Satan's Deception from the Beginning: That good people can reject the free gift of eternal life through faith in Jesus and find their own path to God

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” (John 8:41-47 NIV)

In the above scripture, Jesus was talking to people who claimed to believe in God, but they were totally deceived. They vehemently declared that God was their father. But these same people were rejecting Jesus. Jesus explained to them that if God were truly their father, they would love Jesus and believe in him. Jesus was speaking the words of God. If God were their father, they would believe the words of Jesus. Jesus came from the Father to reveal the Father to us. It should have been obvious to them that Jesus was not like other human beings. Jesus was God in human form. Jesus was sinless.

Jesus said that God was not their father. Jesus said that, in actuality, Satan, the father of lies, was their father.