My Weblog: The Gospel Preacher.

In Colossians 3:9, it is written, " 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. "  Why do we tell a lie?  Sometimes we want others to be convinced that we are something that we are not.  It is clear, then, that the sins of lying and hypocrisy go hand in hand.  In Luke 13:1-5, it is written, " 13 There were present at that season some that told him of the Gal-i-lae´-ans, whose blood Pilate had ¹mingled with their sacrifices.  2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Gal-i-lae´-ans were sinners ¹above all the Gal-i-lae´-ans, because they suffered such things?  3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.  4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Si-lo´-am fell, and slew them, think ye that they were ¹sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?  5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. "  Repenting of our hypocrisy will significantly reduce the amount of lying that occurs in this world.  Sometimes we tell a lie, because we are afraid of the consequences of telling the truth.  We may think that we are deceiving others, but God is not deceived.  In Jeremiah 20:12, it is written, " 12 But, O LORD of hosts, that ^atriest¹ the righteous, and seest the ²reins and the heart, ^blet me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I ³opened my cause. "  God sees the mind and the heart, so He knows when we are lying.  Jesus ( see John 8:42 ) said in verse forty-four, " 44 ^aYe are of your Father the devil, and the ^blusts¹ of your father ye will ^cdo.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and ^dabode² not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh ³of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. "  Jesus said that the devil is a liar and the father of it.  If the devil told the world who he really is, then he would have no followers.  As it is, this world is full of those who follow the devil ( see Matthew 7:13, 14; 21-27; John 3:16, 17, and 36; Ephesians 2:2; Colossians 3:5-11 ( especially verse 6, for example ), for example ).  Jesus, the truth, told us who the devil really is.  Thus, many in this world do not care what Jesus says.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12, it is written ( please read this entire chapter to get the immediate context ), " 10 And with all ¹deceivableness of unrighteousness ²in ^athem that perish; because they received not ^bthe love of the truth, that they might be saved.  11 And ^afor this cause God shall send them strong delusion, ^bthat they should believe ¹a lie: 12 that they all might be ¹damned who believed not the truth, but ^ahad pleasure in unrighteousness. "  God will send a strong delusion to those who do not receive the love of the truth.  Therefore, these people will believe a lie.  All those who are members of religious denominations, parties, or sects, are believing a lie.  In 1 John 4:1, it is written, " 4 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but ^atry¹ the spirits whether they are of God: because ^bmany false prophets are gone out into the world. "  God has warned us not to believe the false prophets, because they are preaching and teaching false doctrine ( see also 2 Peter 2:1, for example, and cf. Matthew, chapters 5-7, for example ).  In Ephesians 4:25, it is written, " 25 Wherefore putting away lying, ^aSPEAK EVERY MAN TRUTH WITH HIS NEIGHBOUR: for ^bwe are members one of another. "  As Christians, we have been commanded by God to speak true doctrine.

In Jeremiah 17:5-7, it is written ( please read all of this chapter to get the immediate context ), " 5 Thus saith the LORD; ^aCursed be the man that trusteth in ¹man, and maketh ^bflesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.  6 For he shall be ^alike ¹the heath in the desert, and ^bshall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, ^cin a salt land and not inhabited.  7 ^aBlessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. "  As human beings, we must learn not to trust in man, for humankind has no way to save itself.  In Acts 4:5-12, it is written, " 5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, 6 and ^aAn´-nas the high priest, and Ca´-ia-phas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the ¹kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.  7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, ^aBy what power, or by what name, have ye done this?  8 ^aThen Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, 9 if we this day ¹be examined of the good deed done to the ²impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 10 be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, ^athat by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, ^bwhom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.  11 ^aThis is THE STONE WHICH WAS ¹SET AT NOUGHT OF YOU BUILDERS, WHICH IS BECOME THE ²HEAD OF THE CORNER.  12 ^aNeither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. "  The name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the only name given among men by which we must be saved.  In Titus 1:1, 2, it is written, " PAUL a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and ^athe acknowledging of the truth ^bwhich is ¹after godliness; 2 in hope of eternal life, which God, that ^acannot lie, promised before ¹the world began. "  Since God cannot lie, it is Him only Whom we can trust for counsel regarding eternal salvation.  In Acts 20:27, it is written, " 27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all ^athe counsel of God. "  A full-time evangelist ( see 2 Timothy 4:1-5, for example ) will declare all the counsel of God.

It is a sin to trust in man.  God says that when we trust in man, we have departed from Him.  If we trust in man, then we are trusting in liars, for in Romans 3:4, it is written, " 4 ^aGod¹ forbid: yea, let ^bGod be ²true, but ^cevery man a liar; as it is written, ^dTHAT THOU MIGHTEST BE JUSTIFIED IN THY SAYINGS, AND MIGHTEST OVERCOME WHEN THOU ART JUDGED. "  Moreover, in Psalm 62:9, it is written, " 9 ^aSurely men of low degree are ¹vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be ²laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity. "  Again, in Psalm 116:11, it is written, " 11 ^aI said in my haste, ^bAll men are liars. "  This means, for example, that human beings are not the source of absolute truth.  Only the Godhead is the source of absolute truth ( see also 1 John 5:6, 7, for example ).  In James 3:8, it is written ( please read this entire chapter to get the immediate context ), " 8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, ^afull of deadly poison. "  As children of God, we must be careful not to speak lies.  Please seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read ( see Isaiah 34:16, for example ). 🕮