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“Let us look at what the Word of God says.”
> “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
> Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
> For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
> God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
> — Romans 3:1–4 (KJV)
> “For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?”
> — Romans 3:7 (KJV)
The central theme of the song is a direct declaration from Scripture:
> “Let God be true, but every man a liar.”
That is the dividing line of all spiritual reality. The issue is not what we feel, not what we think, not what tradition says, not what culture accepts. The issue is: What has God said? And will we align with His Word, even when it exposes our own falsehood?
The lyrics echo Paul’s argument in Romans 3: God is righteous, God is true, God is faithful—no human unfaithfulness, no human argument, no human logic can cancel or diminish His Word. In fact, man’s sin only reveals more clearly the unchanging righteousness of God.
This is not just a theological point. It is a battlefield issue. Every spiritual conflict you face will, at some level, be a conflict between the lie and the truth—between the word of man and the Word of God. The song is a summons to take sides:
There is no neutral ground.
The passage comes from Paul’s epistle to the Romans, specifically from his argument in chapters 1–3. To understand the power of these lines, we must stand with Paul and feel the tension he is addressing.
### The situation in Romans 1–3
In Romans 1, Paul exposes the sin of the Gentile world:
In Romans 2, Paul turns to the Jews:
By the time we reach Romans 3, Paul has both Jews and Gentiles in the dock. All are under sin. No one has any ground of boasting in themselves.
But Paul anticipates a Jewish objection:
> “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?” (Romans 3:1)
In other words:
Then what was the point of Israel’s special calling? What advantage is there in being a Jew?
Paul answers: “Much every way.” There is real advantage. Chiefly this: “unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Romans 3:2). Israel was entrusted with the very words of God. That is a sacred trust.
Then another question arises: If some Jews did not believe, does their unbelief cancel God’s faithfulness? Does human unfaithfulness make God’s faithfulness void?
Paul’s answer: “God forbid!” (Greek: mē genoito—an emphatic rejection: “Absolutely not!” “Perish the thought!”). Then he makes his great statement:
> “Let God be true, but every man a liar.”
He then cites Psalm 51:4, where David confesses his sin with Bathsheba:
> “That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.”
David acknowledges that, even when God judges him, God is right and David is wrong. That is the spirit of Romans 3: God is always justified. God is always truthful. If there is a conflict between God’s Word and my experience, my reasoning, or my desires—God is right, and I am wrong. Period.
By verse 7, Paul is addressing a twisted argument:
> “If the truth of God increases through my lie, and it brings Him glory, why am I still judged as a sinner?”
There were those suggesting that if human sin somehow highlights God’s righteousness, then sin becomes a kind of “tool” for God’s glory, and perhaps should not be judged—or even should be promoted. Paul rejects this utterly (3:8): those who reason like this are under just condemnation.
The context, then, is this:
The song is standing inside that argument and making it singable: “Let God be true. Every man a liar.”
### 1. “True” – ἀληθής (alēthēs)
In Romans 3:4:
> “Let God be true (ἀληθής), but every man a liar (ψεύστης).”
alēthēs means:
It does not merely mean “accurate.” It means “in accordance with ultimate reality.” God is not just factually correct; He is the standard of all reality. Truth is not first a concept; truth is a Person—God Himself, revealed in Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
So when we say, “Let God be true,” we are saying:
### 2. “Liar” – ψεύστης (pseustēs)
The word for “liar” is pseustēs—one who speaks or lives in falsehood. It is related to pseudos, “lie, falsehood, untruth.”
John uses the same word for Satan:
> “He is a liar (pseustēs) and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
Satan is the source of all lies; fallen humanity, when it contradicts God, participates in that lie. Paul is not saying that every human statement is false in every regard; he is saying this: whenever human thinking or speaking stands in opposition to God’s revelation, that human position is a lie at its root—even if it has some partial truth at the surface.
The contrast is stark:
The song’s line, “Words like fire,” fits this. God’s words are like fire (Jeremiah 23:29), burning up what is false, consuming what is merely human when it resists His truth.
Understanding these words deepens the lyrics:
### “What’s the advantage of being a Jew / What’s the value of circumcision too / Yes there’s value—every way / God’s word entrusted still holds sway”
These lines echo Romans 3:1–2:
> “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.”
Key truths:
1. There is real privilege in being entrusted with God’s Word.
2. Privilege carries responsibility.
To be entrusted with God’s Word is a sacred commission:
Israel failed when they possessed the Word but did not live it. Many Christians repeat the same failure—owning Bibles, quoting verses, but not submitting to what God has said.
“Still holds sway” is important. Human unfaithfulness does not cancel the authority of God’s Word. His promises to Israel stand. His covenant purposes stand. His judgment stands. His mercy stands.
> “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” (Isaiah 40:8)
### [Prechorus] “Does our faithlessness cancel His truth / No way no way / Let God be true”
Purposefully echoing Romans 3:3–4:
> “For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar…”
Key principles:
1. Human unbelief does not nullify God’s faithfulness.
Whether Israel believed or not, God remained faithful to His covenant and His character.
The same is true for us:
2. The right response to human failure is not to question God, but to vindicate Him.
That is what David did in Psalm 51:4:
> “That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.”
David did not argue against God’s judgment. He agreed with it. He said in effect: “You are right. I am wrong. Your Word stands. My actions are exposed as sin.”
That is the posture of true repentance—and of true faith. It is the heart that says: “Let God be true—even if it means exposing my own wrongness.”
### “Every man a liar / Words like fire / Let God be true”
“Every man a liar” is not a call to distrust all people at a human level, but a declaration of absolute priority:
clash with God’s revealed Word, then man is the liar—without exception.
Jeremiah gives us the image of “words like fire”:
> “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29)
Fire:
God’s Word burns through religious pretense, human excuses, and satanic deception. When we declare, “Let God be true,” we are inviting that fire to consume every lie in us and around us.
This is spiritual warfare:
> “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;
> casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,
> and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4–5)
Every time we say, “Let God be true,” we are pulling down strongholds of false thinking and bringing our minds into captivity to Christ.
### “But if our sin shows God is just / How can He judge the world’s dark dust / If my lies bring Him glory still / Why am I judged for doing ill”
This reflects Romans 3:5–7:
> “But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man) God forbid…
> For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?”
Here Paul confronts a perverse line of reasoning:
Paul utterly rejects this thought. Two core truths are at stake:
1. God’s justice in judging sin is unshakeable.
Paul says, “God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?” (Romans 3:6). The Bible is clear:
Any theology that softens the seriousness of sin, or suggests that God is somehow unjust to condemn it, is itself a lie.
2. The fact that God brings good out of evil does not justify the evil.
Joseph’s brothers sinned when they sold him into slavery. Yet Joseph could say later:
> “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good…” (Genesis 50:20)
Notice:
But God’s ability to bring good out of evil never transforms evil into good. Sin remains sin. It remains under judgment.
To claim, “If my lies bring Him glory still, why am I judged?” is to twist grace into license. Paul answers this more fully in Romans 6:1–2:
> “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.”
The song, by voicing the question, leads us to the only right answer in the prechorus: “No way no way / Let God be true.”
### [Prechorus] “Should we say evil makes good arise / No no no / Let God be true”
This mirrors Romans 3:8:
> “And not rather (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.”
There were people misrepresenting Paul’s gospel of grace, suggesting he taught that:
Paul says such teaching deserves condemnation. It is a satanic perversion of grace.
So the lyric answers:
That is, should we justify sin because God can overrule it?
We must silence this reasoning with the authority of Scripture. God is holy. God is righteous. God hates sin. God judges sin. No amount of twisted “logic” can ever overturn that.
This is vital for believers seeking deliverance or spiritual maturity:
“Let God be true” means we submit every justification, every excuse, every rationalization to the fire of His Word—and we let it burn.
How do we live this message? How do we move from singing “Let God be true” to walking it daily?
### First, we must enthrone the Word of God as final authority.
We must decide, once for all, that God’s Word is:
That means:
Make a conscious, verbal decision:
> “Lord, Your Word is final authority in my life. I submit my mind, my will, my emotions, and my body to what You have spoken.”
### Second, we must expose and renounce lies we have believed.
“Every man a liar” must start with myself. The Holy Spirit convicts not only of outward acts, but of inward beliefs that contradict God.
Ask the Holy Spirit to shine His light:
Bring each lie under the fire of God’s Word:
Then renounce the lie out loud:
> “I reject the lie that __________. I accept the truth that __________, because God has said it.”
This is spiritual warfare at the level of the mind.
### Third, we must align our speech with God’s truth.
If “every man a liar” when opposing God, then we must stop speaking against His Word:
Instead:
James warns of the tongue’s power (James 3:5–6). Proverbs 18:21 says:
> “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
When we speak in agreement with God’s Word, we release life. When we speak contrary, we reinforce lies.
### Fourth, we must submit to God’s judgment as righteous and good.
Romans 3 points us to a hard but liberating truth: When God judges, He is right.
This has two sides:
1. Regarding our own sin
We must say with David:
> “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned… that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest.” (Psalm 51:4)
True repentance is not self-pity. It is agreement with God’s verdict:
This opens the way to cleansing (1 John 1:9) and deliverance.
2. Regarding God’s future judgment of the world
We must accept that:
We cannot soften these truths to suit modern sensitivities. God will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:31). This should:
“Let God be true” includes: Let His judgment be acknowledged as right.
### Proclamation
Speak this aloud, slowly and deliberately, as an act of alignment with God’s truth:
**“God is true. His Word is true. His judgments are true.
I declare that the Word of God is final authority in my life.
I renounce every lie I have believed about God, about myself, about others, and about sin.
I say with the Scripture: Let God be true, but every man a liar.
Where my thoughts, feelings, or experiences disagree with God’s Word, I choose God’s Word.
I affirm that God is righteous when He speaks, and justified when He judges.
Through the blood of Jesus, I am forgiven, cleansed, and set apart for the truth.
God’s words are like fire in me, burning away deception and establishing truth.
I yield my mind, my tongue, and my life to the truth of God,
that He may be glorified in me, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”**
### Prayer
“Lord God of truth,
I come to You in the name of Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
I acknowledge that You are true, and that in myself I have walked in many lies.
Thank You for entrusting Your Word to Your people, and to me.
I ask You now: send Your Holy Spirit to search my heart and mind.
Expose every belief, every argument, every excuse that stands against Your Word.
Let Your Word be like fire in me, burning away deception, cleansing my thoughts, and renewing my mind.
Where I have questioned Your justice, I repent.
Where I have twisted grace to tolerate sin, I repent.
I agree with Your verdict on sin, and I cast myself on Your mercy revealed in the cross of Jesus.
Establish me in Your truth.
Teach me to say, in every situation: ‘Let God be true, but every man a liar.’
Strengthen me to walk in obedience, to speak in agreement with Your Word,
and to stand against every lie of Satan with the sword of the Spirit.
I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,
who died for my sins, rose again for my justification,
and will return to judge the living and the dead.
Amen.”
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