2008-03-14
Good Morning God's Treasures,
This morning, the Holy Spirit brings me to an important question: Does God ever lie? That may seem like a shockingly disrespectful question to ask of our Father and Creator, but He knows that every person in relationship with Him and the Son, has to grapple with it in one context or another. The answer to this question is found in 2 TIM 2: 11-13. "This is a true saying: ‘If we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we continue to endure, we shall also rule with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are not faithful, He remains faithful, because He cannot be false to Himself.'" It's one thing to see this written all together, but I think it's worth our time to dwell on each segment of this passage for awhile.
Let's look at verse 11 first. There appears to be some statements in other places in the NT to support the statement, "If we have died with him, we shall also live with Him." COL 3: 3-4, "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ is God. Your real life is Christ and when He appears, then you too will appear with Him and share His glory!" Going back even further, note RO 6: 3-4, "For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with His death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with Him and shared His death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life." There is further elaboration in (5), "For since we have become one with Him in dying as He did, in the same way we shall be one with Him by being raised to life as He was." In a spiritual sense, we died with Him the moment we trusted Him as our Savior. We were buried with Him, and we rose again with Him from among the dead. Christ died on the cross, representing us as a perfect Sin-Substitute for us. His sacrifice was deemed acceptable by the Father, thus, opening the way for us to die with Him and live with Him [be saved]. The martyrs, those who died for their faith in Jesus Christ, are the same people found under the Father's throne in REV 6: 9-11. They will wear white linen [the sign of righteousness] and will live to be honored in heaven. Those who thus follow Him in death will likewise follow Him in resurrection. We mustn't forget RO 8: 29, which describes Christ as "the first among many brothers."
2 TIM 2: 12, "If we continue to endure, we shall also rule with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us." Christ Himself made His will clear in MT 10: 32-33, "If anyone declares publicly that he belongs to Me, I will do the same for him before My Father in heaven. But if anyone rejects Me publicly, I will reject him before My Father in heaven." This notion is repeated again in LK 12: 8-9 with the one difference that Christ refers to this declaration of ownership or rejection "in front of the angels of God." Paul repeats the first part of 2 TIM 2: 12 in COL 3: 4 above. It's important to go over these verses that say approximately the same thing, so that we know that when God repeats something, it's important to Him and to us. I often write to people needing prayer at the time of the death of a loved one with a reminder to avoid the devil's temptation to question God and, instead, to endure through the pain of grief in their faith in Jesus Christ. My reason for doing this is my own faith that their separation from their newly-parted relative (who died physically in faith) will only be temporary, if they have this kind of endurance. It must be mentioned that the denial of Christ being discussed here is not the temporary kind which Peter showed when he denied Christ three times and then, returned to faith [MT 26: 69-75]. It's permanent, habitual denial that is meant here.
2 TIM 2: 13 brings us to a firm answer to the question of if God ever lies. "If we are not faithful, He remains faithful, because He cannot be false to Himself." In places like COL 3: 9a, God tells us do not lie. The same is said in EPH 4: 25, "No more lying, then! Everyone must tell the truth to his fellow believer, because we are all members together in the body of Christ." This notion of not lying goes all the way back to the Ten Commandments, one of which tells us, "Do not bear false witness" [EX 20: 16]. That clarifies God's will for us, and without His own truthfulness, it would have no impact for good on us. Lying is inconsistent with God's character. It's also not in keeping with the amazing [supernatural] consistency found in Scripture. God is the One Force in our lives upon which we can count to be consistently good. God's righteousness is perfect and complete. We can see this not only from the hindsight of His promise-keeping in history, but also from the goodness He brings to earth. PS 31: 19, "How wonderful are the good things You keep for those who honor You. Everyone knows how good You are, how securely You protect those who trust You." And, in case we wonder what this has to do with mammon, remember His provision. PS 81:10, "I, the Lord, am your God, Who brought you out of Egypt. Open your mouth and I will feed you." PHIL 4: 19, "And with all His abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs."
PRAYER: O Lord, we examine the question before us today without disrespect, but instead, with humble reverence for You. Because of the sinfulness that we inherited from Adam and Eve and the sin we have ourselves committed, it is necessary for us to spend our lives in faithful efforts to expunge that sin. Some of it is subtle and even unknown to us, but some is blatant and surely a hindrance to our sanctification. We confess that without Your intervention and our faith in Christ, we are left on a hopeless one-way trip to spiritual death. With Your presence and intervention in our lives, we can cooperate with You in Your daily efforts to help us uncover our sin and do away with it. COL 3: 9-10 must be a part of this prayer. "Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in His own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of Himself." In our dealings with mammon [material possessions] and in every part of our lives, we must recognize Your remarkable love for us, even through we don't deserve it. We pray today, beginning with confession of sin and recognition of our spiritual poverty, because You have told us, in MT 5: 3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them." Being put right with You is crucial to us. This is true because we believe that You never lie and have seen the results of Your goodness brought to earth. RO 10: 9-10, "If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved." Sadly, the evil one presses us to question You in times of intense pain, loss, or other sorrow. As Paul wrote about in RO 7: 14-25, our flesh and the Spirit are at war within us. We know deep down that only Jesus Christ and our faith in Him can win the victory for the Sprit. Our confidence in this is a measure of our faith in Him and in You. We stand before You to profess that You are a truthful God, One of wisdom, compassion, patience, and supreme goodness. You are also a consistent God, one on Whom we can depend. We thank and praise You forever. These things we pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen"
Next week, I have been directed by the Holy Sprit to explore the question: Are we poor? God's will is for us to know Him better. It's a good reason for asking these very practical questions, all the while remaining reverent. God's will shall be done; this I believe. IS 46: 9-10, "I am God, and there is not other. I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'" This bold statement by God tells us that He wants what is best for our eternal interests-for us to know Him. The alternative is conscious torment eternally in hell-unthinkable! Our God loves us so much that we can't measure it, nor can any human ever equal it. We have a God Who reached down to us while we were still His enemies and, through His remarkable grace, offered us salvation by the sacrifice of His only Son on the cross [RO 5: 9-11; JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. I feel breathless with awe every time I write about Christ's Atonement and all its ramifications to believers. Is this a reason for us to feel comforted? You bet it is! And as for God's consistent truthfulness, we have another reason for our spirits to be buoyed. PS 62: 5, "Only God gives inward peace, and I depend on Him." While God is depending on us to be obediently faithful, we can depend on Him to be truthful, consistent in His teaching, compassionate, and loving. And yes, my plan to write about our covenant with Him in the future brings me spiritual excitement. That's because each of us is richly blessed to be in relationship with a God Who cares about us and every detail of our lives [PS 37: 23-24]. Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn