Imagine a world where everyone speaks the truth, the whole truth and
nothing but the truth? What kind of world would that be? Would we even
want to live in it? It does not matter if we are Christians, atheists or
agnostics; we don’t like the truth. What differentiate us from one
another are relativities: the extent to which we tell lies. We all tell
lies every now and then, but some of us consider ourselves to be
righteous because we don’t tell “big” lies.
But can we tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the
truth? The classical answer to that is: “so help me God.” Would we even
want to tell the truth at all times? I think not. Telling the truth
would get us into too much trouble. We would lose our friends. We would
lose our jobs or not be able to get a job. Our marriages would
collapse. To be perfectly honest, it would be too costly.
This world is a world of lies; it is not meant for the truthful. The
quickest and surefire way to succeed in this world is to sin. The
psalmist says: “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world;
they increase in riches.” (Psalm 73:12). Therefore, a voice from heaven
says: “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins.”
(Revelation 18:4). Therefore, Jesus invites us to come into the
righteous kingdom of God.
Justifiable lies
I write articles pointing out the contradictions and fallacies in the
epistles of Paul. When I do, some Christians write to me asking for my
objective. Do I need any other objective than the need to expose a
lie? Clearly, they don’t think so. They believe a lie should be
permitted if it is for the good of the gospel. Paul himself asks; “If
the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I
also still judged as a sinner?” (Romans 3:7).
Martin Luther also says: “What harm would it do, if a man told a good
strong lie for the sake of the good and for the Christian church … a lie
out of necessity, a useful lie, a helpful lie, such lies would not be
against God, he would accept them.”
Christians are fed on lies systematically and procedurally. For
example, Bishop David Oyedepo says: “For over 25 years that I have been
married to my wife, it has been tension-free, peaceful and serene.”
That is a big lie. No marriage can be like that for 25 years unless both
husband and wife are physically dead. Several years ago, at a dinner
captioned: “A Day Out with the G.O.” held for financial sponsors of one
of his annual “Holy Ghost Festivals,” Pastor Adeboye boasted that the
time would soon come when the Queen of England would plead to join the
Redeemed Church in order to work as an usherette. The audience rejoiced
in the lie. They responded with wild applause and shouts of “Amen!”
Relative righteousness
Paul is a master of the relative and he offers us a way out of God’s
absolutes. He does not just tell us to speak the truth. That would be
too absolute. Instead, he says we should speak the truth “in love.”
(Ephesians 4:15). That conveniently qualifies the truth. For Paul,
speaking the truth is only good if spoken in love. In effect, there are
times when, according to Paul, it is not good to speak the truth. If the
truth is likely to be hurtful to someone, it is better to tell a
lie. Thereby, Paul re-opens the door shut by Christ for Christians to
continue telling lies.
Instead of asking Christians to avoid evil, Paul says we should:
“abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). In
effect, Paul is not against evil per se. He is more interested in
appearances. His primary concern is public opinion. But while
appearances may convince and satisfy men; they will never satisfy God
who searches the hearts and minds of men.
For Paul, truth is relative. Where we stand depends on where we
sit. Paul is fundamentally against God’s absolutes. On the issue of not
eating food sacrificed to idols, he says dismissively: “He who eats,
eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to
the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.” (Romans 14:6). Paul
even manages to give a malicious slant to the absolutely godly
injunction that we should love our enemies. He says: “If your enemy is
hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing
you will heap coals of fire on his head.” (Romans 12:20).
He ends up with this principle: “All things are lawful to me, but
all things are not expedient.” (1 Corinthians 6:12). In effect, even
murder is lawful according to Paul, but it might not be expedient. If it
becomes expedient, we would have no qualms in committing it. Paul
says: “Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”
(Romans 14:22).
God of absolutes
But our God is a God of absolutes. With him, there are no
compromises. No grey areas. No white lies. God cannot lie. He speaks the
truth in all circumstances. He is the embodiment of truth. His word is
truth. His Son, Jesus, is “the way, the truth and the life.” His Holy
Spirit is the spirit of truth. Therefore, when we learn at the feet of
Jesus, we discover that a lie is a lie is a lie. A lie is never
justifiable. There is nothing like a good lie or a white lie. God is
absolutely the enemy of liars. He says categorically: “All liars shall
have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which
is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8).
God raised one man to confound all man’s relative truths. That man is
Jesus. He never spoke a lie. He absolutely never committed sin. And
yet he is a man. What manner of man is Jesus? He is the manner of man
God expects all of us to be. Therefore, Jesus is our Good Shepherd. We
must follow his footsteps.
Jesus does not give man’s relative commands. Moses says: “Love your
neighbour as yourself.” This means if I don’t love myself, I am free not
to love my neighbour. But Jesus says: “A new commandment I give to
you, that you love one another; as I have loved you.” (John
13:34). Jesus is the single absolute yards-tick for God’s righteousness
and he confounds all our relativities and rationalizations of sin.
Jesus reveals the love of life is the absolute root of all
evil. Therefore, God has made the hatred of life in this world the
primary prerequisite for the attainment of eternal life. Jesus says: “He
who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this
world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25). No relativities
here. We either love life relatively and lose it, or hate life
absolutely and gain it. The choice is ours to make.
By Femi Aribisala
.............Happy To See You Here to Read the Blogs and Please To Be Here Is Not A Must, But As Long As You Are Here Use Your Brain Properly!!!
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