Difference between revisions of "Template:Featured"

Do not lie to each other.

You have left your old sinful life and the things you did before. You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you (Colossians 3:9-10).

So you must stop telling lies. Tell each other the truth, because we all belong to each other in the same body (Ephesians 4:25).

Say only yes if you mean yes, and no if you mean no. If you say more than yes or no, it is from the Evil One (Matthew 5:37).

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you (James 5:16).

If things weren't already strange enough in today's society, now some people want to abolish honesty. One noted physician, for example, appeared on a network news-and-talk show and proclaimed, "Lying is an important part of social life, and children who are unable to do it are children who may have developmental problems." Is the saying "Honesty is the best policy becoming obsolete?

Two surveys taken recently may indicate that many people think it is. A USA Today poll found that only 56 percent of Americans teach honesty to their children. It looks like it's time for those of us who live by God's standard to recommit ourselves to honesty.

I. WHO WE DECEIVE:

A. Self

• The Alcoholic says "One beer won't hurt me."

• The Addict to pornography says, "If my spouse was only a better lover."

• The Adulterer says, "I NEED her/his love."

B. Others

An Associated Press poll found that almost half of the people regularly call in sick when they're not. Ninety-one percent of them say they lie regularly, at work and at home. In another poll, sixty-five percent of America's high school students say they would cheat on an important exam. Fifty-three percent said they would lie to protect a friend who vandalizes school property.

C. God

Of course, we can't actually deceive God, but we try to. It's amazing that we would try to lie to Someone who detects our every thought (Psalm 139:2) and even knows our motives and intentions better than we do (Jeremiah 17:9-10).

II. WHY WE DECEIVE:

A. To Avoid Pain

In USA Today, Jerald Jellison says, "Each of us fibs at least 50 times a day. We lie about our age, our income, or our accomplishments. And we use lies to escape embarrassment. A common reason for "little white lies," we are told, is to protect someone else's feelings. yet in so doing, we are really protecting ourselves. According to Jellison, here are the most common fibs: "I wasn't feeling well." "I didn't want to hurt your feelings." "The check is in the mail." "I was just kidding." "I was only trying to help."

B. Out of Habit

A woman once said to a famous evangelist, "I'm deeply troubled over a problem that I know is hurting my testimony. It's the habit of exaggeration. I start to tell something, and then go on and enlarge the story until it's all distorted. People know that what I say is not true, and lose confidence in me. I wonder if you can help me?" The evangelist looked at her and said, "Let's talk to the Lord about it." She prayed, "O God, Thou knowest that I have this tendency to exaggerate -" At this point the evangelist interrupted, "Call it lying, Madam, and you may get over it!" The woman began to weep and finally made a fully confession of her evil habit.

C. For a Higher Good.

• Corrie Ten Boom deceived the Nazis about hiding Jews.

• Rahab the Harlot deceived her people about the Israelite spies (Joshua 2:1-6; James 2:25).

• An undercover drug agent uses a false ID to gain information.

• The Hebrew midwives deceived Pharaoh to save the life of Hebrew babies (Exodus 1:15-21).

III. HONESTY IS COMMANDED WITH OTHERS IN THE BODY OF CHRIST:

Do not lie to each other (Colossians 3:9). A traffic cop flagged down a young driver, got his name, then snarled, "Oh, so you're a preacher, hey? Now don't go telling me you didn't see that stop sign." The honest pastor said, "Oh, to be sure I say the sign, officer. The point is - I didn't see you." Now that's truthfulness!

Dr. Alan Redpath, former pastor of Moody Memorial Church, tells of the time his father, after a brief period of tension in the home, looked across the table at his wife and said, "I'm so sorry I spoke to you the way I did. I'm ashamed of myself." Dr. Redpath said that although at the time he was not a Christian, he went to his room after the meal, knelt, and prayed, "O God, I thank you for a father like that. Make me more like him."

IV. WHY SHOULD WE BE HONEST AND TRUTHFUL? A. God is truthful in all He says (Number 23:19) and you are becoming like the One who made you (2 Corinthians 3:18).

B. We are family and part of the same body. -- Working together cannot be done in distrust (Ephesians 4:15,25).

C. Satan is the Father of lies (John 8:44).