(Further reflections on “Consensual Lies”—Sunday 23-July-2023)
Everyone, more or less, has experienced telling a lie and being lied to. Everyone hates it but still does it from time to time. Perhaps, people have considered and accepted it as a norm to a certain degree in life. But why? Because humans were born sinners. After the Fall (Genesis 3), we were broken at the core so lying comes naturally. Although researchers on this topic (sociologists, psychologists, neurologists, scientists) don't believe or acknowledge the existence of God, their data seemed to show and confirm human beings are innately liars. Now since no one can change human nature, they normalized, romanticized, and even elevated in some circles. For the full article, see the link in the endnote.* Now we don’t need to wait for their scientific findings as the truth had been revealed to us by God through His Word, the Holy Bible (66 Books)—telling us God’s story and how human beings were made perfectly, how they had fallen, the redemption through Christ Jesus, and the journey of sanctification toward glorification.
A lie has no life. Because it is a sin and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). A lie is always consensual. It needs a speaker and a hearer (even when you lie to yourself). Both will be affected, whether a person being lied to knows it or not. Christians- Christ’s followers have a new identity in Jesus and “being transformed” toward Christlikeness. Thus, no one can lie to the Triune God (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), because He is omniscient (all-knowing). So if/when Christians lie, they first lie to God before uttering lies to others. They will be “breathing their last” (like Ananias and Sapphira, cf. Acts 5:1-11). For them at that time, it was an instant death. Their physical body ceased to live. But it always started first in their souls (mind, will, emotion) and spirit—which was corrupted by the sin of lying (regardless of their good intention/deeds in giving the proceeds to the Lord’s works).
A lie without repentance will suffocate our spirit, corrupt our soul, and defile our body (tongue, mouth, ears, heart rate, blood pressure, etc), eventually destroys relationship with God and others, and brings death to life.
A lie with repentance will have forgiveness, reconciliation, sanctification and the present/future hope in the Good News of Lord Jesus Christ. Transformation will take place, telling the truth becomes a firm identity in Christ and new, ‘second nature’ to those who abide in Jesus and walk in His word.
A lie might have some truth though, but it is still a lie. But truth has no lie. And Jesus is “the Truth” (cf. John 14:6), so there is no lie in Him. Thus, He is “the Way” for those who believe and follow Him. They should lie no more. And this is “the Way” to live and as they abide in Christ, “the Life” they have in Him will not be dead, ‘breathing their last’. By the mercy of God, we pray for one another that none of us has a hardened heart, living a lifestyle of telling a (white/yellow/black/green) lie to others without repentance, without turning from this wicked path. We pray that the fear of the Lord will prevent us from committing this sin that easily entangles. We pray that God’s grace and truth will set Christians free from this social norm and more or less accepted behaviors of communities or societies and the world. We pray that we “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2), so that lies, our ‘deceitful’ heart, and the ‘fallen’ nature of our cognitive behaviors will be purged out of the system.
Lord, have mercy on us!
—
Pastor Lap
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