tell us what happens when people persistently reject God's truth. Paul writes that because of their rejection: “God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.” Those are serious words.

At first, they may even trouble us. Why would God send a strong delusion? The answer is found in the context. These people have already been given the truth. They have rejected it. They have refused to believe it. They have chosen unrighteousness instead. Verse 12 says they: “did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” God isn't preventing sincere people from believing. These are people who have heard truth and deliberately chosen the lie.

There is a biblical principle here that appears throughout Scripture. When people continually reject God's light, eventually God allows them to experience the consequences of the darkness they have chosen. Romans chapter 1 describes people who knew God but refused to glorify Him as God. Three times in that chapter we find the sobering expression: “God gave them up.” They chose their way. And eventually God allowed them to have what they had chosen. We see something similar with Pharaoh in Exodus. Pharaoh repeatedly hardened his heart against God. Eventually Scripture tells us that God hardened Pharaoh's heart.

That's why we should never treat God's truth casually. Every time God speaks to us through His Word, we have a choice. We can say: “Yes, Lord.” Or we can resist Him. And every “yes” makes it easier to say yes again. But every deliberate “no” can make the next “no” easier too. Hebrews says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” Notice that word: Today. Not tomorrow. Not someday. Today.

There is also an important lesson here for those of us who already know Christ. We live in a world filled with information. We can turn on television or open our phones and within seconds hear hundreds of voices telling us what to believe. But truth isn't determined by popularity. Truth isn't determined by opinion polls. Truth doesn't change because culture changes. God's Word is truth. Jesus prayed to His Father in John 17:17: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.”

So how do we protect ourselves from deception? Know the Word. Read the Word. Study the Word. Believe the Word. Obey the Word. The best protection against a counterfeit is becoming thoroughly familiar with the genuine article. Paul's warning about future deception should cause us to love God's truth even more today. And there is one phrase in verse 12 that especially challenges me. They “had pleasure in unrighteousness.” The problem wasn't simply intellectual. It was moral. Sometimes people reject God's truth not because there isn't enough evidence, but because accepting God's truth would require them to change the way they live.

Paul wrote in Romans 1:18-19: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.”  Notice that they suppressed the truth in unrighteousness. This means because of their unrighteous or immoral and sinful living they refused to listen to the truth of the Gospel and Jesus and even attempted to destroy it.

Jesus said in John 3 that men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. So today let's ask ourselves: Do I really love the truth? Do I want God to show me where I'm wrong? Am I willing to change when His Word corrects me? That's evidence of a heart that loves truth. My friend, truth matters. And the greatest truth of all is Jesus Christ. Let's love Him. Let's love His Word. Let's walk in His truth. And let's share that truth with a world desperately in need of it.

Let's pray. Father, thank You for Your Word, which is truth. Guard our hearts against deception and keep us from becoming hardened when You speak to us. Give us hearts that love truth and are willing to obey You even when Your Word corrects us. Help us to be faithful witnesses of the Gospel in a world filled with confusion. May we walk in the light of Your truth every day. In Jesus' name, Amen.

God bless, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day!