Dishonesty & its Cure

Dishonesty — And it's Cure

We must learn how to be honest with our own selves.

Until we learn to be honest with ourselves, and with God, we cannot be honest with other people. To embrace and love a lie (to prefer a lie to the truth) is dangerous on many levels. Delusions stem from a willful rejection of truth and reality.

Think about it: If you reject the truth, what else is there to believe in? Everything else is a lie, a delusion.

And there are spiritual consequences to dishonesty, as well.

For example, the Bible says: "...the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

And again, it says: "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie." (Revelation 22:14,15)

Just how honest are you?

Honesty is something we must learn in life. Children often start out by avoiding the truth when they think they may have done something wrong. And our whole society, from salesmen to politicians, tends to avoid the truth whenever it seems that the truth might hurt.

So how honest are you?

Are you honest with yourself? Are you honest with God?

In learning how to be honest with other people, we must first learn to be honest with ourselves, and with God. It does no good to say that we are honest people, if we are lying to our own selves about our sin, or if we try to lie to God about what kind of people we are.

God knows exactly who we are. He knows about our stumblings and our failure to be perfectly righteous. Yet He’s willing to forgive us (any of us), if we’re willing to admit to Him our true condition and situation.

Everyone is a sinner because a sinner is anyone who sins. The Bible says that all of us have sinned. We have all failed to measure up to the perfect standards of God's own righteousness, and we have therefore failed to bring glory to God in all things.

Ignoring or denying a problem does not make it go away.

All the religious rites in the world will not change who and what we are inside. Jesus said that sin and spiritual uncleanness comes from the human heart. He said:

"What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and thoughtlessness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." (Mark 7:20-23)

That's exactly why Jesus had to die on the cross for our sin. All of us have sinned and we cannot rid ourselves of the sin. And no sin shall be able to exist in the Presence of God (such as in heaven).

In fact, the Bible says: "For the wages of sin is death..." (Rom 6:23a)

So Jesus Christ came to the earth and lived among us, being the perfect image and voice of God. He never sinned. He never did the evil things that people do. He was tempted in every way, just as we are, but without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

Scripture says about Jesus:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16,17)

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

"...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9, 10)

"For He made Him [Jesus Christ] who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

"If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:9-13)

So it all boils down to honesty. Anyone who is honest with themselves, and with God will admit their sin, and their need of Jesus Christ. And those who are not honest will deny their sin and their need of a Savior -- choosing to remain in the darkness that fills so much of this world.

The Bible says: "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. (John 3:17-20)

Religion does not take the place of simple honesty with ourselves, and with God. To everyone who professes Christian faith, the apostle John wrote:

"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.

"But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

"My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." (1 John 5:5-2:2)

If you will be honest with yourself and with God, then you will receive the forgiveness of God for all sin. But if you remain in the shadows, hiding from the truth, you cannot prosper in your spiritual walk. And you will not receive eternal life. Only Jesus can save your soul.

Jesus Himself said: "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." (John 8:12)

And again, He said, "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." (John 12:46)

And again Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

All truth is from the same source. All truth leads us back to the same God and the same salvation from God in Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus Himself is the ultimate truth of God for all humanity.

Be honest. Admit to yourself the flaws you have, the sins in your life. And admit to God your need of Jesus for salvation.

God will forgive everyone who comes to Him by faith in Jesus Christ. May God give you the courage to face the truth about your own life.

Jim

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