Exodus 20:16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Once again, the Ten Commandments bring us to our knees in humility and confession. God’s standard for your life is not as easy as avoiding the “major sins.” You will never secure a relationship with God by simply living a good life. His ninth commandment alone is sufficient to keep all of humanity forever separated from Him. If you have ever told a lie, you have fallen short of God’s standard of holiness (Romans 3:23).
Having this knowledge, it is amazing that those who call themselves Christians would continue to lie. Furthermore, they don’t only lie, but they dismiss it as if it was not a sin at all. Is this how you treat the words of God? Why do you approach a sin that is worthy of sending you eternally to Hell with so little thought, confession, and repentance? Your eternal security with God does not exclude you from the temporal consequences of your sins. Do not assume that God takes lying more lightly because you accepted His Son’s death as righteousness counted towards you. Proverbs 19:5 teaches us that “A false witness will not go unpunished and he who tells lies will not escape.”
Those who lie, gossip, and withhold the truth from others are condemned by God in Exodus 20:16. Jesus said that He was the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). It is an offense against the very nature and person of your Savior to embrace a lifestyle of lying and skewing the truth. Regardless of your eternal security through the undeserving grace of Jesus, there will be temporal consequences to your sin.
Glen,
Very encouraged by your insight into the scriptures. I will keep the coffee pot on, you just keep the devotions coming.
db