Not everyone tells the truth.
Not everyone can be trusted. There are many people who tell lies habitually,
i.e. it is their practice. Many times they believe their own lies, too, and
even if they do hear the truth, and even if they do acknowledge the truth some
of the time, “when the rubber meets the road,” i.e. “the point at which a
theory or idea is put to a practical test,” (1) they revert right back to the
familiar lies they have always told others, including the ones they have told
themselves. And, it is a vicious cycle.
The Lord Jesus led me to read
Philippians 1:15-21 (NIV).
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and
rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that
I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of
selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me
while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in
every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because
of this I rejoice. Vv. 15-18a
Is it possible to tell the
truth and lie at the same time? I think that is what this is about.
Technically, what someone says may be truth, including biblical truth, but the
lie is that they don’t really believe what they are preaching or teaching,
because they are not putting it into practice themselves. They know
intellectually that what they are pontificating is truth, but it is not a
reality in their own lives, thus what they are doing is living a lie. They are
talking beyond their walk, while giving the impression that they are living
what they are preaching. Jesus had a name for this: hypocrite.
This is certainly not to say
that we have to reach sinless perfection before we can teach the Word of God to
others, but we should not be lecturing others on what they should be doing if
we are doing the opposite, i.e. if we are not putting those truths into
practice. And, especially this is true if we are giving the impression that we
are following the truth which we are professing, by not admitting our own
shortcomings in those areas. Thus, we should not be preaching in order to give
a false impression of ourselves, either to puff ourselves up, or for the
purpose to make another look bad. We need to walk the talk, in other words, and
not just give lip service only.
But, if the truth is being
preached, we should thank God for that. Many are not preaching the truth at
all. And, that is a very sad reality indeed.
Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that
through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has
happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. Vv. 18b-19
It is difficult to understand
how, if someone is preaching biblical truth, that it can be harmful to another,
or how that would equate persecuting another. For, it is clear that Paul was
giving praise to God that truth was being preached, and he would not do that if
the person was teaching a false gospel. Yet, the truth was being preached from
impure motives, and the motives apparently were to somehow hurt the ministry of
the apostle.
Several things come to mind
here, though. One of them is that someone, who may be sinning against another,
and about whom the offended party was trying to seek help, might put on a show
of righteousness to try to make themselves appear to be above board when truly
they are not. What this would do, then, is to make the offended party look bad,
and to try to get others to rally around themselves and to reject anything the
offended party might try to say, so that they could continue in their sin
unhindered.
Another thing that comes to
mind, and this is not in the realm of biblical truth, is that we can speak
truth about someone but to do so with wrong (impure) motives, wishing to harm
that other person, and not for the purpose to help him or her. This would be
something, although true, that is said out of spite, to get even with someone,
and to cause them harm. So, if we must speak the truth, we must do so with
God-like love that truly has that person’s welfare (wholeness) as the top
priority, or which has other people’s wholeness in mind, because other people
might be believing their lies. This might be warning people about false
teachers and false gospels.
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be
ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be
exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ
and to die is gain. Vv. 20-21
The bottom line here is that
we can injure others, perhaps on purpose, because of impure motives, by giving
people false impressions, which are lies, and which lead people to believe
things which are just not true, and which might lead people to reject someone
who is truly walking in uprightness with God, all the while appearing righteous
ourselves. And, we might do this because we are jealous of the other person,
too.
But, if we are the injured
party, and we are being faced with this kind of treatment from others,
ourselves, we can be encouraged that Jesus went through the same stuff for us,
so we are not alone. We can follow his example in how he responded to unfair
treatment all throughout his ministry. And, we can realize that Jesus suffered
for us, not just so he could save us from our sins, but so he could sympathize
with us in our suffering.
We need to have this attitude
that our lives are no longer our own, for we were bought back for God with the
blood of Jesus Christ, shed on a cross for us, that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness. We must understand, as well, that we are not only called
to holiness and righteousness, but we are called to suffer for the sake of the
name of Jesus, and for the sake of his gospel, so we should rejoice that we are
being counted worthy to suffer for the sake of his gospel. Amen!
If our lives are in Christ
Jesus, and they are his, to be lived for his purposes, and our lives truly are
about serving our Lord and being Jesus to the world, then we must accept
persecution as par for the course, and we should not let it discourage us or “take
us out,” as the saying goes. We should keep pressing on in the power and
working of the Holy Spirit in our lives in doing what God has called us to do,
and give our persecutors over to the Lord.
And, we must forgive them,
whoever they are, and no matter what they have done to us. But, forgiveness is
not blindness when it comes to sin. It is freeing the offender from the penalty
of their sin, but it is not going soft on sin, for this is how God forgives us.
He doesn’t ignore our sin, but he delivers us out of our sin. Forgiveness
should always have as its goal to see the other person, if they are still
living, to also know Jesus Christ and his grace and healing, and his
deliverance from bondage to sin.
Depending on the situation,
we might be part of that process, or we may be someone who can only pray for
the person to know the grace of God in their lives, and to find true freedom
from their bondage to sin to where they are no longer those who practice lying
and deceiving, but they are truth tellers.
All Through the Night
An Original Work / December
7, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures
Blessed are you when you’re
persecuted
Because of your faith in
Jesus Christ.
Blessed are you when people
insult you,
And falsely say what leads
folks to doubt.
Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward is
Great in the heavens. You’re
not alone.
When you are persecuted in
one place,
Flee to another. God will be
there.
You will be hated by all the
nations
Because you testify of God’s
grace.
Many will seize you and
persecute you,
And put to death the
foll’wers of Christ.
Yet, do not fear what humans
may do to you,
For I’m with you all through
the night.
I tell you, love your enemies
with my love,
And forgive as I forgave you.
Pray for those who do evil
against you.
Rest in my love and grace
from above.
Tuesday, December 19, 2017,
6:58 a.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for what you did for us in dying for our sins so
that we can be free from our slavery to sin and we can walk in your
righteousness and holiness, by your grace. Amen!
Resources:
(1)
Google Dictionary
definition of “When the rubber meets the road.”
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