Of all the subjects in the world, the most misunderstood, perhaps, is God. We impress upon God our own human ambitions and ignorance, often making Him out to be something very different from the deity scripture actually describes.

When Christians do this, when they believe lies about God, they cannot present Him accurately to the rest of the world. Instead, the world gets a muddied image of God that repels them.

And just as badly, Christians, themselves, suffer for these misbeliefs. The idea that God doesn’t like you, that He’s ashamed of your humanity, or that He supports your individual causes can be incredibly destructive.

The truth, though, as John 8:32 says, will set you free. When we look to scripture to build a mental image of the God we serve, rather than relying on our own preconceived notions and wishes, we come as close to truth as is humanly possible.

Sometimes the truth about God is difficult, but there’s always a hidden joy behind it—God is for us, loves us, and His character is goodness, itself. To help you discover what this means, let’s take a look at 7 lies we believe about God, and dismantle each so that you can truly be free.