A New Man Who Tells the Truth - Sept. 6

OK, I'm trying to get back on track here.

September 6, 2009

“A New Man Who Tells the Truth”

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Ephesians 4:25

Five reasons people fail to tell the truth to one another:

1. Fear

Isaiah 41:9b-10: “I said, ‘You are my servant’ I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

2. Guilt

1 John 1:9; 1 John 2:2

3. Manipulation

James 4:1-3

4. To avoid discomfort.

5. To preserve the outward appearance.

James 5:16

Addendum: What about the Bible characters who lied & deceived?

There are examples in Scripture of people, even God’s people, lying for various reasons. However, just because the Bible has stories in it where people behave in certain ways doesn’t mean the Bible says those ways are always right. Sometimes the Bible just records accurately what the people did. The story may or may not openly state that the actions were right or wrong. In fact, sometimes you can see the action is wrong even though that particular story doesn’t explicitly say it’s wrong. So just because some Bible stories contain people who lie doesn’t mean the Bible is telling us to lie. We can’t confuse description with prescription.

Also, in order to accomplish His purposes, sometimes God blesses His people despite their sin. That’s not saying God approves of their sin, or that the end justifies the means. For example, there is the case of Jacob, who lies to get his father’s blessing (Genesis 27). He used deception to get it, but the Bible doesn’t say that’s how he should have gotten it. In fact, God could have fulfilled His Word to have Esau serve Jacob, regardless of Isaac’s blessing. Actually, Jacob suffers from other people deceiving him for much of his life. As a young man, he is the deceiver, but later in his life he is the recipient of deception. God blessed Jacob and kept His promises to Jacob, but you can make a fair case that God also disciplined Jacob with a taste of his own medicine. So just because God loves His people and blesses them does not mean He approves of all their methods.