Who Says... We Should Tell The Truth?
Part of the series Who says...
Written by Léo Gaumont, published on 2015-06-01.
Truth or no truth. Either we are living breathing, saying, telling or standing for truth, or we are not. That's it.
Building on a foundation that God is, that He created the universe and that He ultimately is responsible for our children's being, should provide ample substance upon which to build our faith. This lengthy series will identify the secular thinking that has eroded that faith.
Bible Reference: John 14:6
God does! God is truth. Jesus asserted his divinity as the embodiment of truth, claiming He is the way, the truth, and the life, further stating that no one could access the Father, but by Him, which can correctly be projected to mean, in truth. While addressing our hope in Christ, the writer of the Book of Hebrews states that it is impossible for God to lie, an obvious characteristic of the author of all truth!
There is another “author" that must be introduced in this story. Jesus called him a liar and the father of lies. So there you have it. Truth comes from God and lies come from satan. Just as there can be nothing other than God and no god (satan), there is nothing other than truth and lies. Modern day relativism therefore is lying about lies. Truth is not relative to anything. It is or it isn’t. Part truths are lies and part lies are just lies. Nothing is in between the truth or the lie. In fact, lies are actually nothing other than the absence of truth, much as darkness is the absence of light. Satan, therefore, did not even “author” lies, he just chooses to not to tell the truth. So, people do not have to purposely, outright lie to be lying, they can simply not tell the truth or the “entire” truth. There is no sitting on the fence. It is just “the simple truth”. We either know it, tell it, speak it, abide by it and stand for it or we don’t and don’t care or make excuses for not living in truth.
Now, while telling the truth is always the right thing to do, it can and often does, come at a cost, one that most people are not willing to risk. For instance, most professing Christians today would rather not deal with issues involving other people or groups within the church, choosing rather to apply easier to handle virtues than telling the truth and risk being accused of having bad motives. They employ Christian attitudes such as being loving, compassionate, gracious, forgiving, understanding, tolerant or just being nice which are all good, but when used as a cover for doing nothing, other virtues like truthfulness, faithfulness and courage are ignored. This type of “compassionate” church is actually made of up of fearful wimps who hide behind a false caring and sharing “plastic” Jesus that is more a figment of their imaginations than the character portrayed in the Bible. Avoiding the truth does not make the problem go away, it just fails to expose it and prevent it from spreading.
When we see error or sin, what is our approach? Do we ignore it, thinking that God can deal with it himself? Do we leave it up to others to deal with it? The professionals, maybe? Do we believe that it is not really our business to challenge others to clearly evaluate their behavior against biblical principles? What are we actually doing by doing nothing? It is not nothing! Passed off as being tolerant, our failure to expose things that could cause an erosion of faith and principle is more a demonstration of laziness and cowardice than “inclusiveness”. By not courageously exposing sin and error, we tacitly approve of it, enable it, validate it, empower it, allowing it to flourish and to cause its inevitable harm. Why do you think we are in the mess we are in today? Because good men, who knew better, lacked the courage to stand up, be heard and tell the truth so that others would be spared from the evil waiting to overtake them in the lie they choose not to expose.
I am not advocating we start a modern day witch hunt for individuals who fall short of the glory of God as that would entail our starting with ourselves. Actually, that may not be such a bad idea: starting with ourselves, that is. Are we lying to ourselves? If we are, it really won’t be that difficult to lie to others, ignore facing reality, and to not tell the truth about things that ought not to be.
Scripture makes it clear that we are either for or against God. To be for Him is to know Him. To know Him is to know the truth, to advance the truth, to speak the truth, no matter what the cost, so that others can be encouraged to follow the truth that leads to life, sparing them from the false doctrines and false "Christians" that will do them harm. Alternatively, one can also choose to be against Him. Simply avoid the truth and you will be serving the father of lies. Avoiding the unpleasant consequences of telling the truth may seem easier, for now, but ultimately it does nobody any good, licensing evil to take up residence in the hearts and minds of those in our care.
Who says we should tell the truth? You know! And it simply cannot be a part time, sometime effort. If God is truth and Jesus is the truth, then it should go without saying that followers of Jesus (Christians) would not only value, but insist on truth and honesty from themselves and others within the church. If we faithfully and consistently apply this simple understanding, the courage to stand for what is right will come as a natural outcome. This is what is required if we are to advance the freedom we are all seeking. Keep in mind that it is the truth that sets us free.