God's Judgment: He Sends a Strong Delusion so People Will Believe Lies?

In today’s contemporary professing church, a diluted image of God has been crafted in the minds of men—one that’s all mercy, patience, and tolerance, stripped of His righteous wrath, justice, and even His holy hatred for sin. This cancerous "love wins" ideology portrays a God who is endlessly permissive, neglecting the severity of His judgments and the reality of His ultimate authority.

But the true God of the Bible is not subject to the fancies of modern sentimentality. He is the Almighty, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who sends a great delusion to those who reject His truth, causes them to believe what is false, hardens the hearts of whom He pleases, and turns them over to their sin and its inevitable consequences.

It’s unfathomable to some that it would please God to harden some people and turn them over—but the Scriptures are clear: Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. (Psalm 115:3)

The modern church has largely forgotten that God’s judgment is as much a part of His character as His love. This isn't an inconvenient characteristic of His nature to be swept under the rug, but a foundational truth that must be recognized and revered. The Apostle Paul warns of this very thing in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, where he writes,

"Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false."

The phrase "God sends" is incomprehensible for some professing Christians, as it directly challenges the sanitized, overly sentimental view of God that they have embraced. They recoil at the notion that a loving God would actively send a delusion, preferring instead to think of God as merely allowing deception to occur passively. However, the scripture is unambiguous—God is the active agent in this judgment.

This passage demonstrates to us that God's patience has limits and His judgment is certain. It is not an arbitrary or capricious act, but a deliberate and righteous response to the persistent rejection of truth. God's sending forth a delusion reveals the true state of the hearts that have willfully turned away from Him, confirming their rebellion and sealing their fate. God is simply giving them what they want.

The gravity of sin and the holiness of God cannot be overstated—God will not be mocked. We must remember and proclaim the full character of God, including His righteous judgment, to truly honor Him as He is.

When people persist in their rejection of God's truth, He doesn't merely stand by passively. He actively sends judgment upon them. This isn't because God gets an emotional high in the fact that people believe what is false but because He is executing righteous judgment on those who have hardened their hearts against Him. This delusion leads them to embrace falsehood, further entrenching them in their rebellion and ensuring their judgment is just.