Charles Spurgeon Commentary John 8:44

"Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof." — John 8:44 (ASV)

For he is a liar, and the father of it.

The father of all liars, and of all lies.

When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own:

It is his own idiom. You may always know him by it.

He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Falsehood is his natural element. When Satan deceives, he only acts according to his nature, which is blackened with falsehood through and through.

You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do.

Remember from whose lips these words fell, even from the lips of the gentle Jesus.

Honest speech is the surest token of a loving heart. But nowadays, if a man preaches the truth plainly and faithfully, men say that he is hard and unkind; but if a man glosses over the truth and alters it according to his own idea of what will please men, then they say, "He is a kindly-disposed and large-hearted man." I am disposed to doubt whether he has any heart at all, if he would sooner see sinners damned than offend them by proclaiming the truth.

I thank God that some of us care little about offending those who offend God. If men will not yield themselves to the Lord, we do not want their friendship, but we will strive to make them uneasy in their rebellion, and if they resolve to be lost, we will at least be clear of their blood.

He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there was no truth in him.

The first murder was committed by his suggestion. Cain was guilty of it, but Satan instigated it. He has ever been a man-killer, and so Christ says that since they sought to kill him, they were worthy sons of their parent. There is no truth in him.