Speak Truth – Part 2

 

Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.” 

 

Pastor Herk asks the question: Are you a different person in society, at work or at church than you are at home? Do you have different language that you use depending upon the company you are with? Godly character is doing the right thing when nobody is looking. Out of fear of what other may think of you, do you think, speak and act differently around them? If you are really honest with yourself and your life, you a guilty of a little fibbing. Jesus said in Matthew 5:37 “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.” 

 

James 5:16 tells us to, “confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.” How much do we confess sins and pray for one another. Remember that the other people get blessed also when they get a chance to pray for you and others or when they have opportunity to use their God-given gifts and talents. When you say that you are going to pray for someone, do it right then and there, plus on-going. It’s the right thing to say and the right thing to do. Everyone is accountable to God and His righteous Moral Law for all mankind. The ninth of God’s Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:16 states, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” The Greek word for “false” in this verse of Holy Scripture uttered directed from Creator God is “šeqer”, meaning (a) deception (what deceives or  disappoints or betrays one), (b) deceit, fraud, wrong, (c) fraudulently, wrongfully, (d) falsehood (injurious in testimony), 

(e) to lie, falsehood (in general). It is not called the “Ten Suggestions”. 

 

One of the biggest causes of engaging in falsehood is greed. Many believe that lying is going to get them something that they want and you want to make yourself look better than you are. These people see a benefit to false information, fabrication, exaggeration and embellishment of facts, fudged figures, fairytale accomplishments, not-so actual ideas and actions. Another big cause of lying is fear. There are consequences for our actions, whether intentional or not, so it is tempting to either deceivingly deny, claim ignorance, claim an accident or blame others to escape punishment. Falsehood is the habitual attitude of the fallen human flesh, the God-rejecting world and the demonic realm. The more that we willfully lie and get away with it, then the more likely we are to make lying a bad habit - a disposition or condition of the mind or body acquired by custom or a frequent repetition of the same act. Habit is that which is held or retained, the effect of custom or frequent repetition. Hence, we speak of good habits and bad habits.

 

Zechariah 8:16-17 “These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this,” declares the Lord.”

 

The root problem is the fact that we let our pride get in our way. All of these cause for lying are centered on an overly self-centered way of life. Remember, Proverbs 6:16-17 saying, “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, …”? Yet, it’s not just a matter of putting off falsehood, but to also put on the new core-attitude of truth in Christ. The Apostle Paul command that each of you must put off falsehood and speak is in the present and continuous tense, so always and forever keep speaking the truth as the body of Christ. Jesus proclaims in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” The Greek word used for truth in this verse is “alētheia”, meaning objective truth; what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of man, moral and religious truth. I am He in whom the truth is summed up and impersonated. Jesus Christ is truth. 

Let's continue Pastor Herk's message on true truth for our life on the next post.

In Christ, Brian